《十洲记》

Emperor Wu of Han heard from the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) that, within the great seas of the eight directions, lie the Ten Continents: Zuzhou, Yingzhou, Xuanzhou, Yanzhou, Changzhou, Yuanzhou, Liuzhou, Shengzhou, Fenglinzhou, and Jukuzhou. All of them are remote places that human footsteps rarely reach. Only then did the Emperor realize that Dongfang Shuo was no ordinary man of this world. He invited Dongfang Shuo into a secret chamber and personally questioned him about the location of the Ten Continents and the names of the various things found there, and had his answers recorded.

Dongfang Shuo said: "I am merely a student of the way of the immortals, not one who has already attained the Dao (the Way). Now that the state is flourishing and the court is recruiting learned men and devoting itself to culture and education, I have hidden my transcendent pursuits of cultivation in obscure and mysterious places, put away my wish for reclusion, and come to serve in the court. I have concealed my practices of nurturing life and cultivation in order to wait upon the palace. This is also because Your Majesty delights in the arts of the Dao and wishes to regulate the bearing and conduct of those who cultivate it.

"I once traveled with my teacher and visited Zhuling, Fusang, the Sea of Mirages, the Hills of Dark Night, and the Mounds of Pure Yang. I also reached the regions below the Primal Azure and the space of the Moon Palace. I roamed within the Seven Hills and passed back and forth among the Ten Continents. I traversed the Red Prefecture, wandered the Five Peaks, walked among lakes and marshes, and stayed on famous mountains. From my youth until now, I have journeyed everywhere, and what I have seen has reached the farthest bounds. I have also seen, in broad outline, the scenes of the vast heavens and earth.

"Yet what I have seen still cannot compare with the immortal officials and perfected beings of the realms of emptiness. They can ascend and descend through the Nine Heavens and perceive all four directions. To the north they reach the Gouchen stellar region, standing alongside the Huagai stellar region. To the south they fly to the land of Taidan and dwell in the great continent of Xia. To the east they reach the rosy clouds of Tongyang, and to the west they arrive at the wilds of the Cold Caverns. Where they go lies far beyond what the sun and moon can illuminate or the Milky Way can extend. Above there is nothing more, and below there is no end. This is all that I know. I am truly ashamed that I cannot fully answer Your Majesty's wide-ranging questions."

Zuzhou (Ancestral Isle) lies near the Eastern Sea. It is five hundred li square and seventy thousand li from the western shore. On the isle grows a herb of immortality that resembles the water-grass gu (a kind of aquatic plant like wild rice), its tender shoots reaching three or four chi in length. If this herb is laid over a person within three days of death, the person revives at once; if a single stalk is taken as medicine, it grants long life.

In former times, many trees in the Great Park of the First Emperor of Qin withered and died, and corpses lay strewn across the roads. A bird resembling a crow came carrying this herb in its beak and laid it over the faces of the dead, and they immediately sat up and returned to life. The officials in charge heard of this and reported it to the First Emperor. The Emperor sent an envoy, bearing the herb, to consult Master Guigu of Beiguo. Master Guigu said: "This is the herb of immortality from Zuzhou in the Eastern Sea. It grows in the Jade Fields (fabled fields of precious jade). A bird shaped like a crow carries the herb in its beak and covers the faces of the dead, and they sit up and revive at once." The officials again reported the matter to the Emperor. Master Guigu added that the herb is also called the Spirit-Nourishing Zhi (fungus of immortality), that its leaves resemble those of the gu, that it grows in clusters, and that a single stalk is enough to cover one person.

Sighing, the First Emperor asked, "Can it be gathered?" He therefore dispatched Xu Fu (a Qin-dynasty fangshi, or master of esoteric arts, styled Junfang), leading five hundred boys and girls aboard tower ships and other vessels, to cross the sea in search of Zuzhou. Xu Fu never returned. The scripture further states that Xu Fu was a Daoist and eventually attained the Dao (the Way) himself.

Yingzhou lies in the midst of the Eastern Sea. It is four thousand li square and lies roughly opposite Kuaiji (the area of present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang), seven hundred thousand li from the western shore. On the isle grow wondrous immortal herbs, along with jade rocks rising a thousand zhang high. From these rocks gushes a spring like wine, sweet in taste, called the Jade Body Spring. Drinking a few sheng of it brings intoxication and grants long life.

