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Myths about Yu the Great

Explore myths connected by the recurring theme of Yu the Great across cultures, characters, and sacred places.

2 myths currently featured for Yu the Great.

Yu's Son Qi Bursting Forth from the Petrified Stone Body of Tushan

🐉 Chinese MythologyMount Tu, Anhui, ChinaYu the Great • Nü Jiao • Qi

In the age of the Great Flood, the hero Yu the Great labored to tame the waters, eventually marrying Nü Jiao of Mount Tu. After a misunderstanding led his pregnant wife to transform into a stone statue in terror, Yu demanded his son, causing the rock to split open and the future King Qi to be born.

Yu the Great Miraculously Born from the Belly of His Dead Father Gun

🐉 Chinese MythologyMount Yushan, Jiangsu, ChinaYu the Great • Gun • Emperor Yao

Following Gun's failure and execution for his inability to stop the Great Flood, his body remained miraculously preserved on Feather Mountain for three years. When his belly was finally cut open with a magical sword, his son Yu emerged as a hero destined to succeed where his father failed. Yu's birth marked the beginning of a new era of engineering and the eventual founding of the Xia Dynasty.