The myth of Gong and Yu: as a mythological reflection of the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy among the Xia people

This article examines the transition from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society through the prism of cultural phenomena. The article consists of two parts. The first part characterizes two specific cultural phenomena in China – the cult of totems and the Chanwen system – and uses the idea that the transition from a matriarchal society to a patriarchal one was contradictory and non-linear. In the second part, using the example of the ancient Chinese myth of Gong and Yu's struggle with the flood, the phenomenon of Yu's miraculous birth without the participation of a woman is analyzed. Further, based on a series of stories about Yu's marriage to Tushan and data on the change in the marriage system that occurred during this era, the author considered how the matriarchal system is being reborn into a patriarchal one. This article examines the transition from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society through the prism of cultural phenomena. First, the article characterizes two specific cultural phenomena in China – the cult of totems and the Chanwen system – and uses the idea that the transition from a matriarchal society to a patriarchal one was contradictory and non-linear. Secondly, the article, based on a series of stories about Yu's marriage to Tushan and data on the change in the marriage system that took place during this era, examines how the matriarchal system is reborn into a patriarchal one. When male reproductive law was established, the right to transfer the paternal surname to descendants and the hereditary right of father and son, etc., the transition of the Xia nation from matriarchy to patriarchy and the formation of a class society were completed.

Chinese mythology, flood myth, kinship, inheritance, matriarchy, patriarchy, Chinese history, Shan Hai Jing, tribal society, social system