关键词: 尧舜, 禹, 古史, 疑古, 出土文献

Abstract: The commonly held historical impression of Yao the Great,Shun the Great,and Yu the Great as successive rulers in ancient China,is the result of continuous selection,combination and construction.In early texts,particularly those from the Western Zhou period,Yu the Great was unrelated to Yao the Great and Shun the Great,and there were more records about Yu the Great.However,there were few early texts that mentioned Yao the Great and Shun the Great separately.Nevertheless,due to the Zhou people's emphasis on the ancient historical system of the Yu,Xia,Shang,and Zhou dynasties,the Yu and Xia dynasties were linked together,and Yao the Great and Shun the Great,were linked to Yu the Great.The Canon of Yao(Yao Dian) emerged in response,constructing a court of the Yu dynasty with a sage ruler and twenty-two virtuous ministers,inseparably binding Yao the Great,Shun the Great,and Yu the Great together and establishing them as part of the Confucian orthodox(Dao Tong),which was continuously reinforced in later times.At that time,the theory of abdication had not yet arisen,and contemporary texts also recognized the legitimacy of Qi's accession to the throne.Thus,Confucius said,“Tang and Yu resigned the throne to their worthy ministers.The sovereign of Xia and those of Yin and Zhou transmitted it to their sons.The principle of righteousness was the same in all the cases.” Additionally,narratives that disparaged Yu the Great,such as “When the disposal of the kingdom came to Yu the Great,his virtue was inferior to that of Yao the Great and Shun the Great”,had not yet appeared.In short,the relationship between Yao the Great,Shun the Great,and Yu the Great was constructed and did not emerge because of the abdication system(Shan Rang).

Key words: Yao the Great and Shun the Great, Yu the Great, ancient history, doubting antiquity, excavated texts