《仙都志》

The Xiandu Zhi (Records of Xiandu) documents the geography and history of Mount Xiandu. It is included in the section on famed mountains and immortal realms in the Zhonghua Daozang (Chinese Daoist Canon).

Preface to the Xiandu Zhi

Books recording territories and geography originated with the "Yu Gong" (Tribute of Yu), and became more complete by the time of the "Zhifang" chapter of the Rites of Zhou. Later, waterways came to have their own dedicated records, and prefectures and counties came to have their own local gazetteers. The Xiandu Zhi was compiled in this tradition.

Mount Xiandu is a renowned site of the southeast, and it is also recorded in Daoist texts, which call it the Cavern-Heaven of Praying to Immortals (a dwelling place of immortals in Daoist belief). The mountain's famous sites begin with the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan. Buildings were first established there in the Tang dynasty, and the Song dynasty bestowed its name. Auspicious omens and blessings have appeared repeatedly, and successive dynasties have shown it considerable favor.

During the Yanyou era, the upright Zhao Xuyi came by imperial edict to oversee the affairs of the mountain. The mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees all received the court's grace, and it seemed as though Solitary Peak (Dufeng) and Refining Stream (Lianxi) had grown higher and deeper because of it. Master Chen, who lives on the mountain, compiled these matters into a book, recording the mountain's history and its wondrous sights, great and small alike. He may truly be said to have done meritorious service for Mount Xiandu.

I have heard that when one gazes from afar at Penglai, a gust of wind makes it seem to recede, and that on entering Peach Blossom Spring, one soon loses the way again. How could everyone possibly visit every famous mountain and great river in person? Reading this book is like seeing the scenery of the mountain with one's own eyes; even reclining at home, one can wander there in spirit.

Written on the sixteenth day of the fifth month of the Wuzi year of the Zhizheng era (1348).

Xiandu Zhi, First Volume

Compiled by Chen Xingding (courtesy name Shaowei), a Daoist resident of Yuxu Palace on the mountain; revised by Wu Mingyi (courtesy name Zhongyi), a native of Poyang and Headmaster of Solitary Peak.

Mountains and Rivers

Mount Xiandu was anciently called Mount Jinyun. According to Daoist texts, among the thirty-six Cavern-Heavens, Xiandu ranks twenty-ninth and is named the "Xuandu Cavern-Heaven of Praying to Immortals," with a circumference of three hundred li. Tradition holds that this is the place where the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven on a fire dragon, and a stone stream lies at the summit.

Xiandu Mountain was anciently known as Jinyun Mountain. Among the Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens (dongtian) described in Daoist books, Xiandu Mountain ranks twenty-ninth, and is called the "Xuandu Cave-Heaven of Invoking the Immortals," with a circumference of three hundred li. Tradition holds that the Yellow Emperor once ascended to heaven from here on a fire dragon. At the summit stands a stone house, which people have long said is the entrance to the cave-heaven.

The Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) records that Jinyun was originally the name of the Yellow Emperor's summer palace. Zhang Shoujie states that the Yellow Emperor was once enfeoffed at Jinyun County in Kuzhou. The Taiping huanyu ji records that in the Tang dynasty Jinyun County was established and Kuzhou was renamed Jinyun Commandery, reportedly because of the Jinyun Mountain in that region. Today Jinyun County lies to the west of the mountain, at a distance of twenty-three li.

The Tujing (Illustrated Gazetteer) records that on the eighth day of the sixth month in the seventh year of the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty, colorful clouds rose from the source of Li Stream and covered the lone peak of distant Jinyun Mountain. From within the clouds came the sound of immortal medicines resonating, and phoenix-like luan birds and cranes danced among the clouds. Soon afterward, people in the mountains were heard crying out "Long live!", and the nine neighboring mountains answered in unison. The sound did not cease until the hour of hai, having begun at the hour of shen. The Prefect Miao Fengqian reported the event to the court, and the court accordingly changed the name of the place.

Dufeng Mountain, the "Lone Peak," is also called the Xiandu Stone. Xie Lingyun's Mingshan ji (Record of Famous Mountains) says that beside Jinyun Mountain stands a solitary rock rising into the clouds, about two hundred zhang high, with water on three sides and a circumference of roughly one hundred sixty zhang. On top of the rock is a lake in which lotuses grow. Nearby there is another mountain called Buxu Mountain. Seen from afar, Dufeng appears lower than Buxu; seen up close, Buxu instead seems to lie beneath Dufeng.

The old Dongyang ji (Record of Dongyang) calls Dufeng Mountain the Danfeng, or "Cinnabar Peak." Tradition holds that the Yellow Emperor once climbed this mountain in a dragon chariot, and the traces of its wheel ruts remain to this day. From the Tang poet Bai Juyi onward, famous literati of successive dynasties have left poems and inscriptions here in praise of the mountain.

Mount Buxu (步虚山, Buxu Shan) lies in front of Xiandu Mountain, directly facing the Yuxu Palace. Its peaks rise in tiers, one behind another, each partly concealing the next. Several smaller peaks are arranged like the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, which is why the place is called Douyan (Dipper Rock). Xie Lingyun's Record of Famous Mountains (Mingshan Ji) states that above Zhongyan (Middle Rock) stands a peak tens of zhang high, some of its formations resembling lotus flowers and others sheep's horns. Tradition holds that the Yellow Emperor once practiced alchemy here. Liu Cheng's Record of Mountains and Waters says that Jinyun Terrace was where the Yellow Emperor refined his elixir, while the Gazetteer of Lands (Yudi Zhi) calls Jinyun Hall the "Capital of the Three Heavens." The summit is flat and broad, like an altar, and may well be the place these texts describe.

Tongzi Peak (童子峰, Boy Peak) stands beside Du Peak (Solitary Peak) and is shaped like a bamboo shoot. Halfway up Du Peak is a cave resembling a navel, and this peak faces its mouth directly, hence its name. The Old Gazetteer of Kuocang records that beside Du Peak Mountain stands a steep, upright rock called Tongzi Peak.

Haoshan (好山, Good Mountain) lies west of Xiandu Mountain, on the left side of Chuyang Valley. During the Shaoxing era of the Song dynasty, the Transport Commissioner Li Shiju visited Xiandu and, passing the Xu family's mountain residence, composed a poem containing the line "Layer upon layer of fine houses face the good mountain," from which the mountain took its name. Later, Zhu Xi (whose courtesy name was Hui'an) lived here, and the mountain became still better known as a result.

Yinzhen Cave (隐真洞, Cave of the Hidden Perfected) is at the summit of Mount Buxu, opposite Du Peak. Its rocky entrance is delicately formed, like a window, but the terrain is precipitous and hard to climb, so few ever reach it. The Prefectural Gazetteer (Junzhi) records that this was where the Tang-dynasty master Liu Yinzhen practiced cultivation.

Xianshui Cave (仙水洞, Immortal Water Cave) lies at the foot of Mount Buxu and is also called Jingyan Cave (Mirror Rock Cave) in the Prefectural Gazetteer. Spring water seeps from openings in the cave wall and drips into a stone basin, and it does not run dry even in severe drought. This was where the Tang-dynasty master Zhou Jingfu practiced cultivation, and many notable figures have carved inscriptions on the rock walls to record their visits.

The Golden Dragon Cave (Jinlong Dong) lies on the eastern side of Buxu Mountain. Two caves are joined together here, and the interior is bright and spacious. According to the old gazetteers, the cave is so deep that its extent cannot be measured. This is the place that Daoists call a "grotto-heaven" (dongtian, a cavern dwelling of the immortals). In the fourth year of the Tianxi era of the Song dynasty (1020), people cast a Golden Dragon Jade Slip (a jade document used in Daoist prayers and ritual announcements) into the cave.

The Heavenly Hall Cave (Tiantang Dong) lies on the eastern side of Xiandu Mountain, to the left of the Twin Dragon Cave. Its terrain is steep and lofty, and very few people ever reach it. On the main rock wall inside the cave are two round openings set side by side, the one on the right shallower and the one on the left deeper. Tradition holds that a dragon dwells within; in times of drought, those who pray to it for rain will surely receive an answer. Beside the cave are two hollows in the rock: the water in the left one is clear and often overflows, while the water in the right one is murky. For this reason, the site is sometimes known simply as the "Sun and Moon Spring." Behind the mountain is another cave, popularly called Tiantang Mountain, in which a hermitage (a dwelling for cultivation practice or residence) has been built, its plaque inscribed "Clear Void" (Qingxu).

The Forget-to-Return Cave (Wanggui Dong) lies on the western side of Xiandu Mountain and can seat several dozen people inside. Outside the cave, a tall rock juts out over the stream. Visitors who climb it can take in the full view of Xiandu Mountain, and they so often linger there, forgetting to leave, that the rock has been named the "Forget-to-Return Terrace" (Wanggui Tai).

Chuyang Valley Cave, also called Ni Weng Cave, lies above Lian Stream. The rock formations on either side of the cave are strangely shaped and face one another, with a single mountain peak standing alone between them.

According to the Gazetteer of the Prefecture, the valley is on the western side of Xiandu Mountain. On first entering, the mouth of the cave is dim and narrow; after walking a short way inside, one finds a chamber like a stone room, spacious and open, large enough to shelter a person. Because the entrance faces east and is the first place to receive the sunlight, it is called "Chuyang" (the Rising Sun). In the stone wall directly to the east is a hole as large as a plate or a bowl. When the first rays of the rising sun shine into the chamber, the interior glows with brilliance and takes on five-colored light, while the vast waves of water outside seem to shimmer with golden radiance.

Some say that Ni Weng Cave lies half a li east of Jinyun county town, but this is a mistaken tradition. During the Jiatai era of the Song dynasty, Chen Baipeng, a man of the prefecture, stated in his Supplementary Gazetteer that the cave is in Chuyang Valley beside Lian Stream on Xiandu Mountain. The cliff face bears three large characters giving the name of the cave, which some believe to be the seal-script calligraphy of Li Yangbing (a Tang dynasty calligrapher). Examining the stone walls of the valley today, one does indeed find three large characters reading "Chuyang Valley" in standard script and three large characters reading "Ni Weng Cave" in seal script. Local elders pass down the account that an official surnamed Ni once lived in seclusion here, but his name has been lost.

During the Qiandao era of the Song dynasty, the prefectural governor Qian Yu inscribed a line of verse on Xiandu: "Chuyang is none other than the Valley of Fusang; within the cave, Old Man Ni beckons me to come." This too shows that Ni Weng Cave is Chuyang Valley. It is also known as "Yuntang Cave" (Cloud Hall Cave). There are in fact many caves in the mountains, but since ancient times only six have been especially renowned.

The Twin Dragon Cave (Shuanglong Dong) lies east of Solitary Peak, to the left of the Lingze Temple. A great rock spans a mountain stream, and beneath it is a cave large enough for people to pass through. Even in the severest drought, the clear water in the cave never runs dry. During the Shaoxing era of the Song dynasty, there was once a long period without rain. A Daoist priest of Yuxu, Master You, read the signs in the clouds and came to this place, where he saw two great serpents coiled beneath the rock, drinking and unwilling to leave. He then prayed for thunder and rain, and the storm arrived at once, bringing abundant rainfall to the whole region. People therefore named the place "Twin Dragon Cave" and built a shrine there to offer sacrifices.

On the left side of the cave is a dark passage that stretches sideways and then upward. In the past, some people went in carrying torches to explore it, but they never found its end. To this day, prayers offered at dawn are held to be efficacious, and during heavy rains flashes of thunderlight can sometimes still be seen. The deep water of the stream before the cave is what the ancients called the "Wandering Dragon Pool" (Youlong Hong), also known as the "Dragon Pool Cave" (Longhong Dong). Hu Zhitong of the Song dynasty and Wang Shipeng, the top-ranked graduate of his year, both composed poems about it.

Tiger Rock (Zhuanghu Yan) lies west of Solitary Peak, to the right of the academy. A small rocky hill there is shaped like a crouching tiger, which gives the place its name. It is also called "Lion-Halting Rock" (Zhushi Yan).

Soaring Phoenix Peak (Xiangluan Feng) lies south of Solitary Peak, to the left of the Huilan Pavilion. On its summit stand two rocks shaped like a luan bird and a crane, as though with wings spread, dancing lightly in flight. Local people commonly call it "Forked Rock" (Yacha Yan).

Spirit Tortoise Rock (Linggui Shi) lies north of Solitary Peak, beside the boundary stone of Xiandu. At the foot of the mountain, a great rock leans upright, closely resembling a large tortoise raising its head. Villagers judge whether the weather will turn clear or rainy by whether the rock is dry or damp.

Xiaopenglai (Little Penglai) lies downstream along the Lian Stream. According to the Junzhi (Prefectural Gazetteer), it is located west of Xiandu. In the middle of its pool stands a small island, covered with jagged, grotesque rocks and lush, unusual trees. South of the pool rises a rock wall roughly one hundred ren high (an ancient unit of length, amounting to several hundred meters). Many notable scholars have carved poems and inscriptions into the cliff face, recording the splendid views they enjoyed on their visits. When visitors enter by boat, they feel as though they have wandered into the immortal realms of Penglai and Yingzhou.

