According to the historical text "Wuyue Chunqiu", King Helü of Wu ordered Gan Jiang and Mo Ye to forge a pair of swords for him in three months. However, the blast furnace failed to melt the metal. Mo Ye suggested that there was insufficient human "qi" in the furnace so the couple cut their hair and nails and cast them into the furnace, while 300 children helped to blow air into the bellows. In another account, Mo Ye sacrificed herself to increase human "qi" by throwing herself into the furnace. The desired result was achieved after three years and the two swords were named after the couple. Gan Jiang kept the male sword, Ganjiang, for himself and presented the female sword, Moye, of the pair to the king. The king was already very unpleasant since he ordered the sword made in three months time but Ganjiang did not come back in three years, when he discovered Gan Jiang had kept the male sword, he was angered and had Gan Jiang killed.