It is said that the hongdou tree was planted by Xiao Tong, the famous litterateur of the Liang Dynasty, more than 1400 years ago when he was compiling Selected Works of Zhaoming near Donggang Town, Wuxi. Why did Xiao Tong plant this tree? There is also a touching story about the love between the crown prince and the nun.

 

At that time, Emperor Wu of Nanliang believed in Buddhism and built 480 temples in China. The "Xiangshan Guanyin Temple" was built near Donggang Town, and a pavilion named "Wenxuan Building" was built in the temple. The crown prince Xiao Tong came to Xiangshan Temple as his father. On the one hand, he tried to avoid the political struggle of the court, and on the other hand, he went back to the mountain forest to carefully edit the anthology. One day, the prince went down the mountain to inspect the people at Gutang, the market at that time. I saw a nun named Huiru accidentally talking about the essence of Buddhism. Seeing Huiru's wisdom, the crown prince immediately fell in love with her. He followed her to the grass hut and talked about the Buddhist scriptures. Later, he went to the grass hut to talk about returning at night. The seeds of love took root in their hearts. As the sun turns and the stars move, the two have become inseparable. They have sworn to stick together for ever. However, as one is a prince and the other is a nun, they can't stay together for life because of their great disparity in status and strict etiquette. Huiru knows and understands that Xiao Tong is not to blame, but his yearning is like water; Xiao Tong does not love, but cannot love. A few days later, Hui Ru fell ill with acacia and died. When the prince heard the news, he cried bitterly. He planted two hongdou trees with tears, named the grass hut Hongdou Nunnery, and left with grief and lovesickness. Later generations, Wang Wei, who traveled here, was moved to tears when he heard the sad and beautiful legend, and wrote the poem "Acacia", which is a masterpiece for thousands of years. After thousands of years to the Yuan Dynasty, this hongdou tree once declined into a dead tree, but in the reign of Qianlong, four new techniques suddenly sprouted on the trunk, and it has grown like a dragon until now. As a result, the hongdou is as red as blood.

 

This story has been passed down from generation to generation in Wuxi. The local people believe that hongdou can not only hold acacia, but also protect its leaves and fruits from evil spirits. Chinese people have always liked red, which symbolizes good luck and prosperity; The "bean" is also a seed, symbolizing vitality and hope.