Emperor Shun divided the world into twelve prefectures. When Yu controlled the flood, he traveled all over the world. He knew the terrain, customs, and products of various places like the back of his hand. He re-planned the world into nine states and formulated the tribute varieties of each state.
Emperor Yu of the Xia Dynasty stipulated that the area 500 miles away from the capital was called Dian Fu, the area 500 miles to 1000 miles was called Hou Fu, the area 1000 miles to 1500 miles was called Sui Fu, the area 1500 miles to 2000 miles was called Yao Fu, and the area 2000 miles away was called Huang Fu. Dian Fu, Hou Fu, Sui Fu areas, that is, the area within 1500 miles around the emperor's capital, paid different goods or services to the emperor. To serve the region, one could not serve the emperor, but they had to obey the emperor's leadership, accept the emperor's discipline, and abide by the legal system. The emperor would manage the desolate regions 2000 miles away according to their customs and would not force the imperial court to implement politics.
After the Mud Mountain Conference, the vassals from all over the world would often come to Yangcheng (now Dengfeng in Henan Province) to offer gold (or bronze) to Yu in order to show their respect for the emperor. One day, Yu saw the copper tribute from Jiuzhou increase year by year and remembered the story of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan casting the tripod.
In ancient times, Jingshan (located in the western part of present-day Hubei Province, southeast of Wudang Mountain, and west bank of the Han River) suffered serious disasters. The Yellow Emperor came to Jingshan from Kunlun Mountain to investigate. In order to treat the people, he collected copper from Shoushan (5 miles south of Xiangcheng County, Henan Province), drew lake water, and cast a cauldron to refine pills under Jingshan.
The Yellow Emperor forged the cauldron and refined the pills to eliminate the disaster of the people. The people loved the Yellow Emperor very much. When the yellow dragon came to welcome the Yellow Emperor to heaven, the people begged him bitterly and refused to let him go. Some pulled his clothes and robes, some hugged his hands and feet, and some peeled off the dragon's skin and pulled out the dragon's beard. However, the Yellow Emperor still rode the yellow dragon to heaven. People only pulled off the Yellow Emperor's golden boots and buried them in the place where he forged the cauldron. This place became a holy place for people to worship.
Thinking back to the return of the people after the Tushan Meeting, the vassals were filled with reverence. To commemorate the meeting, Yu ordered people to use the bronze that the vassals had offered to forge nine cauldrons. On the cauldrons were the famous mountains, rivers, and strange objects of each state. Each cauldron represented a state. They were called the Jizhou Cauldron, Yanzhou Cauldron, Qingzhou Cauldron, Xuzhou Cauldron, Yangzhou Cauldron, Jingzhou Cauldron, Yuzhou Cauldron, Liangzhou Cauldron, and Yongzhou Cauldron. The nine cauldrons represented the nine states, and the Yuzhou Cauldron was the central cauldron. Yuzhou was the core hub of the world. The nine cauldrons were gathered in the capital of the Xia Dynasty, Yangcheng, Yuzhou (now Dengfeng, Henan). From then on, the nine cauldrons were synonymous with the country's political power, symbolizing the unity and prosperity of the country.
Bronze was an alloy made by adding tin or lead to pure copper (red copper). Compared to pure copper (red copper), bronze had higher strength, lower melting point, good casting ability, wear resistance, and stable chemical properties. It could be used to cast various exquisite patterns and unique objects. The deeds of Yu making the nine cauldrons are clearly written in the annals of history. The nine cauldrons placed on the temple not only declared the unity and prosperity of the country, but also told us: Ancient people had already mastered bronze smelting and casting techniques, and science and technology were very developed.
But who was the first person to invent bronze smelting and casting techniques? The author thought that he was a very respectable scientist, and his achievements were as great as Yu's, but no one knew his name. Who could find traces of him in the long river of history?
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