There’s a bird in China that’s said to be the reincarnation of an emperor. Here’s a story behind it.

The Vacant Throne

In ancient times, there existed an ancient kingdom called Shu in the Sichuan region. A king attained immortality, but he didn’t pass the throne on to anyone else. Thus, the ancient Shu throne remained vacant.

A Miraculous Man and Woman

Many years later, a man descended from the sky into the Kingdom of Shu. As he was surveying his surroundings, he saw a beautiful woman floating out of a well by the river. They exchanged a smile, instantly feeling a familiarity, like meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

The man approached with a warm smile, “My name is Du Yu. May I ask your name, young lady?”

The woman shyly replied, “My name is Li De.”

The man added, “We’re both strangers here. How about we become one family?”

Li De, impressed by Du Yu’s imposing appearance and sincere demeanor, agreed.

Becoming Emperor

So they married and settled down there. The man farmed, the woman raised silkworms. Their lives improved, and they became increasingly familiar with the local residents.

People frequently sought Du Yu’s advice on farming matters, and neighbors also sought mediation for disputes, both large and small. As time went by, Du Yu asked, “Is there no one taking care of these things?”

His neighbors replied, “We don’t even have a king here. Who would care about our lives?” Du Yu replied, “If you trust me, I will be king!” The people naturally supported him. Du Yu retained his former capital of Pi as his capital and was known as the King Wang.

The People Became More Prosperous

After becoming king, Du Yu cared deeply about the lives of the people of Shu. He saw that Shu was blessed with beautiful mountains and rivers and fertile land.

While the people there knew how to raise silkworms and hunt, they were not very good at farming. So he personally taught the people how to farm and created a perpetual calendar. He urged everyone to follow the weather and the seasons and not to neglect their crops.

In this way, the people of Shu became increasingly prosperous.

However, one thing that worried Emperor Wang was that Shu was surrounded by high mountains and suffered from heavy rain, resulting in frequent floods.

Emperor Wang led the people in combating the floods and helped them rebuild their homes, but he could never find a solution to completely control the floods.

Resurrected Corpse

One year, a corpse floated upstream in the Changjiang River and landed in the territory of Shu. The Shu people were surprised to see this, as corpses usually float downstream, but this one was floating upstream. Those who saw it scrambled to retrieve it.

Unexpectedly, after being pulled out of the water, the corpse became alive. He told his rescuers that his name was Bi Ling, and he was from Chu. Not long ago, he accidentally fell into the Changjiang River and had drifted all the way from Chu to this place.

This strange incident reached the ears of Emperor Wang. Secretly astonished, upon hearing that the river had brought such a remarkable person, Emperor Wang ordered Bi Ling to be brought to him. The two of them immediately hit it off, and they struck up a good conversation.

Emperor Wang was impressed by Bi Ling’s intelligence and his ability to swim. In Shu, a country plagued by floods, such a talent would be extremely useful. So, he appointed Bi Ling as prime minister.

Emperor Abdicates for His Achievements in Flood Control

Not long after Bi Ling became prime minister, a devastating flood struck Shu. The land was awash, and the people were swept away, their homes destroyed and their homes displaced. Emperor Wang dispatched Bi Ling to control the flood. Bi Ling’s talent was evident in the process.

He led the people in carving a channel through Wanglei Mountain, allowing the floodwaters to flow freely down the Minjiang River and disperse into its tributaries across the plains. The devastating flood was tamed, and the people once again enjoyed a peaceful and happy life.

Upon Bi Ling’s return from flood control, Emperor Wang held a grand celebration for him. At its conclusion, Emperor Wang publicly announced his abdication of the throne to Bi Ling.

Transformed into a Cuckoo

The next day, after giving Bi Ling some instructions, Wangdi, ignoring his subjects’ pleas to stay, left the palace with his wife and retired to the Western Mountains. Although no longer king, Wangdi remained as concerned about the lives of his people as before.

Many years later, Wangdi died, and his soul transformed into a cuckoo. Every year during the busy farming seasons of Qingming, Grain Rain, Beginning of Summer, and Grain Full, it would fly to the fields and call out repeatedly, “Cuckoo, cuckoo!” People would hear this call and tell each other, “Wangdi’s incarnation is reminding us to plant!”

Later, people simply called this bird Duyu, the plowing bird, the cuckoo, or the cuckoo.