《大涤洞天记》

Zhizhou (a place name in the area of present-day Zhejiang) is famed for its magnificent and beautiful mountains and rivers, the finest in the southeast. It is therefore also one of the secluded holy places of our Daoist tradition. So-called grotto-heavens and blessed lands are found everywhere here. I once traveled through the Qiantang area and repeatedly lingered to admire the scenery, unable to bear leaving; I regretted only that I had not visited all the local sights. By chance, I read the preface my friend, Mr. Xu Dazhang, wrote for the Rules for Returning to Unity at Hangzhou’s Dongxiao Palace. It deepened my admiration for the area’s beautiful landscape and magnificent palace buildings, though I have never managed to visit in person.

This spring, a Daoist from Dongxiao Palace brought me the palace gazetteer and asked me to write a preface. Through it, I came to understand the place’s history and origins. The Great Purity Grotto-Heaven and Celestial Pillar Peak are where Dongxiao Palace stands. The palace was first established during the Yuanfeng era of Emperor Wu of the Han. Since the Jin and Tang dynasties, many practitioners and recluses have lived there. When the Song court moved south and established its capital in Hangzhou, the palace’s standing and reputation grew ever greater, placing it alongside such palaces and temples as Yuqing, Liquan, Chongfu, Zhaoying, Taiye, and Baolu. The favors bestowed by successive emperors—including imperial edicts, personal visits, grants of land, and bestowed palace names—were especially abundant in that period. At the height of the Yuan dynasty, eminent and extraordinary people appeared in great numbers, and Daoism flourished all the more as a result.

Later, the palace buildings underwent repeated changes. At times they suffered the upheavals of war, and the burden of taxes was also heavy. The palace therefore drew up new rules to safeguard what had been established, and signs of renewal gradually emerged. People from all quarters continue to praise the mountains and rivers here as an especially outstanding grotto-heaven and blessed land. Accordingly, the records of every age give ample account of the palace’s grand architecture, the extraordinary deeds of its people, and the beauty of its literary works. If one seeks a renowned scenic place in the southeast, where else could one go? The people who compiled earlier gazetteers were indeed skilled at recounting the past and bringing the place’s reputation to light. Now this Daoist intends to print an expanded edition of the gazetteer, presumably with the aim of carrying on the work of those who came before.

Alas, throughout the ages, flourishing and decline, construction and abandonment have followed one another in turn. Even the deeds of perfected immortals and spiritual beings, with their wondrous transformations, though they inspire admiration, often vanish without a trace and become difficult to verify. What survives often depends on the writing of eminent masters, carved into metal or stone, so that it may endure for thousands of years without disappearing. Zhejiang is a place of outstanding natural and human endowments, and it has no shortage of distinguished Daoist palaces and temples. Yet how many of them have been passed down to later generations through writing? Dongxiao Palace was renowned in its own time, and writings about it have already endured. If its reputation can continue for a long time and be handed down alongside the books that record the Three Sacred Mountains, would that not also be a great event for our Daoist tradition? For this reason, I commend the Daoist’s purpose and write a preface to this book.

Written by Zhang Yuchu, Forty-Third Generation Celestial Master of the Zhengyi lineage, heir to its teachings, Perfected One who unites with the Dao and practices Wuwei, proclaimer of the ancestors’ luminous example, and director of Daoist affairs, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month in the thirty-first year of Hongwu, the Wuyin year.

In the summer of the ninth year of the Dade era, I was sent by imperial order to seek out worthy men. I learned that Ye Tengwen and Deng Mu were living in seclusion on Mount Tianzhu in Yuhang, so I went there to summon them. They firmly declined and refused to enter public service. This gave me the chance to take in all the mountain’s grand and wondrous scenery.

Six years later, I was ordered to travel south to perform a sacrifice. The Daoist Meng Jixu showed me the Illustrated Record of Dongxiao, which he had compiled. It describes the beauty of the mountains and rivers, the depths of the caverns, the history of the palaces and temples, and the outstanding people associated with the area. Sights I had never witnessed in person were now laid out before me in the book. This work will circulate among the world, and Meng Jixu has done much for this mountain through his efforts. What is more, he is virtuous in conduct and his writing is restrained and tranquil, free from worldly constraints.

