Yao and Shun: The Ancient Father-in-Law Who Chose the Next Ruler

After the Yellow Emperor, the Position Still Has to Be Passed On

In the last episode, the Yellow Emperor becomes the leading figure of the tribal world.

He holds that position for many years, and the alliance of tribes stabilizes under him. But even he cannot stay forever.

After his death, the position passes to his grandson Zhuanxu.

After Zhuanxu it passes again to Emperor Ku.

And after that, the story approaches Yao.

Yao later becomes the model of the ancient sage ruler. But at the beginning, he does not sit immediately at the center of the world.

He is first enfeoffed in the region of present-day Tang County in Hebei, which is why he is also known as Tang Yao.

Yao's Older Brother Fails, and an Opportunity Opens

Emperor Ku has several sons, and by the custom that is gradually taking shape, the eldest son takes the leading position first.

But this eldest son is not up to the task.

He neglects government, loses himself in pleasure and drink, and while he looks away, outside tribes begin to eat into the territory of the Huaxia alliance.

The Dongyi tribes in the Shandong peninsula are especially aggressive, pushing inward while the center is in disorder.

From his own territory, Yao can no longer bear to watch.

If you will not manage this, he decides, I will.

He begins to gather troops, win support, improve the livelihood of the people, and push back the Dongyi attacks.

Among the eastern peoples there is one line especially skilled in archery, later often associated with the name Yi. Yao draws such men into his own side and has them train archers for him.

Once he has capable fighters and capable administrators, Yao's reputation rises higher and higher.

In the end, everyone can see that the elder brother in place cannot be supported, while Yao looks far more like the man able to hold things together.

So Yao becomes leader of the Huaxia tribal alliance.

Once Yao Is Secure, He Also Has Able Men Around Him

Yao does not rule alone.

Several of his brothers have strengths of their own.

One is associated with agriculture and later linked to the name Ji, taking charge of the farming of the realm.

Another is associated with law and the establishment of rules.

With this kind of support around him, Yao's age is told as a flourishing and prosperous one.

Yet Yao too grows old.

And when he grows old, he must face a question that no ruler can avoid.

Who should inherit my place?

Yao Does Not Want to Hand the Position Only to His Son

Yao first asks the people around him whether there is a suitable candidate.

Some say: why not simply your own son?

Yao refuses.

He thinks his son is unfit for the role.

Others recommend Gonggong.

Yao refuses again.

Gonggong, he says, will not do.

As the discussion goes back and forth, one name finally emerges.

Shun.

Yao asks what is so special about this man.

The answer is revealing.

Shun's family life is so difficult, they say, and yet he still manages to live through it without destroying the household. That alone is no small thing.

Shun's Family Is Harder Than Most

Shun's mother dies early.

His father is called Gusou, a man remembered as not only physically impaired in sight but also deeply partial in his heart.

His stepmother is harsh.

His younger brother Xiang joins in the bullying.

This whole household spends its time not figuring out how to live well, but how to make life difficult for Shun.

Yet Shun endures.

And he does more than endure.

He manages to endure without tearing the family apart.

When Yao hears this, he decides that Shun is worth closer examination.

Reputation alone is not enough.

The man must be tested.

The Ancient Father-in-Law Is Great Precisely Here

Yao's test is memorable.

He marries both of his daughters, Ehuang and Nuying, to Shun.

On the surface, this looks like a marriage alliance.

In reality, it also puts Shun directly under Yao's eye.

Shun has no great family wealth of his own, so Yao gives him a house, grain, cattle and sheep, jade, and silk.

All at once, Shun acquires status and property.

That is exactly what his father, stepmother, and brother cannot tolerate.

They decide that if all these things are going to belong to Shun, then better to kill Shun and take them for themselves.

So the first attempt begins.

They tell Shun to repair a granary.

Once he climbs up, they remove the ladder and set fire below, hoping to burn him alive on the roof.

But Ehuang and Nuying have already prepared for this.

They give him two large bamboo hats.

Shun jumps down from the granary, using the hats to slow his fall, and survives.

When that plan fails, a second one follows.

This time they tell him to clean out a well.

Once he is down inside, they throw earth and stones into it from above, trying to bury him alive.

But again Ehuang and Nuying have warned him in advance. There is a hidden tunnel below the well that leads into the house.

Shun escapes through the tunnel, changes his clothes, and calmly sits indoors drinking wine and playing music.

The others work for a long time, certain he must be dead. Then they turn back and find him alive and well in the house.

At that point, even they are shaken.

In the End, Yao Gives the Position to Shun

Ehuang and Nuying report these events to Yao.

The more Yao watches, the more convinced he becomes that Shun can bear the weight of rule.

His family is difficult, yet he does not collapse.

When sudden status comes, he does not grow arrogant.

When others try to kill him, he survives without losing himself.

So in old age, Yao finally decides to hand the leadership of the tribal alliance to Shun.

This is what later tradition calls abdication.

It is not a father handing power to his son.

It is the ruler giving the position to the man thought most worthy.

After Shun Takes Over, the Story of the Five Emperors Nears Its End

Once Shun becomes leader, he does not simply sit in comfort.

He campaigns against tribes that refuse to submit, corrects institutions, develops agriculture, and becomes linked to the early origins of ritual and music.

Later tradition groups the Yellow Emperor, Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Yao, and Shun together as the Five Emperors.

Before them stand Fuxi, Nuwa, and Shennong as the Three Sovereigns.

Together, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors become the great ancestral rulers and sage kings of deep antiquity.

Much later, when Qin Shi Huang unifies the realm, he is unwilling to be called merely king. He takes one character from the Three Sovereigns and one from the Five Emperors, and calls himself emperor.

But after Shun, the ancient story is also approaching another threshold.

Next comes Yu.

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Yao gives the position to Shun, and it sounds like the ideal succession.

But when Shun himself grows old, he runs into the same question.

How should this place be passed on?

In the next episode, Yu the Great enters the story.

He will inherit the burden of flood control from his father Gun, and he will slowly push the old world of abdication toward the doorstep of dynasty.