《南岳总胜集》

The Zhenjun Temple (Zhenjun Guan) stands fifty paces east of the Quande Temple. This is the Palace of Great Void (Taixu) of the Red Emperor of Purple Radiance and Celebrated Splendor of the Southern Heights of the Nine Heavens. The original annotation calls it the "Temple of the Living Perfected Lord," and it was situated among the gates of the various temples of the Mountain Shrine.

During the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, Sima Chengzhen memorialized the throne, stating that each of the Five Peaks and its grotto-heaven was presided over by a supreme Perfected being, and that such beings should not share in offerings together with the deities who receive sacrifice from the human world. The emperor therefore issued an edict to build a pure and tranquil Daoist palace. Each year on the day of the Beginning of Summer, the officials first observed fasting and purification, and then the prefectural officials were ordered to perform the jiao (醮) offering rite. Afterward, five Daoist priests were also assigned to the temple to carry out cultivation practice, burn incense, and offer prayers.

The Scripture of the Five Numina (Wuling Jing), promulgated in the fifth year of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, states that there were nine assistants in governance, three hundred subordinate officials, and personnel in charge of guarding the site and managing the offices. This was a place where blessings from the Perfected and the divine were sought on behalf of the state. The Record of the Supreme Perfected (Shangzhen Ji) states that the Perfected Person of Great Void (Taixu Zhenren) commanded the office of Director of Destinies of the Southern Heights, who is none other than the Red Emperor.

Lord Wei Chong of Mount Qian served as Deputy Administrator, and Lord Han Zhong of Mount Huo served as Assisting Administrator. Lord Xu Ying of Mount Huolin, Lord Zhou Ziyang of Mount Danhuo, Lord Huang Chuping of Mount Jinhua, Lord Zheng Yin of South Mount Huo, and Lord Ruan Hui of Mount Tianzhu, together with the Primal Lady of Purple Void, Lady Wei Huacun, and the Primal Lady of Pervading Stillness, Magu, all held posts among the auxiliary divine offices, overseeing supervision across the regions of Wu, Yue, Chu, and Shu.

During the Chunhua era, the temple began to be called "Zhenjun Guan," and during the Xiangfu era, the court bestowed a plaque upon it. Among the titles listed in the sixth year of Kaiyuan were also Lord Ruan Hui of Mount Tianzhu, the Primal Lady of Purple Void, Lady Wei Huacun, and the Primal Lady of Pervading Stillness, Magu.

These are all divine offices in which a ruler assists the spirits and oversees a region, charged with watching over the lands of Wu, Yue, Chu, Shu, and others. From the Chunhua era (990-994) the temple was renamed the "Temple of the Perfected Lord" (Zhenjun Guan); in the Xiangfu era (1008-1016) the court bestowed a plaque upon it.

In the sixth year of Kaiyuan (718), the Celestial Sovereign granted the Perfected Lord a dagger for expelling evil. It was shaped like a sword, three chi long and four cun wide, with grain in the jade like clouds and mist, and a slightly sharpened tip. He also bestowed a jade tablet more than one chi long and six cun wide, inscribed in seal script "Jade Tablet of the Lord of the Dao," together with two seals reading "Seal of the Supreme One of the Three Heavens," both in seal script. Some say that, according to older records, the jade tablet was once tied to the Perfected Lord's arm; others say it was carved from sandalwood and has been handed down in the world.

The temple also holds a jade seal, five cun square with eight corners, its seal script reading "Jade Seal of the Perfected Lord Who Governs Birth." These objects are all preserved to this day. Some also say that the seal script on it came from the hand of Celestial Master (Tianshi) Sima. The Song court bestowed upon the Perfected Lord a Fire-Bell Crown edged in gold, and the two jade tablets of the Perfected Lords Qian and Huo are preserved alongside it. In addition, the imperial edicts on yellow paper, written in the emperors' own hands by Taizong, Zhenzong, and Renzong, are all kept in the temple.

In the third month of the second year of Daguan (1108), an imperial decree ordered the building of the Hall of the Natal Star (Yuanchen), which is the temple's Hall of Gathered Blessings. Before the hall stands the gate of "Jade Clarity and Golden Palace." Each year, birthday Zhaijiao (purification and offering rites) are held six times, and offering ceremonies are also held in spring and summer. The court sends prayer texts in the emperor's name from the capital, and rites are held here to seek blessings. Each time, six liang of imperially bestowed incense are burned, and a purple robe is granted. This temple is a place where the state prays for blessings.

For this reason, Lord Jiangling wrote in his "Poem Inscribed at the Temple of the Perfected Lord": The secluded halls rise high, close to the realm of heaven; in the tranquil grotto-heaven, the immortals and perfected dwell in rows. White cranes now and then descend to Zhuling, and the precious golden tablets still keep their ancient words. Wind passes over the jade altar, as if celestial music were drifting down; clouds return to the emerald peaks, as if an immortal's carriage were passing. Through the shadows of bamboo one gazes at the moon, and singing comes from the empty sky; a single cold spring flows through a channel of green.

Hengyue Temple (Hengyue Guan)

The Hengyue Temple (Hengyue Guan) stands south of Zigai Peak on Mount Heng, in front of Zixiao Peak. In the eighth year of the Taikang reign of the Jin dynasty, Xu Lingqi of Wu and Master Deng Yuzhi of Xinye founded the temple on the old site of the Hall of the Queen Mother of the West. During the Yuanjia era under Emperor Huai of Jin, it was granted the name "Huasou"; in the Liang dynasty it was renamed "Jiuzhen Guan" (Temple of the Nine Perfected). Zhang Zuoyao's Brief Poems says: "In the Jin it was named Huasou, in the Liang it was called Jiuzhen. The palace gate changed its plaque again and again, yet the cave mouth still welcomed the spring." ("Huasou" and "Jiuzhen" are both former names of the temple.)

The abbot of the temple, Zhou Jingzhen, was the teacher of Emperor Wu of Liang. Admiring the Dao (the Way) in its highest goodness, the emperor came to this temple in his imperial carriage, just as the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan visited Guangchengzi and Emperor Wu of Han paid his respects to the Elder on the River Bank (Heshang Gong). Though they lived in different ages, their reverence for the Dao was the same. The emperor issued an edict granting the temple three hundred households of estate land as its endowment.

In the eighth year of the Daye era of the Sui, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang invited two masters, Cai Fashou and Li Fachao, to take charge of temple affairs, cultivate the Dao, and promote its teachings. The fields and goods in the treasury of Hengzhou Prefecture were also granted to the temple for its use. In the second year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong personally rewrote the temple's plaque and decreed that Celestial Master (Tianshi) Zhang Huiming confer ordination certificates on nineteen Daoists, so that they could practice within the temple. In the second year of Hongdao under Emperor Gaozong, an edict ordered Celestial Master Ye Fashan to set aside a forty-li area around Mount Heng as a place for the cultivation of longevity and the Dao; woodcutting and hunting were forbidden, and the rites of "casting dragons" and "depositing tablets" were made a regular observance. In these rites, written petitions and symbolic dragon-shaped objects are cast into water or buried in the mountains, in order to report and make requests to the spirits.

During the Kaihuang era, the temple was renamed Hengyue Guan, and it was later destroyed by war. In the early Huangyou years, the prefectural lord ordered its reconstruction. The emperors Taizong, Zhenzong, and Renzong of the Song all bestowed imperial calligraphy and gold plaques; incense was burned at the temple at the proper hours each day to wish the emperor long life, and it served as a place for praying for blessings on behalf of the state. Under Zhenzong, the court sent the Grand Master Chongjing, Shan Weiyue, to serve as abbot, overseeing the temples of the Mount Heng region and also managing their incense offerings. Later, by imperial order, the temple adopted the "Jia-Yi" abbacy system, in which the abbacy passes in succession according to master-disciple lineage and the transmission of the Dao's line; the temple began practicing this system from then on. The former chancellor Wang Qinruo wrote the poem "Seeing Off Grand Master Shan on His Return to the Peak," which describes Master Shan returning by imperial command to select Daoists to lead the temples, and tells how, despite trudging through wind and snow, he still cherished the quiet beauty of the mountains and waters; when he came back to the land of Chu, he saw how much had changed in human affairs over ten years.

In the sixth year of Xuanhe, the court issued an edict to build the Hall of Vast Heaven (Haotian Dian) and bestowed upon the temple the name "Quande Guan" (Temple of Weighing Virtue).

Purple Canopy Hall (Zigai Yuan)

Purple Canopy Hall lies fifteen li north of the temple, above Baosheng Temple. Tradition holds that during the Tang dynasty a "waiting immortal" practiced cultivation here, and that two Daoist priests, Tan and Chen, also trained at this site. The immortal Zhang Baiju, known as the "Iron Gourd Immortal," is also said to have lived here.