Lou Yue of Siming, a Participant in Governance (a Southern Song official), once wrote the three characters "Xiaopenglai" in large script, had them carved on a stele, and built a pavilion to shelter it; the pavilion has since fallen into ruin. Nearby is the Hezhang Cave (Joined Palms Cave), which can hold several dozen people. High on the rock wall, more than ten caves are lined up in a row like pearls strung on a cord, which is why the place is called Dazu Rock (Great Cord Rock). To its east stands another rock, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, called Suo Rock (Raincoat Rock).

Xiaochibi (Little Red Cliff) lies above Chuanshi Pool. According to the Junzhi, it is located east of Xiandu. Where it meets the stream, sheer cliffs rise straight up for about a thousand feet, and the peaks are graceful and strange. Beneath the cliff is a hollow, and the pool water is clear, deep, and tranquil, its depth impossible to fathom. Traveling through it by boat, one feels far removed from the dusty world. About one she downstream (an ancient unit of distance, usually around thirty li) stands another rock formation. He Dan, a native of the prefecture and Participant in Governance, once carved the three characters "Xiaochibi" on its cliff. Although the two places share the same name, they are in different locations, so both are recorded here together.

Xianshi Rock (Immortals and Monks Rock) stands on the west bank of the stream, beyond Xiaochibi. Along the stream are many upright stone peaks, some of which resemble immortals or Buddhist monks. Many places in the Yuxu Mountain area lie near it, and ancient texts often used the Immortal Rock as a boundary marker.

Huangjiu Chiyan (Huangjiu Red Rock) lies at the eastern foot of Xiandu Mountain. There, a steep cliff extends for dozens of xun (an ancient unit of length), with deep, strange caves and rocks of five colors. From afar it looks like cloud brocade; up close it resembles dispersing rosy mist. Local people now maintain a tianshe (a shrine to the local earth god) beneath the rock.

Tianshi Rock (Celestial Master Rock; Tianshi) faces Red Rock across from it. Beneath the rock is a cave that can hold twenty people standing. Inside is a dark grotto that descends straight down to the stream. Local elders say that long ago someone encountered...

The Celestial Master Cliff (Tianshi, 天师) and Red Cliff face each other across a valley. Beneath the cliff lies a cave large enough for twenty people to stand in, and within it a deep fissure runs straight down to the stream. Elders pass down the story that, long ago, someone set out at dawn for the Ancestral Temple of the Celestial Master, Protector of the State (Yuanzhen Huguo Tianshi), to request incense fire. On the way, the man received a response from the spirits, and so a hall was built in front of the cave, which gave the cliff its name. The hall's foundation was later destroyed by floodwaters, yet to this day the villagers still direct their offerings toward the cave.

Dongmeng Cliff lies on the left side of Chuyang Valley. Around the pool stand many oddly shaped stones, some high and some low, and boats can travel beneath the cliff. There is an immortal mountain at sea called Dongmeng, and a mountain south of Mount Tai is also called Dongmeng, but how this particular rock received its name can no longer be determined. Some say the cliff face points directly east, and when the sun first rises, sunlight and the shimmer of the water reflect one another in a hazy scene; hence the name "Dongmeng," which also carries the sense of "Chuyang" (the newly risen sun). Which of the two explanations is correct cannot be established.

Jade Rice Cliff lies on the right side of Chuyang Valley. Partway up the mountain, a stone juts out in the shape of a lump of rice. Beneath the cliff is a cave shaped like the gate of a giant sea turtle. When rain is about to fall, the mist on the cliff resembles cooking smoke; when the stream surges, a sound comes from within the cave mouth like water boiling in a pot. The old Gazetteer of Kuocang records that this place is also called the "Cave of Green Clouds" (Biyun Cave) and "Lord Zhang's Favor" (Zhanggong Chong), but the origins of these names can no longer be traced.

Yang Lang Cave lies behind Chuyang Valley, beside the post road. Inside, the cave is divided into upper and lower levels and can hold more than twenty people. Elders pass down the story that a man known as Yang Lang once lived here and used Fulu (talismans and registers) and medicines to help travelers passing by. People later remembered him fondly and set up a shrine in the cave to make offerings to him.

Immortal Cliff Cave lies halfway up the mountain north of Haoshan, above the Immortal Cliff Market. The cave is deep and broad, spacious and bright, and can hold over a hundred people. Today the residents of the market have set up a field shrine (a place for offerings to the earth deity) inside it.

Ladder-to-the-Clouds Cave lies west of Xiandu Mountain, facing Yushuai Cliff across the mountain. The hollow beneath the cliff resembles stone steps, running from the foot of the mountain up to its midpoint for more than sixty zhang, and for this reason it is also called the "Long Pavilion." In the spacious, secluded area above the cave, villagers once built houses, though these have recently been abandoned.

Tripod Lake (Dinghu) is the lake at the top of the Solitary Peak. Lotus flowers once grew in it. In the inscriptions and poems composed by famous figures from the Tang and Song dynasties onward, it is always called "Tripod Lake." The stretch from the foot of the mountain up along its slope to the mid-mountain, more than sixty zhang in length, is also known as the Long Pavilion. In the higher, more open spots there, local people once built houses, which have since been abandoned.

The Gold-Refining Stream (Lianjin Xi) rises in Mount Dapen and is called the Gold-Refining Stream once it reaches the Xiandu area. In the stream lies a slab of rock joined to the base of the Solitary Peak, its surface as flat as a whetstone. The two banks are more than thirty zhang apart, yet the water is only a little over a foot deep. The Gazetteer of the Prefecture records that the Xiandu area has names such as Gold-Refining Village, Gold-Refining Stream, and Gold-Refining Wave Ford, but it does not explain where these names came from. The Tang-dynasty writer Wei Jia, in his Inscription on Mount Xiandu, mentions "cinnabar caves rising at its side, a golden stream melting below," and the Tang-dynasty Master Yinzhen (the Hidden Truth), in his Record of the Mysterious Ruins, says, "By the banks of the Gold-Refining Stream, one may well wash one's cap strings" (that is, rinse the ties of one's hat at the water's edge). From this we can see that the name "Gold-Refining" has a long history.

Golden Flower Pool (Jinhua Tan) lies in a deep stretch of the lower Gold-Refining Stream. Tradition holds that golden lotus petals from Tripod Lake once drifted down to this spot, and so it received its name.

White Silk Stream (Lian Xi) lies below Golden Flower Pool. Its water is bright like white silk, hence the name "Silk Stream." The Gazetteer of the Prefecture says that the stream lies west of Xiandu, in front of the Chuyang Valley cave. In the water are the footprints of a giant, as well as the hoofprints of dogs and horses, and there is also a stone well whose depth cannot be measured.

The Cinnabar Well (Dan Jing) is at the southwest corner of the main hall of the Jade Storehouse. Master Yinzhen once drew water from this well to refine elixirs (dan). To this day the spring remains clear and sweet, warm in winter and cool in summer; it does not run dry even in severe drought, nor does it overflow when the rains are heavy.

Jade Spring Pool (Yuquan Chi) lies below the Twin Dragon Cave, and its water is white and clear as jade.

The Release Pond (Fangsheng Pond) lies outside Yuxu Temple (Yuxu Guan). Because the waters of Shenjian Stream are broad and deep at this spot, it has been a place for releasing living creatures since ancient times. There is another release pond in front of Miaoting Temple (Miaoting Guan).

Tian Pond (Tiantang) sits on the mountaintop behind Tiantang Cave. It never dries up, in winter or in summer.

Comb-Weaving Water (Shushuizhi) is found in the great stream above Little Penglai. Only a single comb-shaped stone connects the two banks. The stream is more than thirty xun wide (one xun being roughly the span of two outstretched arms). When the water level drops and the stone is exposed, the remaining water divides into several streams that run through the gaps in the rock, which is why it is popularly known as the "Paired Sedan Rock" (Ou Jiao Yan).

Putou Rock (Putou Shi) lies in Alchemy Stream (Lianjin Xi) and is named for its resemblance to its namesake in shape.

Yuxu Temple stands in the Xiandu Mountains. It is the Xuandu Cave-Heaven of Immortal Supplication (Qixian Dongtian), and is also said to be the place from which the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven. In the Wuzi year of the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty, auspicious signs appeared, including colorful clouds around a solitary peak and the sound of immortal music. The prefect Miao Fengqian reported this to the court, and an imperial decree conferred upon the mountain the name Xiandu ("Capital of the Immortals").

The Palace of Jade Void (Yuxu Gong) stands in the Xiandu Mountains, at the site of the "Cavern-Heaven of Mysterious Capital for Beseeching Immortals." It is also said to be the place from which the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven. In the wuzi year of the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty, auspicious signs appeared in the mountains: a solitary peak glowed with rosy clouds, and celestial music was heard. The prefect Miao Fengqian reported this to the court, which ordered that the mountain be named "Xiandu" (Capital of Immortals). The court also prohibited cutting firewood, hunting, and trapping birds and beasts within three hundred li around the mountain. At the same time, a shrine to the Yellow Emperor was built, and each year seven Daoist priests were selected and sent to tend its incense offerings.

In the yisi year of the Zhiping era of the Song dynasty, the temple was granted its present name. In the gengzi year of the Xuanhe era, it was destroyed in the turmoil of war. The Daoist You Dacheng then planned its reconstruction on the old foundations. At that time the main gate faced east while the halls faced west. Experts in Yin-Yang and geomancy judged that this resembled the formation of a "tiger glaring down," which was inauspicious, and urged that the orientation be changed. In the gengshen year of the Jingding era, the prefect An Liu, acting on an imperial decree, commissioned the Daoist Chen Guan to choose the new site and orientation for relocating the temple. The work was completed in less than a year.

In the gengshen year of the Yanyou era of the Yuan dynasty, the Daoist Zhao Siqi was ordered to receive an imperial edict. He carried the five-rank official seal issued by the court for the Office of the Superintendent of the Palace of Jade Void at Xiandu Mountain in Chuzhou Circuit, and took charge of the palace's affairs. Later, another edict arrived placing the temple under protection and restoring the jiayi system (the system by which Daoist priests serve as abbots and administer Daoist temples). The Academy of Worthies (Jixian Yuan), the Great Perfected Lord and head of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) teaching, who holds the title of Celestial Master (Tianshi), and the Grand Master of the Mysterious Teaching, who holds the rank of Specially Advanced Senior Minister, each also issued certificates ordering that these arrangements be observed in perpetuity. From then on, the temple regained its former standing and renown. The halls within the palace are listed below in order.

Jinque Liaoyang Treasure Hall: The plaque was inscribed by Ye Sichang, a native of this prefecture.

Yellow Emperor Shrine: The plaque was written in seal script by Li Yangbing, the Tang-dynasty magistrate of Jinyun County.

Hall of the Flying Heaven Dharma-Wheel Repository: In the jimao year of the Qiandao era of the Song dynasty, the Daoist Li Boxiang founded the Dharma-Wheel Repository, which was of grand scale. The plaque was inscribed by Chen Yi, a native of this prefecture.

Tianyi Zhenqing Traveling Palace.

Sacred Hall of the Three Officials of the Three Origins.

Traveling Shrine of Lord Zitong.

Shrine of the Immortal Officials of the Cavern-Heaven.

Shrine of the Perfected Officials of Jade Void.

Hall for the Propagation of the Teaching (Yanjiao Tang): The plaque was inscribed by He Chuan, a native of this prefecture.

The plaque of Yinzhen Hall (隐真堂) was inscribed by Han Yongxi, and Hao Jun once composed a poem here. The hall now enshrines statues of immortals such as Zhongli and Lü Dongbin. The plaque of the abbot's chamber reads "Heaven Unfolds a Painted Scroll"; it was written by Zhu Huang, a fifth-generation descendant of Lord Wen, who had already inscribed it at the age of nine.

The Shrine of the True Official of Jade Void (玉虚真官祠) is where the True Official of Jade Void is worshipped.

The plaque of Yanjiao Hall (衍教堂) was inscribed by He Chuan, a native of the prefecture.

The plaque of Yinzhen Hall was inscribed by Han Yongxi, and Hao Jun once composed a poem here. The hall now enshrines statues of immortals such as Zhongli and Lü Dongbin. The plaque of the abbot's chamber reads "Heaven Unfolds a Painted Scroll"; it was written by Zhu Huang, a fifth-generation descendant of Lord Wen, who had already inscribed it at the age of nine.

The plaque of Fengyu Hall (风雨堂) was inscribed by Hao Xing, and Zhao Mengfu also wrote a plaque for this hall.

The plaque of Jinlianwan (金莲绾) was inscribed by Yu Ji, a native of Shu.

The seal-script plaque on the gate of Yuxu Palace (玉虚宫) was inscribed by Zhao Ting of Dongyang.

The seal-script plaque on the gate of the Qixian Grotto-Heaven (祈仙洞天) was inscribed by Qian Shuoyou, a native of the county.