His teacher, Master Shenyue, known as Jieshi, is dignified and refined, with a generous manner. He has repeatedly received imperial summons to oversee the affairs of this mountain and is deeply respected by all. This mountain is counted among the grotto heavens and blessed lands—the Daoist realms of immortals and places of spiritual grace. Since the Han, Jin, Tang, and Song dynasties, outstanding people have continually emerged here. Now Jieshi and his fellow disciples and friends are like pearls in deep pools and fine jade in the mountains, lending added radiance to the scenery, springs, and rocks. This shows that the splendor of a landscape also depends on the people who dwell within it.

All who live on or visit this mountain should purify their minds and bodies, follow the Supreme One’s teaching of stillness and purity, conduct sacrifices and prayers with care, and uphold the highest Dao, thereby preserving the mountain’s dignity. To do otherwise would bring shame upon its forests and streams and betray the intentions of Jieshi and his fellow disciples and friends. I have set down these words together as a preface.

On the first day of the sixth month in the third year of the Zhida era, written as a preface by Wu Quanjie, successor-master of the Xuanjiao.

Local gazetteers are written to trace the origins and development of things from beginning to end. They record all manner of names, numbers, and categories. Their value lies in gathering material broadly and describing it in detail, so that events of the past may be passed down and later generations may consult them.

Mount Tianzhu of Great Purification is a celebrated place in the southeast, with much that deserves to be recorded. During the Zhenghe era of the Song dynasty, Tang Zixia wrote the Record of the True Realm, but it can no longer be verified. Records compiled during the Duanping era are also very brief. I feared that the sacred traces and strange tales of this place would gradually be lost, so I asked the Daoist Meng Zongbao and the recluse Deng Muxin to gather old texts, consult local elders, and examine and correct the material. Together they compiled the Illustrated Gazetteer of the Grotto Empyrean. It includes, without omission, the finest scenery of the mountains and rivers; the scale and design of the palaces and temples; traces of the immortals’ travels and teachings; and accounts of worthy scholars and celebrated figures.

Even those who have never visited this Grotto Heaven—a Daoist realm of immortals—may, by reading this gazetteer, feel as though they are walking among the Green Flood Dragon and White Deer, and imagine themselves rising into the air to chase rosy clouds. Reading it can also help cleanse the mind and spirit. On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month, in the yisi year, the ninth year of Dade, I, the resident Daoist of Mount Great Purification, Jieshi Shen Duofu, respectfully record this.

Record of the Grotto Heaven of Great Purification, Volume One

Compiled by Deng Muxin of this mountain

Catalog of Official Palaces and Temples.

Those who attain the Dao take “No-Thing” (a state free of attachment and fixed form) as their homeland, and the Great Void (boundless emptiness) as their home. The radiance of the sun and moon, the shifting clouds and mist, and the magnificent scenery of lakes, seas, and mountains are, in their eyes, only temporary sights encountered along the way. Why insist on possessing some scenic mountain retreat, building a palace in which to settle, and living amid the crowds of the mundane world?

This is because the ancient Dao has steadily declined, and the customs of an unsophisticated age no longer flourish. How could those absorbed in their desires know that the Way of stillness is worth following? And how could those chasing fame and rank believe that the Way of the immortals can be cultivated? Thus the Most High (a Daoist honorific for the Dao) established teachings, and sage rulers devoted themselves to the Way. The Yellow Emperor once went to Mount Kongtong to seek instruction from a Daoist master, while Emperor Yao visited four worthy recluses who lived on Mount Miaogushe.

Later, King Mu of Zhou began this tradition at Caolou, and Emperor Wu of Han further advanced it by building the Bamboo Palace and the Cassia Lodge. In time, hidden temples and extraordinary immortal realms appeared throughout the land, along with Jade Terraces and Golden Towers (legendary palaces of the immortals), seemingly standing alongside the fabled Five Cities and Twelve Towers that soared into the heavens. People sought ascent to the heavens not only through arts such as refining mercury and cooking lead, but also by praying for auspicious signs amid the sound of bells and stone chimes. Immortals rode the wind, while banners of emerald green guided the moonlight; they often roamed through these places.

