Unlike the long twilight which precedes the dawn in high latitudes, the semi-mythical age was brief, covering no more than two reigns, those of Yao and Shun.  Confucius regarded these as included in the “five rulers.”  To make room for them, he omits the first two; and he seldom refers to the others, but appears to accept them as real personages.  He is no critic; but he has shown good sense in drawing the line no further back.  He has made the epoch of these last a golden age (2356-2206) which is not the creation of a poet, but the conception of a philosopher who wished to have an open space on which to build up his political theories.  He found, moreover, in these primitive times some features by which he was [Page 73] greatly fascinated.  The simplicity and freedom which appeared to prevail in those far-off days were to him very attractive.

It is related that Yao, the type of an unselfish monarch, while on a tour of inspection in the disguise of a peasant, heard an old man singing this song to the notes of his guitar: 

 “I plough my ground and eat my own bread,
  I dig my well and drink my own water: 
  What use have I for king or court?”

Yao returned to his palace, rejoicing that the state of his country was such that his people were able to forget him.

Another feature which the Chinese hold up in bold relief is the fact that in those days the occupancy of the throne was not hereditary.  Yao is said to have reigned a hundred years.  When he was growing old he saw with grief that his son showed no signs of being a worthy successor.  Setting him aside, therefore, he asked his ministers to recommend someone as his heir.  They all agreed in nominating Shun.  “What are his merits?” asked the King.  “Filial piety and fraternal kindness,” they replied.  “By these virtues he has wrought a reform in a family noted for perverseness.”  The King desiring to know the facts, they related the following story: 

“Shun’s father is an ill-natured, blind man.  He has a cruel stepmother and a selfish, petulant younger brother.  This boy, the pet of his parents, treated Shun with insolence; and the father and mother joined in persecuting the elder son.  Shun, without showing resentment, cried aloud to Heaven and obtained [Page 74] patience to bear their harshness.  By duty and affection he has won the hearts of all three.”  “Bring him before me,” said the King; “I have yet another trial by which to test his virtues.”  Yao made him his son-in-law, giving him his two daughters at once.  He wished to see whether the good son and brother would also be a good husband and father—­an example for his people in all their domestic relations.  Shun accepted the test with becoming resignation and comported himself to the satisfaction of the old king, who raised him to the throne.  After a reign of fifty years, partly as Yao’s associate, Shun followed the example of his father-in-law.  Passing by his own son, he left the throne to Ta-yue or Yue, a man who had been subjected to trials far more serious than that of having to live in the same house with a pair of pretty princesses.