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Why is Guangzhou called "Yangcheng"? "Yangcheng" comes from a beautiful myth and legend

City China is one belt, one road to the south of the Pearl River Delta. The Guangzhou is located in the central and southern part of Guangdong province. The northern margin of the Pearl River Delta is located near the South China Sea. It is adjacent to Hongkong and Macao. It is the southern gateway to China and the core city of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the Pan Pearl River Delta economic zone and the hub city along the way. As all friends know, Guangzhou is also known as Suicheng, Huacheng, Yangcheng and Wuyang city. Well, how does Guangzhou City relate to 'five sheep'? Is Guangzhou rich in goats? In fact, it's not. The editor of this article will tell you why Guangzhou is called 'Yangcheng'.

In fact, the title of Yangcheng has a well-known and beautiful myth, that is, the widely spread legend of "Wuyang holding the valley and gathering in the Chu court".

Around the Zhou Dynasty, Guangzhou suffered from famine year after year, the fields were deserted, the agricultural harvest was lost, and the people were unable to eat and wear. One day, a melodious music suddenly came from the sky of the South China Sea, and five colorful auspicious clouds appeared. On the five immortals, wearing colorful clothes, rode immortal sheep with different hair colors and ears of rice to Guangzhou. The immortal gave the excellent ears of rice to the people of Guangzhou, and wished that there would never be famine in this area. I wish the immortal to fly away, and five immortal sheep turned into stone sheep and stayed on the hillside of Guangzhou. Since then, Guangzhou has become the richest place in Lingnan because of the immortal's wish, the fragrance of rice ears and the bumper harvest every year. This is the origin of the names "Wuyang city", "Guangzhou City" and "Guangzhou City".

There are various theories about the time when the five immortals came. Some say it happened in the eighth year of King Yi of Zhou Dynasty (i.e. 887 BC). Others say that the arrival of the five immortals was the time when Gao Gu from the South China Sea became king of Chu Wei, and it was the Warring States period. It is also said that Wu Xiu was an assassin of Guangzhou in the Jin Dynasty. Five immortals rode on Wuyang and carried grain to the hall of Guangzhou governance. Wu Xiu painted a portrait of the five immortals on the hall as auspicious and commemorative.

It is said that the five immortals temple on HuiFu West Road in Guangzhou is the place where the five immortals came. Guangzhou people specially built the five immortals temple here to commemorate the five immortals. There are also statues of five immortals and five sheep in the hall. In the east of today's five immortals temple, there is also a huge concave stone like footprints in red sandstone, which is called 'immortal thumb trace' (thumb trace refers to footprints).

On the wooden shell hill of Yuexiu mountain in Guangzhou, there is a Wuyang stone statue built in 1959. This was created by the famous sculptor Yin Jichang according to the legend of Wuyang. The statue is 11 meters high with its base and is carved from more than 130 pieces of granite. The volume is about 53 cubic meters. Only one stone at the head of the main sheep weighs more than 4000 kilograms. The five sheep are of different sizes. The head of the main sheep is high and erect, with ears in its mouth, moo back and smile, and visit the world. The remaining four sheep surround their bodies, or play, or eat grass. There are also lambs sucking the milk of the ewe. Wuyang has different postures, beautiful shapes, lifelike and full of interest, which makes people linger and dream.

It is said that when the statue was completed, there were some discussions. Some people suggested that since the sheep rode by the five immortals, how could there be milk sucking sheep? In fact, the immortal five sheep are all beautiful myths. They are both immortal sheep. Regardless of size, they have their own immortal wind and bones. Sculptors display their extraordinary imagination and ingenuity. Wuyang stone carving, created from historical legends, has been tested for more than 40 years. It is known as the city emblem of Guangzhou and adds a lot to the famous historical and cultural city. In July 1999, Wuyang stone carving was listed as a cultural relics protection unit by Guangzhou municipal government.