Abstract: Since the "Living Fossil" was discovered from central China in 1940s, the story of Metasequoia (also known as dawn redwood, Chinese redwood, and water fir in English), has been told over and again around the globe. While there's only one true account, the varied considerably. Among the arguments, who discovered the "Living Fossil"first, especially in China, and who introduced the seeds into USA, especially in the United States, have been most hotly debated in the past more than half century. Out of more than 100 documents and publications collected by the current author, documents by Fulling (1976), Wang (1981), Silverman (1990), Wang (汪国权1999), Shao et al (2000) were the most insightful in regards to these issues. Based on the review of the available resources, the following points have been summarized.

Key words: Metasequoia glyptostroboides

摘要： 通过广泛的文献考证和调研,系统而又深入地对国内外一直存在的有关水杉的争议：水杉是谁发现的，水杉的种子是如何引入美国的，水杉的英文名字用什么，水杉的第一份标本采集时间及保护现状等进行了探讨；并提出：水杉是中国植物学家集体发现的, 其关键人物是王战，郑万钧，胡先；水杉引种美国是中美两国学者合作的，中方是胡先，郑万钧，及种子采集者华敬灿；美方主要是哈佛大学阿诺德树木园和E.D.Merrill；水杉的英文名字最好采用“water fir” 或其拉丁文名，即Metasequoia；水杉的第一份标本是王战1943年7月21日采的，至今仍存在一个国内外均未注册且长期无人管理的“标本室”，亟待妥善保管。

关键词: 水杉, 发现, 引种, 英文名字, 第一份标本