Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a plague in Xianning, and almost one third of people died. People used all kinds of conveniences to no avail. At the foot of Guabang Mountain, there was a brave, loyal and filial young man named WU GANG, whose mother could not afford to go to bed. The young man went up the mountain to collect medicine every day to save his mother. One day, Guanyin returned from his eastward tour and was rushing back to the West to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. When he passed by, he was deeply moved to see the young man gathering herbs on the cliff. In the evening, I gave him a dream, saying that there is a kind of osmanthus fragrans in the moon palace, which is also called osmanthus fragrans. It has a kind of golden floret, and it can be used to soak in water to cure this plague. There is a ladder hanging on the mountain until August 15th.
This evening falls on August 12th, and the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th is only three days away. But to get to the top of the hanging list, you have to cross seven deep streams and climb seven cliffs. It takes at least seven days and seven nights, but time waits for no one. After August 15 this year, I missed the annual flowering period of osmanthus, and I have to wait for another year.
To make a long story short, this WU GANG went through a lot of hardships, and finally reached the top of Guabang Mountain on the evening of August 15th, catching up with the ladder leading to the Moon Palace. In August, it was the season when sweet-scented osmanthus was fragrant, and the clouds were floating outside. WU GANG followed the fragrance and came to the osmanthus tree, looking at the golden osmanthus, and he was very unhappy when he saw this celestial thing. He desperately picked and picked more, always trying to go back and save his mother. He couldn't hold too many. So he thought of a way.
He shook the osmanthus tree, making the osmanthus fragrance fall down one after another, and fell into the river at the foot of Guabang Mountain. Suddenly, the river was fragrant and the river was dyed golden yellow. People drank the river, and all the diseases were cured. So people said, this is the river, which is obviously a life-saving water more expensive than gold, so people named this river. Add three drops of water next to the golden characters and name it "Ganhe River"
This evening is the big gathering of the immortals in the Heavenly Palace on August 15th, at which they will enjoy the moon and eat moon cakes. At this time, the fragrance of osmanthus rushed to the sky, which alarmed the immortals. So they sent an investigation
to the Moon Palace, and found that all the osmanthus trees on the sacred trees in the Moon Palace and the precious osmanthus trees in the Dinggong Palace were gone, and all of them fell to the "earth". The Jade Emperor was furious when he heard this. You know, the Jade Emperor likes to eat moon cakes made of osmanthus. There are no osmanthus trees this year, so he can't eat moon cakes.
So he sent heavenly soldiers to capture WU GANG. After WU GANG caught it, he told the Jade Emperor what happened tonight in detail, but the Jade Emperor couldn't say anything after hearing it. I really admire this young man, but WU GANG will definitely violate the rules of heaven, and he can't build the jade emperor's prestige without punishing him.
When asked what WU GANG wants, WU GANG said that he wanted to bring osmanthus trees to the world to help the poor. So the jade emperor thought of an idea, which could punish WU GANG and promise WU GANG's request. He said, as long as you cut down osmanthus, you can take it.
So WU GANG found a big axe to cut it down. The Jade Emperor cast a spell, cutting a knife for a long time, so that WU GANG cut it for thousands of years. < P > When Wu Gang saw that the tree could not be cut down, he was homesick for his mother, so he left a osmanthus on the Guabang Mountain every Mid-Autumn Festival night to express his homesickness. Year after year, the Guabang Mountain was covered with osmanthus, and the villagers used it to make tea and drink. Xianning was no longer in trouble < P. WU GANG and I are childhood friends, and they are congenial. Since WU GANG went to the Moon Palace, she has been taking care of WU GANG's mother until the old man died.
WU GANG and Chang 'e are separated from each other, and their love for each other is growing. WU GANG can't come back without cutting down the osmanthus tree, and Chang 'e can't go to meet Wu Lang across the world. Finally, one day, the Queen Mother took her seven daughters to the Mingshui Spring at the foot of Guabang Mountain to take a bath. When Chang 'e saw it, she secretly took the elixir from the seven fairies, took it home to eat, took her jade with her, and went to heaven to meet WU GANG. < P > Besides, the seven fairies can't go back to heaven without the elixir. Only when her sisters come to take a bath three days later can she go to heaven. You know, one day in the sky, one year on earth, in these three years, the Seven Immortals met Yong Dong, so there was the well-known moving story.
