Some Legends of Tangmo Scenic Area

The Origin of the Loyal Martyr Temple:

The statues in the Loyal Martyr Temple were carved in the Ming Dynasty, enshrining the great loyal officials Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun, who sacrificed their lives for the country to quell the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty. Xu Yuan was then the governor of Suiyang City in Henan (now Shangqiu City, Henan Province), and an ancestor of the Xu family in Tangmo, while Zhang Xun was the military commissioner guarding Suiyang City. In the second year of Emperor Suzong's Zhide era (757 AD), Yin Ziqi, a general sent by An Qingxu (son of An Lushan, who had been murdered by his confidants), led a massive army of 100,000 to attack Suiyang City, which had only 20,000 defenders. Yin Ziqi thought that with such a small garrison, the city would fall effortlessly. Unexpectedly, after a full month of fierce assault, the city remained unbreached. He then reinforced his troops with an additional 130,000 soldiers to besiege Suiyang City. A few days later, the besieged city ran out of supplies. In this dire situation, Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun sacrificed their personal families for the state, tearfully killing their concubines and cooking their servants to feed the soldiers. However, with no external reinforcements, the entire army was ultimately annihilated, and both died for their country. While killing concubines and cooking servants is unacceptable, their spirit of loyalty and willingness to face death heroically won the admiration of later generations. Hence, temples dedicated to them were built across regions south of the Yangtze River. The thousand-year-old Huizhou 'Shangjiu' temple fair (held on the ninth day of the first lunar month, the anniversary of Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun's sacrifice) is a traditional folk festival formed to commemorate them. People often say peace is a blessing—these two statues are deities that protect the peace of the area.

On the wooden pillars flanking the Loyal Martyr Temple hangs a couplet: 'Servants may be cooked, concubines may be killed, but the city shall not fall; with unwavering resolve to defend the half of the country south of the Huai River. Born in the same year, died in the same year; honored together as deities, their loyalty rivals the brilliance of the sun and moon.' This couplet truthfully reflects the unyielding determination of Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun to die rather than surrender and to defend their homeland to the end.

The Formation of the Filial Son Lake:

Tangan Garden, built in the early Qing Dynasty, features pavilions, terraces, and towers modeled after the layout of West Lake in Hangzhou, hence its nickname 'Little West Lake.' According to legend, in the early Qing Dynasty, there was a wealthy merchant named Xu Yicheng in Tangmo Village, who owned 36 pawnshops nationwide and was extremely rich. His mother, over 70 years old, longed to visit West Lake in Hangzhou, known as 'paradise on earth,' but was hindered by mountains, long distances, and old age. Xu Yicheng spared no expense, spending three and a half years digging ponds, building dams, erecting pavilions, and constructing bridges, replicating the scenery of West Lake to create 'Little West Lake' for his mother to enjoy her remaining years, fulfilling her wish. His filial piety was truly admirable, earning the lake the reputation of 'Filial Son Lake.' (The Tangan Stream outside the stone-paved path corresponds to the Qiantang River in Hangzhou; the lake embankment corresponds to Su Causeway; the Mirror Pavilion corresponds to the Mid-Lake Pavilion; the small bridge and embankment leading to Mirror Pavilion represent the Jade Belt Bridge and Bai Causeway; the Loyal Martyr Temple in the garden corresponds to Yue Fei Temple on West Lake in Hangzhou—truly a miniature of West Lake).

The Legend of the Mirror Pavilion Stone Inscriptions:

During the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards intended to destroy the stone inscriptions at Mirror Pavilion. At that time, an elderly man named Xu Haisheng, a graduate of the 16th class of the Whampoa Military Academy, was under persecution and assigned to raise pigs in the production team, living in Mirror Pavilion (which was then used as a pigsty). Seeing this, Xu was deeply distressed and cleverly deceived them, saying: 'These are just ordinary stone tablets of little value; they can be kept for repairing bridges and roads.' The Red Guards relented. After they left, Xu immediately covered the stone tablets with pig manure overnight, saving these rare inscriptions from destruction. This act of cultural relic protection by Elder Xu was later praised by local government and historians. Although Elder Xu has passed away, his spirit will forever inspire generations of Tangmo people.

The Legend of the Ginkgo Tree:

According to legend, the roots of the ginkgo tree in Tangmo extended into the kitchen of a Huang family in Wan'an, Xiuning County, forming a natural stool by the stove. The root was naturally beautiful and pleasing, so the Huang family often watered it and forbade anyone from striking it.

One day, when the Huang wife was working in the fields, their child was cooking and splitting firewood, accidentally breaking the root. Immediately, a sap like blood oozed from the root, astonishing the entire family. Soon after, the Huang wife fell seriously ill. They sought doctors and medicine everywhere, prayed to gods and Buddhas, spending all their wealth, but her condition did not improve. Just as the family was at wit's end, a white-haired old man passed by and asked for a drink of water. The Huang family still entertained him warmly. Hearing moans from the inner room, the old man asked, 'Is someone ill in your family?' Huang replied, 'My wife is sick in bed.' The old man then took out a few pills and gave them to Huang, saying, 'The medicine will cure the illness.' Huang wondered if this was a divine doctor. He then asked, 'Sir, may I know your honored name and where you live?' The old man smiled and said, 'My surname is Bai, and I live in Tangmo Zongwang.' Then he drifted away.

After the Huang wife took the medicine, her condition gradually improved, and within half a month, she fully recovered. To thank the old man, the family went to Tangmo Zongwang and asked many families, but none had a surname Bai. Only a thousand-year-old white fruit tree (ginkgo tree) stood there. The whole family was astonished and realized that the old man was the incarnation of the ginkgo tree. They immediately bought incense and paper money and knelt in worship. From then on, the Huang family and their descendants came to Tangmo Zongwang every year to worship the 'White Fruit Old Man' (the ginkgo tree).