Entering Taoyuan from the north, one finds that the hall's grounds have long been abandoned and are now inhabited by local mountain folk. Above them stands a Jiaodou altar (a platform used for performing Zhaijiao, or purification rituals). This is the place where Li Sheng of Aobei underwent shijie (release from the corpse, the Daoist term for a practitioner's body being shed as they depart the world and become an immortal). Below it are the remains of the post where a Tang crown prince tethered his horse for polo.

Temple of Sacred Longevity (Shengshou Guan)

The Temple of Sacred Longevity stands seven li up the mountain north of the main temple. It was built during the Xiantong era of the Tang dynasty, and its name is said to have been settled upon after divination. Older records state that Lu Fan, a native of Lingwu, petitioned the throne while he was garrisoning Qiannan, asking that an old study hall be converted into a Daoist temple. In the sixth year of Xiantong, he petitioned again to donate farmland and buildings as permanent holdings for the temple. Today, the Hall of Lord Lu and the other halls still preserve their former appearance.

Within the temple are the Pavilion of Pure Sound, the Pavilion for Selecting Immortals, the Pavilion for Welcoming Immortals, and the Pavilion of This Gentleman. The cliffs here are steep, with tall bamboo and green pines, deep mountain streams, and clear flowing water, making for an extraordinary landscape. Compared with Wanshou Temple, the vegetation here is even more lush and dense. The Shou Stream flows down in front of the temple and, after joining the Ling Stream, runs out onto the open plain.

During the Yixi era of the Tang, Xuanyuan Miming lived in seclusion here for many years, and later moved to the Baohuang Cave. During the Taiping Xingguo era, a lame immortal met Lü Dongbin on Junshan and afterward also lived in retreat here. He practiced the "Spirit Tortoise" method of breath-work (a breathing and exhalation discipline named after the spirit tortoise), and when his practice was complete he returned to Yuelu and styled himself Xiaoxiangzi. He once said: "I love the mountains and waters of Xiaoxiang; the dust of the mortal world seems to fade away across the river. Of the seventy-two places of the Southern Mountains, I love only the Dongzhen Ruins."

During the Yuanyou era, white cranes often cried out from the fir and pine trees, then departed after three days. In the first year of Xuanhe, the Temple of Sacred Longevity was renamed Shouqi.

Floral Canopy Hall (Huagai Yuan)

Huagai Yuan (Huagai Hermitage) is said to be the place where Lord Huagai once practiced cultivation, though his name has not been handed down. Others say it was originally the ancient Taiqing Temple. From here, one can travel fifteen li northeast and reach Shangqing Palace by the overland route through the Yuanyang Palace area.

In earlier times, Tan Qiao (courtesy name Jingsheng) lived for a long period on Mount Zhongnan, where he wrote the Huashu (Book of Transformation). After passing through Donghao and meeting Song Qiqiu, he traveled on to Mount Lu and sailed the Xiao and Xiang rivers, and he later refined elixirs here. There was also a man known as Moxizi, whose surname is unknown, who lived at this place and wrote the Tongyuan Jing (Scripture of Penetrating the Origin).

During the Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty, a Daoist named Hao Hanxu, whose courtesy name was Heling, lived here. He was wild and unrestrained by nature and never went down the mountain. He spent his days in drunkenness and had no cooking fire or utensils, so the locals called him "Hao Rou." He would often sleep for ten days or so at a stretch without eating. He liked to say, "If you want leisure, you have to be a little lazy; if you bustle about like a scallion, you will never have any leisure." He did not usually devote himself to literary composition, yet he suddenly wrote his "Song of Ascension": "The Jade Emperor issues an edict, appointing me an immortal official; dragons breathe out clouds, and the wind helps me along. Before my eyes, towers and terraces suddenly appear, and strange flowers and plants I cannot name. I climb to the Heaven of Daluo and look upon the human world, and the whole world seems as small as the palm of my hand. At that time I was in no hurry to ascend; in a moment I carried it off to Yingzhou to sell." He later ascended as an immortal in the second year of Qingtai.

There was also Master Fan, the Iron Crown Master, who lived in seclusion at Ketai. He admired Heling's Dao and often rode a white ox to visit him. Ma Xifan, the Prince of Chu, once took him as his teacher. After Ma Xisheng succeeded to the throne, Master Fan disappeared, and no one knew where he had gone.

Shangqing Palace

The Shangqing Palace stands seven li northeast of the Nanyue Temple. It was the place of cultivation of the Perfected One (Zhenren) Xu Lingqi, a native of Wu. In his youth, Xu Lingqi met a divine being who gave him the essential methods for refining the Mysterious Elixir, the technique of absorbing the essential qi (Qi) of the sun, and the practice of guarding and nourishing the Niwan (the key site of cultivation in the head). Living on sesame seeds, he was able to roam the seas and sacred peaks and travel back and forth across the southern mountains for many years. He explored the caves, cliffs, and valleys of the mountains and wrote the Record of Mount Heng (Hengyue Ji), which describes the marvelous sights of each cavern dwelling.

According to the book, the peaks of Zigai and Yunmi are each more than five thousand zhang high. On Yunmi Peak stands the stele of Yu the Great commemorating his control of the floods, its inscription written in tadpole script (an ancient, curving style of writing). Beneath the stele is a stone altar encircled by flowing water, a scene of extraordinary beauty. Cranes often gather on the summit of Zigai Peak, where divine fungi and numinous herbs grow. Below the peak is a stone chamber containing an incense burner, a pestle and mortar, and the implements used for refining elixirs.

On Zhurong Peak there is an altar of green jade, five feet square. East of the altar grows a purple pear tree more than three hundred feet tall, said to have been planted by Yu of Xia. Its fruit is as large as a dou measure and as red as the sun, and whoever eats it will live forever. During the Yixi era, a mountain man named Pan Jue climbed the peak and saw a rock split open, revealing a fragrant, soft substance like purple clay that could be eaten. Not knowing it was stone marrow, Pan Jue did not eat it, and threw it down and left. When he realized his mistake and went back, it was gone.

Xu Lingqi's account describes all of these as holy and extraordinary matters, and he is also said to have been able to command ghosts and spirits and subdue dragons and tigers. On the ninth day of the ninth month of the first year of Yuanhui in the Song, in the first year of Chongzhen Chonghe, Emperor Huizong bestowed on him the title "Perfected One of Bright Truth and Subtle Insight." Today the foundations of the palace and its steles still remain.

Legend holds that there was once an immortal parrot here that announced the dawn. Having eaten immortal herbs, it lived without dying, and although a woodcutter occasionally glimpsed it, it could never be caught. In the seventh year of Dali, Master Xuanhe Zhang Taikong, the teacher of Li Mi, lived here. After attaining the Dao (Dao), he entered the Yuanyang Palace and departed through shijie, release from the corpse (the Daoist practice of leaving the physical body behind to become an immortal). In the first year of Dazhong, Han Wei, likewise drawn to the Daoist way of life, came here to practice cultivation and also attained the Dao.

The Hermitage of the Stone Chamber, Shishi Yinzhen Rock, lies between Shangqing and Yuanyang. Fir and pine trees crowd both sides of the mountain path, and the rocks and peaks are tinged blue-green. There were two stone chambers there, originally the dens of tigers and leopards. In the first year of the Dazhong era of the Tang dynasty (847), Master Liu Yuanjing took up residence in the chambers. Through lidou (a Daoist rite of bowing toward the stars of the Dipper) and bucheng (walking in ritual procession to report to the deities), he drove off the tigers and leopards, cleared away the brambles, and settled there.

Han Ye, the Prefect of Hengzhou, contributed money from his own salary to build the Pavilion of Assembled Perfected (Huizhen Ge). Beside the rock he opened up additional stone chambers, channeled spring water to flow around them, and felled trees and cleared the undergrowth. Inside the chambers were carved a tea stove, a chessboard, a jiaotan (an altar for performing Daoist Zhaijiao, or purification rituals), a medicine mortar, a basin-bed, as well as lamps and offering vessels. It was said that all these fixtures looked as though they had formed naturally, following the contours of the rock.

During the Huichang era (841–846), the emperor issued an edict summoning Liu Yuanjing to the palace, where he was given falu (ordination registers, the credentials conferring Daoist rank) and named Master Guangcheng. After a long time, he asked to return to the mountain. In the tenth month of winter in the fifth year of Dazhong (851), spirit cranes descended several times, and soon afterward Liu Yuanjing passed away. People heard celestial music sounding among the drifting clouds, and on the day of his reburial, only his staff and shoes remained in the tomb. His disciple Lü Zhizhen inherited his Daoist teachings.

