Old Town Chinese Toon Sprouts

Old Town Chinese Toon Sprouts

　　Old Town Chinese Toon Sprouts: Named after their origin in the original old site (now Jiucheng Township), hence the name. The cultivation of toon trees began in the Ming Dynasty, dating back over 500 years. The produced toon sprouts are tender, green with a tinge of red.

　　How many years or generations have the toon trees been cultivated in the Old Town area? No one knows for sure. Anyway, the history is long, having existed since ancient times. A beautiful and moving legend about the precious tree sprouts is passed down here.

　　Legend has it that long ago, there was a highly respected old doctor in Old Town. He suddenly fell ill, vomiting at the sight of food, unable to eat for days, barely breathing, on the verge of death, murmuring: “Only the sprouts of the precious tree can cure my illness.” What were the precious tree sprouts? No one knew. To save the old doctor, the villagers offered a large reward for the precious tree sprouts. One morning, an old man with a horsetail whisk arrived gracefully, smiling and saying: “I’ve found the precious tree sprouts.” People asked in unison: “Where are they?” Following the old man, they went outside the village and indeed saw several clusters of purplish-red new tree sprouts sprouting from the sandy soil by the riverbank. People picked a few of the “precious tree sprouts” and presented them to the old Chinese doctor. To everyone’s surprise, the old doctor regained consciousness upon seeing them, ate them, and recovered from his illness. The old man then left behind a notice and departed with a wave of his sleeve. When people removed the notice, they saw eight neatly written characters: “Is willow but no ‘mao,’ three men under the same sun.” After some thought, everyone suddenly realized: this was a riddle, and the answer was the character “椿” (chūn, toon). Hence the tree was named the toon tree, and because its sprouts had such a delightful aroma, it was called the Chinese toon.