Yu Casts the Nine Tripods

The Cauldrons of China

Yu the Great cast nine bronze tripods symbolizing the nine provinces, emblems of royal authority.

After the flood was tamed and the nine provinces divided, Yu the Great gathered bronze from each province and cast nine tripods, their surfaces showing the mountains, rivers and strange creatures of every region. Possessing the tripods meant possessing the mandate: Xia held them, Shang seized them, Zhou received them, and whoever asked their weight was asking for the throne. When Qin took the tripods they vanished, leaving the mandate to be claimed by other symbols.