The origin of Shangqiu

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The origin of Shangqiu: Three li southwest of Shangqiu city, there is an earthen platform about ten zhang high; people call it \"Ebo Platform\". On top of this platform lies a temple, which is known as the \"Fire God Temple\". Speaking of Ebo Terrace and the Fire God Temple, there is an ancient legend. In ancient times, people ate raw food; later on, due to natural phenomena such as thunder, lightning, and wind, natural fire was generated, which was used to cook tree seeds and wild animals that couldn’t escape in time. People picked the food to eat and found that cooked food was much tastier than raw food, so they gradually learned to cook the food over a fire. At that time, there were no ready-made tools for starting fires; when people saw thunder, lightning, or a forest fire, they regarded it as a precious opportunity and tried every means possible to preserve the embers. Once, Di Ku took his son E Bo on an inspection tour among his subjects. When they arrived at a certain place, they saw that the people there still ate raw food; most of them were weak and sickly. Emperor Ku felt great pity for them and asked why they did not eat cooked food. The common people replied, “We have no fire.” Di Ku asked, “Why not look elsewhere?” Bring in the spark; don’t let it go out! ”The people said to him, “We’ve tried to get them several times; sometimes they were destroyed because there wasn’t enough firewood, and other times because of floods.” ”Di Ku looked around, and indeed there were ashes from the fire that had been extinguished by the overflowing river water. He couldn’t help but sigh, thinking to himself: I need to find a way to keep the fire from going out. After thinking for a while, he said to Ebo in a solemn tone, \"You see, helping the people here to obtain fire and keeping it under control so that it doesn’t go out is a matter of great importance that affects their very survival. You are my most capable son; I would like you to take on this task. What do you think?\" ”Ebo was a loyal and obedient person, and he agreed right away without hesitation. From then on, Ebo became the \"Fire Officer\" of this place (the official in charge of fire), and this area became the fief granted to Ebo by Emperor Ku, with the name \"Shang\". After being assigned to this place, Ebo was preoccupied with fire-related issues day and night, too busy to even eat or get proper sleep. First, he led the people to bring fire from a distant place, and they managed to pile up earth to form a mound on which they placed the fire. They then covered it with a shelter to protect it from rain, so that neither the rain nor rising river waters could extinguish the fire. Then, he personally led people in searching for firewood. Thanks to Ebo’s intelligence and hard work, the people of Shang were able not only to light fires everywhere but also to keep them burning for a long time. Everyone was grateful to Ebo, saying that he was an immortal from the heavens who had come down to bring benefits to the people. After Ebo died, people remembered his merits and virtues; with deep reverence, they buried him on the mound where he had kept the fire during his lifetime, using the most elaborate funeral rites of that time. According to the customs of that era, those who mourned for him each added a packet of yellow soil to his grave. As a result, the mounds grew larger and larger. Since Ebo’s title was “Shang”, this mound has since been called “Shangqiu”. Over time, “Shangqiu” became the name of this place, and it has remained so to this day.