The plaque on the mountain gate of Xiandu (仙都山) was inscribed by Zhao Mengfu.

Pianyun Pavilion (片云亭) takes its name from Bai Juyi's lines on "a lone cloud and a solitary rock."

Huilan Pavilion (回澜亭) stands on Jinhua Pool, and its plaque was inscribed by He Zongyao, a native of the prefecture.

Next come Xiandu Tuixuan (仙都蜕轩), Jingxiu Studio (竞秀轩), Xiefang Studio (撷芳轩), and Lianyu Studio (练玉轩).

Zhuhe Pavilion (驻鹤亭) lies outside the gate of the Grotto-Heaven. Zhaoshui Pavilion (照水亭) stands over the Release-of-Life Pond. Wanggui Pavilion (忘归亭) stands before Wanggui Cave.

Miaoting Temple (妙庭观) lies at Lianyu Studio, east of Xiandu Mountain.

Zhuhe Pavilion lies outside the gate of the Grotto-Heaven. Zhaoshui Pavilion stands over the Release-of-Life Pond. Wanggui Pavilion stands before Wanggui Cave.

Miaoting Temple lies on the eastern side of Xiandu Mountain, above Golden Dragon Cave. In the first year of the Chengtong era of the Tang, it was founded by Master Liu, the Hidden Realized One (Yinzhen), who afterwards built the Xuanxu (玄墟) behind the temple. In the third year of Qianfu, his disciple Zhu Huisi went to court to request a temple plaque, and the court bestowed the name "Xiandu." In the first year of Jingfu, Luo Yin of Jiangdong wrote a commemorative record for it. In the second year of Zhiping in the Song, the court changed the name to the one used today. In the first year of Huangqing in the Yuan, the Daoist Chen Huaiyu, styled Xuanmiao Baozhen, received an imperial letter under seal restoring Miaoting Temple to the Jiayi system, in which Daoist masters and disciples succeed one another in tending the incense through the generations; thereafter the temple gradually flourished.

The Academy of Solitary Peak (Dufeng Academy) stands west of Lianjin Creek, directly facing Solitary Peak. During the Chunxi reign of the Song dynasty, in the year renyin (1182), Master Zhu Xi (courtesy name Hui'an) was ordered to inspect local affairs. He submitted a memorial impeaching the Prefect of Taizhou, and while that memorial still awaited a reply, he lived in leisure in these mountains, waiting for the court's decision. He once remarked that this was a fitting place in which to withdraw from the world and pursue study. In the year wuzi of the Shaoding reign (1228), Ye Sichang, a native of the prefecture and Baron of the Founding of the State with the rank of County Baron, was the first to build a ceremonial hall here, to serve as a place for lectures and teaching. In the year dingmao of the Xianchun reign (1267), Qian Shuoyou, a local man who held the rank of Minister, enlarged the academy on the original site. All the land on which the academy stands belongs to Yuxu Mountain.

The Temple of Numinous Grace (Lingze Temple) stands in front of the Twin Dragon Cave and is dedicated to the spirits of the two dragons. The Gazetteer of the Prefecture records that in the seventh year of the Xianchun reign of the Song (1271), the county magistrate Chen Shaoruo prayed for rain here and saw his prayer answered. He reported this to the court and requested that a name plaque be bestowed upon the temple. From then until now, the prayers for rain offered here by scholars and common people have often been answered. The old temple was very small and was frequently repaired and renewed.

The Temple of Lord Zhao (Zhaohou Miao) stands west of Xiandu Mountain, beside the Tiyun Cave. According to the Gazetteer of the Prefecture, the temple is in Xiandu Township, and the local people all revere Lord Zhao, who was Zhao Bing of the Eastern Han dynasty.

In front of the temple lies a boat-shaped stone. The Gazetteer says that a stone resembling a small boat is commonly called "Lord Zhao's Boat," and that other stones resembling a staff, a shoe, or a water jar are also named after him. Zhao Bing, courtesy name Gong'a, was a native of Dongyang. He was skilled in the magical arts of the Yue region and valued purity, simplicity, and frugality. When he made offerings to the spirits, he used east-flowing water in place of wine and carved mulberry bark into sacrificial meat. When he treated the sick, he always cured them. Later he traveled east to Zhang'an, the area of present-day Taizhou, where the people held him in great reverence. After his death, they built a shrine for him. Even today, no mosquitoes enter the shrine.

Another commentary records that Zhao Bing's old shrine lay east of Yongkang County in Zizhou and was known among the people as the Shrine of Lord Zhao. In the Jiangnan region, the story is still told that Lord Zhao healed illness through prohibition techniques (jinfa). It is said that the "Record of Qi-Restraint of Lord Zhao" (Zhaohou Jinqi Lu), now transmitted at the ordination altars of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity), refers to the arts of Lord Zhao as a master of prohibitions. The almanacs also mention a "Transformation Day of Lord Zhao."

The Dongyang Gazetteer likewise records that Yongkang County has a Temple of the Marquis of Wushang, dedicated to none other than Zhao Bing of the Eastern Han, and its account of his deeds matches the historical records. The County Classic states that he rose to the rank of Grand General under the Han. The temple has no inscribed stele to consult, and only a few characters in ancient clerical script remain, reading "Temple of the Marquis of Wushang." The Gazetteer of the Prefecture adds that the Lingkang Traveling Shrine in Qingtian County is the same as the Temple of Lord Zhao in Jinyun County. Lord Zhao was first worshipped at Baihe Mountain in Linhai County, Taizhou. In the seventh year of the Yuanfeng era of the Song dynasty, the court bestowed a temple plaque and conferred on him the title "Prince of Numinous Compliance, Manifest Protection, Broad Benevolence, and Awesome Merit."

Examining the history of Jinyun County, in the first year of the Shengli era of the Tang dynasty, the court carved out land from Kuocang County (present-day Lishui) and Yongkang County to establish Jinyun. The Temple of Lord Zhao lies no more than half a she (an ancient unit of road distance) from the Yongkang county line, so it can be inferred that this area originally belonged to old Yongkang territory. Lord Zhao's spiritual responses are not bound by geography, and neighboring counties have also built shrines to him, but only this temple preserves a stone image as its mark. To this day, the temple has no mosquitoes, and the surrounding area produces no leeches or river snails. In times of drought, flood, or plague, people who pray to Lord Zhao receive a response. This temple may well be Lord Zhao's earliest ancestral temple.

Master Jingfu Zhou was a Daoist of Xiandu Mountain. During the Dali era of the Tang dynasty, he lived in the Xianshui Cave, where he practiced bigu (abstaining from the five grains) and sat in stillness for more than a hundred years, after which he became an immortal and departed. Stone inscriptions still remain in the Yuxu Palace, and one can consult there the poem "On the Dwelling of Venerable Master Zhou of Mirror Cliff," written by Lu Guimeng, together with its preface. The preface to the poem is recorded here:

Halfway up Xiandu Mountain in Chuzhou there is a cave which, seen from below, looks like a mirror, and so it is called "Mirror Cliff." The cave lies about two hundred chi above the ground, and those who climb to it must join bamboo ladders section by section. Inside the cave is a space about the size of a small square room, where milky water (whitish drops seeping from the rock wall) drips without ceasing. A Daoist practitioner, Master Jingfu Zhou, lived here.

For eighty years he ate no grain. Each day he burned only a single censer of jiangzhen incense (incense used in Daoist rituals) and read the Lingbao Duren Jing (Scripture of Salvation, a Daoist classic).

Duan Ke, a native of Dongmou who had once served as a local prefect, heard of Master Zhou's reputation and climbed the ladders into the cave to visit him. He asked, "You have lived here a long time. The milky water drips day and night. Do you know how much of it there is?" Master Zhou replied, "I have often measured it. In a day and a night it comes to about a hu and a half." Duan Ke was astonished and treated him with the greatest courtesy.

Thirteen years after Duan Ke left Xiandu, someone from Chuzhou told him that Master Zhou was still alive. Duan Ke longed for the Master's attainment of the Dao but had no opportunity to call on him again, so he wrote a poem and sent it to him:

I hear that your body is so light that even the crane cannot match it; you dwell in a stone chamber, with no companion among men, keeping house only with the clouds. At dawn you shave fragrant incense with your own hands, and alone in the night you chant the Biluo Shu (Book of the Azure Heavens, a Daoist classic). It is said that the essential qi gathered by the immortals of the ten caves you have already drawn into yourself, yet the hair on your head, white as autumn frost, you have never combed. I know you are about to enter the Assembly of the Hanging Pearl (a realm where Daoist immortals gather), and I wonder when you will ride a white carp eastward.

Pi Rixiu, the Imperial Editor, also composed a poem in reply:

For more than eighty years you have lived at Mirror Cliff, your frame beneath the deerskin cap lean as snow. The stone bed is cold, and clouds coil about your pillow so that sleep comes hard; the cave is damp, yet milky water dripping into your vessels does not trouble your life. Gibbons drinking at the stream glance back to peer into the dark depths; beside the green bamboo ladder, someone rests by the towering firs. Alas, I am an official running about on errands, worn down like a crow, and I long to take a single sail to Xiandu, but know not when I shall go.

The account recorded in the Kuocang Jiu Ji (Old Collection of Kuocang) is identical to the stone inscription.

Master Yinzhen Liu, named Liu Chujing and styled Daoyou, was a native of Pengcheng in the state of Pei. His ancestors fled turmoil and moved to Suichang, where the family settled. For generations they were a family of scholars. Liu was clever from childhood, read widely, and traveled to famous mountains. Later, the master met a person who had attained the Dao (the Way) and learned tuna (the breathing method of regulating the breath and nourishing Qi, or vital energy).

Liu was once summoned to an imperial audience and was granted a ceremonial garment. Afterward the master retired to Yinzhen Crag on Xiandu Mountain and built a hut beside Golden Dragon Cave, on the site that is now Miaoting Temple. The master had several hundred disciples, and every day people came from far away to pay their respects.

The disciples wished to have a statue made of their teacher. One day a Daoist fond of wine came to sculpt the likeness. The master kept the sculptor as a guest and shared wine with them. Ten days later the master gave the sculptor thirty zhu of gold and sent them on their way. As they parted in front of Golden Dragon Cave, the sculptor said, "When you go back, look under your inkstone." After the sculptor left, the master found a sheet of paper there. It read: "You gave me gold, so I will give you a sixteen-character secret: Truth upon truth embraces the child; form upon form keeps the child's Shen (spirit) whole." The gold the master had given was still there too. The master was suddenly enlightened and built a Xuanxu (a place for burial or concealing the body) behind the house in advance, then quietly guarded the aspiration of a lifetime.

On the xinyou day of the sixth month in the fourteenth year of Xiantong, the master underwent jiehua (in Daoism, the release of a cultivator from the body, that is, death). On that same day the court posthumously conferred the title Prefect of Guifeng Xuanxu. Lu Qianguan wrote an encomium for the master's portrait, which says: "Here was the essence of supreme numinosity, the wellspring of the great Dao. Simplicity was never lost, and the Shen (spirit) was kept whole. Alas, the world is driven by desire, and so the primordial embryo (the original source of life, received before birth) cannot stay for even a moment. Only the master was tranquil and unadorned, with every stray thought dispelled. What could possibly disturb the perfectly true? If form and breath must still rely on a shed dwelling (the body as a temporary lodging for the spirit), why should a divine person need to be rendered in clay and carved wood?"

Some years later, a fellow villager saw Master Liu in the Xiang-Han region and told the disciples. They opened the tomb to look, and found only a staff and a pair of shoes inside. People then came to believe all the more that the master had departed through shijie (in Daoism, ascending by leaving the body behind like a shed skin). Behind Miaoting Temple today there is still an empty tomb.

Another encomium for the statue says: "Returning to the One, the realm is boundless; within the mystery there is a deeper mystery. This statue left behind is not the master's true self. The master's truth does not lie in this body. Passing in and out of being and non-being, the master cannot be approached by anyone."

The first part of the Xiandu Zhi ends here.

The accounts of these figures come from the Junzhi (Prefectural Gazetteer), while the more numerous eulogies come from the Kuocang Jiuzhi (Old Gazetteer of Kuocang).

Xiandu Zhi, Second Volume

The Jade Perfected was not confined by his own bodily form. He could pass in and out between being and non-being, and no one was able to become close to him.

This book was compiled by Chen Xingding of Shaowei, resident of Yuxu (Jade Void) Monastery, and proofread by Wu Mingyi (courtesy name Zhongyi) of Poyang, head of Dufeng Mountain.

Eminent Men

Xiandu belongs to the Qixian grotto-heaven (a dwelling place of immortals in Daoist belief), and in every age it has had cultivators of lofty character. Before the Xuanhe era of Emperor Huizong of the Song, the Yuxu Palace suffered the ravages of war, and its history from that time can no longer be verified. Afterward, You Dacheng and others frequently promoted Daoism and made Xiandu's reputation even greater. Their conduct was distinguished and their reputations were upright, and they were among its most important figures.

