According to legend, 5,000 years ago, Da Yu led hundreds of subordinates to drain accumulated water in the mountainous area of southwestern Shandong. Da Yu was dressed in shorts, bare-chested, and barefoot. He and his men dug through sand and stones using tools like wooden spades, sharing two meals a day. One evening, as dusk approached, the cook reported, “Your Majesty, the rice in the pot is ready. Can we eat now?” Da Yu touched his already flattened belly and looked at his hungry and exhausted companions. He waved his muscular, dark brown arm and called out loudly, “It’s time to eat! It’s time to eat!” The crowd immediately rushed toward the rice pot.

The millet in the copper pot was golden and wafting an enticing aroma. The cook used a ladle to serve rice, putting just one scoop into each person's earthen bowl, as their food supplies were running low and they needed to ration. When Da Yu held out his bowl for a serving, the cook was about to add another scoop, but Da Yu quickly pulled his bowl back, calmly saying, “No, if I eat too much, someone else will go without.”

As they ate, the cook quietly said to Da Yu, “Your Majesty, we’re running low on millet. Should we send someone back to fetch more?” “Ah? Why didn’t you say so earlier? It’s getting late; I’ll send someone tomorrow,” Da Yu replied.

In the dead of night, heavy rain began to pour down like a waterfall, causing the makeshift shelter made of branches to leak. Da Yu and his subordinates had to crouch and wait for the rain to stop and for dawn to come. However, the rain continued relentlessly, and when morning broke, it showed no signs of stopping. It grew darker again, and the rain didn’t ease up. Da Yu and his men endured hunger in the shelter. The rain fell for two days and nights, flooding the mountain and turning their location into an island. Da Yu immediately commanded everyone to channel the floodwaters.

By mid-morning, the cook, with his eyes red from the smoke of damp firewood, finally managed to cook the last of the millet, which was barely enough for each person to have a few bites. With some food in their bellies, Da Yu returned to directing flood control efforts. After two days without food, the floodwaters only receded slightly, and everyone’s stomachs were growling. “Where is the food? Where is the food?” Anxiety spread among the people, and reports came in occasionally, “Another person has fainted from hunger.”

Da Yu propped himself up, looking at the floodwaters and desperately thinking of a way to survive. Suddenly, he noticed the abundant tu fu ling, its green leaves shimmering in the sunlight, with thick tubers exposed by the water. An idea struck him, and he called out to his subordinates, “Brothers, we can’t just wait here to die! Let me try if these leaves are edible.” With that, he grabbed a handful of wild tu fu ling leaves and chewed them vigorously, grimacing as he swallowed. After a moment, feeling no discomfort and no longer hungry, he shouted, “Brothers, eat these leaves! They’re a bit bitter, but they won’t let you starve!”

Hearing this, everyone eagerly began to stuff the tu fu lingleaves into their mouths. Da Yu then instructed everyone to help the cook dig for tubers in the soil. The cook boiled the leaves and tubers in a copper pot, and soon they could eat two meals a day again. After several days of consuming tu fu ling leaves and tubers, they sustained their lives, and some with stomach issues even found relief.

As the floodwaters receded, Da Yu sent for supplies, and they continued to drain the accumulated water on the mainland. Upon learning about the life-saving plant called tu fu ling, they named it “Yu Yu Liang” in honor of Da Yu’s brave act of tasting it at the risk of his life. Today, some families still cultivate it to eat, but more often it is used in Chinese Medicine

Relieves Toxins and Reduces Dampness
Damp heat relating to skin conditions

Today it is often used for gout.