Chapter II: The Story of Osmanthus fragrans
It is said that in ancient times there lived a widow who sold mountain wine. She was generous and kind, and the wine she brewed was mellow and delicious. People respected her and called her Fairy Wine Lady. One winter, it was freezing. Early in the morning, Fairy Wine Lady just opened the door and suddenly saw a scrawny man lying outside, apparently a beggar. Brewmaster lady touched the man's nose and mouth, and there was still some breath, so she took him home, filled him with hot soup first, and fed him half a glass of wine. The man slowly woke up and said excitedly, "Thank you, Lady, for saving his life. I am a paralyzed person. If I go out, I will not freeze to death, but I will starve to death. Please be kind and take me in for a few more days. " Sister-in-law Xianjiu is embarrassed. As the saying goes, "Widows are not many". If a man like this lives at home, others will gossip. But think again, you can't watch him freeze to death and starve to death! Finally agreed to let him stay for a while. As expected, the gossip about Guan Gan's fairy wine lady spread quickly, and everyone alienated her, and fewer and fewer people came to the hotel to buy wine. But the fairy wine lady endured the pain and took care of the man with all her heart. Later, people didn't come to buy wine, so she couldn't maintain it, and the man left without saying goodbye. Fairy wine lady can't rest assured, looking everywhere, she met a white-haired old man on the hillside, carrying a load of dry wood and struggling to walk. Fairy Wine Lady was trying to help, when the old man suddenly fell down, and dry wood was scattered all over the floor. The old man closed his mouth for two days, his lips trembled, and he faintly shouted, "Water, water, ..." What about the water on the barren hill slope? Fairy wine lady bit her middle finger, and suddenly, blood flowed. She put her finger to the old man's mouth, and the old man suddenly disappeared. There was a breeze, and a yellow cloth bag flew in the sky, filled with many small yellow paper bags, and there was a yellow note that said, "The Moon Palace gives laurel seeds as a reward to good people." Fu Gao GUI Shu Bi, longevity is full of trees and flowers. Picking flowers to brew cinnamon wine, send it to mom and dad first. WU GANG helps those who are good, but he is treacherous and slippery in disaster. Fairy wine lady realized that this paralyzed man and the old man who was carrying firewood were all changed by Wu Gang. As soon as the news spread, people from far and near came to Suoguizi. Kind-hearted people planted cinnamon seeds, which soon grew osmanthus trees and produced osmanthus flowers, which were full of sweetness and infinite glory. People with evil intentions, planted cassia seeds just don't take root and sprout, so he feels embarrassed and washes his heart for goodness. Everyone is very grateful to the Fairy Wine Lady. It was her kindness that moved WU GANG Daxian, who manages osmanthus trees in the Moon Palace, to bring osmanthus wine to the world. From then on, osmanthus and osmanthus wine came into being in the world.
Chapter III: The Story of Osmanthus fragrans
In the 3rd century BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a record of Osmanthus fragrans. The Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Classic of Nanshan mentioned: "The swaying mountain is full of osmanthus." "Shan Hai Jing. Xishan Jing" mentioned: "The mountain of Gao Tu has many cinnamon trees." Chu Quyuan's "Nine Songs" contains: "Help Beidou to drink osmanthus pulp, and Xinyi will make a laurel flag." (Note: "Cinnamomum cassia pulp" may be a wine brewed by adding osmanthus; "Guiqi" is a flag made of branches of osmanthus trees to decorate vehicles made of magnolia wood. It can be seen that the edible and ornamental value of osmanthus fragrans was mentioned in the early literature of Chu. In addition, Osmanthus fragrans also symbolizes friendship and auspiciousness. It is said that during the Warring States period, Yan and Korea once presented osmanthus to each other to show goodwill and friendship. In ethnic minority areas rich in osmanthus, young men and women often give osmanthus to express their affection. "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" praised: "The beauty of things is the glory of ostentation." It means that the most beautiful thing in the world is the osmanthus tree on the swaying mountain. It shows that Osmanthus fragrans has become the embodiment of beauty in the eyes of the ancients.
from Han dynasty to Wei, Jin, southern and northern dynasties, osmanthus fragrans became a valuable flower and tribute. "Miscellanies of Xijing" written by Liu Xin in the Western Han Dynasty records: "When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty first built the forest garden, his ministers presented more than 2, kinds of exotic flowers and trees, including ten osmanthus trees." In the sixth year of Yuan Ding in the Han Dynasty (111), after Emperor Wudi broke through South Vietnam, Fu Li Palace was built in Shanglinyuan, and exotic flowers and trees were planted widely, including 1 osmanthus plants. At that time, most of the plants planted, such as banana, Liuqiuzi, honey fragrance, henna, longan, litchi, betel nut, olive, chitose, citrus, etc., died, but osmanthus was lucky enough to survive. Sima Xiangru also recorded "Guiling Mulan" in Shanglin Fu. It can be seen that the introduction of osmanthus into the Imperial Palace was successful in the early Han Dynasty and had a certain scale.