You Dacheng, courtesy name Lecheng, restored the Yuxu Palace single-handedly after it was destroyed in war. He continued the work of his predecessors, clarified the principles of the teaching, and inspired later students; he was especially skilled in geomancy. He once chose a burial site for himself on a branch mountain of Xiandu and swore: "May my nephews and descendants, generation after generation, carry on the work of the Dao and be teachers to humankind and the heavens." It later happened just as he said, and his family line continued for eight generations. By the end of the Song, the ancestral tomb had been eroded by the soil, and the You clan nearly died out as well.

Lou Dadu and Huang Jiansu were both natives of this county. They vigorously promoted the customs of Daoism and broadly displayed the teachings of the Mysterious Gate (Xuanmen).

Li Boxiang was a native of Jianchuan, with a lofty and archaic Daoist bearing. He added the Flying Heaven Dharma Wheel, making it the foremost monastery in Zhezuo (the eastern Zhejiang region).

Liu Yanyong was a native of Shaowei who once petitioned the throne to have surtaxes (extra levies) abolished. Wu Ruochong, a fellow disciple and friend of his, commended him and set up a record of his achievements for the Daoist community.

Hong Duanben, styled Gaoxi; Ye Baohe, styled Zhujian; Zhan Xuyi, styled Jian; and Chen Guanding, styled Chushan, were all natives of Lishui. Passing the teaching from master to disciple across four generations, they inherited the orthodox line of the Great Dao and were all leaders of the Mysterious Gate. Lord Chushan made changes to the guanxiang (an item recorded in the original), and his accomplishments were especially numerous.

Lin Tianren, styled Hengzhou, was a native of Kunyang. In his early years he served as an Xiuzhi Lang (a junior official rank). As the times changed, he turned wholeheartedly to the study of the Mysterious (Xuanxue), collecting and editing Daoist scriptures. He left his former post and repeatedly presided over and promoted the Great Yellow Register Retreat (Huanglu Dazhai, a large-scale Daoist Zhaijiao (purification ritual) for invoking blessings). On one occasion, on the night of the Refining Rite (shilian, a Daoist ritual for feeding and liberating the souls of the dead), he manifested great spiritual power. Light shone upon the walls and displayed nine colors. In an instant, heaven and earth grew bright and clear, and the common people all saw it with their own eyes.

Xie Tianyu, styled Langu, was a native of Jinhua. He was well versed in Daoist methods and spread the aims of the Daoist teaching. He once prayed for rain and then prayed for clear skies, and he also summoned thunder to destroy temple shrines, all with an unhurried bearing as he performed these arts. People still praise him to this day.

Xie Tianyu, styled Langu, was a native of Jinhua. He was well versed in Daoist methods and spread the aims of the Daoist teaching. He prayed for rain and for clear skies, and he summoned thunder to destroy temple shrines, his expression remaining calm throughout. Once his petitions were sent forth, they were answered like an echo. To this day, people still praise him.

Xu Yuanshan, styled Zilin, was a native of Lishui and served as a Daoist of the Yuxu (Jade Void) Palace. During the Jingding era of the Song dynasty, he received an imperial edict to pray for snow. With white chalk he drew a five-petaled snowflake on blue paper and presented it to the court, saying, "Tomorrow at the Chen hour it will surely snow, and every snowflake will have five petals." When the appointed hour came, it happened just as he had said. The court bestowed upon him the title "Master of Purple Tenuity and Compassionate Aid" (Ziwei Huiji Xiansheng), and his deeds are recorded in the prefectural gazetteer.

In the Yuan dynasty, the court, out of respect for those of virtue (De), summoned the Celestial Master (Tianshi), honored the Daoist teaching, and had him preside over the Yuxu Palace so that he might nurture the remainder of his years. In the Jiachen year of the Dade era, Xu Yuanshan passed away as an immortal without having fallen ill, leaving these words: "I was originally an immortal of Penglai, and I have dwelt in the world for seventy-nine years. Now, smiling, I point toward Tripod Lake (Dinghu) and return. Within the Cavern of Contemplation, even the azure heavens find nothing to grasp."

Zhao Siqi, styled Xuyi, was a native of Longquan. In his youth he studied the Dao (the Way) at Yuxu, and when he came of age he traveled among famous mountains in many regions, and also took Perfected Master Du of Nangu as his teacher. Later he journeyed to the capital, where he was held in esteem by many eminent nobles and high officials. He respectfully accepted the court's appointment and the seal it conferred, and from him onward, Daoist abbots were ranked according to the fifth grade, with upper and lower degrees. On many occasions he was commissioned to carry incense offerings bestowed by the emperor and to travel by post horse to Huai, Shu, Jingxiang, Jiangzhe, Huguang, the Min coast, Sibo, and other places. Afterward he successively presided over the Palace of Eternal Longevity of the Great Yuan at Jiqing, the Shengyuan Abbey on Jichou Mountain in Huzhou, and the Baihe (White Crane) Abbey in Pingjiang. The court repeatedly issued edicts granting him the title "Master Xuming Tongdao Xuyi" (Master of Mysterious Brightness, Who Penetrates the Dao, Xuyi), acknowledging him as a distinguished man of the Daoist community. In the winter of the Gengchen year of the Zhiyuan era, he died at the Baihe Abbey, and his sword and shoes were buried on Jichou Mountain.

Li Dening, styled Shouyi, was a native of Kuocheng. He once served as deputy supervisor of Daoist affairs in Sanqu, and held office at Yuxu for more than forty years, taking it as his duty to revive what had fallen into neglect and to repair its defects. In the Gengyin year of the Zhiyuan era, he rendered notable service in securing an exemption from taxes. On the Yiwei day in the first month of the Yiyou year of the Zhizheng era, he suddenly asked for paper and brush and wrote a few parting words: "Embrace virtue, and the heart is at peace; hold fast to pure unity, and you will succeed; the sky is bright with the moon, roaming free in Shangqing (the Highest Clarity)." When he had finished writing, he threw down the brush and passed away.

Plants and Trees

Golden Lotus: The Gazetteer of the Prefecture records that atop the stone peak there is a lake, and lotus flowers grow in the lake. The solitary rock of Xiandu Mountain towers into the clouds. Local elders have passed down the tradition that petals of a golden lotus once drifted down and fell here.

Dragon-Whisker Grass: It grows on the cliffs of Solitary Peak. According to the old gazetteer, when the Yellow Emperor rode a dragon up to Heaven, his ministers clung to the dragon's whiskers and rose together with him; the whiskers fell away and transformed into this grass.

Longevity Pine: An ancient pine grows atop Solitary Peak, its trunk so thick that several people are needed to encircle it, and it stays green in all seasons. This shows that Solitary Peak is deeply nourished by the waters of Dinghu (Tripod Lake).

Among the plants and trees of the mountains, one often finds species that can be used as medicine. Old men of the hills and country folk gather them, but these plants differ in shape and flavor, and people often do not know what they are called. Here, following the medicinal substances recorded in the Bencao (Materia Medica), I have selected some and listed them below. They may not all be native to this place, nor do they necessarily grow here in abundance, but I list their names for now to show the fineness and richness of this famous mountain's produce.

The medicinal substances and products listed are as follows: huangjing (Solomon's seal), changpu (sweet flag), chrysanthemum, tianmendong (asparagus root), maimendong (ophiopogon), plantain seed, rehmannia, achyranthes, Chinese yam, cangzhu kernel (atractylodes), morinda root, trichosanthes root, dendrobium, anlan, selaginella, gentian, inula flower, cassia seed, peony, sweet wormwood, star jasmine, capillary wormwood, mosla, zijin vine, indigo seed, sedum, kudzu root, buttercup (shilongrui), epimedium, clematis, sophora root, angelica, rice-paper plant, dichroa, fo-ti (heshouwu), honeysuckle vine, dianthus, cibotium, subprostrate sophora root, morning glory seed, weixiangzi, lily bulb, cogon root, caoxian, castor bean, jinxingcao, arisaema, curculigo, miaoxie, mugwort leaf, aristolochia, matixiang, liujinu, pinellia, isatis leaf, jiancao, nutsedge root, eriocaulon, drynaria, Chinese snake gourd, belamcanda, ampelopsis, caper spurge, yingguanzi, raspberry, pokeroot, siegesbeckia, carpesium, daylily root, self-heal, cocklebur fruit, puffball, bugleweed, skimmia, zihechei, schisandra, baimu, dahan, vaccaria, stephania, duhualu, dock, the roots of great and small thistle, asarum, guijiu, duckweed, elsholtzia, perilla, euonymus, mint, mumu, wild celery, bamboo leaf, purslane, mallow seed, adenophora, purple kudzu, rufan, rush pith, lizard's tail, burdock seed, ramie root, wild rice root, caocao, banana root, vervain, kochia seed, duzhu, white mugwort, platycodon, mock strawberry, eclipta, wild aconite, pine resin, sweetgum resin, parasol tree seed, acanthopanax bark, lycium root bark, mulberry root bark, paper mulberry fruit, pagoda tree fruit, acorn, gallnut, goji berry, bush cherry kernel, lindera, phellodendron, evodia, cornus, Cherokee rose hip, toosendan fruit, hibiscus, honey locust pod, kuzhen, lianzi flower, vitex fruit, photinia, uncaria, gardenia, tallow tree, zemu bark, willow leaf, Sichuan pepper, dried lacquer, and fir wood. There are also grains, fruits, and vegetables: rice, millet, white hyacinth bean, adzuki bean, mung bean, barley, wheat, white sesame, poppy seed, pear, jujube, lotus seed, yingtou, pomegranate rind, chestnut, peach kernel, plum, persimmon calyx, teng pear, loquat leaf, scallion seed, white lettuce, bitter lettuce, water celery, water chestnut, alfalfa, artemisia greens, mustard, garlic, chive, shepherd's purse, and the like.

The hall of the Yellow Emperor Shrine (Huangdi Ci) bears four large characters, "Huangdi Ci Yu" (Hall of the Yellow Emperor Shrine), written in seal script by Li Yangbing, magistrate of Jinyun County during the Tang dynasty. The stele was originally set up behind the Yuxu Palace (Yuxu Gong). It was later moved by local people to the county school. During the Qingli era, someone carved on the back of the stele a record of the school written by Zhan, an Imperial Farm Supervisor (Tuntian Yuanwailang). The stele survives to this day.

The Tang writer Wei Jia composed the "Inscription on Xiandu Mountain" (Xiandu Shan Ming), which was written out in seal script by Qian Shuoyou. The stele stands in front of the harbor.

The Tang prefect Li Jizhen also composed an "Inscription on Xiandu Mountain," written out in seal script by Zhao Biyuan. Zhao Biyuan was a man of the Song dynasty.

The Tang poet Lu Guimeng wrote "Poem, with Preface, on the Residence of Master Zhou at Mirror Cliff" (Ti Jingyan Zhou Zunshi Suoju Shi bing Xu).

In the second year of the Zhiping era of the Song, the court changed the official name of the Daoist temple to "Yuxu Palace" and issued an imperial edict together with official documents and warrants from the Secretariat and the Ministries.

Stone Inscriptions

Hao Shuo of Qiantang wrote "An Account of Accompanying Prefect Liu Dazhong on a Tour of Xiandu."

The Vice Prefect (Tongpan) Ding Zongdan wrote "Poem Inscribed on the Yuxu Palace at Xiandu Mountain."

The Prefect Xie Ji wrote "Poem in Reply to Commissioner Li Shiju."

Xiang Ying, a local man, wrote "An Account of the Exemption from Taxes and Corvée for the Yuxu Palace."

Zou Jingchu, Minister of the Imperial Academy, wrote "Poem on a Tour of the Yuxu Palace, with Postscript."

Hao Dashao, Registrar of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, wrote "Poem Presented to the Palace Steward Zhan Xuyi."

Du Huizhi wrote "An Account of a Tour of Xiandu."

The Prefect Zhao Biyuan wrote "An Account of a Tour of Xiandu."

The Prefect An Liupan wrote "Petition Requesting the Relocation of the Palace."

Qian Shuoyou, a county man, wrote "An Account of the Reconstruction of the Yuxu Palace."

The Magistrate Hao Zuwen wrote "Poem Inscribed on Solitary Peak" (Ti Dufeng Shi).

Chen Renyu of Xianju wrote the poem "Roaming Xiandu" (Xiandu), and his younger brother Shaoruo, then the county magistrate, added a postscript to it. All of this was recorded in detail by a native of Qiantang. Shaoruo and the others mentioned here were men of the Song dynasty.

During the Yuan dynasty, Shi Gu, magistrate of Jinyun County, wrote the poem "In Thanks to the Thunder Envoy Xu Yuanjin for Praying for Rain." Yuanxi added a postscript to the poem. Yuanxi also wrote out the "Complete Text of the Original and Duplicate Copies of the Protection Edict for the Yuxu Palace" and had the whole text carved on a stele. All of these inscriptions are at the Yuxu Palace.

Master Liu Yinzhen's "Stele Inscription of Xuanxu" and the "Complete Text of the Original and Duplicate Copies of the Protection Edict for the Miaoting Temple," also written out by Yuanxi, were likewise carved on stone, the latter in full. These inscriptions are at the Miaoting Temple.

