Then why has WU GANG been cutting down trees on the moon? There are several legends about this story:
One of the legends
Legend has it that there is a laurel tree 500 feet high on the moon. There was a man named WU GANG in the Han Dynasty who was at fault in the process of learning immortals. Therefore, Yan Long was furious and detained him in the Moon Palace, where he was asked to cut down the osmanthus tree, saying, "If you cut down the osmanthus tree, you will be immortal." But every time WU GANG cut an axe, the tree wound healed immediately. Day after day, Wu Gang's wish to cut Guangxi did not come true. So WU GANG cut laurels in the Moon Palace all the year round, but he couldn't cut trees. Therefore, future generations can see the image of WU GANG endlessly cutting down osmanthus trees in the middle of the month.
Legend 2
WU GANG, also known as Wu Quan, is a native of Xihe. Sun Boling, the son of Emperor Yan, had an affair with WU GANG's wife when he left home for three years in WU GANG, and gave birth to three sons. WU GANG killed Boling in a rage, so he angered Emperor Yan, the sun god, sent WU GANG to the moon and ordered him to cut down the immortal tree-laurel. The laurel tree is 500 feet high and can be cut down together. Emperor Yan used this endless labor as a punishment for WU GANG.
WU GANG's wife, because of her inner guilt, called her three sons, one named Drum, one named Yan and the other named Yan, and flew to the moon together to accompany their nominal father through the long and endless cold years. WU GANG's three sons, one named Drum, became a toad, the other named Yan, the jade rabbit and the other named Yun, and became a "nameless" treasure. Since then, arrows have been made, bells and chimes have been made of drums and drums, and the composition of music has also been formulated. So the lonely Guanghan Palace is often filled with Yue Xian.
Later, when Emperor Ming of the Tang Dynasty roamed the Moon Palace, he recorded these pieces of music and returned to the world and created Song of Nishang. Legend has it that when Emperor Tang Ming roamed the Moon Palace, WU GANG also met him! It's just that his face was tired, his axe was covered with black rust, and his worn-out sleeves were worn out because no one mended them.
Legend 3
WU GANG in The Worse Gate is close to Chang 'e in the moon, because he often meets Chang 'e and neglects his duty. When the Jade Emperor knew about it, he was very angry. He sent WU GANG to cut down a big tree called Moon Tree on the moon. If WU GANG doesn't cut down all the moon trees, he can't go back to the worse gate and see Chang 'e.
WU GANG cut and cut for half a year from winter to summer. When the tree was about to be cut down, the Jade Emperor sent a crow to the moon tree, and with a swish, he took WU GANG's coat hanging on the tree. WU GANG immediately put down his axe and went after the crow. After the clothes were taken back, WU GANG returned to the tree and saw that all the branches and leaves that had been cut were born on the tree again. From then on, whenever Wu Gang wanted to cut down a tree, crows would stand on the tree and crow loudly. As long as WU GANG stops to take a look at the axe, the tree will grow branches again.
In this way, year after year, WU GANG cut down more trees than this moon tree. Only on August 16 every year will a leaf fall from the moon to the ground. Anyone who finds the leaves of this moon tree will get inexhaustible gold and silver jewelry.
Legend No.4
Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a plague in Xianning, and almost one third of the people died. People used all kinds of folk remedies, but all of them were useless. At the foot of the mountain, there is a brave, loyal and filial young man named WU GANG, and his mother is also ill in bed. The young man goes up the mountain every day to collect medicine to save his mother. One day, Guanyin returned from her eastward tour and was rushing back to the west for the Mid-Autumn Festival. When he passed by, he saw the young man collecting medicine on the cliff, and he was deeply moved. In the evening, I had a dream for him, saying that there was a tree named Osmanthus fragrans in the Moon Palace with golden flowers. Soaking in water could cure this plague. From Guibang Mountain to August 15th, there is a ladder to hang in the Moon Palace.
Tonight is August 12, and the Mid-Autumn Festival will be celebrated in three days. But to get to the top of the hanging list, you have to cross seven deep streams and climb seven cliffs. It takes at least seven days and seven nights, but time waits for no one. After August 15, I missed the annual flowering period of osmanthus fragrans and had to wait another year. To make a long story short, this WU GANG went through a lot of hardships and finally reached the top of the Guibang on the evening of August 15, catching up with the ladder leading to the Moon Palace.
August is the season of sweet-scented osmanthus, and the fragrance is floating outside the clouds. WU GANG followed the scent to the osmanthus tree, looked at the golden osmanthus, and was very happy to see this thing in the sky. He picked it desperately, always wanting to pick more and go back to save his mother and villagers. But I couldn't hold it when I picked too many, so I thought of a way. He shook the osmanthus tree, causing it to fall down one after another and fall into the river at the foot of the mountain.
Suddenly, the river was fragrant and dyed golden yellow. People drank this river, and all the diseases were cured. So people said, this is not a river, it is obviously the life-saving water of a river that is more expensive than gold, so people named this river Jinshui. Later, three points of water were added to the gold inscription, and it was named "Gan (gn) River".
Tonight is the fairy party held in Tiangong on August 15, where they will enjoy the moon and eat moon cakes. At this time, the fragrance of osmanthus rose into the sky, which alarmed the immortals and sent people to investigate. When the police officer arrived at the Moon Palace, he saw that the osmanthus tree in the sacred tree of the Moon Palace and the precious osmanthus tree in Dinggong Palace were all gone, and they all fell into the "dry river" of the world, so he reported it to the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor was furious. You know, the Jade Emperor likes to eat moon cakes made of osmanthus. Without osmanthus trees, he couldn't eat moon cakes, so he sent heavenly soldiers to catch WU GANG.
After WU GANG caught it, he told the Jade Emperor what happened that night. The Jade Emperor was speechless after hearing this, and really admired the young man. But WU GANG broke the rules of heaven after all. If he is not punished, he will not be able to establish the prestige of the Jade Emperor. The Jade Emperor asked WU GANG what he wanted, and WU GANG said he would bring osmanthus trees to the world to help the poor.
So the Jade Emperor thought of an idea, which could not only punish WU GANG, but also promise WU GANG's request. He said that as long as you cut the osmanthus, you can take it away. So WU GANG found a big axe to chop down, trying to cut down the tree quickly. Who knows, the Jade Emperor cast a spell and cut it for a long time, so WU GANG cut it for thousands of years.
Seeing that the tree can't be cut down, WU GANG is homesick for his mother, so every Mid-Autumn Festival night, he drops a sweet-scented osmanthus on Guibang Mountain to express his homesickness. Year after year, Guibang Mountain is covered with osmanthus, and villagers use this osmanthus to make tea. Xianning is no longer a disaster.