The Mars rover is named "Zhurong". Why is this city in Hunan so excited?

On April 24, 2021, at the opening ceremony of China Space Day 2021, the name of my country’s first Mars rover was announced. After global naming, expert review, online voting, etc., the name "Zhurong" was finally selected. "stand out. Zhu Rong is revered as the earliest fire god in traditional Chinese culture, symbolizing that our ancestors used fire to illuminate the earth and bring light. The first Mars rover is named "Zhurong", which means igniting the fire of my country's interstellar exploration and guiding mankind's continuous exploration and self-transcendence of the vast starry sky and unknown universe.

The height of the "Zhurong" Mars rover is 1.85 meters and its weight reaches about 240 kilograms. The design life is 3 Martian months, which is equivalent to about 92 Earth days. The "Zhurong" Mars rover will carry out exploration work on Mars such as surface composition, material type distribution, geological structure and Mars meteorological environment.

The news spread to Hengyang, Hunan, thousands of miles away, arousing joy among the people. On the morning of April 24, the spring scenery was bright and beautiful on Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue. The red flag was waving in front of Zhurong Hall. The entire Zhurong Peak had turned into a sea of ??red. A flash mob called "Zhurong Peak I am the reddest" was held here with passion. People put up the slogan "Zhu Rong goes to Mars, Nanyue will be popular", wishing my country's Mars exploration smooth sailing, and wishing Zhu Rong the Mars rover a long and steady journey.

Why do Hengyang people have such deep feelings for Zhu Rong? Because Hengyang has a profound "Zhurong" culture.

According to records in ancient books: Zhu Rong taught people how to use fire to cook food, use fire to keep warm, and use fire to drive away evil spirits. He also invented the fire attack method, which was the first time in Chinese history that fire warfare was used in a war. At the same time, Zhu Rong used fire attack to help the Yellow Emperor defeat Chi You and made great achievements. For this, the Yellow Emperor rewarded Zhu Rong heavily and ordered him to take charge of the world's fire. , guarding the south.

Zhu Rong used Hengshan, one of the Five Mountains in China, located in present-day Hunan Province, as the residence of the "Southern Bureau". He implemented fire policy and managed southern affairs here ("Hengshan Ji": He stayed in the palace, photo Located in the land of fire, Chidi Pavilion is located in the ridge, and Zhu Rong lives in the sun. "Taiping Guangji" states that Zhu Rong lives in Hengfu. Zhu Rong transformed with fire, benefited the people, and won people's respect. People respectfully called him the God of Fire; and because the fire was red, people also called him the "Red Emperor."

It is said that Zhu Rong was buried in Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue after his death. People named the highest peak of Nanyue Hengshan Mountain to commemorate him. Now the highest peak of Nanyue Hengshan Mountain is called Zhurong Peak. It is located in Nanyue District, Hengyang City, Hunan Province. There is Zhurong Hall built on the top of the mountain ("History of the Road: Preface": "It governs For hundreds of years, the sun buried in Hengshan Mountain was also called Zhurong Peak). Later, people would rush to Nanyue Hengshan to worship him every year after the autumn harvest.

People's respect and piety for the God of Fire made Nanyue become China. It is the only place where people spontaneously offer sacrifices to the God of Fire. Over thousands of years, folk pilgrimages to worship the Holy Emperor Zhurong have gradually formed Nanyue's unique tourism feature of "Going in August", and the fire culture has a long history.

Nowadays, when walking in Hengyang, you can see a large number of places named after Zhurong, such as Zhurong Street, Zhurong Road, Zhurong College, Zhurong Primary School, and Zhurong Theater. Even the talent introduction plan of Hengyang Nanyue District is named "Zhurong Talent Action". Plan".

(Source: People's Daily Client Hunan Channel)