(I) About 4180 years ago, when Yu(禹) was appointed by Emperors Yao(尧) & Chun(舜) to remedy the inundations of large rivers by which much of the country was desolated. These occasionally rose to such a height in some narratives they are represented as a flood overspreading the whole land. He had been able to solve the wide-spreading flood effectively with his stuff through a period of 13 years continuously hard working. During the long period of travelling all over the country in many directions, he had studied the soil conditions and crop productions in the nine regions, into which the land was then divided, namely,(1)Chi(冀),(2) Yin(兗),(3) Ching(青),(4) Shu(徐),(5) Young(杨),(6) Gin (荆), (7) Yu(豫),(8) Liang(梁),and (9) Yung(雍).He classified different soils principally according to their colors, characteristics and fertility. His system of clas-sification may be summarised in the following tabie 1.