Many immortals dwell on Yingzhou. Their customs resemble those of the people of Wu, and its mountains and rivers resemble the landscape of the Central Plains.

Xuanzhou (Mysterious Isle) lies in the midst of the Northern Sea, in the quarter of the Xu and Hai directions (the northwest). It measures seven thousand two hundred li in circumference and is three hundred sixty thousand li from the southern shore. On the island dwells the Immortal Elder and True Lord of the Great Mysterious Capital (an official of the immortal realm). The lands he governs are mostly hills and mountains, and among them stands a Wind Mountain, whose gusts sound like thunder and lightning. Xuanzhou faces the northwestern gate of Heaven directly. Many immortal officials of the Great Mysterious realm live on the island, each in a palace of different design, and the ground everywhere is covered with golden zhi fungus, jade grasses, and other immortal herbs. It is also the place from which the Three Celestial Lords (the name of a group of Daoist deities) descend to govern the lower world, and the atmosphere is solemn and majestic.

Yanzhou (Flaming Isle) lies in the midst of the Southern Sea. It measures two thousand li in circumference and is ninety thousand li from the northern shore. On the island lives a creature called the wind-born beast, which looks like a leopard, is blue-green in color, and is about the size of a wildcat. People spread nets to catch it, then pile up several cartloads of firewood and burn it. When the wood is spent, the beast has not caught fire; it still stands in the ashes, its fur not even singed. Felt and sharp spikes cannot pierce it, and when it is struck, the sound is like striking a leather bag. Only after its head is beaten dozens of times with tongs and hammers will it die. Yet if it opens its mouth to the wind, it revives within moments. It dies only if its nostrils are stopped with calamus root (shichangpu). Its brain is taken and consumed together with chrysanthemum; it is said that one who has taken ten jin of it may live five hundred years.

There is also Fire Forest Mountain, where a fiery glow shines among the hills. A kind of beast lives there, about the size of a rat, with fur three or four inches long, some red and some white. Fire Forest Mountain extends for some three hundred li, and its glow can be seen when darkness falls. The light in these mountain forests is given off by this beast and looks like flame. People take its fur and weave it into cloth, which the people of that time called "fire-washed cloth." When the garments of the local people become soiled, washing them in lye never gets them clean; only by putting them into a fire, then taking them out after a moment and shaking them, do the stains fall away, leaving the cloth white as snow. Many immortals dwell here as well.

Changzhou (Long Isle), also called Qingqiu (Azure Hill), lies in the Chen and Si direction (the southeast) of the Southern Sea. It measures five thousand li in each direction and is two hundred fifty thousand li from the coast. The island is rich in mountains and rivers and has many great trees, some as much as two thousand wei around (an ancient measure for the girth of trees). On one isle…

Translator's note: The original text has missing characters at "the beast is as large as," and the Fire Forest Mountain passage is repeated; the ending is also unfinished, so the above translates only the text as it survives.

Changzhou, also called Qingqiu, lies in the Southern Sea in the direction of Chen and Si (the southeast). It measures five thousand li in each direction and sits 250,000 li from the coast. The island is rich in mountains and rivers and has many great trees, some with trunks as much as two thousand arm-spans around. Forest covers almost the whole island, which is why it is also called Qingqiu, the "Green Hill." Immortal herbs, spirit medicines, sweet dew, jade blossoms, and other marvelous things are all to be found here. The island also has a Wind Mountain, from which a sound like rumbling often rises, and a Purple Mansion Palace, where celestial maidens often come to wander and enjoy themselves.

Yuanzhou lies in the middle of the Northern Sea. It measures three thousand li in each direction and is 100,000 li from the southern shore. On the island is the Dark Stream of the Five Zhi-fungi, whose water is like honey syrup. Drinking it brings long life, as lasting as heaven and earth, and eating the five zhi-fungi likewise grants immortality. Many immortals dwell here as well.

Liuzhou lies in the middle of the Western Sea. It measures three thousand li in each direction and is 190,000 li from the eastern shore. The island has many mountains and rivers, and a mineral called Kunwu. When this stone is smelted, it can be made into iron implements and precious swords. The swords gleam brightly and are as clear as crystal, and so sharp that they cut jade as if it were mud. Many immortals live on this island too.

