Tu Mountain

Tu Mountain

Tu Mountain, anciently known as Tushan and now called Tushan (literally "Earth Mountain"), is located north of Tushanji Village in Yandianlou Town, Cao County. To the south of the mountain lies the temple and tomb of Emperor Tang of Shang. In the early years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the mountain was still over five meters higher than the surrounding area, but due to soil extraction by residents and erosion from rainwater, it now stands only about one or two meters above the plain.

Tu Mountain has a long history and is the birthplace of the Tushan tribe. When Yu the Great was taming the floods, he traveled through the areas around Tu Mountain. On the road, he met a woman of the Tushan tribe, and the two fell in love at first sight. Yu, realizing that he had not yet married by the age of thirty, resolved to wed this woman upon his return from taming the floods. When he returned, he found the Tushan woman waiting for him, and they were married on Sangtai. Just four days after their marriage, Yu was ordered to resume his flood-control mission. The "Annals of Music" chapter of Lüshi Chunqiu records: "When Yu was achieving his feats, he encountered the daughter of Tushan. Before he could meet her properly, he set out to inspect the southern lands. The daughter of Tushan then instructed her maid to wait for him on the sunny side of Tu Mountain, and she sang: 'Waiting for him, oh!' It is also recorded: 'Yu had not married by the age of thirty. When he arrived at Tu Mountain, fearing that time was running out and that he might miss the proper customs, he declared: “I will marry, and there must be a sign.” Yu then married a woman from Tushan, known as Nüjiao.'” Another passage states: "Yu married a woman from Tushan. He did not let private matters interfere with public duty, and after just four days — from the day Xin to the day Jia — he returned to continue taming the floods." Qu Yuan’s "Heavenly Questions" asks: "When Yu exerted his strength and presented his achievements, descending to inspect the lands below, how did he come to meet the woman of Tushan, and unite with her at Taishang?" After successfully taming the floods, Yu was enthroned as king by Emperor Shun. He held a grand gathering of feudal lords at Tu Mountain, as recorded in Zuo Zhuan · Duke Ai 7: "Yu assembled the feudal lords at Tu Mountain; ten thousand states came bearing jade and silk." In the late Xia Dynasty, Tang of Shang led his tribe to move to the sunny side of Tu Mountain, to a place called Bo, where he built a city named Bo (also known as Bo Capital). After the establishment of the Shang Dynasty, the area southwest of Tu Mountain served as the early capital of Shang, becoming the political, economic, and cultural center of the time. After the death of King Tang of Shang, he was buried on the sunny side of Tu Mountain, where there were once solemn and majestic tomb palaces and the Tong Palace. During the Zhou Dynasty, King Mu held a meeting of feudal lords at Tu Mountain during his eastern tour, as recorded in Zuo Zhuan · Duke Zhao 4: "Mu had a meeting at Tu Mountain."

Source: Heze Municipal Office of Local Chronicles