Emperor Shun was one of the Five Emperors who reigned during the indigenous times. His capital was modern-day Shanxi. His clan was the Dong Yi Clan (东夷族) where the previous kings were Tai Hao and Shao Hao.
Emperor Shun was the 6th descendant of Emperor Zhuanxu. Since young, Emperor Shun was constantly abused by his father Gu Sou, stepmother and stepbrother. Despite these terrible deeds, Shun did not hate his family. He respected his father and loved his stepbrother dearly. This touched the heart of the Heavenly Emperor who sent elephants to till the fields and birds to remove weeds. Shun was very famous by the time he reached 20 due to his filial piety. 10 years later, Emperor Yao was asking his lords for their recommended successor and they nominated Shun.
Emperor Yao married both of his daughters to Shun in order to test his virtues and abilities. Shun constantly tried to maintain harmony between his family and his wives. Wherever he worked, people developed better character. According to “Meng Zi, Li Lv Xia” (孟子·离娄下), Shun farmed at Li Mountain (历山), fished at Leize (雷泽) and made ceramics at the Yellow River. His works influenced many people and Zhufeng (诸冯) became very prosperous. Wherever he went, people followed. Seeing such phenomena, Emperor Yao was very pleased and gifted him clothing, a zither, cows, goats and even constructed a granary for him.
When Shun received these rewards, Gu Sou and his stepbrother were very jealous. They intended to kill him to get all his things. First, Gu Sou asked Shun to repair the roof of the granary. Then he set fire within the place. Shun used two conical hats as wings and glided down the roof. Next, Gu Sou asked Shun to dig a very deep well. As Shun dug, Gu Sou and the stepbrother poured soil above him in an attempt to bury him alive. Fortunately, Shun already expected it and created a path and hid there for a while. Gu Sou and the stepbrother thought they had succeeded. The stepbrother claimed that this was his idea and insisted on getting the zither and Shun’s wives. The cows, goats and granary would belong to his parents. As the stepbrother invaded Shun’s house and played his zither, Shun appeared in front of him. The stepbrother was upset and insulted Shun. Shun ignored him and continue to treat him kindly.
Later Emperor Yao placed Shun in charge of a hundred ministers. He was also tasked to entertain guests. Shun not only did his job properly but also showed skills in allocating talents. Shun created a department for education and the land. As for the Four Terribles, Shun cast them out of their territory.
After many tests, Shun was finally acknowledged by Emperor Yao. The emperor chose a lucky day and conducted the handover ceremony. Emperor Yao was already very old and began to let go of his responsibilities.
After becoming the new emperor, Emperor Shun reconstructed the calendar and organised rituals to worship every part of nature. He also collated all the seals of the lords and officially reissued them. Within one year of his rule, he went all over his territory to listen to his people. Then he set a rule to patrol once every five years to test the lords. This improved the relationship between Emperor Shun and his people, strengthening his reign.
In the 28th year of Emperor Shun’s rule, Emperor Yao passed away. The funeral lasted for three years and offered his throne to Emperor Yao’s son Dan Zhu (丹朱). He then went to the south of Nan River (南河). However, all the lords went to find Emperor Shun and ignored Dan Zhu. Even people who wanted court dealings went to Shun. Everyone wanted Shun back. Without much choice, Shun took back the throne.
Emperor Shun then created more ministries – Yu the Great to govern water and land, Qi (弃) to govern agriculture, Qi (契) to govern education, Gao Yao (皋陶) to govern punishments, Chui (垂) to govern labour, Yi (益) to govern mountains and forests, Bo Yi (伯夷) to govern ethics, Kui (夔) to govern music and its education and Long (龙) to govern announcing of orders and to gather feedback. Emperor Shun also established a system to test the ministers every three years. Those who failed would be removed. This ensured that only the best were in the government.
When Emperor Shun became old, he knew his son was a terrible person. Hence, he allocated Yu the Great as his successor. In his 39th year, Shun was patrolling in the southern regions and passed away in the wilderness. He was buried at Jiu Yi Mountain (九疑山) and later became a deity.
Source:
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%88%9C/79389?fromtitle=%E8%99%9E%E8%88%9C&fromid=1438284
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BA%8C%E5%8D%81%E5%9B%9B%E5%AD%9D/169989#2_1
Chinese Culture in English 