Wuyang legend
The earliest record of the legend of Wuyang is Gu Wei's "Guangzhou Ji" in the Jin Dynasty: "In the Warring States Period, Guangzhou belonged to Chu, and Gao Gu was the phase of Chu. Wuyang came to its court with a valley, thinking it was auspicious and named after Wuyang." In the view of cultural worker Huang Hangang, the "Five Sheep" are probably just a few sheep that feed on grass and rice stalks, and accidentally entered Chu's residence, which means that the more descendants spread it.
Although this story is absurd, it truly reflects the process that the ancestors of South Guangdong used sheep as mascots in the process of expanding their territory. According to historical records, in the 9th century BC, people from the Central Plains moved south, and sheep were the first animals brought to Guangzhou. Compared with other domestic animals, sheep are easier to breed and exchange. There are many sheepfold fences in some pottery houses of Han Dynasty unearthed in Guangzhou, which shows that Guangdong people did raise sheep at that time.
There are similar records in the History of Song Dynasty, The Jade Ring of Taiping, and The Poems of Nanhai written by Fang Xinru in the Southern Song Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Qu Dajun also accurately set the time of myth as the period of Zhou Yiwang in Xinyu, Guangdong, more than 800 BC.
During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1377), in order to commemorate this legend, the court built the Wuxian Temple in the ruins of Broken Mountain (now Huifu West Road). According to legend, the Five Immortals sheep descended at this time, and the footprint-shaped stone pit "immortal thumb mark" stored in the temple was left when the immortal jumped to the ground. Why did the immortal leave alone? According to legend, after the five-color sheep came to Guangzhou, they missed the lush aquatic plants in Lingnan and decided to stay here. The immortal was helpless, and stamped away with anger, leaving the footprints of the immortal. And five fairy sheep, also instantly turned into a stone statue, forever.
Legend is a legend after all, but when Qu Dajun visited Wuxian Temple, he did see Wuyang Stone. According to the introduction of Wuyang Stone in Shiyu, Xinyu, Guangdong, the color of Wuyang Stone is blue, which contains the light emitted by human hands. At that time, many foreigners came because Wuxian Temple was located in the foreigners' area next to the port along the river. The incident of foreigners stealing sheep stones was recorded for the first time. It is said that a "Jia Hu" hired a thief, smeared it and sneaked into the Taoist temple, and put the stone sheep in a wooden box and carried it away.
In order to rebuild the Wuyang Stone Statue, 1959, famous sculptor Yin Jichang and others created the Wuyang Stone Statue in Mukegang, Yuexiu Mountain according to the legend of Wuyang. The stone statue and its pedestal are 1 1 m high, and * * * is carved from 130 pieces of granite. Five sheep of different sizes, the leader's neck stands high and his ears are in his mouth. The other four sheep are around, playing or eating grass, and the lamb is sucking the milk of the ewe.
Since then, the "Wuyang Statue" has become the city emblem of Guangzhou, and enterprises and businesses all regard the Wuyang emblem as the trademark of their products.