吴刚

吳剛

wúgāng

popculture

Meanings

1 Wu Gang
2 mythological woodcutter sentenced to chop a self-healing laurel on the moon

Characters

Examples

传说月亮上住着吴刚和嫦娥。

Chuánshuō yuèliang shàng zhù zhe Wú Gāng hé Cháng'é.

Legend says Wu Gang and Chang'e live on the moon.

吴刚每天都要砍那棵桂花树。

Wú Gāng měitiān dōu yào kǎn nà kē guìhuā shù.

Every day Wu Gang has to chop that osmanthus tree.

吴刚伐桂的故事家喻户晓。

Wú Gāng fá guì de gùshi jiāyùhùxiǎo.

The story of Wu Gang chopping the osmanthus is known in every household.

Tips

culture

In Tang-era mythology, Wu Gang was punished by the gods for seeking immortality and banished to the moon, where he must forever try to chop down a giant osmanthus (桂花) tree that regrows with every stroke — a Chinese Sisyphus. Paired with Chang'e (嫦娥) and the Jade Rabbit (玉兔) as the canonical moon inhabitants, often referenced at Mid-Autumn Festival.

In Pop Culture

吴刚伐桂 Wú Gāng fá guì

Wu Gang chops the osmanthus

Proverbial phrase for an endless futile task, Chinese counterpart to the Sisyphus myth.

嫦娥 Cháng'é

Chang'e

Moon goddess who drank an elixir of immortality and flew to the moon; shares the lunar palace with Wu Gang in later myth.

Stroke Order

吴 Wú

刚 gāng