Legend of Xu Fu

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Legend of Xu Fu

Applicant: Ganyu County, Jiangsu Province

Project No.: 528

Project No.: i-41

Time of publication: 2011 (the third batch)

Category: Folk Literature

Region: Jiangsu Province

Type: Extension Project

Applicant: Ganyu County, Jiangsu Province

Protection unit: Jinshan Town cultural station, Ganyu District, Lianyungang City

The legend of Xu Fu

Applicant: Ganyu County, Jiangsu Province

The legend of Xu Fu is a folk legend about historical events and historical figures, which has been spread among the people along the coast for a long time. Xu Fu, with the name of Junfang, was a founder of the Qin Dynasty and a native of Langya. In 219 BC and 210 BC, he wrote to the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty twice in Langyatai to seek the magic mountain medicine for him. In 210 B.C., Xu Fu led 3000 children, men and women, together with Wugu Baigong, to sail from Langya port under Langya platform to Japan, never to return. For more than two thousand years, this legend has been passed down by word of mouth and spread from generation to generation in the form of stories, poems and other folk literature. The legend of Xu Fu is deeply rooted in the folk and full of local characteristics. In particular, the language extraction in these legends is particularly prominent. The geographical location and the folk customs of the farmers all have strong characteristics of marine culture. These legends are valuable spiritual wealth of Chinese folk literature.

However, due to the influence of modern media, such as the popularity of television, Internet and various new media, the oral telling activities of folk tales are gradually neglected. The ancient legend, which has always been handed down mainly by oral and psychological teaching, has lost its main carrier. In addition, the inheritors of Xu fu legend have died one after another, which makes the oral story inheritance face the situation of lack of successors.