Ganjiang (Gan Jiang) and Moye (Mo Ye) were a married couple and renowned master swordsmiths from the State of Wu during the Spring and Autumn period. They once forged sharp swords for the King of Wu. Later, they were commissioned by the King of Chu to cast swords, a task that took three years to complete, resulting in a pair of swords – one male and one female. Fearing that the couple might forge weapons for others, the King of Chu secretly plotted to kill them. Ganjiang presented the female sword to the king and was subsequently executed.
Moye managed to escape and gave birth to a son named Chibi (Chi Bi, literally means Red Nose). When Chibi grew up, he inherited the male sword and spent his days and nights longing to avenge his father. He eventually met a stranger who offered to help him seek revenge, asking for Chibi’s head and the male sword in return. Chibi immediately cut his own throat. The stranger took the male sword and Chibi’s head to the King of Chu, pretending to present them as a gift. Overjoyed, the king ordered Chibi’s head to be boiled in a cauldron. However, the head did not decompose after three days. When the king leaned over the cauldron to inspect it, the stranger seized the opportunity to draw the male sword and cut off the king’s head, before turning the sword on himself. The three heads in the cauldron all rotted beyond recognition and were later buried together. It is said that the “Tomb of the Three Kings” in Xiaoxiao Town, Runan, Henan Province, is the burial site of these three individuals.
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