In the deep, misty prehistoric era of the Sichuan Basin, a land hemmed in by the jagged peaks of the Qinling and the Daba Mountains, there existed a world largely cut off from the Central Plains of China. This was the ancient realm of Shu, a place of dense forests, unpredictable rivers, and fertile valleys. According to legend, the people of this land lived in a state of primitive struggle, wandering the highlands and surviving on what they could gather or hunt. They were a people without a center, until the arrival of the great ancestor-king, Cancong.
Cancong was unlike any man who had walked the earth before him. He was said to have emerged from the rugged Min Mountains, draped in garments of vibrant green that seemed to shimmer like the leaves of a forest after a summer rain. But it was his face that commanded the most awe and terror. Cancong’s eyes were not like those of common men; they were described as 'longitudinal eyes' or 'protruding eyes,' extending outward from his skull like two cylindrical pillars. These eyes were not merely a physical deformity but a divine gift, allowing him to see across vast distances, peer through the thickest mountain fogs, and even look into the hidden rhythms of the natural world. He could see the sap rising in the trees and the tiny life cycles of the smallest insects, a vision that granted him a wisdom far beyond human understanding.
When Cancong descended into the valleys where the early Shu people gathered, he found them cold and hungry, wearing rough skins and coarse fibers that offered little protection from the damp mountain air. He recognized that for his people to thrive, they needed to move beyond the life of the hunter and the gatherer. He looked upon the wild mulberry trees that grew in abundance along the riverbanks and, with his telescopic vision, observed a small, humble creature: the silkworm. He saw how the worm consumed the mulberry leaves and spun a cocoon of delicate, shimmering thread. Cancong understood that within this tiny creature lay the secret to a great civilization.
He gathered the people of the Min Mountains and began the Great Teaching. First, he taught them that they must no longer view the land as a place to merely take from, but as a garden to be tended. He showed them how to transplant the mulberry trees into organized groves, ensuring a steady supply of food for the silkworms. This was the birth of agriculture in the region, a transition from the chaotic wild to the ordered farm. Cancong himself took up the tools of the field, demonstrating how to clear the underbrush and protect the saplings from the mountain winds. He was a king who labored alongside his subjects, his protruding eyes always scanning the horizon to anticipate the changing of the seasons or the approach of storms.
Next, Cancong revealed the mystery of the silkworm. He taught the Shu people how to collect the eggs and keep them warm, and how to feed the larvae the freshest mulberry leaves. He instructed the women and men in the delicate art of boiling the cocoons to loosen the threads and the intricate process of reeling the silk. Under his guidance, the people of Shu learned to weave fabrics that were light as air yet strong and warm. They traded their rough skins for silken robes, and the color green—the color of Cancong’s original mountain attire—became a symbol of their prosperity and their connection to the earth.
As the population grew, Cancong realized that the narrow mountain valleys could no longer sustain the thriving Shu culture. He led a great migration, descending from the high altitudes of the Min Mountains into the vast, emerald expanse of the Chengdu Plain. This was a monumental journey, a movement of thousands of people carrying their silkworm trays and mulberry saplings. As they moved south, Cancong used his extraordinary eyes to scout the terrain, finding the most fertile soil and the safest paths through the marshy lowlands. He taught the people how to manage the waters of the Min River, laying the very earliest foundations for the irrigation systems that would eventually make the Sichuan Basin the 'Land of Abundance.'