1. Theory 1

According to legend, Zhu Yuanzhang had a dream in which nine cows slammed into the door of the Jinluan Palace. As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang had trouble sleeping and eating, and looked for people to interpret his dream. A minister told him that this matter may be related to the recent immigration from Shanxi. The nine-headed cow is from the Shanxi Niu family, and there are exactly nine brothers in the family. After much thought, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to split up the "Nine Cows" and move the nine Niu brothers to different provinces.

When Niu learned that the imperial edict was like a thunderbolt, he was unable to change it, so he could only separate his family under the big locust tree. The head of the Niu family smashed the big iron pot at home and distributed it to the nine brothers. When future generations meet, they will use the iron pot as a token, which is commonly known as Daguo Niu.

2. Myth 2

There is a popular story about breaking pots under a big locust tree (or a big elm tree) to separate families. It is said that 4 brothers (or 6 brothers) separated and went their separate ways. According to family history: In the early years, the Niu family assisted the imperial court for generations and enjoyed a reputation as a loyal minister. As a result, his family was well off and prosperous. That year there was a severe drought and the people were in dire straits. The Niu family set up a large porridge pot and gave out a mouthful of porridge and rice to the beggars and homeless people passing by. Due to successive years of drought and countless beggars, the burden of providing relief has become increasingly heavy, to the point where the Niu family itself cannot sustain itself. The brothers discussed splitting up and going their separate ways, and decided to break the big iron pot into four halves, and each brother would take a piece. He also promised that whoever becomes successful in the future should not forget to look for the roots of blood, and they must help each other when they meet. Even in the distant future, as long as the saying "smashing the pot cow" is mentioned, it means that they are blood relatives.