The Yellow River rushes west from the Kunlun Mountains, roaring for thousands of miles until it crashes into Longmen. Its waves tower to the sky. Yao sighed; Yu the Great tamed the rivers, and his children cried without ever seeing him at home. He slew the rapids and dammed the floods, and the people of the Nine Provinces began to grow silkworms and hemp. Only then was the danger gone. Amid the endless wind and sand, a wild, foolish old man with unbound hair set out at dawn to cross the river. Those nearby pleaded with his wife to stop him, but the old man would not be dissuaded. Tigers can be fought, but the river cannot be crossed. The old man drowned and washed to the river's edge, where a great whale with teeth as white as snow-covered mountains waited. Alas, old man, your bones hang between its teeth. The sorrowful music of the konghou could not bring you back.
This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.
