Chinese Traditional Story: The Old Pine Tree

At the time of Jin Dynasty, which was opposed to the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a government officer named Xuwei. One night, he had a strange dream. An old man came to see him. The old man was tall and thin with white hair and he wore a green robe. The old man said, “I will soon be chopped and split. I hope you can protect me." When Xuwei woke up the dream was still very vivid, but he did not understand what it was about. Because the dream was so clear but so strange, he never forgot it.
Xuwei was later promoted to mayor of Tai An City in Shandong. Not long after he arrived, the city's temples were burned by a wild fire. The emperor issued an order to rebuild all of them. This was a huge construction project and all the trees in Tai An City would be needed.