There is a poem in the Tang Dynasty: "Why should the Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass." Willows and spring breeze are always used together by literati to describe the scenery of spring in March. Many friends think that "willow" refers to poplar and willow trees. In fact, there is a small misunderstanding. The willow here is a type of willow tree and has nothing to do with poplar trees.
Why is this willow called this? Let’s start with Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was rated very low in history, but he did one thing, which was a good thing, and that was to dig the Sui Grand Canal. After this waterway was dredged, the Economic and cultural exchanges during the Sui and Tang Dynasties were greatly promoted.
According to legends of the Tang Dynasty, after the canal was opened, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty built a large boat to cruise along the river. At this time, his tyranny became apparent. He ordered people to requisition women of the people and also got a lot of sheep. , let the girl and the sheep pull the ship forward together.
At that time, some ministers were afraid that the hot summer would be unbearable for the women of the country, so they suggested to Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty to plant willow trees on the river embankment. What is the purpose of planting willow trees? First, the willow trees can provide shade, so that the women can walk under the shade when pulling the boat without suffering; secondly, the sheep can eat willow leaves along the road, which will give them the strength to pull the boat. These two sounds a bit ridiculous, but in addition, there is another one, which is based on more scientific considerations: willow roots can tighten the soil and ensure the stability of the river embankment.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was delighted when he heard this: Isn’t this killing three birds with one stone? So the people were ordered to pay tribute to willow saplings, and each sapling could be exchanged for a certain amount of cloth as a reward. Then Emperor Yang of Sui took the lead in planting a willow tree. According to legends of the Tang Dynasty, there were rumors among the people at that time that after Emperor Sui Yang planted the willow tree himself, he personally gave the tree a surname: Yang. This was the same as his own surname, so he got the name "Yangliu" from then on.
This legend was often cited by literati in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As early as the "Book of Songs", there is a saying of "Yangliu Yiyi". "Shuowen Jiezi" says: "Polar, Pu Liu also." It can be seen that in ancient times, people often regarded poplar and willow as the same plant.