Shengzhou lies in the Eastern Sea between Chou and Yin (the northeast), 170,000 li from Penglai. It measures 2,500 li in each direction and is 230,000 li from the western shore. Tens of thousands of immortals live on the island. The climate is mild and harmonious, and zhi-fungi grow all year round. There is no bitter cold or fierce heat in any season, so all things grow in peace. The island has many mountains and rivers, immortal herbs, and zhi-fungi of every kind. The water throughout the island tastes like sweet wine and cream, making it an exceptionally lovely island of the immortals.

Fenglin Island lies in the center of the Western Sea. The original text breaks off at "its area is one thousand five," and what should follow the measurement is missing, so the translation cannot continue from this point.

Phoenix-Qilin Island (Fenglinzhou) lies in the middle of the Western Sea and measures fifteen hundred li around. It is encircled by the Weak Water, which cannot bear even a goose feather, so no one can cross it. The island is home to many phoenixes and qilin, who live in flocks of tens of thousands. It also has mountains, rivers, pools and marshes, along with a hundred kinds of marvelous medicinal substances, and a good number of immortals live there.

If the beaks of the phoenixes and the horns of the qilin are boiled and refined, they yield a glue called "String-Mending Glue" (xuxian jiao), also known as "Joining-Metal Paste" (lianjin ni). It can rejoin a broken bowstring or crossbow string, and it can also bond a snapped blade or sword. Once the break has been glued, even if a strongman pulls on it with all his might from the other side, the joint will not give way.

In the third year of the Tianhan era under Emperor Wu of Han, the emperor traveled to the North Sea to make sacrifices at Mount Heng. In the fourth month, an envoy from a western country came to present four taels of this glue and a "Jiguang fur robe" (a garment said to be made from the pelt of the divine horse Jiguang). The emperor accepted them and put them in a storehouse, not knowing what wonders the two objects held. He reasoned that although the West was distant, the tribute was nothing remarkable, so he kept the envoy at court and did not send him home right away.

Later, while Emperor Wu was shooting a tiger in the Hualin Garden, his crossbow string suddenly snapped. The envoy was attending him at the time and offered another portion of the glue. He had someone moisten it with their mouth and mend the string. The emperor was astonished and exclaimed, "What a marvelous thing!" He then ordered several warriors to pull on the string together. They pulled all day, yet the mended spot remained firm, as though the string had never been broken. The glue was a green as lustrous as jade.

The Jiguang fur robe was yellow and was said to be made from the pelt of a creature of the divine horse kind. Worn into water, it would not sink for days; thrown into fire, it would not burn. Only then did the emperor understand the wonder of the two tributes. He thanked the envoy generously and sent him back to his country, bestowing on him cinnamon bark, dried ginger and other goods that the western lands did not have. The affair made the emperor think all the more of the foresight of Dongfang Shuo.

In the time of King Mu of Zhou, the Western Hu presented a Kunwu jade-cutting knife and a luminous ever-full cup. The knife was one foot long, and the cup held three sheng. The knife cut jade as if it were mud. The cup was fashioned from refined white jade and glowed at night. If it was set out in the courtyard at dusk, facing the sky, it would be full of liquid by dawn. The liquid was sweet and fragrant, and the cup was a vessel used by spirit beings.

In the time of the First Emperor of Qin, the Western Hu again presented a jade-cutting knife, but there was no longer an ever-full cup. Things like the String-Mending Glue come from Phoenix-Qilin Island, while the swords must come from Flowing Island (Liuzhou). All of these rare and marvelous things come from within the Western Sea.

Juku Island (Jukuzhou) lies in the middle of the Western Sea, in the shen-wei direction (west-southwest), and measures three thousand li across. It is two hundred and sixty thousand li south of Mount Kunlun and two hundred and forty thousand li from the western shore. Many true immortals and spirit officials live on the island, and their offices and residences stand row upon row, too numerous to count. There are also lions, bixie (legendary beasts said to drive away evil), chisel-toothed beasts, and celestial deer, along with strange creatures that have long tusks or bronze heads and iron foreheads.

A great mountain on the island is shaped like a human and a bird, and is therefore called Human-Bird Mountain. Many large trees grow there, resembling maple trees. The fragrance of their flowers and leaves drifts for hundreds of li, and they are called soul-returning trees. If the trunk is struck, the tree sounds on its own, with a noise like a herd of bellowing oxen, and everyone who hears it is struck with fear. The roots and heartwood are cut out and boiled in a jade cauldron, and the juice is drawn off and simmered over a low fire until it becomes a black substance that can be rolled into pills. This is called "Soul-Startling Incense," and it is also known as the "Spirit-Shaking Pill," "Life-Restoring Incense," "Shaking Sandalwood Incense," "Essence of the Human-Bird," or "Death-Repelling Incense." That a single substance bears six names shows how extraordinarily numinous a treasure it is. Its fragrance carries for hundreds of li. The dead who smell it return to life and do not die again, and fumigating the dead with it is especially effective.

