神話傳說的創造和史實的理解，是古史學研究兩種並存的趨勢。古代社會留下了很多歷史化的神話，成為後世「神話化歷史」的基礎。傳世文獻對中國上古史的描繪，是一種神話化後的歷史結構，這是中國文化中對古史神秘化、神聖化的理解。 大禹傳說，是中國早期神話。有關大禹的文獻描述往往也不合史實。20世紀疑古運動對大禹傳說的質疑，揭櫫大禹研究新一頁，加上近百年考古學長足的發展，史學家紛紛對大禹傳說真偽作出考辨。經過近百年的討論，夏朝已經得到證實，作為歷史人物的身份也逐漸得到確認。不過，前輩學者多集中討論大禹其人其事的真偽，忽略了大禹傳說的演變。為了彌補這個缺失，本文試圖全面探索大禹傳說的演變過程及其中添加或減少之元素，以重構大禹的歷史圖像，並呈現史學發展進程中有關對大禹叙述的各種變化。 本文嘗試運用多學科及跨文化視野下，以重整大禹傳說演變的歷史。文中廣泛地利用古籍、官方或民間的資料，並配合神話、傳說、民間野史、四部資料、古文字學、非物質資料等，冀望能為大禹研究提供全新的面貌，既可為中國上古史有關帝王聖賢傳說收補苴之效，亦能引導對中國史學發展的新認識。 As two parallel tendencies in historical research, the exploration of myths and investigation of historical facts have through time directed the construction of “mythologized histories.” Confirming the fondness of Chinese culture over the fabrication of myths, related written records have further allowed history to incorporate elements in mythology. One of the earliest Chinese myths, the legend of the Great Yu, is known for the many unverified written records that document his existence. Revived by the 20th century movement of Doubting Antiquity and credible archaeological findings, historians took off on a race to reconstruct the story of the Great Yu. After a hundred years of investigation and debate, the factual existence of the Xia Dynasty has received affirmation; the legend of the Great Yu, on the other hand, is slowly being confirmed as historians continue to devote much effort in verifying truth and lies. Under this context, the evolution of the Great Yu’s legend through time is often pushed out of the picture. This thesis aims to contribute to the reconstruction of the myth by analyzing such changes in hopes of coming closer to a more accurate sketch of one of the legendary rulers in early China. Adopting a multidisciplinary and trans-cultural approach, this thesis utilizes a collection of documents from myths, legends, folklore, the four categories (sibu), paleography and other non-written sources, eventually constructing a new perspective of the Great Yu that further contributes to future research in ancient history and Chinese historiography.