The Transport Commissioner Ye Qingchen composed the "Inscription on Dufeng Mountain," which was carved into the cliff face below the peak. During the Qingli era, the Transport Commissioner Ma Xun, during the Huangyou era, the Transport Commissioner Su Shun, and during the Yuanfeng era, the Junior Guardian Lord Zhao Qingxian (Zhao Bian), together with more than forty other notable men before and after them, all noted the dates of their visits to Xiandu and had them carved in the Xianshui Cave.

During the Qingli era, the county defender Mao Weizhan accompanied the Transport Commissioner Liu Yu on a tour of Xiandu and wrote an account of the journey, which was carved at the foot of Buxu Mountain.

During the Jiayou era, Shen Shen of Kuaiji, during the Xuanhe era, Liu Changqing of Kaifeng, and during the Shaoxing era, Yu Siping of Qiantang, together with more than twenty other notable men before and after them, also noted the dates of their visits to Xiandu and had them carved in Chuyang Valley.

During the Shaoxing era, Guo Qifu, Jiang Shanzhao, Zhao Shanshi, and Yang Jing went to Xiandu by imperial order to pray for rain. They wrote the "Record of Praying for Rain at Xiandu," which was carved on Mirror Rock.

During the Jiading era, Liu Yuangang, Guo Leiqing, and others wrote the "Record of a Tour of Xiandu," which was carved on the rock wall outside Chuyang Valley.

The three characters "Little Penglai" were written by Lou Lun of Siming, and a stele bearing them was erected in the mountains.

Huang Bangyan, a local man, wrote the poem "Inscribed on Dufeng," which was carved on Child Peak.

The county magistrate Wang Tan had the "Song of Little Penglai" carved into the rock face. The Transport Vice-Commissioner Ye Qingchen and the magistrate Wang Tan, both mentioned above, were men of the Song dynasty.

The three large regular-script characters "Xianshui Yan" (Immortal Water Cliff) are carved inside the cave.

The three large regular-script characters "Chuyang Gu" (Valley of the First Sunrise) are carved in the valley.

The three large seal-script characters "Ni Ye Dong" (Grandfather Ni's Cave), which some say were written by Li Yangbing, are carved at the cave's entrance.

The three seal-script characters "Yinzhen Dong" (Cave of Hidden Truth), the three seal-script characters "Jinlong Dong" (Golden Dragon Cave), the three clerical-script characters "Tiantang Dong" (Heavenly Hall Cave), and the three regular-script characters "Wanggui Dong" (Cave of Forgotten Return) are all carved on the walls of their respective caves.

The above are the names of the stele inscriptions and cliff-side calligraphy on the mountain, which have been mentioned earlier. Some of the inscriptions are excerpted here and briefly preserved below. The collected poems of renowned writers, past and present, are published separately.

Inscription on Du Mountain

Composed by Wei Xiang of the Tang dynasty

Xiandu Mountain rises sheer and steep, so lofty that it seems comparable to Mount Song. Its massive form stands upright, its peaks sharp as if cut, thrusting into the sky of eastern Zhejiang. The mountain is pulled up from the earth, square and towering, brushing the vault of heaven. A spirit pool lies at its summit, and auspicious clouds gather among its slopes. The jade-tablet altar rises a thousand fathoms and, like a pillar, guards the four directions. The eye cannot see its end, and even a bird in flight seems to find no limit to it.

The surrounding mountains encircle Xiandu as if the immortals had come to assemble. The Yellow Emperor once came here seeking the way of the immortals and climbed its emerald ridge. A cinnabar grotto rose nearby, and a golden stream flowed from the foot of the mountain. When the sun shines, rosy mists answer it; when the moon shines, the clouds and fog turn hazy. The place is far removed from the dust of the world, and its trees do not grow in tangled thickets. Dwelling in stillness, the heart does not grow dim; holding fast to the Way of singleness, one becomes strong and unyielding. Pray for long life, and the wish finds its echo; when the rites and music reach their ninth movement, immortal melodies seem to drift down from the empty sky. A fair reputation spreads far, and people hold grand ceremonies here. These events are recorded as a warning and a remembrance; year after year people pray, hoping their intentions may reach the spirits. The highest realm is nothing other than compassion, which is precisely the merit of the creative transformation of all things.

Inscription on Du Mountain

Composed by Zhang Lu

The primordial Qi of chaos dispersed and took form, and the earth bore the myriad things and nurtured what is numinous and fine. Xiandu Mountain towers over all other mountains. Its lone peak soars and stands upright into the heavens, with cloud-vapor curling through the blue sky. Mountain mist gathers around the cinnabar grotto, and the mottled glow of sunset glimmers on the clouds like a folding screen. The peak climbs straight to the ninth heaven, and at its flank it seems to touch the five planets. The long whiskers of the dragon cannot be seen, yet the sound of phoenix flutes is often heard.

King Mu once came here in search of the realm of the immortals, but never found peace; he heard that neglecting government affairs might win the elixir of immortality, yet in the end he could not extend his life. The world holds things of singular wonder, and so earlier generations left inscriptions. Thus this text has been carved here, to record the radiance and marvels of Jinyun Mountain.

Mount Xiandu (the name of a mountain) is formed of layered ranges that rise a thousand fathoms straight up, with mist and rosy clouds stretching deep among its folds. Its peaks are rounded, graceful and upright, towering into the clouds like a divine mountain standing in the human world, a symbol of the emperor's long life. The place holds many wondrous sights. People of old left an inscription for it, and so this text has been carved to make manifest the splendor of Mount Jinyun.

Mount Xiandu springs up from among the ranges and climbs a thousand fathoms, wreathed in mist and rosy clouds of unfathomable depth. Its peaks are rounded and graceful, rising above the clouds as a landmark of the human world, and they seem to signify the long life of emperors. Like the sun and moon, it has endured ten thousand years. It is a great mountain guarding the lands between east and west, encircled by rivers and lakes. The creative transformations of heaven and earth are vast and boundless, and no one knows how the mountain first came into being.

On clear days, a soft mist drifts among the mountains. When the night fog lifts, the peaks reveal shapes like hair buns, as though immortals had descended from the heavens. Spiritual Qi (vital energy) hangs thick in the mountains, and numinous birds wheel overhead. Far from worldly turmoil, it seems that not even the finest dust is ever stirred up here.

The summit soars into the clouds, and atop it lies a clear lake that few can reach. Who could describe what it looks like? Sunlight illuminates the clouds, and the wind stirs the vapor, so that droplets drift down from the air like rain and gently dampen one's robes. From the valleys comes the sound of wind in the pines, and the pools mirror the morning light. The cries of cranes are heard from time to time, yet no one knows where they are flying.

Nearly a hundred years into the Tang dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong governed the realm in accord with the Dao (the Way). Auspicious omens answered him, and cries of "ten thousand years" reached the heavens. The emperor's fortune and De (Virtue) shone brightly, and a shrine for sacrifices was established here. People have long remembered the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan (a legendary ancient sovereign), who accomplished his work in this place. The Red Divine Turtle (the legendary divine turtle said to bear the immortal mountains on its back) seems still to linger in the mountains, while the Yellow Emperor rode a dragon up into the sky, ten thousand li high. These events were recorded in the local gazetteers and, for their loftiness, have left their names in history. Now no trace of the immortals can be seen, and only the stream flows on in vain.

Among the lands of the Baiyue, this mountain is the most majestic. It seems a wonderland within a gourd, leaving one half-convinced that one has stepped beyond the mortal world. It stands straight and upright, leaning to neither side, lofty yet never precarious. From ancient times to the present, it has stood alone amid the vast blue sea.

The Yellow Emperor (Huangdi, a legendary ruler of high antiquity) traveled by carriage and horse, leaving his footprints in every region. After he succeeded in refining the elixir, he rose to Heaven on the clouds, and famous mountains came to display auspicious signs because of him. A climb up Dufeng Peak (Independent Peak) should naturally leave behind a record of such deeds.

It happened that the Transport Commissioner of the Two Zhe circuits was making a tour of the Kuocang region, and a Daoist priest of Kuocang went in person to seek out the sacred traces at Xiandu. Lamenting that the men of the Qin and Han dynasties had not known how to practice self-restraint, he halted his horse beside the stream and carved an inscription on the north face of the mountain.

The Yellow Emperor's Dao was exalted and his De (Virtue) lofty; his achievements were great and his virtue complete. When he departed this world, he rose on the clouds, following the example of the flying dragon, and ascended to August Heaven. The Qin dynasty was cruel and extravagant, and the Han also waged great wars; fighting along the borders was frequent, and the common people suffered deeply. When the dynastic mandate was exhausted, the rulers, indulgent year after year, forgot the admonitions of the ancients. The inscription is carved on the summit: may you, like an immortal spirit, stand alone and lofty, your bearing distinguished.

Poems Inscribed

Bai Juyi (courtesy name Letian), Secretariat Drafter

The Yellow Emperor's cortege has departed and never returned; only a single cloud and a solitary rock remain, towering alone.

At times the wind stirs the waves of Ding Lake (Dinghu, the legendary place where the Yellow Emperor ascended), and the water droplets scatter into a fine rain in the clear sky.

Xu Ning, former Presented Scholar

Heaven and earth are vast, and worldly affairs stretch from antiquity to the present. In Xiandu, how many people have truly come seeking?

Having arrived here, one sees only the mountains rising and falling, yet cannot know how deep or shallow the lake's waters are.

Cao Tang, Transport Commissioner and Diarist of the Imperial Court: Two Poems

The peach blossoms of immortality are fading east of Huayang.

I hear that immortals are so light of body that not even the crane can match them; they dwell in chambers of stone, with no songs, dances, or banquets, keeping company only with clouds and rosy mist. At dawn they carve fragrant spirit-persimmon incense by their own hand; deep in the night they chant alone from the Book of the Azure Void (a Daoist scripture).

The flying essences (feijing, the vital subtle energies spoken of in Daoism) of all ten grotto-heavens must surely have been drawn in by now, yet the long hair of autumn has never been combed. I know you are about to enter the Gathering of the Suspended Pearl (an assembly of immortals), and that sooner or later you will arrive riding a white carp.

The preface records: the Mirror Cliff in the Gazetteer of Xiandu is the very place where the Immortal of the Void chanted the Book of the Azure Void.

The flying essences of all ten grotto-heavens must surely have been drawn in by now, yet the long hair of autumn has never been combed. I know you are about to enter the Gathering of the Suspended Pearl, and that sooner or later you will arrive riding a white carp.

The preface records: the Mirror Cliff in the Gazetteer of Xiandu is the Cave of Immortal Waters.

Pi Rixiu, courtesy name Ximei, Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices (an official in charge of rites and canonical texts), composed a matching poem:

For more than eighty years I have lived at Mirror Cliff, my hair loose and white as snow beneath my deerskin cap. My bed is cold and clear, so that the clouds coiling about my pillow are almost more than I can bear; the mountain is so moist that milky spring water may drip into my box and do no harm. The macaque that comes to drink turns back to peer into the deep cave; the climber, resting on the steps, leans against a towering fir. Why must I, an official bound to my duties, sit worn down like a crow, still hoping to sail far away to Xiandu?

Li Jianzhong, Vice Commissioner of Transport for the Two Zhe Circuits (an official in charge of fiscal transport in the Zhejiang region):

Xiandu Mountain rises high and steep, and the Palace of the Yellow Emperor stands solemn and still. Great rocks front a broad expanse of water, soaring a thousand fathoms into the heavens.

When the mountain's stones first took form, they gathered the power of creation itself. So deep are they that they seem rooted in the earth; so sheer that they seem able to bar the wild geese flying across the sky.

When the mists part, the path remains; beside the relics of the elixir cauldron (a vessel for alchemical refining), only emptiness is left. Plants drink in the moisture, and their hearts are green; lotus leaves unfurl, fragrant and sweet. The ascending dragon climbs, and the flying phoenix cries without cease. I once served in the Office of Gathered Immortals (a court bureau associated with immortals and the Dao), which was often likened to the majestic Yingzhou (the legendary immortal isle in the sea).

The stars move through the Girl Lodge, and the wind seems to arrive driving the Xi Mu constellation. Coming here, I feel body and mind suddenly refreshed, and even as I sit, it seems wings might sprout and lift me into the air.

All the affairs of the world scatter like dust, and the qi (vital energy) of the myriad things returns to the Hongmeng (the primordial state before heaven and earth divided, when chaos first took form). The Way of the Supreme Sages is distant and sublime, in communion with the subtle transformations of nature. With golden slips (metal documents used in Daoist practice) I express utmost sincerity; with jade writings I inscribe the merit of creation. When my work is done, I shall take off cap and sword, hoping to settle and dwell here.

Liang Ding, Assistant Prefect (a deputy official of the prefecture):

The primordial qi of Hongmeng stretches vast and far, and the Way of the Supreme Sages is profound and hard to fathom, in communion with the subtle transformations of nature. With golden slips I express utmost sincerity; with jade writings I inscribe the merit of creation. When my work is done, I shall take off cap and sword, hoping to settle and dwell here.