In the third year of the Yanhe era, Emperor Wu of Han toured Anding Commandery. The king of the Yuezhi kingdom among the Western Hu sent an envoy to present four taels of incense. The lumps were the size of sparrow eggs and as black as mulberries. Emperor Wu judged that this incense was not native to the Central Plains and put it away in an outer storehouse. The envoy also presented a fierce beast, which looked like a puppy of fifty or sixty days. It was the size of a wildcat and had yellow fur. The emperor ordered the envoy to bring it into the hall. Seeing the envoy holding it, and thinking it looked like a thin, bald little dog, Emperor Wu wondered why the Yuezhi had offered it as a fierce beast. He asked, "This little thing is good only for amusement. How can you call it a fierce beast?"

The envoy replied: "The power to overawe a hundred beasts does not necessarily depend on size. The qilin is called a numinous beast, yet it is chief among the giant elephants. The phoenix is a divine bird, yet it can command the great peng. The centipede can subdue the soaring serpent, and that too has nothing to do with size. My country is three hundred thousand li from here. By our custom of observing the heavens, if an east wind rises in its season and does not cease for a hundred days, and if blue clouds answer to the stars and do not disperse for months on end, we know that the Central Plains will have a ruler who honors the Daoist arts. Our king has always looked down on the hundred schools and revered the Dao (the Way) and Confucianism, holding that gold, jade, and riches are less precious than numinous things. He therefore sought out rare treasures and presented this divine incense, and crossed the celestial forests to obtain the fierce beast. We crossed treacherous abysses by carriage and rode swift horses through flying sands, and over difficult roads we have labored for thirteen years until now.

"The divine incense can bring back to life those who died young, and can cure fatal illnesses. The fierce beast can drive away the hundred evils, ghosts, and demons. These two things are truly great treasures for saving living beings, and they can also aid in governing and bring about great peace. I never expected that Your Majesty would fail to recognize treasures. It seems my country's reading of the winds and signs was mistaken. Now that I have seen Your Majesty in person, I also know that you are not a ruler who possesses the Dao. When the eyes see too much, they come to crave beauty. When the mouth speaks too much, it easily invites misfortune. When conduct is unrestrained, virtue is ruined. When the mind is occupied with too much ornament, extravagance follows. With these four practices, one cannot govern the world well."

Emperor Wu was displeased by this and asked the envoy again: "By what means does this beast subdue the hundred beasts? What does it eat? How great is its strength? Where does it come from?"

The envoy replied: "Some fierce beasts are born on Kunlun, and some on Xuanzhou, on Jukuzhou, or on the celestial road. This beast is long-lived and eats no grain, only drinking the dew. It can understand human speech, and it is benevolent, intelligent, loyal, and generous. When it is merciful, it cherishes tiny creatures and does not harm tigers or leopards. When it shows its might, a single roar makes a thousand people fall to the ground unable to move, makes oxen, horses, and other animals break free in terror, and makes even warriors suddenly lose their strength. Its powers are vast. It can raise wind and clouds and send down rain and dew, scatter the hundred evils, and make flood dragons leap. It dwells in the stables and gardens of the highest heaven and commands lions, which is why it is called a fierce beast. Its wondrous transformations are unpredictable. It is the chief of the great birds and beasts, the primal king of the heavens, and the commander of the bixie. The numinous incense is not plentiful, but it is a divine pill that can bring people back to life. Those who died in epidemics and disasters will revive as soon as they smell its fragrance. Its scent is exceptionally strong, which is why it is slow to fade."

Emperor Wu then had the envoy order the beast to roar, wishing to hear its voice. The envoy pointed at the beast and told it to roar once. The beast kept its mouth open for a good while, and then suddenly cried out with a sound like heavenly thunder. Its eyes flashed like colliding lightning, and the blaze shot up into the sky and took a long time to fade. Emperor Wu immediately fell down, covered his ears, and trembled all over, unable to control himself. The attendants and the palace guards (huben) all threw down their weapons and prostrated themselves. The oxen, horses, pigs, dogs, and other livestock inside and outside the palace all broke their halters and bonds and fled in terror, and it was a long time before things grew calm again.

