The Great Flood of China, traditionally dated to the 3rd Millennium, BCE, during the reign of the Emperor Yao, according to historical sources, was a major flood event that continued for many years, resulting in great population displacements and in association with various related disasters, such as storms and famine.
The Great Flood of China has been treated both historically as well as mythologically.
Either way, or both, it is a narrative foundational to Chinese culture.
Among other things, the Great Flood of China is key to understanding the history of the founding of both the Xia Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty, is one of the main flood motifs in Chinese mythology, and is a major source of allusion in Classical Chinese poetry.