The Stone of the Yellow Emperor's Ascension, lofty in renown, thrusts straight up toward the Dipper and Ox constellations. Its solitary base, slanting, is reflected in the water and gives off a chill, as though unaware that autumn has come.

The peak rises tall, standing alongside the many other summits; its crown is smooth and rounded, like a sacrificial altar. In the hazy light of dawn, with a waning moon hanging low, the mountain under a clear sun is reflected in the pool of the Jiao waters, a scene of profound seclusion.

The steepness of this height is enough to surpass Kunlun; climbing to the summit, one seems able to catch sight of Wozhou. My love for this place is deep and without end, and even at dusk it leaves one lingering, unwilling to depart.

Three poems by Sun He, Imperial Diarist and Transport Commissioner:

Pearl-like pavilions and jade-like halls lie veiled in deep purple mist, and one seems still to hear the music of the phoenix and the immortals, lingering and unbroken.

The Yellow Emperor rode a dragon up to heaven from Dinghu, three thousand years ago; the stalagmite-like peaks still stand, stretching up ten thousand zhang in unbroken succession.

The peak is so sheer that ordinary plants and trees cannot grow upon it; its cliffs seem hewn by a chisel, and the dust of the mundane world can hardly stain them.

Where the immortals' colorful banners and crimson ceremonial standards have gone, no one now knows; only the lotus-like peaks remain, as if still carrying down some lovely celestial music.

Creeping fig vines find nothing to cling to, and not even a slender twig can hang there; Nature carved such a peak, and it must have cost no small effort.

The peak points straight at the Milky Way like a jade gui tablet, and the shadows of the cassia trees fall far away onto the swelling tide of the sea.

That the peak thrusts up five thousand feet from the ground is nothing to prize; that it is three hundred feet from heaven is nothing to call lofty.

Traces beside the Yellow Emperor's wheel ruts remain to this day, and the elixir stairway to heaven seems to lead toward the Northern Dipper; one in a feathered robe seems about to climb it.

After ascending to heaven, the Yellow Emperor never returned, leaving only a few stones in the human world. The peak, a thousand fathoms high, seems to hold up the red sun; through ten thousand ages it still towers majestically above the other mountains.

The flowers and trees in the damp mist droop languidly like palace women; the tall trees growing against the clouds seem like idle Yulin guardsmen.

People today do not believe in the path of ascending as an immortal, yet the wheel ruts left by the Yellow Emperor and the traces of his dragon's whiskers seem still to be found and followed.

Wang Hanzhang, Prefect:

For three years as prefect of the commandery, I have always gazed up at the traces of the immortals here; the peak was close before my eyes, yet I never had the chance to climb it myself.

I often wandered about looking at paintings of it, and now I have indeed seen with my own eyes the peak seeming to hang in midair.

Clouds and mist gather and disperse above the lake's crest, where dust can scarcely cling; white cranes stand on the pine tips, yet the road up the mountain is hard to reach.

Spring has passed, and few people come to the green stream; the ancient altar is desolate and cold, in a fine drizzle.

Two poems by Zhou Qiming, Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices and a native of the commandery:

How deep is Dinghu, after all? The peak stands straight, as if driven firmly into the sky. Thunder cannot wear it down, and the lotus-shaped summits grow only more lofty.

To ascend, one must ride a crane; to bear a heavy burden, one must rely on a great sea turtle. A peak of a thousand ren... when will there be a chance to carry on our aspiration?

This peak is like a great pillar holding up the sky, towering into the clouds. Seen from afar, it seems as lofty as buxu (the ritual pacing of Daoists chanting scripture, also meaning to walk through the air). Climbing the steep ridge and gazing toward Huading, one sees yet another majestic peak thrusting straight into the clouds.

Two Poems by Zeng Hui, Erudite of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Compiler of the Historiography Institute, and Prefect of the Commandery

I often unrolled paintings to admire them, and now I am delighted to come in person to Xiandu (name of a mountain). Having seen with my own eyes the full scenery of its swirling mists, I finally understand the kind of brushwork from which the paintings were made.

This peak, like a pillar holding up the heavens, anchors the earth and seems to reach into the Three Empyreans (the upper heavens). Moss covers the cart tracks, and the fragrance of lotus drifts across Ding Lake. Winds come in from the sea, and the cloud road meets the morning sun. The peak stands upright like a bamboo shoot a thousand fathoms tall, and spreads out on all sides like indigo plants. Its beauty seems to share in the transformations of nature, and its summit is so high that even birds can hardly reach it. Thunder and rain nourish the treasures within its rocks, and the stars shine from afar on the furnaces where elixirs are refined. The tale of Mount Jinhua, where stones were scolded into sheep, cannot match this wonder; the Jade Maiden, longing to play her pitch-pot game, seems to gaze up at this realm of immortals.

The ancient altar still stands, but the stele has fallen into neglect, and most of its inscription is blurred and illegible. I have not lost my way in the fairyland as Ruan Zhao did, nor do I fear being intoxicated as with Magu's wine. The fame of this place transcends the mortal world, and the shadow of its lone peak stands in the air. The inscriptions the First Emperor of Qin carved on Mount Tai cannot compare with this mountain, and the legend of Shun's burial at Cangwu does not stir the imagination as this place does. In summer a cool breeze never ceases, and after autumn frost the plants and trees do not wither. Daoists pace and chant buxu among the hills, and woodcutters are drenched by the green spring water dripping from the cliffs. Xiandu may well be called the finest spot on Yingzhou, the immortal isle of the sea. I chant and take in the sights, even as I attend to the commandery's public affairs.

I have spent more than ten years amid scenery of wind and moon like that of Yingzhou. Now I have left the Cloud Hall to come here and govern the commandery. Having now entered deep into this land of swirling mist and glow, the scene before my eyes is plainly Xiandu itself.

Chen Ruozhuo, Prefect of the Commandery

The peak rises from the earth and strikes straight into the clouds, its roots coiled within several mu of misty haze. It seems that Nature deliberately fashioned this abrupt and marvelous summit; even the cart tracks nearby look as if carved by human hands.

It stands steep and upright with nothing around it to lean on; solitary and lofty, no other mountain can stand beside it. The Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan, once departed from this place. How many thousands of years have passed since?

Liu Shen, Assistant Editor and Transport Commissioner of the Two Zhe Circuits

The peak rises alone above all the other mountains, with a circumference of about one zhang. It is a thousand fathoms high, dominating the earth, and ten thousand ren tall, holding up the clouds.

The ripples on the lake seem to shake the stars, and the lotuses seem to bloom where the sun rises. One day I will ride a cloud-borne crane to the very summit and meet the immortals.

Hu Zhidao

Xiandu is ancient and wondrous, its peak soaring ten thousand ren and piercing the clouds.

The ripples on the lake seem to shake the stars, and the lotuses seem to bloom where the sun rises. One day I will ride a cloud-borne crane to the very summit and meet the immortals.

In the ancient cavern-heaven of Xiandu, towers and pavilions rise through the clouds and mist into the sky. The newly built official lodgings are a delight, their emerald-green tiles laid like scales and gleaming brightly.

I was staying then in a quiet room, where even in the sixth month I felt no summer heat. At midnight the sound of wind in the pines rose from the mountain. I woke with a start on my pillow and tossed about, unable to sleep.

The natural music of the air drifted slow and unhurried, as if the clear, ringing notes of a jade flute were carried on it. The phoenix seemed to sing in tune with the melody, and the cranes seemed to dance in time with its beat.

How could I know it was not a gathering of immortals? It seemed they had finished their feast and were departing, the jade pendants at their waists swaying and chiming. I was used to the sounds of zither and flute, but at that moment every stray thought seemed washed away.

The above describes a night spent at Xiandu. The pines gave off a clear, resonant music, drifting like the clinking of jade rings and pendants. Only when I rose in the morning did I realize the sound had come from the wind in the pines.

Lord Li had the talent of an immortal, as if all of heaven and earth lay within their grasp. Their ancient seal script was majestic and grand, like an iron pillar threaded with golden clasps.

Lord Li wrote the plaque for the Shrine of the Yellow Emperor, and the shrine halls took on a solid, weighty grandeur. I imagine that when the brush touched the surface, Lord Li's breadth of mind could have swallowed a realm as vast as the Yunmeng Marsh.

People often say that on stormy nights the characters writhe and wind like dragons and snakes, shining with strange radiance. Out of the rock they reveal the glow of a precious treasure, and even the grasses and trees seem moistened and made immortal. Ghosts and spirits are disturbed by this and hurry to drive them off with shouts. But once left unguarded, the characters rise swiftly into the air on the mist and smoke and vanish without a trace.

So I asked the mountain folk, and the stone inscription was still preserved as it had always been. Who could carve it anew? The task would be as easy as turning one's arm at one's own elbow.

The above concerns the seal-script characters written by Li Yangyong in the Shrine of the Yellow Emperor.

Do not speak of immortal matters as too remote to believe. For now, wander through the dusty world, follow its ways, and do not show your edge. Who would have thought that the place where I dwell today is the very homeland to which I will one day return, ascending as an immortal and retreating to the heavenly realm?

After the morning court ceremony at the jade altar, my sleeves are full of clouds and vapor. Returning in a dream from the Golden Gate-tower (the palace of the immortal realm), I find the moonlight already shining under the corridor eaves. This journey seems to have taken me up into the blue heavens, where I faintly heard someone chanting the Cavern Verses (Dongzhang, scriptural texts of the Daoist tradition).

The above is titled "Hall of Hidden Truth."

The Yellow Emperor rode the clouds up to the realm of the Celestial Sovereign, leaving only the traces of his chariot wheels, hidden by the lofty vault of heaven. In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, no one knows where the elixir cauldron (the vessel used for alchemical refining) now stands. The rainbow-colored banners flutter far away and can no longer be seen.

Having found this stretch of streams and mountains, I have added to its grandeur, and the grasses and trees too seem to have thereby…

If I could secure this stretch of stream and mountain, its scenery would gain still more charm; the grasses and trees, too, would seem to receive a blessing and glow with new radiance. I lean on the railing and gaze for a long while. How could I not, with deep feeling, think of King Xiang of Chu?

At the Pavilion for Gazing at Snow to the Right

A hundred years of light pass by in the blink of an eye, and it is rare to find leisure in which one can still cultivate body and mind. The Crimson Gate and Pure Capital (Jiangque and Qingdu, the immortal palaces of Daoist lore) are not far out of reach; if one applies one's heart to tending the self, one may achieve something there. "Inch-field, foot-house" is a Neidan (internal alchemy) term, often used as a metaphor for the place within the body where cultivation takes place.

Quiet the mind and hold the Three Officials (the Daoist officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water) steadily in contemplation; guard your cultivation with urgency, and take care that the Five Peaks (here meaning the five organs or vital regions of the body) do not topple. When cultivation is complete, you will surely attain the Dao and become an immortal; I wish to ride the wind and drive the clouds to Peng and Ying (Penglai and Yingzhou, the legendary immortal isles in the sea).

At the Chamber of Proper Order to the Right

For years I was trapped by worldly affairs, and my manner grew gradually vulgar. Lately my dreams and my spirit (Shen) have been clear, and at last I have the chance to enjoy the beauty of the mountain forests.

The peaks of the prefecture coil around like a topknot of hair, clear and distinct before my eyes. The mountains are a cold green, each reflecting the others; their delicate, spirit-like beauty seems something one could scoop up in one's hands.

In the height of midsummer's three hottest periods, I chant poems here, and a cool breeze blows from the hidden valley. I only fear that the wind will stir my robes and turn them into immortal garments of cloud-like brocade.

People drenched in sweat still hurry up and down, chasing one another.

At the Pavilion of Competing Beauty to the Right

In the immortals' realm, sun and moon seem to pass slowly, and the scenes of spring stay fragrant and lush for long. I wish to pluck flowers like precious jade and chew slowly on their rich, cloud-like essence.

I only fear the flower-mist is too thick, and its fragrance will dampen my robes. I sit chanting poems and am still not satisfied; when I return, in my dreams I will still gaze from afar at the gates among the rocky cliffs.

At the Pavilion of Gathering Fragrance to the Right

The Shangqing Chapter (a cultivation text of the Shangqing school of Daoism) says: "With the mouth gather fragrant blossoms, and long draw in the qi (Qi) of the Baqian Forest (a realm or immortal tree named in Daoist texts)."

At dawn, recite the Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Scripture, an important Daoist classic); at dusk, chant the "Song of the Purple Fungus" (a piece celebrating reclusion and immortal cultivation). If you wish to keep a youthful countenance, diligently refine the jade fluid within the pavilion. "Refining jade" is a Daoist cultivation term, meaning to refine and nourish one's essence (Jing) and qi (Qi) so that body and mind become moist and clear.

At the Pavilion of Refining Jade to the Right

The Shangqing Chapter says: "With the mouth gather fragrant blossoms, and long draw in the qi (Qi) of the Baqian Forest."