Xiao Ye, Vice Minister of War, composed the stele inscription for him, and Zhao Lu, Vice Minister of Personnel, wrote his biography. Lu Fan, Advisor to the Crown Prince, wrote the Inscription of the Stone Chamber, and the Daoist Zhang Jianbai wrote an inner biography. Today only the inner biography survives, while the spirit-path stele stands at the Quande Temple (Quande Guan). The site itself remains to this day.

The Central Palace (Zhonggong) lies seven li northeast of the temple. It was built during the Tianjian era of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, and it was the place where the Perfected One (Zhenren) Wang Lingyu practiced cultivation. Wang Lingyu was a native of Jinling and was intelligent from childhood. He had no wish to marry or hold office and devoted himself wholly to seeking the Dao (the Way). He took leave of his relatives and friends and built a hut beneath Five Elders Peak, where he practiced.

He seemed to have already attained something. One night a divine being suddenly said to him: "If one cultivates the Dao in an unsuitable place, it is like sowing the five grains in sandy soil: they cannot bear fruit. Even someone with the aptitude to ascend as an immortal must rely on blessed lands and numinous altars in order to be transformed. Accumulated De (Virtue) establishes the foundation, and accumulated merit forms the wings. If the place of practice is wrong, demonic obstacles will damage one's work, and this Dao can never be accomplished."

Wang Lingyu asked, "What place is suitable for dwelling?" The divine being replied, "The peaks above Zhuling and the ridges near Mount Zigai are where one can soar up into the heavens." Wang Lingyu then moved from Mount Lu to the Central Palace of Nanyue. After twelve years of practice he attained the Dao, and then moved to the east of Zhuling. He paid homage to the Northern Dipper and refined and nourished true Qi (vital energy), and on the twelfth day of the seventh month in the thirteenth year of Tianjian he ascended to the heavens. In the first year of the Chonghe era, Emperor Huizong bestowed on him the title "Perfected One of Subtle Penetration and Gathered Emptiness" (Tongwei Jixu Zhenren).

In the early Tianbao years of the Tang, Dong Fengxian also lived here. He practiced the Nine Flowers method of alchemy (a Daoist method of elixir refining) and attained the Dao; later he dwelt for a long time in Hengyang, residing in the rear grotto of Zhuling. During the Yuanhe era of the Tang, Feng Weiliang also practiced here, and the relevant biographies are all collected in the final volume. During the Dali era of the Tang, Master Li Delin practiced here and attained the Dao; by that time, the Central Palace had long been in ruins.

Yuanyang Palace

Yuanyang Palace (Yuanyang Gong) lies northeast of the temple, five li up the mountain. It stands apart from the Shangqing Central Palace, the two facing each other across the distance like the two legs of a tripod cauldron. During the Taishi era of the Jin dynasty, the Perfected One (Zhenren) Chen Xingming practiced cultivation here.

In youth, Chen Xingming traveled among famous mountains. While seeking the Way of the immortals on Tianzhu Peak, Xingming met a divine being who looked about eighteen or nineteen. The being said: "I have traveled in every direction, guiding those who are determined to cultivate the Dao. When people take up cultivation, they can at first concentrate for a while, but they often give up halfway and cannot keep up their diligence over the long term. How could such people shed their mortal bodies, ascend into the clouds and heavens, and become immortals? The effort you have made is already very good. So long as you do not lose heart, why worry that your name will not be recorded in the Golden Gate and Jade Hall (the palaces of the immortal realm)?

"First hardship, then joy: hardship has an end, but joy has none. Why do I say so? To live hidden in mountain valleys and secluded places, with birds and beasts for company, means going hungry and thirsty in the end. To practice tirelessly through cold and heat, to give up worldly glory, to take leave of family and set aside affection, all of this can be called hardship. Yet if you succeed in your cultivation, your lifespan will equal that of heaven and earth, your transformations will be inexhaustible, you will ride the void and traverse the emptiness, and wings will grow upon your body. That is joy. How could you not strive in your practice?"

Xingming bowed and said: "I will remember the Sage's teaching forever, and until I attain the Dao I will never grow slack." The divine being then transmitted to Xingming the "Way of the Bright Mirror" (a method of cultivation), which Xingming practiced for eighteen years. Two immortals then descended and said: "Long ago I passed the Supreme Dao to you, and you have indeed practiced diligently. Now you will ascend the Nine Heavens and roam the Eight Seas. This is the reward for accumulated merit and De (Virtue). First hardship, then joy: you have now received it." On the first day of the third month of the first year of the Taikang era of the Jin, Xingming ascended to heaven from the Remote Chamber of Mist and Haze. Heavenly music resounded through the air, and mountains and rivers fell into a solemn, clear stillness. People came to look and found the chamber empty. Even the chickens and dogs had ascended along with Xingming.

In the first year of the Chonghe era, Emperor Huizong bestowed on Chen Xingming the title "Perfected One of Attaining Emptiness and Guarding Stillness."

In the Tang dynasty, Master Zhang Xuanhe also lived at Yuanyang Palace. Emperor Dezong granted him an imperial edict, which in essence said: "The Supreme Dao is by nature nameless, yet people reluctantly give it a name in order to honor the great Dao. The Utmost Truth is by nature without title, yet people also borrow titles to make the true Dao manifest. What is truly worthy of praise is the fullness of virtue. Zhang Taixu, a Daoist of Yuanyang Palace on Mount Heng in the Southern Peak, is pure and subtle by nature. Cultivating the body and nourishing the spirit (Shen), Zhang Taixu has nurtured virtue on Mount Heng for nearly a hundred years, probed deeply into the hidden principles, moved freely in accord with the primordial Qi of chaos, and dwelt at ease in the vast and profound realm, thereby perfecting a true body. The late emperor once issued an edict praising the wonder of this Dao. I admire the bearing of an immortal crane, and I bestowed upon Zhang Taixu a robe of purple mist. Now I recall the fine words and worthy deeds of my ministers and also revere this immortal, regretting only that I could not live at the same time. I therefore express my approval and issue this edict of commendation, honoring Zhang Taixu's illustrious virtue so that it may be handed down without end, and posthumously confer the title Master Xuanhe." The edict was issued on the thirteenth day of the sixth month of the fourth year of the Zhenyuan era. Afterward, Master Zhang Xuanhe underwent shijie (the Daoist "release from the corpse," in which the body is shed and the practitioner leaves the mortal frame to become an immortal) on Lingyin Peak.

Yuanyang Palace was repaired during the Chunhua, Tiansheng, and Zhenghe reigns of the present dynasty. In the first year of the Xuanhe era, it was renamed Chongming Temple (Chongming Guan). About three li behind the temple lies Tiger-Subduing Cliff.

Tianzhen Hermitage

Tianzhen Hermitage (田真院) lies about two li southeast of Yuanyang Temple, and was founded during the Baoli era of the Tang dynasty. Green bamboo and ancient pines intertwine and shade the grounds, and statues of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), together with stone images, stand at the front and rear. A little over a hundred paces north of the main hall is a small rock cave where Master Tian often rested. On the rock grows a pine called the "Canopy Pine" (Huagai Pine). Its roots and trunk coil and twist together, and its branches stretch toward the left, appearing slender. Although the Canopy Rock is vast in extent, it is entirely covered by the foliage of this single pine.

During the Kaihuang era, Tian Liangyi of the state of Qi, courtesy name Xuying, moved from You County to Xiyang Peak on Mount Heng in the southern sacred mountains in order to care for his parents. Later he farmed with his own hands and sold firewood to support his aged mother, and at night he sat alone in meditation in a rock cave. One day, as the mood took him, he set out to roam the Five Peaks, where he met Master He and asked him about the teachings of the Dao. His mother was then drying clothes on the north side of the mountain. Hearing that her son had gone far away, she hurried after him but could not catch up. When she returned, the clothes she had hung out to dry had turned to stone. For several hundred years the color of the clothes has not changed, and they remain as white as ever.

Below that cave is another small rock cave, where Tian's mother often rested. She sat there all day long, ordinarily wearing black clothing and eating a vegetarian diet. After her death, Tian Liangyi's resolve to cultivate the Dao grew even firmer. He later met Xue Jichang and received the teachings from him, then entered Mount Tiantai and never came out again. Emperor Xianzong of the Tang issued an edict summoning him, but he did not respond. In the end he departed by means of "corpse liberation" (shijie, the Daoist notion that a cultivator leaves the corpse behind while the person themselves is released from the body).

