Derk Bodde (1961) stated that "from all mythological themes in ancient Chinese, the earliest and so far most pervasive is about flood.
Other important texts include the poem Heavenly Questions collected in the Chu Ci which is attributed to Qu Yuan and the famous mythological compendium Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing).
From all of these stories, the struggle of Yao, Gun, and Yu is the most obvious in describing the hardness of human effort to control the flood.
[1] Much later works from the Warring States period (Shiben) and Diwang Shiji (3rd century) were pairing Yu and Nuwa as a couple and their previously uncorrelated stories were then completing each other.
While he was digging the canal, many of the carps were swept away and fell, and were disappointed because they couldn't swim back up to the upper level.
[4] The story happened after Goddess Nüwa created (molded) humanity from yellow clay, brought them into life, and gave them the ability to reproduce.
[1] The theme was made into several versions, but the outline is about a great flood which was destroyed all the humans all over the world except a pair of brother and sister, or aunt and nephew.
[1] This theme have some specific characteristics: one or two people were survived, the statue which was crying blood, and the whole city along with its citizens were sinking.