At dawn, recite the Huangting Jing; at dusk, chant the "Song of the Purple Fungus." If you wish to keep a youthful countenance, diligently refine the jade fluid within the pavilion.

At the Pavilion of Refining Jade to the Right

Robes green as coral seem wrapped in rosy clouds; a cloud-like topknot hangs down, tinged with blue-green. If cultivation can truly bring such effects, perhaps one may follow in the wondrous footsteps of the immortals.

At the Pavilion of Refining Jade to the Right

The Song of Lady Ziwei (a chant of the Daoist immortal Lady Ziwei) says: "Auspicious clouds wreathe the elixir furnace; refine the jade, ascend in flight, and be transformed into the Eight Jades."

Outside the gate no worldly carriages or horses pass, and the scene before the eyes is serene and bright. Ascending the Tower of the Dawn Blaze, one finds its eight windows all open and luminous.

The three lights of sun, moon, and stars shine in splendor; all things are clearly visible, with nothing hidden. Try watching as the brush writes out a cinnabar script: the cloud-seal characters (a style of Daoist talismanic script) form as naturally as if made by Heaven itself.

At the Chamber of Radiant Illumination to the Right

The Huangting Jing says: "The three lights shine radiantly into your inner chamber."

Climbing the lofty peak and treading the layered stone steps, I feel as though the stairs among the clouds lie no more than a hundred feet from heaven. My feet, usually caked with dust, have come a long way to reach this place.

From the rock juts a single stone pillar, as if carved by axe and chisel, yet it seems wholly natural. Jade spring water wells up from a stone altar, its droplets falling like rain and reflecting a cold, clear green.

I have come here to brew tea for my guests, boiling water over pine branches and steeping a fragrant infusion in the cauldron. The tea's lingering sweetness stays between teeth and cheeks, enough to rouse a person from drunkenness.

I have long thought of Xi (the name of an immortal), the white-haired one, where tradition says Zhou Jingfu once lived. Now I look around and see only bare rock walls. It is said that he has already become an immortal and departed, and only crows keep watch over his old dwelling in the mountains.

The inscription on the right reads "Immortal Water Cave."

A fine mountain is like an old friend, whose face one is glad to see again. It is also like hair freshly combed in the morning, with red blossoms and green leaves setting each other off in rare beauty.

All the more so for those who love mountains and waters, who take up a brush gladly and compose poems before the scenery. The cliffs open loftily, and one may stretch one's stride within them and wander to one's heart's content.

Leisurely roaming is pleasant too, and the splendid views leave one fully satisfied. I sweep a stone surface clean and sit, as the evening chill arrives. The deep green of the hills seems to dampen my hat and shoes.

Beautiful flowers make spring reluctant to leave, and among the profusion of blooms drift patches of red mist. Where do the immortals actually dwell? The scene before me makes me suspect I have strayed into the Peach Blossom Spring.

I have lingered here a whole day, until the moon rises over the hills. Walking slowly back along the flowing stream, I can no longer remember the road by which I came.

The inscription on the right reads "Forgetting-to-Return Cave."

Mist hangs vast and thick among the mountains, and the stream flows in great waves. Human affairs in the world shift and change in a flurry, falling away and replacing one another like autumn grass.

How marvelous that these three grotto-heavens (Dongtian, the immortal realms of Daoist belief) join one another, their paths deep and secluded. The morning sun shines on the southern cliffs, and one first sees what looks like the sun rising from the east.

Whoever could take the Nine Radiances (Jiuhua, a legendary elixir or divine fungus of Daoist tradition) might perhaps keep a fair countenance forever. The immortals left the mortal world as cicadas shed their husks, and the traces they left can no longer be verified.

I have come here to climb and roam, exploring the quiet scenery to the full. In the ravine the gibbons wail mournfully, and in the forest the crows caw and chatter.

The resentment and sorrow stored up over a lifetime are swept away only now, in this place. I shall fold my hands in farewell, withdraw into retirement, and wander freely through the four directions of heaven and earth.

The inscription on the right reads "Valley of the First Sunlight," also called "Ni Fang Cave."

How lofty and steep this mountain is! To climb it, one must grasp the vines and scale upward like a bird. Strange rocks crouch like fierce tigers, and ancient flowers and grasses seem to form a rainbow bridge reaching toward the sky.

Deep in the mountain lies an ancient cave-heaven (dongtian), seemingly formed by nature itself and utterly unlike the scenery around it. Since heaven and earth were first opened, the cave has had its own dawn and dusk, and the sun and moon travel their courses as always.

A divine dragon coils and dwells here. Amid water that thunders like rolling drums, jade-like streams surge forth in solemn force. Whenever drought strikes, the old men of the mountain are sure to see it. With a single glance of the dragon, layered clouds billow up, as though rivers were being overturned. When will it at last take leave of the fish and shrimp, ride the thunder, leap upward, and soar into the vast expanse of the sky?

The verses above were inscribed on Longhong Cave (now called Zanlong Cave), and their author was the prefectural governor Liu Can.

In ancient times an emperor ascended as an immortal from this place, and the splendid ceremonial carriages never returned. Beyond the ridges a solitary peak rises high, standing majestically amid purple mist. Above and below it is shaped like an upright stone pillar, encircled by winding shadows. Its roots seem joined to the sea-dwelling dragons, and its summit seems about to break through the Gate of Heaven. Lotus blossoms rise from the heart of a distant lake, moss spreads everywhere, and mottled traces remain beside the wheel ruts. Nearby stands an alchemical furnace left from the days of elixir refining, and looking down one can see Buxu Mountain (a mountain or site associated with Daoists who tread the void in "pacing the void" steps and perform Zhaijiao, or purification rituals). Even apes find it hard to reach; only phoenixes seem able to climb it. In broad daylight, even those skilled at viewing scenery feel their eyesight falls short; and when chanting of this scene, they struggle to write verses grand enough for it. Yadang is not a place of marvels, and Lan Cliff should not be regarded as merely an idle spot for banquets and outings. This is a famous scenic place of Jinyun, with scenery surpassing much of the human world.

Mao Weizhan, Registrar of the county and Editor in the Imperial Library

The dwelling of the immortals stands lofty and upright; I came seeking it, and before my eyes lay layer upon layer of mist and water. It is so deep that it seems coiled beneath the Nine Earths, and so towering that it is no less than the surrounding peaks. Facing this marvel in broad daylight, my gaze cannot take it all in; I wish to climb straight up by the green vines, but how could that be easy? I do not know when I shall see the lotus leaves fall; for thousands of years the patterns on the stones have been sealed beneath moss. Past events are like clouds, hard to question; though the mountain says nothing, traces still remain on its paths. Where is Qiao Mountain far away? The emperor's attendants once clung to the dragon here and ascended as immortals.

Su Shunyuan (courtesy name Qiweng), Transport Commissioner

Dragon carriages and phoenix chariots entered the immortal realm of the Jasper Pool, and the high place where their wheel ruts remain can never be climbed again. Only the wind of Dinghu Lake (the legendary place where the Yellow Emperor rode a dragon up to heaven) endures, while the leaves and blossoms of the blue lotus fall into the human world.

Shen Kuo (courtesy name Cunzhong), a native of Wuxing, Investigating Commissioner of Liangzhe

The mountain road where the carriages once passed has been sealed by moss; the cranes that drew the chariot flew into the distant heavens and have not returned. Only the autumn-night Milky Way and the bright moon keep company here, and it is as though the misty waves of Dinghu Lake have come down to the human world.

Shen Kuo (courtesy name Cunzhong), a native of Wuxing, Investigating Commissioner of Liangzhe

Moss covers the imperial road that leads up the mountain. The immortal's carriage rode a crane into the distant sky and never returned. Only the Milky Way and the bright moon of the autumn night remain as before, and the misty waters of Tripod Lake (Dinghu) seem still to be telling their tale to those who listen. Tripod Lake is the legendary place where the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven.

The dark mountain path winds upward into the clouds, and the roots of the pines cling tightly to the rocks. The immortals dwell in two separate abodes, yet the crowing of their cocks and the barking of their dogs can be heard from one to the other.

There is a road to the Capital of the Immortals, but who can say who will reach Tripod Lake? On the autumn night the wind rises suddenly, as if it had blown down all the jade-green lotus blossoms.

Following the yellow-and-azure road in search of the way, one passes through the mist and cloud into the realm of the Purple Pure (Zi Qing). The pines in the forest have turned to stone, and beyond the gate there seems to be a city wall built of jade.

The Daoist does not love mountain life by nature. He left the household to cultivate the Dao (the Way), and now he has grown old. Though he knows the traces left on the road by carriages and horses, he does not recognize the dragon-whisker grass left behind when the Yellow Emperor rode his dragon up to heaven, as the legend tells.

The stone city and the cloud-wrapped halls encircle Mount Fuqiu, the very Kuozhou where the Perfected Lord, the immortal, once dwelt. If one could cast down the immortals' chart and contend with others in a game, one would find that, without realizing it, one had already wandered into a grotto-heaven of the immortals.

I crossed the stream and sought out a remote village, where the peaks surged like ten thousand galloping horses. Spring colors were rich, the thunderstorm had just ceased, and mist filled the wilds, leaving the mountains still dim.

The splendid jade towers and golden gates of former days have long since vanished, and on the pines there remain the half-finished marks of axes and chisels. I wish to sweep away the dust of the world and restore purity, but after a catastrophic fire, how can it be so easily rebuilt?

Travelers bow and prostrate themselves at the emerald mountain pass of the Capital of the Immortals. The profound principles of this place, I am able to expound, and its awesome, sacred power inspires reverence, as though still before one's eyes. Now a shrine has been built here as well, where offerings are made to Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor.

In those days the Yellow Emperor sat with his robes hanging loose and ruled the world. He established institutions modeled on Heaven and Earth, Qian and Kun; he opened up the primal chaos and began to set up the order of human relations, laying the foundation of the world. Worthy ministers such as Fenghou came one after another to assist him, and their wisdom and strategy found full expression, so that the profound principles of the Capital of the Immortals were made manifest.

Fenghou and Fangmu came one after another to this place, and from them the wondrous mechanism of creation was opened and revealed, putting forth a subtle function that leaves neither form nor trace. At first the Yellow Emperor asked the Dao (the Way) of Guangchengzi; later he entered into secret accord with the Lord of Central Sovereignty.

His achievements and De (Virtue) were so vast as to be almost beyond comparison, as though he shared with the Creator the bounty bestowed upon all things. From the age of Emperor Yao of Tang down to the flourishing of the Yan (Fire) cycle, his sage descendants continued unbroken for ten thousand years.

The perfected one who has attained the Dao governs the world by means of the ordinary Way. As for ascending as an immortal and rising lightly into the air, what is there in that worth special discussion? All things were originally transformed from a single Qi (vital energy), so why were Heaven and humanity later separated?

Fuxi's Bagua (Eight Trigrams, the symbols used to deduce the changes of Heaven and Earth) have already been revealed, while the principle behind Nüwa's mending of the sky is intricate and hard to grasp. The one who has attained the Dao drifts back to the Pure Capital (Qingdu, the realm of the immortals), gathering in the work of creation and returning the myriad things to wholeness and undifferentiated unity.

The immortal stone before the temple has witnessed the changes of past and present. It stands between Heaven and Earth, vying with the myriad things in majesty. Tripod Lake (Dinghu, the place where the Yellow Emperor is said to have ridden a dragon up to Heaven) can be seen far off yet cannot be approached, as if to make it hard for later generations to climb after him.

The Mysterious Palace above the head is called the Niwan (the "mud pellet," the Daoist term for the spirit chamber within the brain). Within the human body there is naturally a road leading to the heavens. When Shen (spirit) and Qi, inside and outside the body, are joined, then within a single movement one can pass beyond the gate of life and death.

Silently the four seasons turn without error. Look at the sun and moon: who makes them rise and set? Now wind and rain come from the lake, stirring the grasses and trees, and stirring the banners as well.

Ten zhang up, red fungi have drifted down; beneath the green stream, a pool as clear as glass is reflected. There is no need here for horse hooves or cart tracks; even if one loses one's way on the paths of Xiangye (the plain where the Yellow Emperor is said to have wandered), the road is still there.

At night the spring wells up from the rocks, its sound carrying through the valley, as if one could still hear the music of Dongting. The ancient scenery of these mountains and rivers holds a profound and subtle meaning. Who, then, can wash away the dust that veils it for us and make its source clear?

What I speak of is Xi and Yi (the subtle, imperceptible nature of the Dao's substance) and the return to simplicity. There is no need to stir up surging waves through argument and reasoning.

Inscribed by Hu Shengzi, a man of the prefecture and Supervisor of Hubei.

Tripod Lake holds a profound and subtle meaning. Who can wash away the dust that veils it for us and make its source clear? I speak of Xi and Yi and the return to simplicity, with no need to stir up surging waves through argument and reasoning.

Inscribed by Hu Shengzi, a man of the prefecture and Supervisor of Hubei.

Though Tripod Lake cannot be seen, the towering peak standing alone remains clearly visible. It has stood upright for ten thousand ages, its bearing overshadowing the other mountains.