During the Xuanhe and Zhenghe eras of the present dynasty, Tianzhen Hermitage was struck by fire, and only the stone images of the Three Pure Ones survived. In the Shaoxing era a small hall was built again, and Daoists have practiced here ever since; the incense has never gone out to this day.

Beidi Hermitage

Beidi Hermitage (北帝院) lies about half a li behind Quande Temple. Tall bamboo and long pines grow thick and lush at the front and back of the grounds. In the last years of the Tianj

Lingxu Palace (a Daoist temple) lies east of the Southern Marchmount Temple, about eight li up the mountain from its foot, on the southern slope of Huagai Peak. It was first built in the early Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, and was once the residence of the Master Xue (a Daoist, personal name Jichang). Emperor Xuanzong ordered him to reside at the Jiuzhen Temple of Descended Sages. He presented the Daodejing (Dao De Jing) to the throne and composed the Treatise on Mysterious Subtlety, and the emperor replied to it several times in his own hand. Later, Master Xue gave up his honors and asked to return to live in a thatched hut. One day he said to his disciples, "Tonight the weather will turn unusual, and I am going to depart somewhere." He then rose into the air and was gone.

Later, Hua Youqi traveled from western Shu, passing through Jingzhu, the Yi River, and the Xiaoxiang region, and came here to pay homage. He practiced cultivation on a stone terrace beneath the Five Peaks and, concealing his name, wrote a commentary on the Lingbao Jing (Lingbao Scripture) there. While he worked on the commentary, mist and cloud rose and curled over the terrace like incense smoke; when the commentary was finished, the mist and cloud dispersed. The place was therefore named the Terrace of Heavenly Incense. Hua Youqi later underwent shijie (release from the corpse, the Daoist term for shedding the physical body and departing as an attained one).

During the Huichang era of the Tang, Zhou Hunwu came here from Jiuzhen to live. He later attained the Dao and became the master of the Daluo Temple. In front of Lingxu Palace are a natural stone altar and the implements used for jiao offering rites (Daoist rituals of altar-setting and sacrifice), along with a naturally formed Sword-Testing Stone and the Elixir-Bathing Spring. At the end of the Shaoxing era, the temple was relocated to the foot of the mountain, but construction was only about fifty to seventy percent complete and remained unfinished.

Dongling Temple (name of a Daoist temple).

The Dongling Palace (Dongling Gong) lies to the northeast of the temple. Climbing the mountain road for eighteen li, one arrives at the foot of the mountain on the eastern side of Zigai Peak. At the end of the Eastern Jin dynasty, Deng Yuzhi (courtesy name Yanda) lived here. While chanting scriptures at the Dongling Terrace, he met Lady Wei, who transmitted her Daoist methods to him, and through practice he attained the Dao. The site is ranked as the twenty-fifth blessed land, the Dongling Source (a "blessed land" is a dwelling place of Daoist immortals and a sacred ground for cultivation).

An old poem reads: "The Dongling source joins the Dongyang heaven, / lean gorges and perilous peaks, earthen ties of crimson. / Once I trod on fallen blossoms and listened to jade-like pipes, / by the Altar of Chisongzi, at the Crane-Cry Spring." The poem depicts the Dongling source as connected to the Dongyang heaven, with deep valleys and steep, rugged peaks; someone walks over fallen blossoms, listens to the clear sounds of nature, and arrives at the Crane-Cry Spring beside the Chisongzi Altar.

The Dongling Palace was founded by Li Junshi. A Celestial Master (Tianshi) once lived here and attained the Dao. Tradition holds that the two Perfected Ones, Peng and Cai, lived in seclusion in this place, and that Nie Shidao met them here in the late Tang. Today there is a peach grove beside the palace, and tea gardens, orange trees, and pomelo trees are scattered around it.

In front of the palace there once stood an ancient maple, several zhang tall, its roots swelling up and coiling into the shape of an enormous tortoise. The head, tail, feet, and shell patterns were all clearly visible, as if the creature were alive, and it filled those living in the palace with awe. During the wars of the Five Dynasties period, the Daoist complex was struck by fire, and the mountain gradually fell into desolation and emptiness. In the final years of the Daguan era of the Northern Song, the palace eunuch Wang Menside donated funds to rebuild it, and the halls and temple buildings have looked brand new ever since. The recluses who now live in the hermitages are no longer the people of former times.

To the northeast of the Dongling Palace are the Peach Blossom Spring and the Crane-Cry Spring, both rarely visited by travelers. On the western bank is carved Zhang Yuanhua's "Rhapsody on the Returned Elixir" (a rhapsody on the practice of alchemical refining). Below it is the Medicine-Washing Pool, and to the east is the Altar for Paying Homage to the Dipper (Chaodou Tan, an altar for venerating the stars and conducting Daoist rites).

Zhaoxian Guan (Temple of Summoning Immortals)

The Zhaoxian Guan lies eight li east of the temple. The Old Record says that this temple was founded by Liu Zongbu during the Southern Qi dynasty.

Zhaoxian Abbey (Zhaoxian Guan) lies eight li east of the Southern Marchmount Temple. According to the Old Records, the site was first chosen by Liu Zong and the abbey built during the Xiao Qi period; another account says it was built during the Xianheng era of the Jin. The Perfected Zhang, named Tanyao, once lived here. Devoted to cultivation, he made contact with the heavens, and divine beings descended to teach him the practice of "nourishing the original harmony within and silently paying court to the Great Emperor." After twelve years of practice, his spirit roamed through space and had an audience with the Great Emperor of the Supreme Pole, who bestowed on him jade fruits, jade-like ointment, and an immortal liquid that unites spirit and qi and transforms the body. After he took it, his transformations became unfathomable and his powers vast. On the third day of the seventh month in the first year of Yanxing, thunder suddenly roared and heaven and earth shook; then phoenixes, cranes, and cinnabar-colored clouds came to meet him, and he ascended to heaven. In the first year of Chonghe, Emperor Huizong conferred on him the title "Perfected of Preserved Radiance and Inherited Illumination."

In the second year of Zhenguan, a master from Luling named Xiao Linghu came to live here. He practiced the arts of transmuting base metals into gold and silver, kept fasts and observances, and restored the abbey buildings. In the fifth year he completed the Xunzhen Pavilion; in the sixth year, a renchen year, he had a bronze bell weighing five hundred jin cast in Guizhou. After it was brought back to the abbey, he dared not strike it at the fifth watch of the night, fearing it would disturb the yin spirits of the underworld. Afterward he refined elixir north of the mountain, succeeding only after three refinings. After taking the elixir, he departed this world at the Mid-Autumn Festival of the second year of Hongdao by "corpse liberation" (shijie), which Daoism describes as the body being shed while the adept attains the Dao and departs.

At the end of the Yuanhe era, a man named Xu Jue came here from Mount Emei and wrote an inscription on a beam. He often got drunk and sang aloud, and both his songs and his inscriptions spoke of "seeking Master Reclining Moon," yet no one ever understood what "Reclining Moon" meant. He also wrote a poem on the wall of the hall, ending: "Deng Tong starved and Yan Ling lived in poverty; are emperors really without limits? A man not yet successful should not rush to ingratiate himself; clinging to the dragon and attaching to its wings only harms one's spirit." That is to say: Deng Tong ended by starving to death, and Yan Ling was poor all his life, so can emperors truly do anything they wish? When a great man has not yet made his mark, he should not hasten to cling to the powerful, for that only drains his spirit.

At the end of the Duangong era, at the start of the fifth watch, a bell suddenly sounded, to everyone's alarm. At daybreak they found the bronze bell cracked. Within ten days, a Daoist in tattered cloth clothing arrived, claiming he could mend the bell, though it would take several thousand jin of charcoal. The people burned the charcoal and melted the bell, and the Daoist caught the molten bronze in his palm and filled the crack. The flames then went out for no apparent reason, and everyone marveled. The Daoist went to the stream to wash his hands and suddenly vanished. To this day the print of a palm remains on the bell, and people regard it as a miracle.

At the end of the Tang, Nie Shidao visited the Three Perfected, Peng and Cai. During the reign of Emperor Renzong, Master Juansu was summoned by imperial decree to live here; he later entered the Hengyue Abbey and finally departed by corpse liberation. In the Xuanzheng years, a recluse named Hao Chengyuan, admiring Juansu's example, built the Yangsu Veranda. The abbey formerly had the Yaobi Pavilion, the Jingxiu Pavilion, and the Chaotian Altar.