The eighth month of the lunar calendar, which was called Gui Yue in ancient times, is the best month to enjoy the laurel and the moon. Sweet-scented osmanthus and the bright moon in Mid-Autumn Festival have been linked with the cultural life of our people since ancient times. Many scholars write poems and lyrics to describe, praise and even deify osmanthus. The series of moon palace myths such as "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" and "Wu Gang cutting Guangxi" have become popular stories in past dynasties. And "themoon won the laurels", which is a metaphor for the success of his official career, is the goal that ordinary literati yearn for. According to the relevant classics from Qin and Han dynasties to Tang and Song dynasties, the main contents of these fairy tales are introduced as follows:
The legend of "the Goddess Chang'e flying to the moon" originated from "Returning to Tibet". This is an ancient book about the early years of the Warring States Period. There is a saying in the book: "In the past, Chang 'e took the medicine of the immortal queen mother of the West, so she went to the moon as the essence." Later, Liu An in the Western Han Dynasty wrote Huai Nan Zi (2nd century BC) and other classics, with more detailed contents, mainly adding a passage that Chang 'e changed into a toad, which may be regarded as a punishment for Chang 'e. "Wu Gang cut Guangxi". This legend is quoted from the Tang Dynasty-style "Youyang Miscellany" (86): "As the old saying goes, there are laurels and toads in the moon. Therefore, it is said in different books that the laurel is 5 feet high, and there is a person who often shackles it, and the tree creates it. The surname is Wu Minggang, a native of Xihe, and he has learned from immortals and ordered to cut down trees. " The "tree creates with the tree" of Cinnamomum cassia, that is, the wound of cutting down the tree heals quickly, which means the moon's ups and downs, which means the moon's regeneration and immortality. Therefore, in this legend, the moon and Cinnamomum cassia are two in one, and Cinnamomum cassia can symbolize immortality like the moon.
"themoon won the laurel". A talk is from the History of Jin Dynasty. According to the book, "The countermeasures are the first, and the Emperor Wu asked: I am the best in the world today, and I am still a branch of Guilin." Generally speaking, the literati of past dynasties loved osmanthus, which was almost to the extent of being intoxicated and dreaming. Zhong Shu, a monk who sang with Su Shi in the Song Dynasty, praised osmanthus: "There is one flower, and there are three colors, tender red, demon white and delicate yellow. ..... Many talented people struggle to climb and fall. Chang E said, "There are three kinds of fragrant scents, and the number one is red (osmanthus fragrans), the number two is yellow (osmanthus fragrans), and the number one is Bai Tanhua Lang (osmanthus fragrans)." It means climbing laurel and folding laurel to metaphor the imperial examination and the first, second and third place.
under the influence of the above myths and stories, it is also very common for literati and dignitaries to introduce osmanthus in official residence gardens. In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Zong moved more than ten osmanthus plants from Hengyang, Hunan Province, and planted them in the Jingshe where Lingling lived. During his twenty years as prime minister, Gu De collected a large number of osmanthus trees and introduced them to the location of his villa on the outskirts of Luoyang. Bai Juyi used to be the secretariat of Hangzhou and Suzhou, and once brought Guizi from Tianzhu Temple in Hangzhou to Suzhou for planting. He not only planted Guizi himself, but also wanted to plant Guizi in the Moon Palace some day. There is a poem about the sun: "I know from a distance that osmanthus flowers are lonely in the sky, but I wonder if Chang 'e is even more indispensable;" The moon palace is fortunate to have idle fields, so why not plant two plants in the center? "
Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it has become a common practice for literati to praise Gui, and there are many excellent famous sentences. It highlights the famous products and exotic fragrance of Osmanthus fragrans, and also expresses feelings through flowers. Monopolize Sanqiu over other countries, and boast about orange green and orange yellow. Since the Mid-Autumn Festival next month, if the fruit floats to the sky, it will be fragrant. "By the Song Dynasty poet Lv Shengzhi. He called Osmanthus fragrans the leading flower and plant in Sanqiu, which has an extraordinary origin (planted in the middle of the month) and an unusual fragrance (sky fragrance).
