"He used a cut leaf to enfeoff his younger brother" is a legend about King Cheng of Zhou (11th century BCE). Two versions of the story are found in the literature. They differ on the domain with which the young king enfeoffs his brother; in one version it is Jin and in the other Ying. The former version became extremely popular over time while the latter largely disappeared from circulation. The Ying version may have appeared first in the Hanshi waizhuan, a concordance to the Book of Odes, or it may have been first recorded by Xunzi. The Jin version stems from the Spring and Autumn Annals. The story probably originated in the Ying region, while the subsequent popularity of the Jin version owes more to the rapid development of the Jin region in the early to mid Spring and Autumn period.