The Yellow Emperor long ago attained the Dao and became an immortal, roaming everywhere on a flying dragon. To this day, common tradition still holds that there is a road here along which his chariot passed.

This scene resembles the legendary cypress that ascended to heaven, or perhaps the pursuit of the traces left by a white deer. People often say that what is precious frequently seems absurd; yet here one meets people who are truly innocent and unspoiled.

Considering the marvels of this mountain, it is indeed fit for immortals to dwell in. The sound of the water rings like delicate, clear chimes, blending with the roar of ten thousand pines.

I lay a long while on my pillow in the guesthouse and still could not sleep, as though the music of sheng and xiao pipes filled the whole sky. I almost suspected it was the "Nine-Movement Music" of ancient legend, though it appears nowhere in the Two Canons (the "Canon of Yao" and "Canon of Shun" in the Book of Documents).

I fear only that the Chiyou Banner (a banner of ill omen in ancient legend) might appear, its radiance blazing and stretching like a long rainbow. Even if one person could gain deathless longevity alone, how could they bear to watch the common people suffer?

Consider the Battle of Zhuolu (the legendary site where the Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou): ten thousand generations afterward still bear the fruits of that achievement. What, then, are the tales of riding a dragon to heaven from Ding Lake? The Yellow Emperor's virtue (De) was as vast as the azure sky.

Written by Ding Zongdan of Yanling, Subprefectural Judge, in the Shaoxing era.

Among the world's thirty-six Cave-Heavens, Jinyun is ranked the twenty-ninth. Ancient trees tower into the clouds like houses raised amid the mist; true immortals gather here, and so it is called Xiandu, the Capital of Immortals.

A solitary peak stands like a wall, two thousand feet high, soaring into the void, green and sheer, a lone summit standing apart. Looking up, one sees its crest vanish into mist and cloud; tradition holds that this is where Miao Ju opened up Ding Lake.

Old tales say that the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan, once halted his chariot here, passing through on a cloud carriage and riding the wind. In the stone cauldron the Ao Elixir (a legendary immortal elixir) was refined, and the Yellow Emperor rode a dragon off to the realm of the Emperor, in the space of a moment.

The Purple Void and Azure Firmament (lofty realms of the immortals) lie beyond the dust of the world, yet his attendants had no chance to grasp the dragon's whiskers and ascend with him. The Tang emperor, a descendant of the immortal Li, was in virtue (De) united with the heart of Heaven, and so received auspicious signs.

Auspicious vapors and fair clouds spread across the sky, and nine times the cry of "Long live the emperor!" rang out from the mountains. The Buxu (hymns chanted by Daoists during worship) peaks stand facing one another, the clouds now broken, now continuous; east and west, their heights each differ.

Following a quiet stream-side path, one climbs the Wudao road, where a Mirror Rock stands, shaped like a square vase. Milky water drips from the crevices within the rock, wearing a hollow into the stone like an upturned bowl.

Here the water fills a measure and a half in a day and a night; in rainy seasons it does not overflow, and in drought it does not run dry. Lu Guimeng (courtesy name Luwang) once recorded the story of Zhou Jingfu, a follower of Huang-Lao Daoism who abstained from grain (bigu), feeding on rosy mist and practicing breath cultivation (Qi).

The wonder of his dwelling and cultivation reached deep into the Suspended Pearl Assembly (a state in Daoist practice), and he lived in seclusion here for more than eighty years. Over thousands of years, worldly affairs have shifted like mulberry fields turning to sea, and the immortals' traces have faded into distance; whether they still remain today is hard to know.

Even if the rain increased by half, the floods would not overflow; and in times of drought, the water would never run dry. Lu Wang (the Tang poet Lu Guimeng, whose courtesy name was Lu Wang) once wrote of Zhou Jingfu: he cut off grain and fed on the mists of dawn in his cultivation, a practitioner who followed the Dao (the Way) of Huang-Lao (the Way of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi).

He dwelt here to cultivate perfection, deeply attaining the profound mystery, as though he had entered the Gathering of Hanging Pearls (a place name or a Daoist realm of wonder). For more than eighty years he lived in seclusion here. Over a thousand years the world has changed as seas turn to mulberry fields; the traces of the immortals have grown very distant, and whether they remain at all, no one can say.

The Stone Gate Waterfall may well be called a beautiful sight, yet the wonders of this place are more than it can claim. Creation has gathered marvelous and graceful scenery here with special care; even a master hand like Hutou (the Eastern Jin painter Gu Kaizhi, whose courtesy name was Changkang and who was known as Hutou) would find it hard to paint.

The account derives from the Tujing (Illustrated Gazetteer). Poem by Ji.

Wu Shuo Chuanming, Vice Director of a Ministry, of Qiantang

Since ancient times people have said that Dinghu is a lovely place to dwell; on this excursion I almost wished to go straight to Qingdu (the celestial capital of the immortals in Daoist belief). The Jade Bamboo-Shoot Peak soars into the clouds, a full thousand fathoms high; the golden lotus fallen to the ground, could it truly be ten zhang tall?

Gazing at the river scene, one thinks of Mian Yizhu (the name of an immortal mountain); now, touring the sea and mountains, I am glad to have come to know Fangzhang (the legendary immortal isle in the sea). I should truly buy silk from Echeng and paint a Cangzhou ink landscape (a painting depicting a fairyland by the water's edge).

Three poems by Han Yuanji, styled Fujian, of Shangrao, in the same rhymes

Beyond the railing, the wind is keen, the frost clear, and the bright moon hangs high; from within the mountains drifts the sound of buxu (the chant sung by Daoist priests while paying homage and reciting scriptures). The zither falls silent, and candlelight lights the long night; once more in the human world I have found a quiet, dreamlike dream.

I should buy silk from Echeng and paint a Cangzhou ink landscape.

Three poems by Han Yuanji, styled Fujian, of Shangrao, in the same rhymes

Beyond the railing, the wind is keen, the frost clear, and the bright moon hangs high; from within the mountains drifts the sound of buxu. The zither falls silent, and candlelight lights the long night; once more in the human world I have found a quiet, dreamlike dream.

Of the Feng and Shan sacrifices, only the name of deathless longevity now remains; in the Huaqing Palace, people still hoped for long life. Idle clouds spread across the sky like auspicious omens of the human world; and from the mountains again comes the cry of "Ten thousand years!"

The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan once drove dragons and tigers into battle against his foe at Banquan; later he cast a tripod at Mount Jing and ascended to heaven riding upon it. Wherever the Yellow Emperor went he left traces behind, so how could a ruler not be moved to learn the arts of seeking immortality?

Li Shiju, Transport Commissioner

Passing through Xiandu, the stream runs deep and the grass and trees lie at ease. Shifts between cloud and sun bear upon the old farmers' work; whether the harvest will be good has always weighed on my heart.

Who carved these stone peaks a thousand fathoms high? Clouds and mist conceal the layered ranges. My official journey was limited from the start, so how could I climb higher and explore?

The realm is at peace and without war, and the war horses stand idle; rice, mulberry, and silkworm-thorn trees spread all around in a sea of green. I do not know whether all this is entirely the ruler's merit; I see only rows of splendid halls facing the beautiful mountains.

The poems above were written while passing through Xiandu and the Xu family's mountain dwelling, and appear in the old edition of the Kuocang xuji (Sequel Collection of Kuocang). The poems of Lord Wen now used in the prefecture also adopt the same rhymes.

Matching poem by Xie Ji Jinghui of Yangxia, Prefect of the commandery.

Morning light glows in dazzling splendor, so when the carriage sets out, where is the leisure? Consultations on government affairs are pressing by nature, and inspecting taxes and gathering levies all bear closely on the people's livelihood.

Whether leaving or staying, one may well leave an elegant poem behind; whether the sky is clear or overcast, one can face the lovely mountains. Holding a temporary post in the prefecture and busy with official business, I have in the end no time to climb into the realm of the immortals.

Old people and children lean on their staffs, so when the carriage sets out, where is the leisure? Consultations on government affairs are pressing by nature, and inspecting taxes and gathering levies all bear closely on the people's livelihood.

Whether leaving or staying, one may well leave an elegant poem behind; whether the sky is clear or overcast, one can face the lovely mountains. Holding a temporary post in the prefecture and busy with official business, I have in the end no time to climb into the realm of the immortals.

An old man walks out with his staff, and the children are carefree and at ease. Beside the distant houses a clear stream winds around, its green water flowing. The crowd vies to look on, yet as the horses, carriages and ceremonial escort pass, people still step aside; all around is quiet, with no clamor of gongs and drums, only the green mountains for company.

Zhu Xi (Huian), Surveillance Commissioner of Eastern Zhejiang: Harmonizing Retrospectively with the Rhymes of Mr. Xu's "Mountain Dwelling"

A solitary cloud drifts out from the mountains, free and at ease; even if official duties come one after another like linked rings, one may still let go for a while. I unsaddle my horse and rest on the winding mountain path, and quite forget to return. The green mountain streams and tall bamboo bring to mind the mountain scenery of my old home.

Five Poems on a Visit to Xiandu (Immortal Capital) by Wu Jinwei, a Man of the Prefecture

A minor post still drives a man to rush about, and I dread the official papers pressing upon me; the weather is hot and damp, and the journey wearies me. Now that I have returned, I mean to seek out a quiet, scenic haven for cultivating truth. The road to Xiandu may be long and roundabout, but I am not afraid.

I pause for a while before Zhejiji Peak, yet at the mouth of Wanggui Cave I still cannot forget my longing to go home. Of those who come and go, busy chasing fame and gain, few will stop to tour the place even when they reach Xiandu.

The yellow-capped Daoist is old and lean; we sit facing one another and talk of profound principles, never touching on practical affairs. He urges me not to sink into the world of officialdom: though many in the human world chase fame and gain, Xiandu has a renown of its own.

Stalagmite Peak is said to be eight hundred zhang high, and the immortal at Dinghu (Tripod Lake) departed thousands of years ago. I suspect these two tales are hard to verify, yet I still believe Xiandu is a grotto-heaven and blessed land (a dwelling place of immortals, in Daoist belief).

Below the mountain a fine rain falls softly, washing away the dust; before the gate a clear crane's cry sounds, as if welcoming a guest. So I dreamed a dream of roaming Xiandu, and on waking I went off to seek its traces, searching for the footprints of those who lived in seclusion and cultivated truth.

Xu Yin (Juemin), Prefect of the Commandery: Harmonizing with "Shaoxing"

From old books I imagined the traces left by Xiandu, and meant to ask the way clearly once I was ready to return. Suddenly I read a new poem, as though a painting had unrolled before my eyes; the mountain paths and rustic tracks are all plainly visible, and there is no need to take a long detour to find them.

The crane in the mountains seems to lament, though I know not where it is; the clouds at the cave mouth have already gone home, yet I have not been able to return. Recalling the old road to Xiandu, I picture the stone bridge overgrown with moss, and the footprints of travelers growing fewer and fewer.

The immortal's countenance is like jade; though advanced in years, the body shows no sign of frailty. Here there is no worldly strife over honor and disgrace. Last night the mists and clouds gradually dispersed, as if still astonished that the carriages and mounted escort of a local official (the tiyu procession) had already arrived.

The Yellow Emperor attained the Dao (the Way) and became an immortal, departing from this place, and the legend of Tinghu (Cauldron Lake) has been handed down for many years. When the Yellow Emperor rose to heaven on a dragon, the dragon's whiskers fell to the ground and turned into spring grass, which to this day has not ascended to heaven.

On the road back from Peach Blossom Spring (the legendary refuge of those who withdrew from the world), there is not a speck of dust; those who dwell there are only the people who once fled the world. Matters of the immortals are distant and hard to verify, and so it generally is; the wheel ruts left at Cauldron Lake are perhaps not genuine traces.

Capping verse by Wu Fu, Prefect of the Commandery

Visiting Xiandu, this ancient Yuxu (Jade Void, a realm of immortals in Daoist legend), I find a guest before the mountain pointing the way for those who have lost their path. Mist and rosy clouds stretch vast, a lone peak stands lofty; pines and bamboo grow dense, and a single path winds into secluded depths.

Leaning on my staff, I walk step by step into the green forest, lingering long beneath Buxu Mountain and forgetting to return. In so tranquil a place there ought to be recluses of the mountains and woods; why are such people so rarely seen now?

I have heard that atop the summit lies Cauldron Lake; are its lotuses still as they were before? After Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor, departed, only empty wheel ruts remained; people suspect that this landscape was once his dwelling place.

The Yellow Emperor rode the dragon away and never returned, leaving behind only two cranes, who knows how many years old. Sitting here, one at once feels cut off from the dusty world, and so comes to believe that there is indeed another heaven and earth within the gourd (the Daoist legendary realm of the "world in a pot").

From antiquity to the present, many have climbed and toured this mountain, but how many have truly been handed down? Those who practice the sacred Way as you do must be exceedingly rare; even after you have passed from the world, newly written poems will preserve your image.

Xiandu Zhi (Gazetteer of Xiandu), Volume II