Two li north of the abbey are the Snow Wave Pavilion and the Dongzhen Stream (Dongzhen Jian). A waterfall flies out from the cave, with massive boulders standing steeply across it. On the rock cliff is a stone basin shaped like a cooking pot, over a zhang wide and unfathomably deep. A stream of water pours down from it like the folds of a curtain, hence the name Water Curtain Cave. This is also the Zhuling Cave, ranked third among the Thirty-Six Cave-Heavens. There is also a stone well whose depth cannot be measured, said to connect to all four directions.

The stream runs for about twenty li, forming tiers of hanging cascades: from the upper reaches at Chuxi down to the Middle Pool, the water drops nine ren; from the Middle Pool into the valley, it drops another eighteen ren. There stands a sheer cliff called the Mingpan Wall, about four mats wide, where the water surges up like snow and pours down like thunder and rain. The author holds that the force of this water surpasses even that of Tiantai and Emei. Below lies the Dragon-Casting Pool, where the court, after holding a Daoist jiao ritual, cast golden dragons into the water. It is said that when the stone altar opens slightly, celestial music can be heard. In Lan Xie's "Poem on the Water Curtain Cave" there is a couplet: "In Kaiyuan a golden dragon was cast; beneath the water one hears the heavenly tones." "Heavenly tones" means the music of the celestial realm.

If visitors are sincere in heart and pure in purpose and gaze with concentrated spirit, they may sometimes faintly glimpse a golden couch and jade table. In the Zhidao era, a pregnant woman touched the rock cliff, which gradually closed up, and nothing could be seen inside anymore. Poems left by visitors cover the rock walls, and the verse by Li Yuanfu of Luling is especially outstanding:

"A single sweep of cassia-green cliff,

Plainly untouched by dust.

Compressed into pearls of white,

It hangs down like jade cords.

Wild egrets fly but cannot enter,

Mountain winds roll but cannot part it.

Sound upon sound it goes to court the sea,

With no thought for the limits of peaks and crags."

The lines are elegant and forceful, and all who read them were filled with admiration.

In the tenth month of the first year of Zhenghe, Zhang Huiyan of Jian'an, under orders to inspect the circuit, traveled from Xiangtan to the Marchmount shrine. When he was still three or four li from the shrine, he saw dense pine-moss beside the road and, within the woods, a tall and splendid gate tower with a large plaque inscribed in red: "Zhuling Palace." Beyond the gate, pavilions and towers were faintly visible, and between the lanes a figure seemed to stand as if waiting for someone. It was late, and he had no time to explore, so he planned to return another day.

On the fifth day of the ninth month of the following year, he came back from Hengzhou and lodged at Shengye Chan Temple. He told the abbot, the monk Jingxiang, that he wished to visit Zhuling together with the monk the next day. Jingxiang said that east of the temple stood Zhaoxian Abbey, and behind it lay the Zhuling Cave. Zhang Huiyan said that when passing the year before he had seen the high gate and great plaque of the Zhuling Palace and had always regretted not entering, and that now he very much wished to visit.

Early the next morning the two went to Zhaoxian Abbey together. At the spot where Zhang Huiyan had earlier seen the palace gate, they found only empty mountain, with nothing there. At the Zhuling Cave, he looked back toward the rock wall by the waterfall and again saw no palace. When he asked the local Daoists, they said there had never been any palace or gate there. Zhang Huiyan marveled at the strangeness of this and likened it to such legends of apparitions as the Dafangguang at Tiantai and the Holy Bamboo Grove Temple on Mount Song, and he wrote it down as a record.

Later, the abbey's presiding Daoist, Wang Yuandong, built the Wangxian Pavilion at the place where Zhang Huiyan said he had seen the palace gate, and erected a gate there as well. The county defender Qian Jingheng wrote the three characters "Zhuling Palace," and the characters were filled in with vermilion to make a plaque. The Wangjuan Bridge was built afterward. The abbey enshrines a bronze statue of the Heavenly Worthy Who Preserves Life. The stone statue of Laojun and his attendants, cast in the Xianheng era of the Jin, was completed together with the abbey. The old abbey originally stood at the mouth of the cave and was moved outside the cave at the end of the Tang; in the Laojun Hall a separate image of Yuanshi Yuchen was set up and enshrined in the same hall as Laojun. One account holds that because the Tang honored Xuanyuan as their sacred ancestor, the Yuchen image was placed on the right. In the first year of Xuanhe, the court bestowed a new name on the abbey.

The Jiuzhen Temple (Jiuzhen Guan) lies ten li east of the main temple. According to the Old Records, it was founded during the Taikang era of the Jin dynasty by Master Xinye. In the early Tianwo years, the Perfected One (Zhenren) Zhang Ruzhen lived here. Zhang Ruzhen was a fellow townsman of Master Xinye. From childhood he spoke little, was of a plain and unassuming temperament, and did not follow the customs of the world. When he grew up he lived in seclusion in the mountains, endowed by nature with the gifts for cultivating the Dao (the Way). In a rock cave he met a divine being, who transmitted to him the Dao of the "Bright Mirror and Penetrating Insight" and instructed him, saying:

"That which illuminates the fundamental principle of things is Heaven; that which reflects the forms of things is the Dao. The Dao of Heaven is clear and bright, like the clarity of a mirror, able to examine the myriad things without confusion: when the form of a thing appears here, there is a response there. Therefore the shape of mountains and rivers and the conditions of ghosts and spirits cannot be hidden. Heaven, because it is clear, contains the myriad things; water, because it is limpid, reflects all forms. If you can cultivate the clarity of Heaven and the discernment of the mirror, so that the heart is still and the Shen (spirit) is settled, until inside and outside are thoroughly penetrated, the ultimate Dao can be achieved. But if you are burdened by external things, and the heart and Shen grow weary and clouded and cannot be made still, you will drift ever farther from the Dao.

"This method I received long ago from Master Changsang, who received it from the Celestial Emperor of Supreme Subtlety (Taiwei). Having obtained this method, you will be able to perceive the mysterious, penetrate the great Dao, and illuminate the eight directions from afar. Within the Dongzhen (Three Caverns) methods, a practice of Daoist cultivation, there is the Dao of the 'Four Compasses,' which follows the course of the four seasons, and it is fundamentally the same as this method. What the ancients said, 'Make the room empty, and light arises of itself; make the heart still, and the Dao comes of itself,' is truly so."

After nine years of practice, Zhang Ruzhen could see through to a thousand li away, and nothing could obstruct his sight. On the eighteenth day of the eleventh month of the thirteenth year of the Tianjian era of the Liang dynasty, he went alone into the mountains and did not return for three days. When his disciples went to look for him, they saw only that he was clad in immortal robes, riding a cloud chariot up to Heaven, accompanied by the sound of pipes and drums, his figure gradually receding into the distance. In the first year of Zhonghe, Emperor Huizong of the Song bestowed on him the title "Perfected One of Complete Perfection and Penetrating the Dao" (Quanzhen Dadao Zhenren).

In the early Kaiyuan years, Sima Chengzhen, courtesy name Ziwei, came from the seacoast to Mount Nanyue to practice cultivation, and lived at the White Cloud Hermitage, one li north of the Jiuzhen Temple. The chancellor Zhang Jiuling visited him many times. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang sent his younger brother Chengzhang to summon him to court and asked him to collate the Daodejing, treating him with great courtesy and calling him "Dao Brother." The gold and silver vessels offered in the temple were all bestowed on him by the emperor, and letters in the emperor's own hand passed back and forth without end.

In the early Tianbao years, Xue Jichang, a native of Shu, had annotated the Daodejing in two volumes on Mount Emei, and later lived in seclusion on Huagai Peak of Mount Heng, where he wrote the Treatise on Mysterious Subtlety (Xuanwei Lun) in three volumes and a Hymn to the Great Dao. His disciple Wang Xianjiao copied out the works and presented them to the throne. The emperor issued an edict ordering Xue Jichang to live at the Jiangzhen Temple, and bestowed ritual vessels and imperial calligraphy, with letters and replies continuing without cease. Later, the temple was ordered to fashion a statue of the Sage Ancestor, the Emperor of the Dao of Heaven and Mysterious Origin, in thirteen pieces, seventeen chi in total height; the scriptures numbered six hundred and seventy volumes.

Wang Xianjiao had originally been a young Daoist attendant at the Jiuzhen Temple, of a plain and unassuming nature. After reading the Biographies of Immortals (Liexian Zhuan), he resolved to rise above the world, and once said: "Everything beyond the five thousand words is nothing but clay figures and grass and trees." He carried Mount Nanyue tea to the capital to solicit donations, and gave out tea inside the city gate. One day he met Gao Lishi, who found him out of the ordinary and asked where he came from. Wang Xianjiao replied that he was a young attendant of the Jiuzhen Temple on Mount Nanyue, that the halls had fallen into ruin, and that he had come to the capital with tea to respectfully ask benefactors for help.

