From the research I have been able to do, I have found that the Okinawan and Chinese legends of the Busaganashi or Yuen Sam Tan Doh are basically the same. However the Chinese version has some minor differences that I will list below:
It is said that he was born during the Tang Dynasty, and that he was a gifted musician. He entered the court and took the aptitude examination and placed third but was not known to have joined the military, instead he played at the court of the Tang Emperor.
During the time he was a musician in the Tang court, a large fire broke out in the palace, and Busaganashi took charge of the Imperial Guards and put the fire out. The Tang Emperor was very pleased and gave him the title "Grand Marshall for Wind and Fire" and allowed him to live inside the Palace.
There are many regional and sectarian differences that exist in the legends surrounding Taoist deities (even in China). So it would be plausable that the Okinawan legend is one of these variations taken from another branch of Taoism.
Regardless of the ledgend or source, the Busaganashi is never the less an important aspect of Okinawan Gojuryu history.
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