Why did the man who cut down the tree do it in Chang'e's Guanghan Palace?

Wu Gang Introduction

Wu Gang, a character in myths and legends.

Myths and Legends

One of the Legends

It is said that there is a laurel tree five hundred feet high in the moon. During the Han Dynasty, there was a man named Wu Gang who was obsessed with immortality and did not concentrate on his studies. Therefore, the Emperor of Heaven was angry and lived in the Moon Palace. He ordered him to cut down the laurel tree in the Moon Palace. He said: "If you cut down the laurel tree, you will get a harvest." "Immortal magic." But every time Wu Gang struck the axe, the wound on the tree immediately healed. Day after day, Wu Gang's wish to cut down the osmanthus was still not fulfilled. Therefore, Wu Gang cut down the osmanthus in the Moon Palace all year round, but could not cut down the tree. Therefore, later generations can see the image of Wu Gang endlessly cutting down laurels in the middle of the moon. See "Tang·Duan Chengshi·Youyang Zazu·Volume 1·Tiangui".

Legend 2

Wu Gang, also called Wu Quan, was from Xihe. Boling, the grandson of Emperor Yan, took advantage of Wu Gang's three years away from home to study immortality. He had an affair with Wu Gang's wife and gave birth to three sons. Wu Gang killed Boling in a rage. This angered the sun god Yan Emperor and sent Wu Gang to the moon. He was ordered to cut down the tree of immortality - laurel. The laurel tree is five hundred feet high and can be cut back together. Emperor Yan used this endless labor as a punishment for Wu Gang.

Wu Gang's wife also felt guilty for what happened to her husband, and ordered her three sons to fly to the moon to accompany Wu Gang. One became a "toad", one became a "rabbit", and one is unknown. See "The Classic of Mountains and Seas"

Legend 3

Wu Gang of Nantianmen and Chang'e in the Moon are very close, but he often misses his duties because he misses meeting Chang'e. When the Jade Emperor found out, he was furious and ordered Wu Gang to go to the moon and cut down a big tree called the moon tree. If Wu Gang didn't cut down all the moon trees, he would not be able to return to the Nantianmen and meet Chang'e.

Wu Gang chopped and chopped, from winter to summer, for half a year. Seeing that the tree was about to be chopped down, the Jade Emperor sent a crow to the moon tree, and with a "swish" sound, He picked up Wu Gang's coat that was hanging on the tree. Wu Gang immediately put down his ax and chased the crow. After recovering the clothes, Wu Gang returned to the tree and saw that all the branches and leaves that had been cut had grown back on the tree. From then on, whenever Wu Gang was about to cut down the tree, the crow would stand on the tree and scream. Wu Gang only had to stop the ax and look at it, and the tree would grow branches and leaves again.

In this way, year after year, Wu Gang could not cut down all the moon trees. And only on August 16th every year, a leaf falls from the moon to the ground. Whoever picks up the leaves of this moon tree will get endless amounts of gold, silver and jewels.

Legend No. 4

Wu Gang cut down osmanthus to make the best wine in the world - osmanthus wine

Wu Gang kept cutting down trees every day. After thousands of years, that tree The magical osmanthus tree is still as vibrant as ever, and every Mid-Autumn Festival, its fragrance overflows. Wu Gang knew that there was no osmanthus tree in the world, so he spread the seeds of the osmanthus tree to the world.

In ancient times, there lived a widow who sold mountain grapes at the foot of Liangshan Mountain in Hangzhou. She was generous and kind-hearted, and the wine she brewed was mellow and sweet. People respected her and called her the Fairy Wine Lady. One winter, it was freezing and snowy. In the early morning, Lady Xianjiu had just opened the door. Suddenly she saw a skinny, half-clothed middle-aged man lying outside the door. He looked like a beggar. Lady Xianjiu touched the man's nose and mouth, and when he still had some breath, she became very compassionate. Regardless of what others said about her, she carried him back home, first filled him with hot soup, and then fed him half a glass of wine.

The man slowly regained consciousness and said excitedly: Thank you, madam, for saving my life. I am a paralyzed person. If I go out, I will either freeze to death or starve to death. Please be kind and take me in for a few more days.

Miss Xianjiu is in a dilemma, because as the saying goes, a widow has a lot of things to do at home. If a man like this lives at home, others will gossip about her. But thinking about it again, I couldn’t watch him freeze to death or starve to death! Finally he nodded and agreed to let him stay temporarily.

As expected, gossip about the Lady of Fairy Wine spread quickly, and everyone became alienated from her, with fewer and fewer people coming to the hotel to buy wine day by day.

But Lady Xianjiu endured the pain and tried her best to take care of the man. Later, when no one came to buy wine, she really couldn't keep it up, so the man left without saying goodbye without knowing where he was going.

Miss Xianjiu was worried and searched everywhere. She met an old man with white hair on the hillside, walking hard with a load of dry firewood. Lady Xianjiu was about to help when the old man suddenly fell down and the dry wood was scattered all over the ground.

The old man closed his eyes, his lips trembled, and shouted weakly: Water, water... Where can the water come from on the barren hillside? Lady Xianjiu bit her middle finger, and immediately blood started to flow. She put her finger to the old man's mouth, and the old man suddenly disappeared.

A breeze blew, and a yellow cloth bag flew from the sky. The bag was filled with many small yellow paper bags, and there was also a yellow note that read:

The Moon Palace bestows cinnamon seeds. , to reward good people. The trees are full of green laurels, and the trees are full of flowers. Pick flowers to make osmanthus wine and send it to mom and dad first. Wu Gang helps those who do good, and brings disasters to those who are treacherous and slippery.

Lady Xianjiu finally understood that it turned out that the paralyzed man and the old man carrying firewood were both transformed by Wu Gang. As soon as the news spread, people from far and near came to ask for Guizi.

A kind-hearted person planted osmanthus seeds, and soon osmanthus trees grew and osmanthus blossoms bloomed, filling the courtyard with sweet fragrance and infinite scenery.

For those who have evil intentions, the osmanthus seeds they plant will not take root or sprout, which makes them feel embarrassed and they will change their minds to be good.

Everyone is very grateful to Lady Xianjiu. It was her good deeds that moved the immortal Wu Gang who managed the osmanthus tree in the Moon Palace, and introduced osmanthus wine to the world. From then on, there were osmanthus and osmanthus wine in the world.

Back then, Wu Gang’s wife Yuanfu felt guilty, so she asked her three sons, one named Gu, one named Yan, and one named Shun, to fly to the moon to accompany their nominal father. Those long and endless cold years. Wu Gang's three sons named Gu became "Toad", one named Yan became "Little Rabbit", and the one named Shun became "Unknown" Tiangui. From then on, Shun began to make arrow targets, Gu and Yan began to make bells, Qing, the rules for composing music were formulated, so the lonely Guanghan Palace was often filled with fairy music.

Later, Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty recorded these melodies when he was roaming the Moon Palace, and returned to the world to compose "Nishang Song". ". Legend has it that Wu Gang met Emperor Ming of Tang Dynasty when he was roaming the Moon Palace! It was just that his face was tired at that time, and his ax was covered with black rust, and his old sleeves were in tatters because no one had mended them.

This is how Wu Gang was the first to make the best wine in the world - osmanthus wine!