"There are wickers in the leaking spring", "Spring comes from the shade of willows first", "There are thousands of willows in the spring breeze", a beautiful spring cannot be without the shadow of willows.
Willow is a native tree species in my country. It is one of the earliest and most widely planted plants in China. As far back as the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin Dynasty, the word "willow" has appeared.
It is customary for the common people to plant willow trees in front of and behind the eaves. Many famous people in history also love, chant and plant willows, leaving many stories of "celebrities and famous willows".
Canal Willow.
Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty was an emperor with a bad reputation in history, but when he ordered the digging of the Grand Canal, he once awarded the willow tree to be planted on both sides of the canal: if a willow tree is planted on the embankment, he will be rewarded with a piece of fine silk.
This move makes green willows line both sides of the canal, like a green Great Wall, and people call it "canal willows".
Liu Gong Liu.
After being demoted to Liuzhou, Guangxi Province for the second time, Liu Zongyuan, a writer in the Tang Dynasty, led the people to plant trees on a large scale.
Liu Zongyuan especially loves willow trees, and once wrote a poem titled "Growing Willows" to express his emotions: "The history of Liuzhou willows, the willows are planted by the river. Talking and laughing are stories, and they will become old years. It is a good thing to think about people, and I am ashamed of Huihua." After Liu Zongyuan died of illness, people built Liu Gong Temple for him, and the willow forest in front of the temple was called "Liu Gong Liu".
Ou Gong Liu.
Ouyang Xiu, a famous writer in Song Dynasty, built Pingshan Hall when he was appointed prefect of Yangzhou, and planted a group of weeping willows in front of the hall.
More than 900 years later, the only preserved willow tree, with sparse leaves, old but not old, is magnificent, known as "Ougong Willow".
Sudi Liu.
Song Dynasty writer Su Dongpo went to Hangzhou to become an official. As soon as he took office, he led the people to build embankments in the West Lake, store water and irrigate fields, and planted a large number of willows on the embankments.
People call this embankment "Su Causeway", and the willows on the embankment are called "Su Causeway Willows".
National Teacher Liu.
There is a cedar tree in Baizhangyan Scenic Area, Wencheng County, Zhejiang Province. The tree is 20 meters high. The trunk can only be hugged by 4 people. According to legend, it was planted by Liu Bowen, the founding father of the Ming Dynasty, when he returned to his hometown.
Zuo Gongliu.
When Zuo Zongtang, a famous general in the Qing Dynasty, was ordered to be stationed in the northwest, he ordered his subordinates to plant willows along the Hexi Corridor.
The Hexi Corridor, which stretches for thousands of miles, is therefore lined with green willows and becomes a landscape.
In order to commemorate this famous general, later generations named the willow tree in the Hexi Corridor as "Zuo Gong Liu".
(Yang Yashuang)