The Min River, since ancient times, flowed through the city of Cheng-du in separate streams. The women who lived there, known for their skill in weaving brocade, would wash their handiwork in its waters, hence the name, Flower-Washing Stream
Another story tells of a Buddhist monk who had fallen into a ditch, soiling his mantle. A woman of the place offered to wash it for him in the river nearby. On doing so, the waters became covered with flowers...
William Hung offers both versions of the story, finding the first more plausible. But for me the poem is in the two the stories together...