Fearing the beast, Emperor Wu sent it to the Shanglin Park and ordered the tigers to devour it. When the tigers heard that the beast was coming, they gathered together and lay curled up as if dead. When the beast entered the park, it walked straight onto a tiger's head and urinated into its mouth. After going about ten paces away, it looked back at the tigers, and they shut their eyes. Emperor Wu, angered by the envoy's disrespectful words, wanted to have him arrested. But the next day the envoy and the beast had both vanished. The emperor sent people to search everywhere, but never learned where they had gone.

In the first year of the Houyuan era, several hundred people in Chang'an fell ill, and more than half of them died. Emperor Wu tried burning the Yuezhi divine incense in the city, and everyone who had been dead for less than three days came back to life. The fragrance lingered for three months. Only then did Emperor Wu believe that it was truly a numinous thing, and he put away the remaining incense for safekeeping. Later, one day, the incense was missing again. When the box in which it had been sealed was examined, the seal was still intact, but there was no incense inside. Emperor Wu regretted it even more, regretting that he had not treated the envoy with proper courtesy. He came to prize all the more the words that Dongfang Shuo had left behind, and he reproached himself for not having made a full effort to find Lord Li, and for having failed in the end to invite Wei Shuqing to court in time.

The following year, Emperor Wu died in the Wuzuo Palace. The incense presented by the Yuezhi kingdom was surely the Shaking Sandalwood Death-Repelling Incense of Human-Bird Mountain. Had the envoy been treated generously then, how could there have been no numinous incense to use at the time of Emperor Wu's death? Yet his span of life had in the end run out.

Canghai Island lies in the North Sea, three thousand li across and two hundred and ten thousand li from the coast. Seawater surrounds the island, five thousand li wide on every side. The water is a bluish-green color, which is why the immortals call it "Canghai" (the Azure Sea). The island is covered with great mountains and has many piled rocks, including more than a hundred kinds of minerals such as stone elephant, stone brain, stone cassia, rock crystal, flowing cinnabar, yellow seed, and stone bile. It is said that by taking these mineral substances one can become an immortal and live forever. In the middle of the island are palaces built of purple stone, the seat of government of the Nine Elders Immortal Capital, where tens of thousands of immortal officials reside.

Fangzhang Island (Fangzhangzhou) lies in the middle of the Eastern Sea, directly facing the northern shore of the Eastern Sea to the southwest. Seen from any direction, the island measures roughly five thousand li on each side. It is a gathering place of dragons, with palaces built of gold, jade, and lapis lazuli, and it is also where the Three Celestial Directors of Destiny (the divine officials who oversee life and the registers of fate in the heavens) hold their administration. Among the immortals, those who do not wish to ascend to Heaven all come to this island to receive the Register of Great Mystery (Taixuan shenglu, the immortals' register of life). Hundreds of thousands of immortals live on the island, plowing fields and planting zhi fungus (lingzhi), measuring the fields by the mu just as one would plant rice. The island also has a jade spring. Above the spring stands the palace of the Elder of the Nine Sources, who governs the water spirits of the world, as well as the dragons, serpents, giant whales, and other aquatic spirit-beings.

Fusang (Fusang) lies on the eastern shore of the Eastern Sea. The land on that shore is flat and level, and after walking ten thousand li from the coast, one comes to yet another expanse of azure sea. This sea is vast and boundless, comparable in extent to the Eastern Sea. Its waters are neither salty nor bitter; they are emerald green, sweet and fragrant in scent, and delicious in taste.

Fusang stands in the midst of this azure sea and covers ten thousand li. On the island is the Palace of the Great Emperor, the seat of the Supreme Perfected Lord of the East (Taizhen Dongwangfu, the revered deity of the eastern immortal realm). The island is thick with trees, all with leaves like those of the mulberry. There is also a kind of tree called the "dang," whose trunk rises several thousand zhang and measures over two thousand wei in girth (an ancient measure of a tree's thickness, based on the span of two arms embracing it). Two such trees grow side by side from a shared root, leaning on one another, and for this reason the tree is called "Fusang" ("Supporting Mulberry"). When immortals eat its dang, their whole bodies radiate golden light and they soar through the air.