Gao Lishi liked his speech and reported to Emperor Xuanzong, who summoned him. Seeing that the youth was refined and handsome, the emperor asked what he wished for. Wang Xianjiao answered: "I wish for the prosperity of the state, and for the flourishing of the scriptures and the work of the Daoist teaching." The emperor was delighted, ordered him to take Master Sima as his teacher, held a ceremony in the palace for his investiture in Daoist robes, and gave him generous gifts before sending him back to the mountain. At night Wang Xianjiao dreamed of the Perfected One Chen Shaowei and grasped the essential secrets of cultivation. Later the emperor again ordered him to go to Mount Wangwu to attend Master Sima. After some time he reported that Master Sima had become an immortal in the twenty-third year of Kaiyuan, and requested that the old residence on Mount Nanyue be reclaimed and rebuilt as a temple. The emperor granted the request and bestowed a plaque, and ordered Xue Jichang to preside over the Jiangsheng Temple, giving it a sacred image and ritual vessels.

In the twelfth year of Tianbao, the emperor further ordered Hengzhou to cast a bronze bell and bestow it on the temple. Its sound carried far and reached the clouds, and it weighed four thousand jin. The bell was inscribed with the name and title of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, along with an inscription the emperor composed himself: "Cast in the prefecture, hung in the temple; may Heaven and Earth endure, and blessings never end." The casting was supervised by Gao Lishi, General of Agile Cavalry. This bell is truly a precious relic of Mount Nanyue.

In the second month of the third year of Qianyuan, war and fire destroyed the temple. The buildings were burned to nothing and even iron and stone were melted and cracked, but this bell alone survived. Was it not the power of vows that allowed it to remain? In the Xiantong years, Wang Gujie, whose practice of the Dao was outstanding and who was revered throughout the region, restored the temple, expounded the Dao and the scriptures, and attracted many students. Later he was summoned by imperial decree to Mount Beiyue and named Chief Master.

In the Yuanyou years, the bell suddenly vanished for several days, and was later found in the pond in front of the temple. Its body was covered in moss, and the right foot of the dragon ornament on its top was broken off. It was then moved back to the bell tower. It is said that it once fought with the dragon of Qingcao Ford.

Today behind the temple is Longshi Ridge, and one li outside the temple is Wulin. Master Xie once restored the White Cloud Hermitage and lived there, often keeping company with Cao Daochong through poetry and the zither. Cao Daochong wrote in a poem:

"A man of Wulin at the mouth of Peach Blossom Spring,

Has leapt out of the red dust for twenty springs.

He delights only that deep in the white clouds there is charm,

Not knowing that friendly eyes have lately drawn near.

The cinnabar has already been subdued in the earthen furnace,

The jade elixir is first brewed in the Kan cauldron.

His livelihood is one zither with its scorched tail,

At the green altar, three feet wide, he pays homage to the Southern Star."

The poem describes a recluse who has left the world for many years, who loves the serenity deep among the white clouds, who refines cinnabar and the jade elixir, and who pays homage to the Southern Star at the Daoist altar.

West of the temple is the Wang family's herb hut. A man of the Wang family once lived there, later moved to Lingyan, and finally achieved Shijie (release from the corpse; in Daoist tradition, the body of the practitioner is shed and transformed) on Yunlong Peak.

Fifty paces from the northern corner of the temple stands the Shoushan Pavilion, and below the pavilion is the White Turtle Spring, called the foremost spring of the Southern Mountain. The water gushes from a cliff cave, clear and sweet, and its color shifts between morning and evening, such that none of the other famous springs on the Southern Mountain can compare with it. It is said that drinking the water frees one from illness and lengthens life. In the spring lives a white turtle only the size of a copper coin, white as jade, hidden among the cracks in the rock, which few people ever see. Those who meet it receive good fortune and prolonged life. It is said that when the white turtle appears, immortals come, and when it hides, immortals depart.

There are many poems inscribed in praise of the White Turtle Spring. Among them, the mountain rustic Huangfu Huan wrote:

"If the Numinous Terrace is never free of dust,

Then where dust has settled it is no Numinous Terrace.

I love this one pool of water,

Where a spirit creature once came to dwell."

This means that if the mind is always stirred by worldly dust, it is not a true Numinous Terrace (Lingtai); and that the poet loves this pool of spring water because a spirit creature once dwelled here.

The author says that in recent years he planned to build a hermitage here. The mountain north of the spring is five li away, and when gathering herbs he often rested at Shoushan Pavilion, each time marveling at the strangeness of the water. He says that in the broad world, there are said to be three places where a white turtle is associated with true immortals, and this is one of them. He intended to grow old in these mountains; after moving his dwelling several times, he finally came to the east of Zhuling, cleared the Wang family's old herb garden, and settled there, directly beside the spring, which he thought no mere coincidence. He therefore wrote a poem:

"The white turtle appears in three places under Heaven:

Yishan, Shaoshi, and Shouxian Pavilion.

Now I build my dwelling on the summit of the Southern Mountain,

Having you as neighbor, I wish long years to our sovereign."

This means that there are three places in the world where the white turtle is said to appear, including Yishan, Shaoshi, and Shouxian Pavilion; now that he is building a dwelling on the summit of the Southern Mountain and can be neighbor to the white turtle, he takes the occasion to wish the sovereign long life.

Within the temple is the Nine Immortals Pavilion, and behind the pavilion there was formerly the Langying Pavilion. In the first year of Zhonghe, the Langying Pavilion was given a new name by imperial decree and called Shouning.

Jiangsheng Temple (Jiangsheng Guan)

Jiangjian Temple lies one li north of Jiuzhen Temple. It was formerly called the White Cloud Hermitage (Baiyun An) and was the place where Sima ZIwei (a Tang-dynasty Daoist) practiced cultivation. Later, his disciple Wang Xianjiao petitioned the throne to convert her late master's hermitage into a proper Daoist temple. The request was granted, and the court bestowed a name plaque and inscribed a new tablet. Xue Jichang concurrently served as abbot of both Jiuzhen Temple and Jiangjian Temple.

Palace of the Nine Immortals (Jiuxian Gong)

The Palace of the Nine Immortals stands twelve li east of the main temple and was built during the Tianjian era of Emperor Wu of Liang. Tradition holds that Wang Lingyu once practiced cultivation at the Central Palace, and after his practice reached fulfillment and he transcended the mortal world, he moved to this place, where he paid homage to the Northern Dipper and contemplated the subtle mysteries. One day, a Perfected One (zhenren) from the heavens came to welcome him.

Deng Yuzhi was a native of Xinye in Nanyang. In his youth he dreamed of a crow spitting out a seal. Later, people heard that he could use the seal to heal the sick and asked him to treat them; the patients were often cured, and the seal came to be used as a talismanic emblem (fu zhang). Afterward, he became a friend beyond the mundane world with Xu Lingqi, and together they traveled to famous mountains and sought out eminent masters. They met an accomplished adept of the Dao, who transmitted to them the art of the Golden Cauldron and Great Dragon (a Daoist method of cultivation and refinement). In the second year of the Yuanhui era of the Song, Xu Lingqi ascended as an immortal, while Deng Yuzhi withdrew into seclusion at Dongmen. After a long time, he traveled again to the cavern-heavens and blessed lands (dongtian fudi) beyond the Hunan lakes.

The alchemical ingredients Deng Yuzhi needed for his practice were difficult to obtain. It happened that the authorities reported to the throne that the Shaowei star had appeared over southern Chu. Emperor Wu thereupon commanded a military supervisor to search for him and summoned him to the side hall to ask about his practice. Deng Yuzhi replied, "This humble Daoist is refining the Golden Liquid, but I lack the ingredients for the elixir." The emperor granted him gold and silk, and permitted him to choose a secluded and scenic site at the Dongzhen blessed land of Mount Heng in the south, where he might establish the Upper, Middle, and Lower Palaces for the practice of Neidan (internal alchemy) and Waidan (external alchemy).

One night, a spirit-being said to him, "The vicinity of the Great Cavern is a land that summons fortune and a village that prolongs life. Remember this well and do not forget it." Later, after Deng Yuzhi succeeded in his alchemical work, he moved again to a place east of Ziqai Peak. On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month at the end of the Tianjian era of Liang, eight Perfected Ones, riding cloud chariots with feathered canopies, descended into his chamber. It is said that they were the eight Perfected Ones who had attained the Dao before him. Deng Yuzhi then ascended a natural stone altar and rose into the heavens.

