The origin of the Stone Lion Gusao Pagoda:
The Gusao Pagoda was built during the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty. According to historical records, it was from that time that a large number of ancestors from Jinjiang and Shishi moved to the Philippines. . "Quanzhou Prefecture Chronicles" records that in the 650 years from the first year of Chongning in the Song Dynasty (1102) to the 23rd year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1758), there were 11 severe droughts in Quanzhou, causing "many people to starve to death" and "people to starve to death". Tragic scenes such as "migrating too much" and "the seeds cannot be planted in the ground, and the people can eat each other". Forced by the war, natural disasters and man-made disasters, a large number of villagers traveled across the ocean and left their hometowns to make a living in the Philippines. Because they live in Fan and settle abroad, people in their hometown call overseas Chinese "Fan Ke", which refers to the guests who return to "Tangshan" from "Fan State".
Legendary story:
It is said that a long time ago, there was a farm family at the foot of Shishi Baogai Mountain. After the death of their parents, the brother and sister depended on each other. Later my brother married a wife. My wife is very virtuous and treats my sister-in-law very well. Although the three members of the family live in poverty, they live an ordinary life without any lack of joy.
One year there was a severe drought. It didn’t rain and there was no harvest. Since ancient times, southern Fujian has a large number of people. When disasters occur and people are unable to make a living, they flock to Nanyang. My brother had no choice but to discuss with his wife and sister and follow his fellow villagers to Nanyang. My brother went to Nanyang and did not return to his hometown for several years, nor did he send a letter. Whether he is dead or alive, good or bad, the two of them are really worried about him and miss him day and night. The sister-in-law often climbed to the top of Baogai Mountain and looked at the sea, but every time they could only see a gray sea. How could there be brother's return sail?
In order to see the sea farther away, they carried stones again and again and stacked them up. Over time, they became a high platform. They stood on the stone platform and stood on tiptoe. On tiptoe, I kept looking and hoping, but month after month, year after year, my brother still didn’t come back. One day, the aunt and sister-in-law saw the children flying kites and thought they could write a letter, tie it to the kite, and let the kite float with the wind to Southeast Asia. But to fly a kite, you need a kite rope. The aunt and sister-in-law cut off their long hair and twisted it into strings for the kite.
The kite with a letter from home floated over the South China Sea and landed. The family letter tied to the kite was picked up by the guests and passed to my brother's hands. It turns out that my brother didn’t find any good way out after arriving in Nanyang. He was stranded away from home and had no face to write home. After reading the letters home written with blood and tears by his aunt and sister-in-law, he burst into tears and hurriedly packed his bags and hurried back to his hometown.
On this day, the weather was fine, and the aunt and sister-in-law climbed to the platform on the top of Baogai Mountain and looked out at the sea. After a while, Guifan appeared in the sea, and the gathering of relatives was right in front of him. However, at this moment, there was a strong wind, the waves were surging, and the boat capsized and sank to the bottom of the sea. The aunt and sister-in-law watched helplessly as their husband and brother, who were about to meet, were buried in the sea. She cried miserably, hugged each other and jumped off a cliff to commit suicide. Later, in order to commemorate the sisters-in-law, the villagers built a stone tower called the Sister-in-law Tower where they stacked stones. This is of course a legend, but the legend of Gusao Pagoda is a historical witness of the people from the hometown of overseas Chinese immigrating overseas, and a record of the deepest feelings in the world.