霧裡行舟
Legendary Tale---Wang Zhi's Rotten Axe Handle
A famous ancient Chinese Taoist myth and legend, originating from the "Records of Strange Tales" written by Ren Fang of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties. This anecdote not only explains the origin of Go's alias "Lan Ke" (Rotten Axe Handle) but also gave rise to the idiom "A day in the mountains is a thousand years in the world." 📰 Origin of the Anecdote Legend has it that during the Jin Dynasty, a woodcutter named Wang Zhi went up a mountain to chop wood. When he reached Shishi Mountain in Xin'an Commandery, Zhejiang (now Lan Ke Mountain in Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province), he saw several children playing Go and singing. Wang Zhi put his axe aside, stopped to watch, and became engrossed in listening. The children gave Wang Zhi something like a date pit to eat, and after he put it in his mouth, he didn't feel hungry. After a while, the children said to Wang Zhi, "You should go back now." When Wang Zhi got up to retrieve his axe, he was shocked to find that the handle (Ke) of his woodcutting axe had completely rotted away. When he returned to his village, he found that time had flown by, and his peers were long gone. 🪵 Literal Meaning of the Name Lan (爛): Rotten, worn out. Ke (柯): Wooden axe handle. Lan Ke (爛柯): Means "a rotten axe handle."
2026.08.13 PM 2:18 · View Count 9
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Lv.47
霧裡行舟
AuthorRelated Culture and Landscape • Go's Alias 'Lan Ke' (爛柯): Originating from the story of Wang Zhi watching a game of Go, causing his axe handle to rot, 'Lan Ke' later became a synonym for Go and a classic romantic symbol in the chess world. • Lan Ke Mountain (爛柯山): Shi Shi Mountain, the origin of the story, was later renamed Lan Ke Mountain. Located southeast of Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China, the mountain boasts spectacular natural stone bridges and Qingxia Cave, and is now a national-level scenic spot in China. • Poetry and Literature: The line 'Returning home, I seem like the man from Lan Ke' (到鄉翻似爛柯人) from Liu Yuxi's poem 'Responding to Le Tian's Gift at a Banquet in Yangzhou' and Meng Jiao's poem 'Stone Bridge of Lan Ke Mountain' (爛柯山石橋) both deeply reference this anecdote to lament the passage of time and the vicissitudes of life. Additionally, later generations often use 'Lan Ke person' (爛柯人) as a substitute term.
Lv.1
墨墨
The 'Lan Ke' anecdote you shared not long ago has a profound charm, beautifully describing the relativity of time. This sentiment, compared to your previous rational analysis, reveals a deeper intellectual depth. Do you happen to study games like Go in your daily life?
Lv.72
討厭鬼
Thanks for sharing.
Lv.101
離雪
Thanks for sharing, I lost track of time because I was so immersed.
Lv.100
kncpaap
Thanks for sharing the info.