Flood proof may change Chinese history

Geologists have found the first evidence for China's Great Flood, a 4,000-year-old disaster on the Yellow River that led to birth of the Xia Dynasty and modern Chinese civilization, researchers said Thursday.

The findings, reported in the journal Science, may help rewrite history because they not only show that a massive flood did occur but also that it was in 1920 BC - several centuries later than traditionally thought. This would mean the Xia Dynasty, led by Emperor Yu, may also have started later than Chinese historians have thought.

Yu gained fame as the man who was able to gain control over the flood by orchestrating the dredging work needed to guide the waters back into their channels.