King Wu of Zhou destroyed yin shang and established the Zhou Dynasty. After his death, he passed jiangshan to his son King Cheng of Zhou. In the era of King Chengwang of Western Zhou, there were two well-known sages, one was the Duke of Zhou and the other was the Duke of Zhao, both of whom were the uncles of King Cheng of Zhou. They took Shaanxi County, Henan as the boundary, and divided the areas directly under the Zhou Dynasty into two parts, in charge of the east and west. The protagonist of our story today is this Zhao Gong, his surname is Ji, his name is Shì (shì), because his Caiyi is in Zhao (present-day southwest of Qishan County, Shaanxi), so he is called Zhao Gong, also known as Shao Gong.
Summoning the prince to govern is very strong, and often goes to his own fiefdom to observe the people's feelings and understand the people's suffering. One summer, the weather was very hot, and he came to the countryside. He was dealing with official business under a large luxuriant gantang tree, and he stayed in the local area for many days in the sweltering heat, and the people encountered difficulties and disputes, and they all went to the gantang tree to find a summoner to solve. In order to thank the summoner, the people gave him many gifts, but the summoner resolutely refused to accept them. Later, when the summoner was about to leave, the local people were very reluctant. They said, "Not only is the summoner willing to come among our people, but he is not at all extravagant, working under a sweet tree, he is just and selfless, and he has the people in his heart." If all the officials in the world were like him, we would be happy. ”
After zhao gong's death, people began to sing his story in poetry. The poem goes like this:
"Gantang" is a kind of tree, that is, the tang pear tree in the modern sense, and some places also call it Du Pear, and the Erya Shimu says: "Du, Tang Ye." There are two kinds of red and white, the red one is called Du, and the white one is called Tang. "It can be seen that the sweet begonia is a white tang pear tree, the tang pear tree is hard in wood, the canopy is fluffy like an umbrella cover, the fruit is round and small, the taste is sour and sweet, and it is luscious and delicious to eat, so it is called gantang.
The famous Chinese writer and essayist Ba Jin's character "芾甘" may come from the word "芾芾甘棠", and Ba Jin's original name (Li Yaotang) also contains the word 棠.
The poem "Gantang" is subtle and full of affection, people love this Gantang that Zhao Gong once rested, and the love for Zhao Gong is needless to say, and the quality of Zhao Gong also makes people have infinite reverie in this real Love of Gan Tang. Because of this poem, an idiom was later produced, that is, "Gantang Will Love", which expressed the deep nostalgia for the incorruptible and wise officials after their departure, and became synonymous with praising the departed officials, also known as "Summoning Tang".
The ancient story of "Gantang's beloved" has been supported by many physical objects in qishan, the birthplace of the Zhou Dynasty. In the village of Liu Jiayuan in the southwest of present-day Qishan County, there is a Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall, which contains a Gantang tree and a plaque of "Gantang Legacy" given by the Guangxu Emperor. A stone stele with a height of 230 cm, a width of 74 cm and a thickness of 15 cm remains in the Zhou Gong Temple. The stele was painted by Li Wenhan of Qishan County in the 25th year of The Qing Daoguang Dynasty after watching the blossoming of Gantang at the Zhao Gong Ancestral Hall, and then painted by the Yiren Wu Chengle Stone, which is engraved with the Gantang pattern, the five seal characters of "Zhaobo GantangTutu" and the cursive of the "Gantang Tuji". "Gantang Yuanyin" is one of the eight scenic spots of Qishan Mountain.