司马第莫氏的先祖为广东高明县人氏，于明末清初迁来黄姚定居。相传莫氏六世祖在东汉初年，起兵响汉光武帝刘秀平定“王莽之乱”，立下战功。刘秀称帝后论功行赏，莫氏立世祖官封司马一职，并在自家住宅门前挂“司马第”牌匾，其后人承袭祖制，祖祖辈辈都悬挂此匾。后来因为兵荒马乱，莫氏先人几经辗转来到岭南地区，最后定居在广东高明县，直至明朝末年，莫氏祖先莫鼎原来到桂东黄姚经商，并把老宅地直悬挂的“司马第”匾一同带到了黄姚，悬挂在黄姚的宅院门前。

  The ancestor of Mo Family in Sima Mansion was from Gaoming County of Guangdong, and moved to Huangyao in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. According to the legend, in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the sixth ancestor of Mo Family led the troops under the leadership of Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu) of the Han Dynasty to put down “Wang Mang Rebellion”, and made military exploits. After becoming an emperor, Liu Xiu rewarded his meritorious deeds. The sixth ancestor of Mo Family was appointed as Sima. The plaque of “Sima Mansion” was hung in front of the mansion. The descendants inherited the ancestral system. This plaque was hung for generations. Later, due to the turmoil of wars, the ancestors of Mo Family overcame difficulties to come to Lingnan, and finally settled in Gaoming County of Guangdong, until the late Ming Dynasty. As the ancestor of Mo Family, Mo Ding was engaged in trade in East Guangxi, took the plaque of “Sima Mansion” hung in front of the old house to Huangyao, and hung it in front of the mansion in Huangyao.

       在当地，有关黄精的 传说很多。宋代徐铉所著的《稽神录》中有这么一个故事：土家一婢，逃入深山中，久之见野草枝叶可爱，取根食之，久久不饥，夜息大树下，闻草中动，以为虎 攫，以树避之，及晓下地，其身欣然凌空而去，若飞鸟焉。数岁家人采薪见之，捕之不得，临绝壁下网围之，俄而腾上山顶……这位飞檐走壁的神人，所吃的仙草就 是黄精。当地还有一个传说，相传明代有位无暇禅师，他在修炼时不吃饭，也不进食其他食物，唯独只吃黄精。就这样，他活到了120多岁。 

      There are many legends about sealwort in the local area. A story in Jishenlu written by Xu Xuan of the Song Dynasty shows the following content. A servant of Tujia family escaped into the mountain; she had seen the lovely branches and leaves of the weeds for a long time, and never felt hungry after eating the root. Having a rest under the tree, she found that something was hidden in the grass, considered that it was a tiger, and then hid behind the tree. At dawn, it flied to the sky, just like a bird. Many people saw it, but cannot catch it. It flied over the mountaintop when people used the net to catch it…the immortal grass eaten by this person climbing the walls was sealwort. There is also a local legend. It is said that, when cultivating vital energy, Chan Master Wuxia of the Ming Dynasty did not eat meals or other food except sealwort. In this way, he lived to be more than 120 years old. 

       关于黄姚豆鼓有一个传说，相传是广东一位姓古的老人无意中研制出来的，由于战乱这位古大爷举家搬迁到广西，路上遇到了山贼，古大爷与家人走散，只能乞讨为生，古大爷一天天快黑时，来到黄姚莫家豆腐店乞讨，莫家豆腐生意好，全部买光了，店里没有其他吃的，莫家人就给了店里仅有的一点黑豆，还给了一些钱，古大爷把黑豆用破布包好藏起来，由于他住的是破庙，很潮湿，豆子没过多久就发霉了，这老人看见发霉了也没舍得仍掉，就用开水煮开放太阳晒干，又把它包起来，不知过了多久，他总觉得庙里很香，就发现是发霉的黑豆发出来的，后来就研制出来豆鼓，经过不断改良就有了现在的黄姚豆鼓。

      There is a legend about Huangyao Tempeh. It is said that, Huangyao Tempeh was inadvertently developed by an old man whose family name is Gu. Due to the war, he moved his family to Guangxi. On the way, he was separated from his family members, and only lived by begging. One day, when it was just dark, he came to Huangyao Mo Family Bean Curd Store for begging. Mo Family Bean Curd did good business. All bean curds were sold out. There was nothing to eat in the store. Mo Family gave him some black soybeans and money. Uncle Gu wrapped the black soybeans with the rag and hid them. As he lived in the temple, under the damp environment, the beans soon became moldy. This old man was not willing to throw away the moldy beans. He boiled them with water, dried them under the sun, and wrapped them. Later, he felt that the temple was very fragrant. He found that it was from moldy black soybeans. Then the tempeh was developed. After continuous improvement, present Huangyao Tempeh was made.