In the first year of the Chonghe era, Emperor Huizong conferred upon him the title "Perfected One of Transcendent Truth and Collected Wonders." In the ninth year of the Xiantong era of the Tang, Zhang Guan, the Prefect of Hengzhou, petitioned for an official name plaque to be granted to this site as a Daoist temple; in the tenth month of the following year, the court issued an edict approving the request. During the Kaiyuan era, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang bestowed an imperially written plaque inscribed "Palace of the Nine Immortals at the Stone Altar of Ziqai Peak." A poet of former times once wrote of this palace, to this effect: where the mountain peaks pile layer upon layer, a Daoist temple has been raised, and a single stone altar seems to welcome nine immortals. The treasured tablet in the palace still records Xuanzong's imperial calligraphy, and the poem also mentions that a numinous dream was once relayed by an imperial censor.

During the Jingyou era, Sun Mian, a former Academician of the Guanwen Hall, was demoted to Yongzhou. He dreamed of a Daoist who entrusted him with a matter concerning land. Later, when he was transferred to Tanzhou and went to perform sacrifices at the Southern Marchmount (Nanyue), he searched according to what he had seen in the dream and at last found the statue of Lord Wang at the Palace of the Nine Immortals. He then issued a directive ordering the county to audit the palace's lands, and it was indeed discovered that the palace fields had been encroached upon and cultivated by a neighboring Daoist temple.

In the first year of the Xuanhe era, the Palace of the Nine Immortals was granted its present name. Later, a great cavern was found here, and so the site is also called the Front Cavern (Qian Dong). The ruins of the Danxia Hermitage are also located here.

Guangtian Temple (Guangtian Guan) lies north of the main temple, a climb of thirty-five li along the mountain road. According to the Gazetteer of Blessed Lands (Fudi Zhi), this is the twenty-second blessed land, the Guangtian Altar. A poem in the Collection of the Cavern Abyss (Dongyuan Ji) reads: "The Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) divided and transformed, and the land took the shape of an altar. White clouds lie deep, locking away the steep paths among the hills. It stands majestic through ten thousand ages, brimming with the spirit of spring, its radiance shining upon the mountain that prays for the long life of our Sovereign."

Anbao Temple (Anbao Guan) lies northwest of the main temple, a climb of thirty-five li along the mountain road. Tradition holds that Daixian once drilled into stone here with a wooden drill and obtained a heavenly book from within it. The forest here is dense, but the temple has long lain in ruins.

Xunzhen Temple (Xunzhen Guan), at a distance from the temple, Jiuhuang Longevity-Blessing Mountain.

Anbao Temple (Anbao Guan) lies northwest of the main temple, a climb of thirty-five li along the mountain road. Tradition holds that Daixian once drilled into stone here with a wooden drill and obtained a heavenly book from within it. The forest here is dense, but the temple has long lain in ruins.

Xunzhen Temple (Xunzhen Guan)

Xunzhen Abbey (Xunzhen Guan) stands ninety li from the Nanyue Temple, north of Hengyang city, overlooking the great river. Inside the abbey is a stone drum, and the rear cave is the western gate of Zhuling Cave. Tradition holds that this is where the Tang-dynasty Perfected Bai, the Master Dong Lianshi, ascended and became an immortal. The immortal Shi Ke once presented a hall here, and the "Poem of Hengyang" composed by Zhilei Chenghao on official orders reads in full:

"From Hengyang to this place is exactly three thousand li; the road is level and the journey safe. The deep gateway lies far beyond the Three Chu, and the Pool of Clear Wind encircles the five peaks. On the western streets merchants come and go; on the eastern sandbars fishing boats gather. When official business is done, there is likely nothing else to do, so why not seek the immortals in the rear cave of Zhuling?"

According to the Record of Xiangchuan, the stone drum sometimes sounds of its own accord, foretelling the outbreak of war. Another account says that Lulong once pushed the drum into the pool. Who Lulong was can no longer be determined. Locals also say this place was a Lulong temple, though when it was built is unknown. In the eighth month of the first year of Longxiang, the Daoist Guo Xingzhen, serving as exhortation commissioner, was ordered to hold a Jiao ritual (a Daoist rite of blessing) at Mount Nanyue. Later the temple was destroyed and the sacrifices ceased. What calamities then befell the people of the prefecture is unclear; today the people have resumed making offerings at the temple.

In the fifth year of Zhenguan, the late Prime Minister Qi built the Hejiang Pavilion on the summit. The Tang poet Du Xunhe wrote "Inscribed at Xunzhen Abbey":

"Before the gate of white clouds lies a stretch of stillness. I came seeking a Perfected One, but did not meet one. I think the crane in the pine must be the immortal of the cave. The scent of flowers in the herb garden is unlike any other, and on the sandy ground by the spring are fresh deer tracks. I leave my name and this poem, hoping we may meet here again someday."

During the Dazhong Xiangfu era, Master Changxuan of Qixia Cave in Guilin, Shi Zhongyuan, courtesy name Qingzong, served as abbot of this abbey. His cultivation and integrity were exceptional, his poetic talent was renowned throughout Chu, and he oversaw the repair of the abbey's buildings. He rebuilt the Baiyun Pavilion, from which one can look down on Qingcao Ferry, and in front of it stand the Baiyun Hall and the Baiyun Pond.

In the summer of the Bingyin year of the Shaoxing era, I came here to escape the heat and also left forty characters in the Baiyun Hall. My verse is no match for those of earlier worthies; I offer it only to record the scenery of Zhuling Cave:

"I love the scenery of Xiao and Xiang; Xunzhen Abbey faces the Xiaoxiang Gate, and the rear cave of Zhuling is a true cave-heaven. A guest in the Baiyun Hall, I sleep at the head of Qingcao Ferry. A small boat draws in red carp, and in the quiet pond white lotuses grow. This is a place fit for nurturing body and mind, where wind and moon remain as they have always been."

Puxian Temple (Puxian Guan), located on the southern slope of Xiaolou Peak beside the road to Hengyang, was founded during the Yongming era of the Southern Qi dynasty, when the Daoist masters Xu Sixian and Zhang Zhitan opened the mountain and built the temple. In the Liang dynasty, Zhou Jingzhen presided over the temple's affairs, and Emperor Wu of Liang took him as his teacher. Wandering Daoists from every region came to gather there, and among them were many remarkable men from across the seas. People came and went constantly in the lecture hall, where discourses were held every day. Emperor Wu bestowed the name "Puxian Guan" on the temple. In the Tang dynasty, Master Chen Faming came to practice here. He gained an examination degree by presenting a qilin (a auspicious beast) as tribute and was summoned to court, but he declined its honors and asked to return to the mountain. He was later granted the title "Master of Realized Truth" (Wuzhen Xiansheng).

Yuqing Temple (Yuqing Guan), located on the southern slope of Shilin Peak, lies about fifteen li up the mountain from the temple. It was completed in the early years of the Yongxing era of the Southern Qi. The Perfected One Chen, whose given name was Huidu, was a native of Yingchuan. He first lived on Mount Mao, where he gathered rare and efficacious herbs to sell.

The Temple of Jade Purity (Yuqing Guan) stands south of Shilin Peak, about fifteen li up the mountain from the temple at its foot. It was first built in the early Yongxing era of the Qi dynasty. The Perfected One Chen, named Huidu, was a native of Yingchuan. He first lived on Mount Mao, where he gathered rare medicinal herbs to sell, and he often drank wine but did not eat grain. After several years he traveled south, carrying two loads of mineral and metal drugs to Mount Heng in the south (Nanyue). There he chose a secluded and beautiful spot, swore an oath to Heaven, and refined elixirs day and night.

While he was refining the elixir, ghosts and demons harassed him. His furnace was overturned several times, and enormous boulders were dragged over to crush it. Yet he remained calm and unmoved, reciting the Yellow Court Scripture (Huangting Jing) upon a rock and wearing the Charts of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks (a Daoist talismanic chart depicting the shapes of the five mountains), and his resolve to cultivate the Dao (the Way) grew ever firmer. Unseen spirits, moved by his devotion to the Dao, quietly helped him seize the chimei (ghosts of the mountains and forests) and drive away the baleful qi (vital energy). The terrified demons wailed in grief, and the Perfected One made them swear an oath before a solid rock, spared them from slaughter, and ordered them to move far away.

Later the elixir was completed, and its radiance filled the mountains, shining brightly for all, near and far, to see. The Perfected One swallowed the elixir. On the thirteenth day of the fifth month in the third year of Yongming, he ascended to Heaven. In the first year of Zhonghe, Emperor Huizong conferred on him the title "Perfected One of Humble Emptiness and Mysterious Wonder" (Chongxu Yuanmiao Zhenren).

