Wu Qinglong
Geographer who linked a 1920 BCE Yellow River flood to Yu
- Affiliation
- Department of Geography, Nanjing Normal University (2016)
- Known for
- Lead author, 'Outburst flood at 1920 BCE', Science, August 2016
- Finding
- Landslide dam at Jishi Gorge failed c. 1920 BCE
- Claim
- Flood may lie behind the Great Flood legend and Xia origins
- Reception
- Debated; critics questioned dating and interpretation
The geologist who led a 2016 Science study tying a massive Yellow River outburst flood around 1920 BCE to the legend of Yu the Great.
What is Wu Qinglong known for?
Wu Qinglong is a Chinese physical geographer. In August 2016, while at Nanjing Normal University, he was lead author of a paper in the journal Science titled 'Outburst flood at 1920 BCE supports historicity of China's Great Flood and the Xia dynasty'.
The team reported that an earthquake-triggered landslide had dammed the Yellow River at Jishi Gorge in Qinghai, and that when the dam failed it released one of the largest floods known from the last 10,000 years, reaching about 38 meters above the present river. Radiocarbon dates from victims at the nearby Lajia site placed the event around 1920 BCE. The authors suggested the flood could be the root of the Yu legend and that the Xia dynasty began around 1900 BCE, later than the traditional date of about 2070 BCE.
The study drew wide attention and also criticism from other researchers, who questioned the dating and whether a single flood can be linked to a much later written tradition. The question remains open.
His 2016 study is the main scientific evidence the site cites for a real flood behind the Yu the Great legend.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeYu the Great
- PlaceJishi Gorge and the Yellow River
Sources
- Wu Qinglong et al., 'Outburst flood at 1920 BCE supports historicity of China's Great Flood and the Xia dynasty', Science 353 (2016)Primary text
- Phys.org, 'First evidence of legendary China flood may rewrite history' (Aug. 2016)Reference
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