What is a purple star?

Purple gas comes from the east, which is one of the anecdotes of Taoism. Canon "Guan Lingyin Biography". Many later Taoist biographies have similar descriptions. It is said that Laozi, the founder of Taoism, is ready to leave the Zhou Dynasty to live in seclusion in the face of the declining world. Youlong legend says: I want to go to the western quicksand country to educate foreign nations. Then, a purple gas moved from east to west until it reached Hangu Pass. Yin, the doctor of King Zhao of Zhou, is good at observing the omens of the stars in the sky. Knowing that a saint was going to pass Hangu Pass, he resigned as a court official and went to Hangu Pass as a customs official. He held a fasting ceremony, burned incense on both sides of the road, cleaned all the way and waited for the arrival of the saints. Soon, I rode a green cow and slowly stepped into Hangu Pass. Guan Ling ordered Yin to worship Lao Tzu as a teacher and asked Lao Tzu to write the classic Tao Te Ching handed down from ancient times.

In China, purple gas has become a symbol of auspiciousness from the East, and many literary works take this as the theme for plot deduction. For example, Chapter 77 of Romance of Gods and Lao Zi Yi Qi San Qing are examples. Based on many Taoist documents, this work artistically shows the story of Zi Qi coming from the East, which is quite interesting to read. In the past, during the Chinese New Year, people always posted Spring Festival couplets with "purple gas coming from the east", which shows that Laozi's visit to Hanguguan is a long-standing story.

As the name implies, "purple gas comes from the east" means that purple gas comes from the east. Metaphor is auspicious arrival. It is precisely because of its beautiful meaning that every household in China likes to stick it on the door frame as the cross section of the Spring Festival couplets every year when the Spring Festival comes.

Liu Xiang, a native of the Han Dynasty, wrote in "The Legend of Immortals": "I went west, and I saw the purple floating customs in the shade, but I rode the green cow." This is how the idiom "purple gas comes from the east" comes from. The term "Guan" here refers to Hangu Pass, which is located in the westernmost part of lingbao city. It is one of the earliest Xiongguan fortresses in China, which is as famous as Shanhaiguan and Wushengguan, and is also called the Eight Xiongguan in China. Founded in the Spring and Autumn Period, it has been a throat artery from Luoyang in the east to Chang 'an in the west for more than 3,000 years and has become a battleground for military strategists in past dynasties.

There is a beautiful legend about "purple gas coming from the east": Laozi is knowledgeable and served as an official in charge of books and classics in the Zhou Dynasty. When he was in his seventies, there was chaos in the world, and wars between governors for territory and power often occurred. I expected that there would be more wars in the future, so I resigned and rode on a green cow, leaving Luoyang and heading west to spend my old age. One morning, Guan Lingyin of Hangu, who is good at observing astronomical phenomena, suddenly saw the purple gas in the east and was greeted when he left the customs. Sure enough, he saw an old man with a beard like snow and a fairy wind riding a green cow. This is Lao Zi. Yin left Lao Tzu and asked him to do an article before he left. Laozi wrote an article about "Tao" and "virtue", which was about 5,000 words. Later, people printed this article into a book with the title of Laozi and Tao Te Ching. After writing the article, I rode on a green cow and headed west. I don't know where I went after that. Since then, among many Taoist immortals, Laozi has become the supreme god, known as the "Taiqing Moral Heaven Zun" and respected as the "Tai Shang Lao Jun" among the people.

Although Laozi's Tao Te Ching is only 5,000 words long, it has left many idioms such as "self-knowledge", "good beginning and good ending" and "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step", which have been used by the Chinese nation for generations. Now, as soon as you enter Hanguguan Scenic Area, you can feel the cultural atmosphere of "Purple Gas from the East", see the stone statues of Niu Piao, and see the stone carvings of famous sentences such as "Shilin" and "Self-knowledge" written by Laozi. Because of the strong historical and cultural atmosphere of "purple gas coming from the east" emanating from Hangukou, many overseas tourists have been attracted to appreciate the beautiful style of this historic and magnificent pass.