Although the Fusang tree is tall and great, its leaves and dang still resemble those of the mulberry of the Central Plains. Its leaves, however, are sparse and reddish, and it bears fruit only once every nine thousand years. The fruit is exceedingly sweet and fragrant. The island also yields purple gold, while jade is as common there as tiles and stones are in the Central Plains. True immortals and spirit officials can transform in a thousand ways and have no fixed form; some can even divide into a hundred bodies, each ten zhang tall.

Pengqiu is Mount Penglai. It lies to the northeast of the Eastern Sea, and the mountain's shoreline measures five thousand li around. Beyond the mountain, a circular expanse of sea encircles it. Its waters are a deep black, and for this reason it is called the "Dark Sea" (Minghai). Even when there is no wind, waves a hundred zhang high surge across the sea, and no one can travel to or from the mountain.

On the mountain stand the palaces of the Nine Elders and the Nine Heavenly True Kings, the dwelling place of the Supreme True Ones (Taishang Zhenren). Only immortals who are able to fly can reach it.

Kunlun, also called Kunling, lies in the xu quarter (northwest) of the Western Sea and the hai quarter (north-northwest) of the Northern Sea, 130,000 li from the coast. The Weak Water (Ruoshui) also runs there, flowing around Mount Shi. To the southeast it joins the Garden of Piled Stones, to the northwest the Chamber of the Northern Gate, to the northeast it borders the Well of Great Life, and to the southwest it opens onto the Valley of Receiving Depths. These four great mountains are the branches and screens of Kunlun's main peak.

At the southern edge of the Garden of Piled Stones, the Queen Mother of the West once told King Mu of Zhou that the distance from Xianyang to this place is 460,000 li. Mount Kunlun rises 36,000 li above the plain. Its summit has a triangular plateau ten thousand li square, shaped like an overturned basin, narrow below and broad above, which is why it is called Kunlun. Each of its three corners holds a place of its own: the northern corner is named the Summit of Langfeng, the western corner the Hall of the Hanging Garden, and the eastern corner the Palace of Kunlun. Another corner is piled high with gold and forms the Celestial Pool. The city wall measures a thousand li around, and on it stand five golden terraces and twelve jade towers.

In the region of Mount Beihu and Mount Chengyuan there are also pool-cities, golden terraces, and jade towers, shining upon one another like palaces of flowing light. There are halls bright as green jade, dwellings adorned with fine gems, and chambers of purple, emerald, and vermilion. Clouds and mist catch the sunlight, and rosy vapors cast back layer upon layer of radiance. This is where the Queen Mother of the West dwells and governs, and where the true officials of Heaven and the immortal spirits pay homage. It connects upward with the celestial patterns and the stars, and primordial Qi (气) spreads outward from it. The Jade Armillary (yuheng, an astronomical instrument, also the pivot of the heavenly bodies' motion) regulates the Nine Heavens and harmonizes Yin-Yang (阴阳). All kinds of living spirits and rare, wondrous treasures gather here. Celestial beings and immortals come and go without end, too many to record one by one. Kunlun is the root and pivot of Heaven and Earth, and the guiding principle of all things in motion.

For this reason, the supreme deities set famous mountains in the five directions to steady the earth's contours, and they also call Kunlun the Pillar of Heaven, a symbol of its upholding the order of Heaven and Earth. Deep within the great rivers dwell water spirits, and dim, remote places are hard to reach. The dwellings of the spirits are therefore not fixed, and they cannot be explained by ordinary geography, as one might speak of hills and mounds.

Once the positions of Heaven and Earth had been arranged, each manifestation found its proper place. The sages of high antiquity observed the directions and named them according to their configurations. Xuanfeng lies at the western limit, and the Queen Mother of the West dwells in the southwest, the Kun direction. Kunwu guards the Flowing Marsh, and the Fusang tree grows at the Emerald Ford. Li is the position of fire, where the essence of fire gathers, so the Flaming Wilds give birth to luminous beasts. Kan is the position of water and governs the many Yin forces, so the immortal capitals are built on islands in the sea. Gen is the position of mountains, and Mount Peng guards the northeast, in the yin and chou quarters. Xun corresponds to the Primal Maiden and stores up great waters at Changzhou. High winds surge where the dragons gather, and spirit talismans appear at Xiaqiu. These principles are deep and subtle, and hard to exhaust. The hidden abodes of the Perfected and the sites of numinous mountains are scattered throughout the six directions, far more than just a few. What I give here are only some examples.

