The Flood That Invented China — Why the Yellow River Built the World's Oldest State

Rome was forged by legions. Europe was shaped by territorial wars. But China may be the only civilization on earth that was built by a flood. For over four thousand years, the Yellow River has burst its banks, shifted its course, and swallowed entire cities. The need to control this one river forced the Chinese to build a centralized state long before most civilizations even existed. Yu the Great spent thirteen years carving channels to tame the floodwaters — and in doing so, created the prototype of the Chinese political system. But floods do not only build nations. They destroy them too. In 1351, a river repair project triggered the Red Turban Rebellion and brought down the Yuan Dynasty. This is the story of how one river shaped four thousand years of Chinese history.