Recently, CCTV's "Beautiful China Trip" column entered Weinan and filmed an intangible cultural heritage documentary with the theme of "Ancient Style, Building Dreams in Weinan". The column team came to Baishui and filmed the legend of Cangjie, a national intangible cultural heritage project. The legend of Cangjie shows the precious spirit of wisdom and dedication of the Chinese nation and the great creativity, and has the value of promoting the cultural identity of the Chinese nation and enhancing social cohesion. It is a precious cultural heritage of the Chinese nation.
Cangjie, originally surnamed Hou Gang (侯冈), courtesy name Jie (名颉), was born in Toba Mountain, Yangwu Village, Baishui County, Shaanxi Province, and was a left historian of the Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan. Legend has it that he looked up at the heavens, looked down on all things, and pioneered the "Bird Trace Book" (the oldest primitive script in China). The Yellow Emperor considered his merits to be immeasurable, and gave him the surname of "倉" (cang), which means "one person on the king, one person on the next king". The Jade Emperor rewarded Guziyu to commemorate his exploits, which is also the origin of the "Guyu" festival. The legend of Cangjie is well known to women and children in Baishui County. Many historical monuments preserved in the territory also prove the credibility of these legends: Baishui Cangjie Temple was founded in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the history of the temple with written evidence has been more than 1800 years, and there is no written history, according to folklore, which can be traced back to the era of the Yellow Emperor; the east of the temple is more than one mile of Wuzhuang Village, where Cangjie is said to have lived; the south of the temple is Shiguan Village, named after cangjie officialdom; about twenty kilometers southwest of the temple there is Yangwu Village, which is said to be the birthplace of Cangjie. The legend of Cangjie has been preserved through the customs of honoring the writing paper, attending school to worship the saint, sleeping the book to ward off evil spirits, writing to cure diseases, and sacrificing cangsheng in the valley rain to this day. In 2014, cangjie legend was included in the fourth batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. (Written by: Xue Haoting Photo: Meng Zhao)
Source: Weinan Culture and Arts Center