      相传，八仙下凡游遍了名山大川之后，来到了黄姚，立即被这里的奇山秀水迷住了。他们一边用大碗喝酒逗乐，一边欣赏黄姚的美景，不知不觉中喝多了，八大仙都醉了，连酒量惊人的吕洞宾都不例外，他东倒西歪来到附近一棵榕树上，倒下就睡。也不知过了多少时辰，等他一觉醒来，这棵榕树已经顺势倒成这个样。后来，人们就把这颗榕树叫做“睡仙榕”。

According to legend, after eight immortals traveled around the famous mountains and rivers, they came to Huangyao and were immediately fascinated by the wonderful landscape. When enjoying beautiful scenery, they had a bowl of wine. Unconsciously, they drank too much. Eight immortals were all drunk. Lu Dongbin who can drink too much was drunk. He came to the nearby tree, and fell asleep. He did not know how many hours had passed. When he woke up, this tree grew into this shape. Later, this tree was called “Sleeping Immortal Ficus” by the people.  

    传说很久以前这里有一对盲人夫妇，年过半百才有了一子，取名清塘，这清塘长得英俊又勤快，很多姑娘喜欢他，可又嫌弃他那年迈失明的双亲，所以他一直没有成婚。有一天，西海龙王带着龙女秀螺来到黄姚，游山玩水之中得知了清塘的事，同情并爱上他，于是秀螺偷了龙王的夜明珠来给清塘父母治好了眼睛，并和他结为夫妇。龙王知道这件事后，龙颜大怒，亲自率领虾兵蟹将来捉拿秀螺，秀螺死活不肯，龙王就把清塘点成了一座山，秀螺伤心欲绝，她舍不得两位老人，舍不得黄姚美景，更舍不得自己的夫君，于是她挣脱了捉住自己的兵将，化作了螺山，衣带化作了姚江，就这样年年岁岁地与十几里之外的清塘遥遥相望。

    According to the legend, a long time ago, a blind couple had a son whose name was Qingtang when they were about 50 years old. Qingtang was very handsome and hardworking. Many girls liked him, but they disliked his blind parents, so he was not married. One day, West Sea Dragon King brought Dragon Girl Xiuluo to Huangyao. She knew about Qingtang when travelling in mountains and rivers, sympathized with him and fell in love with him, so Xiuluo stole Dragon King’s luminous pearl to cure the eyes of Qingtang’s parents, and married with him. After Dragon King knew it, he was furious, and led the shrimp soldiers and crab generals to catch Xiuluo. Xiuluo did not learn to advice. Dragon King turned Qingtang into a mountain. Xiuluo was inconsolable. She was reluctant to leave two old people, beautiful scenery of Huangyao, and even her husband, so she broke free from the soldiers who captured her, and turned into Luoshan Mountain. Her clothes were turned into Yaojiang River. In this way, she faced Qingtang in a place which was more than 10 li away from her.

  在一年的农历七月七清晨，当时天刚蒙蒙亮，雾很大，一位老人来这里洗衣服，隔着浓雾看见七仙女正在这里嬉戏，她惊呆了，等她回过神来时，仙女已经消失得无影无踪了，这件事在镇上传开了，大家纷纷来到这口井烧香取水，以祈求无灾无病，据说从井里取回去的水放几年都不会变质，从此，镇上的人把这口井称为“仙人古井”。把每年的农历七月七定为“取水节”，时至今日，都会有许多居民来到这口井上香取水。

On the early morning of the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, in the grey dawn, the mist was very heavy, and one old person came here to wash clothes, and saw seven fairies played here in the mist. She was shocked. When she came around, the fairies disappeared without a trace. This story spreads all over the town. Everyone came to this well to burn joss sticks and take water, so as to pray for being without disasters or diseases. It is said that, the water taken in the well may be stored for several years without deterioration. Therefore, this well is called “Ancient Well of Immortals”. The 7th day of the 7th lunar month is “Water-taking Festival”. Today, many residents still come to this well to take water.