I, Dongfang Shuo, have limited knowledge and cannot yet fully convey the intentions of the Queen Mother of the West and the Lady of the Upper Primal. I once heard from those who had attained the Dao that the numinous mountains and blessed lands of the Ten Continents and the Great Mound are all places where immortals live and divine officials govern. The other mountains and rivers are of many kinds, and ordinary people cannot see them all.

Beyond the Northern Sea there is also Mount Zhong, in the zi quarter (due north) of the Northern Sea, separated from it by the Weak Water, at a distance of 19,000 li. The mountain is 13,000 li high, its summit is 7,000 li square, and its circumference is 30,000 li. Jade fungus and more than forty kinds of divine herbs grow there naturally, along with golden terraces and jade gateways. Mount Zhong holds primordial Qi and is where the Celestial Sovereign governs.

South of Mount Zhong lies Mount Pingxie, to the north Mount Jiaolong, to the west Mount Jingcao, and to the east Mount Shumu. These four mountains are all branches of Mount Zhong, and they rise 30,000 li higher than it. On them stand five palace-cities, so that climbing any one of these mountains seems to give a view of the peaks on all four sides. Only from far below can Mount Zhong itself be seen. These four mountains mark the boundary of the Celestial Sovereign's domain.

The route by which immortals and the Perfected come and go is recorded in the Daoist scriptures: entering a cave to the southeast of Mount Pingxie, one can reach the Gate of Ah on the north side of Mount Zhong. The Celestial Sovereign holds the guiding threads of the Nine Heavens and is of unsurpassed honor. The range of Mount Zhong winds around, and its city walls rise high on all four sides. Yet when it comes to the center of the mountain system, Kunlun remains the chief.

In former times, after Yu the Great completed his work controlling the floods, he rode a carriage that followed the tracks of his journey across the Weak Water and reached Mount Zhong. At the Gate of Ah on the mountain's north side, he sacrificed to the Supreme Lord and credited the success of his flood control to the Nine Heavens. Yu also toured the Five Peaks and ordered craftsmen to carve stones recording each mountain's distances and heights. The script used was tadpole script (an ancient seal script), not the writing of the Han people. The measurements and distances now found in books are said to date from Yu's time. This was done not only for the Five Peaks, for other famous mountains also have carved stones, placed only at the highest point of each.

I, Dongfang Shuo, saw these records with my own eyes. The numinous mountains and blessed lands that the Queen Mother of the West described were never visited by Yu, who recorded only the famous mountains of the Central Plain. My former teacher, Gu Xizi, was a true official of the Supreme One. Long ago, the teacher transmitted to me the Real Form Charts (diagrams depicting the shapes of immortal mountains) of Kunlun, Mount Zhong, Mount Penglai, and the Divine Continent. These charts later passed into the Han court, and I left the remainder in the keeping of an old friend. They are more precious than the charts of the Five Peaks, and the rules on the years of transmission are the same.

Your Majesty loves the arts of the Dao, devotes yourself to perceiving the subtle and hidden, and inwardly longs for the Celestial Venerable. The Celestial Venerable will then descend and bestow secret treasures. How could I, a person of small account, begrudge these things and refuse to present them to Your Majesty? Yet practitioners of the arts must conceal their affairs, and the Dao's methods must be kept secret from one's lineage of teachers. Once disclosed, they often cause doubt, and when the master's school is exposed, the subtle principles are lost. I therefore hope Your Majesty will, for now, not make my meaning public.

Emperor Wu was delighted to hear these lofty words. The following year, the emperor asked Dongfang Shuo for several more Real Form Charts, kept them close at hand, and at each of the Eight Festivals (seasonal days that Daoism holds important) paid homage to the numinous writings, seeking thereby to transcend the world and attain deliverance.

Dongfang Shuo said that, being skilled at wit and quick of mind, they could anticipate the emperor's thoughts in advance. They therefore dared to tease the Son of Heaven and to look lightly on dukes and marquises. Others could not treat them as teacher or friend, nor sway them with joy or anger. For this reason, Emperor Wu never managed to fully grasp the ultimate principles of the Great Dao from them.

Shizhou Ji (Record of the Ten Continents) is the title of a book. It describes ten immortal isles in the sea and the legends of the divine immortals associated with them.