Preface: This is a legendary story about the origin of the Qiantang Tide on the Qiantang River in China.
Long ago, a giant came to the Qiantang River. With one step, he could cross the river.
He originally lived on Shu Mountain in Xiaoshan County, making a living by burning salt.
People didn’t know his name, so they called him King Qian because of his strength and his home by the Qiantang River.
Before, the tides of the Qiantang River were like other rivers, without a crest or sound.
King Qian was very strong. He often used an iron pole to carry stones to the riverbank, and soon piled up mountains.
One day, he carried salt that had been burned for over three years on Shu Mountain.
The salt was only enough to fill one end, so he tied a large stone on the other end, picked it up, and crossed to the north bank.
It was hot, and after eating lunch, King Qian was tired. He put down his pole and fell asleep.
At this time, the Long King of the East Sea came out to patrol the river. The tides rose and dissolved King Qian’s salt.
The Long king smelled the saltiness, which became stronger and stronger. He couldn’t bear it and fled back to the ocean, making even the ocean water salty.
When King Qian woke up, he found that the stone on one end of the pole was still in Xiashi, but the salt on the other end was gone.
He searched and searched, smelled the saltiness in the river, and understood that the salt had been stolen by the Long King of the East Sea.
He picked up his pole and struck the sea water.
With the first strike, all the big and small fish died.
With the second strike, the riverbed turned over.
With the third strike, the Long King of the East Sea emerged from the water and begged for mercy.
The Long king asked King Qian why he was so angry.
King Qian said, “Where did you steal my salt?”
The Long king understood and quickly apologized, saying he would dry salt to compensate and call during high tides so that King Qian wouldn’t miss it while sleeping.
King Qian thought these two conditions were good, so he forgave the Long king and put his pole at the entrance of Hangzhou Bay, saying, “From now on, when the tides come, call from here!”
The Long king agreed repeatedly, and King Qian happily left.
From then on, when the tides entered Hangzhou Bay, they shouted loudly. When they reached the place where King Qian had sat, they shouted the loudest.
This place is now Haining, and the famous “Qiantang River Tide” came to be this way.
通过阅读中国神话、民间故事、历史典故、人物传记学汉语，简单易学，中英对照，适合初学者！
Learning Chinese through reading Chinese mythology, folk stories, historical allusions, and biographies is easy to learn and bilingual, suitable for beginners!