Traditional Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin
The Five Goats of Guangzhou
五羊的传说
The Five Goats of Guangzhou (五羊的传说, Wǔ yáng de chuánshuō) is a Chinese legend, retold in simple Mandarin as a 4-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from the Guangzhou legend of the Five Rams: five colorful immortals ride five goats into a hungry village, bring rice and water, and leave behind the City of Goats.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — A warm old storyteller who sets the scene.
- Xiao He · 小禾 — A brave, kind little girl who shares her last water with a plant.
- Grandpa · 爷爷 — Xiao He's gentle, joking grandfather.
- Red Robe · 红衣 — The kind, booming leader of the five immortals.
- Yellow Robe · 黄衣 — A cheerful immortal who loves to laugh.
- White Robe · 白衣 — A calm, wise immortal who teaches how to plant.
- Green Robe · 绿衣 — A playful young immortal who loves to show off.
- Black Robe · 黑衣 — A gruff immortal with a soft heart.
4 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Dry Village
没有水的村子
In a village with no rain, a little girl gives her last water to a tiny green plant. That evening, five colors of light appear in the sky.
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Chapter 2: Five Goats from the Sky
五只羊来了
Five immortals in five colors land on the hill. A goat eats a little girl's hat, and each goat carries a golden gift. But the water is under a heavy stone.
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Chapter 3: Water for the Rice
水和稻
Everyone pushes the heavy stone and water pours out. The rice is planted, the rain comes, and then the immortals say goodbye. But the goats stay still.
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Chapter 4: The City of Goats
羊城
The goats stay behind and the immortals fly home. In the morning, five stone goats sit on the hill, and the village has a new name.
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Key words in The Five Goats of Guangzhou
Behind the story
The legend of the Five Goats (五羊传说) is the founding story of Guangzhou, the big southern city by the Pearl River. Old records tell of five immortals who rode five goats down from the sky, each carrying an ear of rice, and blessed the land so that hunger would never return.
Because of this tale, Guangzhou has long been nicknamed 羊城, the City of Goats. Its other nickname, 穗城, means the City of Rice Ears. Today a big stone statue of the five goats stands on a hill in Yuexiu Park, and Chinese schoolchildren and visitors love to take photos with it.
Did you know?
- The Five Goats statue in Guangzhou's Yuexiu Park was made of granite and finished in 1959. It is one of the city's best-known symbols.
- The goat is the eighth animal in the Chinese zodiac, and the goat is a symbol of luck and peace.
- The city's nicknames 羊城 and 穗城 both come from this legend of the goats and the rice ears.