Xiang River
Legend has it that when Emperor Shun died suddenly during a trip to Cangwu, the tears of his two concubines, (the Xiang River goddesses Ehuang (娥皇) and Nüying (女英)) dropped onto surrounding bamboo and stained it forever. Mottled bamboo is known for being a decorative plant. The Chinese name of originates from the legend. "Xiang" (湘) refers to the Xiang River, where the story supposedly took place, "fei" (妃) means "concubine" and "zhu" (竹) means "bamboo", thus the "bamboo of the concubines by the Xiang River".