錢王傳說講述了錢王成為吳越王號令十萬弓手對錢塘江大潮發射，以戰勝村民相信會在錢江帶來災難的潮神。此傳説的原型為根據歴史上的吳越國領主 — 錢鏐，他在位期間於錢塘江修築海塘而聞名。

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過去，錢塘江的潮水對居於河邊的村民構成威脅，危及生命與財產，而鹼水亦使土地不能灌溉。制衡潮水的功夫亦無功而返，因為那潮水會把所有建在江邊範圍的一概障礙物清除。當錢王得知消息和沒有人敢挑戰潮神後，他勃然大怒。

在農曆八月十八日，當日是潮神的生日。錢王下令十萬箭手站在河岸兩面。他警告潮神別再發起大潮。但是，潮水仍湧出，於是錢王命令弓手們把箭向潮水方向射去。之後，潮神並沒有打擾錢王了。

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亦有傳從那天起，大潮仍會湧出，但其形狀會化成一個特別形狀，如同「之」字。所以那河亦被稱為「之江」，而那江亦正式被人稱為「錢塘」，這是「錢塘江」的由來。

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在史上，真正的歷史人物 — 錢鏐在吳越立國後，於錢江範圍修築海塘，以控制水災問題。該國亦令杭州地區人口上升。那堅固的海堤在兩個月的辛勞工作後峻工。這工程亦在北宋典籍《咸淳臨安志》有跡可尋。過了多個世紀後，部分海塘在修築高速公路路段時被發現。在2014年，一隊由杭州政府帶領的考古發掘隊在該遺趾發掘到陶器碎片、瓷器、食物殘渣及草鞋，繼而把傳說及遺跡歷史解開。

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The Legend of King Qian is the story of how Qian, who was the ruler of Wuyue Kingdom, ordered ten thousand archers to shoot the tidal bore of the Qiantang River, to conquer the alleged tidal god or spirit who locals believed caused the monthly waves.  The legend is in fact based on the real historical warlord, Qian Liu, who constructed a major embankment at the Qiantang river area during his rule.   

 

In the past, the tidal bores of the Qiantang River posed a threat to the people along the river, as it sometimes took lives and destroyed property, and also rendering the land non-arable for years due to the salty water.  Efforts to contain the tidal bores through the construction of embankments proved fruitless, as the tidal bores would continuously destroy whatever was being constructed before it could be completed.  When King Qian was told of this situation, and learned from the people that no one dared to confront the tidal god, he was outraged.   

 

On the 18th day of the eighth lunar month, which was the birthday of the tidal god, Qian ordered ten thousand archers to the river, having them stand on both sides.  Qian Wang warned the tidal god to not create a harmful tide again. But nevertheless, the tides came, and Qian ordered the archers to shoot thousands of arrows into the tides. Legend has it that after that, the tidal god didn’t dare to bring harm during Qian’s life time.

 

It is also said that from that time, the tidal bore would still come, but that the waves would form a unique shape that resembled the Chinese word “Zi” (之). Therefore, the river is also dubbed as “Zi River” (之江).  After this, the embankment was officially, and people named it “Qiantang”, hence the name of the river.

 

In reality, the real historical figure, Qian Liu, did indeed construct an embankment to contain the flooding problem, after the establishment of the Wuyue Kingdom.  The establishment of the Kingdom led to a rapid population increase in the Hangzhou area.  The sturdy embankment was finished after 2 months of effort and work. This construction project is also recorded in the Song Dynasty literature, Xian Dun Lin An Zhi (). After several centuries, part of the historical embankment was discovered during the construction of a highway. In 2014, an excavation team led by the Hangzhou government made numerous discoveries at the site, uncovering porcelain and pottery, food remains, and grass shoes, further uncovering the history of this story and site.