"The osmanthus is under the graceful rock, and it is fragrant at the end of the year. The leaves are dense and green, and the flowers are yellow. " This is a well-known poem about laurel, written by Zhu Xi (113-12), a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty. The language is natural and simple. In just 2 words, the ecological habits (born in the rock ridge), phenology (Mid-Autumn Festival), tall and straight trunk, layered branches and dense flowers of osmanthus fragrans are vividly described.
"when the moon is full, the flowers are just right, and the flowers will be damaged and the month will be lost. It is important to know that everything in heaven and earth is the same as the clear autumn. " It was written by Zhu Shuzhen, a poet of the Song Dynasty. She uses euphemistic and delicate brushwork to express beautiful objective things and personal inner world. The day of the full moon in August and 15th of the lunar calendar is the time when osmanthus flowers are in full bloom. Having a good full moon is a true portrayal of family reunion and happy life. The loss of flowers and waning moons is another aspect of the vicissitudes of personnel.
osmanthus fragrans is not only famous products and exotic fragrance, but also her character is admired by celebrities of all ages. For example, Li Gang, a patriotic celebrity in the Southern Song Dynasty, loved sweet-scented osmanthus most. He refused to pay for his gold ambitions, and retired to Fuzhou in his later years. His study was named Guizhai, and he planted sweet-scented osmanthus for his ambition. In two poems titled Mulberry Picking, the word goes: "The fragrance is not for spring, but for autumn wind, and the fragrance is stronger than the remaining flowers. Step on the golden jade, blow the dragon, blow the dragon, just like Yaotai meets under the moon. " "Ten thousand makeup jinrui branches, miles of fragrance, miles of fragrance, introduce you to IELTS. It is difficult for a jade pot to store water and flowers to grow old. Clean a few bright windows, clean a few bright windows, and remove the residual English and yellow. "
Later, when Lin Zexu, a national hero in the late Qing Dynasty, rebuilt Li Gang's shrine near the Lotus Pavilion in Fuzhou West Lake, he built a reading room next to the shrine, also named Guizhai, to show his patriotic legacy.
Osmanthus fragrans is a representative species of Osmanthus, and its folk cultivation began in the Song Dynasty and flourished in the early Ming Dynasty. There are 32 species found in the world, and there are as many as 27 species in China, which is the distribution center of Oleaceae in the world. Osmanthus fragrans not only has high garden ecological value, but also is used in developing food (Osmanthus Jelly, osmanthus glutinous rice balls, moon cakes, osmanthus tea, drinks, osmanthus wine, etc.). In chemical industry (refining nature, osmanthus essence, perfume, soap, sachet); Medicinal materials (osmanthus fragrans, roots, cassia seeds and leaves, all of which can be used as precious Chinese medicines); Returning farmland to forest (some new osmanthus varieties with fast growth and strong stress resistance are industrialized and developed to make them cheap and good) has great development value (especially the varieties of Sijigui variety group are still blank in garden).
Ancient osmanthus symbolizes victory, loftiness, friendliness and good luck. In ancient times, those who were successful in official career were called laurels. In the long historical development process, Osmanthus fragrans has formed profound cultural connotations and distinctive national characteristics. By excavating rich Osmanthus fragrans culture, we inherit the ancient folk custom of inviting the moon to enjoy Osmanthus fragrans and combine it with tourism festivals. Highlighting the uniqueness of Guangxi culture has created an elegant, warm, joyful and peaceful holiday atmosphere. At the same time, the relevant cities hold the Osmanthus fragrans Festival every year, which promotes the development of tourism and the pace of spiritual and material civilization.
Chapter 4: Story about Osmanthus fragrans
When my father was alive, the courtyard where we lived at that time faced a pond. It was an old-fashioned quadrangle. In the middle of it, my father planted a osmanthus tree, as well as a pomegranate tree and a grape tree. Because my father especially likes planting flowers and grass, and his knowledge is very profound and knows a lot. I was influenced by my father since I was a child, and I like flowers and literature. Every summer, our sisters sleep under the grape tree and surround our father, listening to his stories, such as the Weaver Cowherd and the Seven Fairy Descendants, which are all fairy tales. Every year, when flowers bloom, my father will tell us the story of Chang 'e and WU GANG in the moon. I can never get tired of hearing it!