At the summit of the temple site, traces still remain today: the Elixir Terrace, the Ghost-Planted Rock, the Thunder-Galloping Wind Cave, the Scripture-Chanting Altar, and the Elixir Spring. In more recent times a monk built a Buddhist temple on the site, called Guangming Temple, but it was soon abandoned. During the Qiandao era of the Song dynasty, the Daoist priest Deng Shiyong and the Daoist practitioner Huang Shouzheng resolved to reopen the mountain. They replaced rotting timbers, cleared away the thatch and weeds, and invited virtuous people to come. They built new halls, and their prayers for rain and for the averting of disaster were all answered. Later, a recluse of the hills built a hermitage there, and Daoist teaching flourished once more.

Dongyang Palace (Dongyang Gong)

Dongyang Palace lies northwest of Shilin Peak, the place where the Perfected One Shi subdued demons and met the true spirits. In the Tang dynasty, after Chen Faming returned in obedience to an imperial edict, he carved into the rock face below this peak and built a ritual altar, and the mountain spirits secretly aided him. Gazing south toward Yunyang, he paid homage to the true spirits every dawn and night and chanted the Cavern Scriptures (Daoist scriptures of the Three Caverns: Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen). Later he took an elixir and became an immortal. Two old sites remain here today, and hermitages were once built on them.

Dongmen Temple (Dongmen Guan)

The Dongmen Temple (Dongmen Guan) lies west of Shilin Peak and south of Shiliu Peak, twenty li from the main temple. Tradition holds that it was the dwelling of the Perfected One Shi, named Cun, who styled himself Master Hufu. Some say he was the teacher of Wanpenzi, and that he studied the Inner Texts of the Three Sovereigns (Sanhuang Neiwen) under Huanglu Zi, mastering techniques for commanding tigers and leopards as well as arts of concealment and transformation. He would vanish and reappear, and this went on for several hundred years. Later, admiring the Dongmen cave at Shilin, he judged it the place where he would complete his cultivation and attain perfection, and so he settled there. He also built a pavilion in a stone chamber on the western side of the peak. One day the pavilion suddenly rose more than ten zhang into the air. He came out riding a white leopard, and the immortals of the seas and mountains came to welcome him, gathering with him often. Many in the region admired him, yet few were able to draw close to him. On the seventh day of the fourth month in the first year of the Yongkang era of the Jin dynasty, he ascended to heaven on his leopard.

In the first year of the Zhonghe era, Emperor Huizong conferred on him the title "Perfected One of Harmonious Emptiness who Perceives Simplicity." There was also a man from Shu, Master Li Changli, who lived in seclusion here for several years and later traveled to the Tianbao Cave. Today only the remains of Leopard-Riding Cliff survive. During the Tang dynasty, Zhang Jiuling visited Dongmen and inscribed a poem, "The Chen Family Elixir Terrace":

"West of Chicken Head, a gate opens by the way;

the Chen family's elixir rose from the terrace of ages.

Did he once truly vow to drag the ghosts along?

To this day they speak of the ghost-shoulder tailoring."

Taiping Temple

Taiping Temple (Taiping Guan) stands twenty-five li west of the main temple, at the foot of Waterfall Mountain. In the Qi dynasty, Fu Boyu recited the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace, a Daoist classic) and practiced the Way of Great Peace, and was commissioned to build this temple. It was abandoned long ago, though there once were hermitages and halls on the site.

West Terrace Temple

West Terrace Temple (Xitai Guan) stands northwest of Xiu Peak. Tradition says that King Mu of Zhou built it, and that it was renamed Taichu Temple in the Chen dynasty. Another account says it was later converted into a Buddhist monastery, and that it too has long been abandoned.

Purple Void Pavilion

Purple Void Pavilion (Zixu Ge) lies three li west of the main temple, on the southern foot of Tianzhu Peak. It was built during the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty.

The Zixu Pavilion (Zixu Ge) stands three li west of the Nanyue Temple, at the southern foot of Tianzhu Peak. It was built during the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty. When the Ma clan held Huxiang, the pavilion was restored, and in the Tiansheng era of the present dynasty it was rebuilt again by imperial order. Before that it had always been called the "Wei Pavilion." In the Jingyou era, the court bestowed the plaque "Pavilion of the Lady of Purple Void" (Zixu Yuanjun), along with ritual vestments and funds for offerings, and also set aside farmland to support the community of Daoists. In the fifth year of Zhenghe, it was renamed the Yellow Court Temple (Huangting Guan).

Below the pavilion lies a stone altar. The Old Record says that Lady Wei once rode it from Fuzhou and flew to this place. The Records of Xiangzhong says the altar is more than ten feet high and is the place where the Primal Lady's wind-carriage came to rest. In the Gleanings by Celestial Master (Tianshi) Du, it is recorded that the Lady's Altar is a huge boulder, more than ten feet around: broad and round on top, pointed below, and set floating upon another stone. If a single person pushes it with their hand, it moves; if many people push together with all their strength, it does not budge at all. If a visitor is pure of heart, then after burning incense, a gentle touch with one finger will make the stone sway slightly. Today, in the mountains of Fuzhou, there is a deep, wide cave whose shape resembles this stone.

Another account holds that the Primal Lady of Chongji, the Great Immortal Magu, escorted Lady Wei here through the clouds, and that the vehicle they rode later turned to stone. Yet another account says that Magu's Stone lies on the mountain west of the Yellow Court Temple.

According to the Inner Biography (Neizhuan), Lady Wei's surname was Wei, her given name Huacun, and her courtesy name Xian'an. She was a native of Rencheng and the daughter of Wei Shu, Left Vice Director of the Secretariat under Emperor Wu of Jin. She was enthroned as Perfected Director of Destiny, Primal Lady of Purple Void, and later received the title of a famed mountain, with a rank equal to that of a feudal lord. The Primal Lady of Chongji, the Great Immortal Magu, assisted her in governing. Today the pavilion also enshrines an image of Magu, set beside that of Lady Wei.

In the fourth year of Xianhe in the Jin dynasty, the Primal Lady of the Supreme Monad (Taiyi) arrived in a wind-carriage to welcome Lady Wei and bring about her ascent to heaven. Lady Wei left behind more than a hundred scrolls of secret writings on the immortal Way, hidden in a stone cave at Longzhen Stream; that cave is now called the Numinous Scripture Cliff (Lingshu Yan). At that time an old man surnamed Pang came to pay homage, asking to guard the spirit altar and listen to the teachings. The Great Immortal rebuked him, saying, "You foul and defiled mortal, how dare you enter this realm of immortals?" She drew her sword and struck at him. The old man fled and hid in the western stream, which is now called Longzhen Stream.

In the Kaibao era of the Song dynasty, the Daoist master of the pavilion, Shuai Zijian, attained the Dao, and his body dissolved away.

Lingxi Temple (Lingxi Guan) stood two li west of the main temple. According to the Records of Central Xiang (Xiangzhong ji), the female Daoist Master Xue once practiced cultivation here and later attained the Dao (the Way) and ascended as an immortal.

Lingxi Temple was founded in the fifth year of the Tianjian era of the Liang dynasty. Later, Princess Wumu of the Later Zhou, Zhou Huipu, showed extraordinary signs from the moment of her birth. When she grew up, she abstained from meat and strong-smelling foods and preferred to live alone. She admired the aspirations of Lady Xue, the Master of Cultivation, and of the Immortal Maiden Hou, both of whom had cultivated the Dao and become immortals, and so she took up residence in a stone chamber. Her sincerity moved the Holy Mother of Xiling, who descended to her and transmitted scriptures (Jing) and Fa-lu (registers, the Daoist ritual documents and credentials of practice). She cultivated the Way of the Three Simples (a Daoist method of practice) and taught practitioners in the Tanzhou and Hengzhou region, where several hundred men and women admired her and became followers.

Later, as the world was about to fall into disorder, she told the students under her guidance, "I will leave for a time, and return after a little more than a hundred years." Afterward, those who came seeking instruction were as numerous as a crowd at a market. In the early Kaiyuan years of the Tang dynasty, the court bestowed on the temple the name "Xiling." Later, the female Daoists Li Taizhen and Cao Miaoben lived here in turn and also attained the Dao. Resident Daoists still dwell in the temple today, and the temple was originally donated by Princess Zhou. It lay in ruins for a long time before the Ma family rebuilt it. The present dynasty grants a special permission each year for one woman to be ordained as a nüguan (a woman who has received Daoist rites and formally entered the Daoist order), so that the tradition of burning incense and cultivating the Dao may continue.