Such immortal realms can lead the ambitious to renounce splendor, the greedy to set aside their arrogance, and people to awaken suddenly to the troubles of attachment to the body and take joy in returning to the Gate of the Myriad Mysteries. Are they not pivotal in transforming customs, and essential guides to honoring the Dao and cherishing De?

Daoist scriptures record forty-six grotto-heavens, both great and small, and seventy-two blessed lands throughout the world, including Dongxiao. According to old gazetteers, Dongxiao and Chongfu Palace on Mount Song were the two most exalted and renowned Daoist establishments in the land, with no others to compare. Indeed, a sacred landscape fashioned by Heaven and Earth does not change with the rise and decline of human affairs. Yet the practices by which successive generations honored and made offerings at Dongxiao Palace also deserve to be recorded.

This mountain is known as “Dadong Cave Heaven beneath the Mysterious Canopy, and Blessed Land of the Heavenly Pillar.” It lies eighteen li south of Yuhang County, Hangzhou. According to the Gazetteer of the Prefecture, in the third year of the Yuanfeng era under Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (108 BCE), people began building Daoist temples and altars before Dadong Cave, where they cast dragon tablets to pray for blessings. This ritual has continued for more than fifteen hundred years. Dragon tablets are slips inscribed with prayers and used in sacrificial rites.

In the first year of the Hongdao era under Emperor Gaozong of the Tang (683), Master Pan of this mountain proposed building the Temple of the Heavenly Pillar facing south. Walls were to enclose and protect it, and a thousand-pace area was set aside where cutting firewood and felling trees were forbidden, making the place a quiet woodland for Daoist cultivation and the nurturing of life. During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang, the court granted the temple an estate. Later, Master Zhu reoriented it to face north. In the second year of the Qianning era (895), King Wusu of the Qian clan and Master Jianqiu surveyed the mountain and reoriented the temple to face the Jia direction. The present temple complex stands on the site they chose. In the second year of the Guanghua era (899), a report on the mountain’s maps and registers was submitted to the court, and the emperor issued an edict commending it; the relevant record appears in the Record of the Temple of the Heavenly Pillar. When the Qian clan submitted to the court, the Temple of the Heavenly Pillar was renamed the Palace of the Heavenly Pillar.

In the fifth year of the Xiangfu era under Emperor Zhenzong of the Song (1012), following a memorial from Lord Wenhui, Yao Zuo, the temple was renamed Dongxiao Palace. The court granted it fifteen qing of land in Renhe County, exempted it from all taxes, and bestowed bells, chimes, and ritual implements. Each year, it was also allotted one place for a tongxing—a Daoist practitioner who had not yet formally received the precepts. On festivals such as Tianqing, Dongxiao Palace held Zhaijiao rites to pray; the prefecture covered the expenses. The Hanlin Academy composed the prayers known as qingci and zhubiao and submitted them to the throne, after which the palace issued instructions for the rites to be performed.

During the Tiansheng era under Emperor Renzong of the Song, the court ordered the Daoist authorities to assess the famous mountains and grottoes throughout the realm. Twenty sites were listed, with Dadong Cave at Dongxiao Palace in Hangzhou ranked fifth. The court also ordered an annual ritual in which dragon tablets were cast. Whenever prayers were needed, it bestowed imperial incense and sent an attendant from the palace or an official into the mountains. In the second year of the Zhenghe era (1112), the resident supervisory director, He Shizhao, went to Bianjing to petition the court because the palace buildings had fallen into disrepair. The court granted three hundred ordination certificates, and the Two Zhe Circuit Commission was placed in charge of repairs. Later, during Fang La’s uprising, the temple was destroyed in the turmoil.

After Emperor Gaozong moved the court south, funds from the state treasury were allocated in the twenty-fifth year of the Shaoxing era (1155) to rebuild the Hall of Haotian. A Tongming Hall was also opened to its left. The palace’s resident abbot presided there over incense offerings and purification rites. In the third month of the second year of the Qiandao era under Emperor Xiaozong (1166), the retired emperor, the Grand Emperor of Longevity and Virtue, and Empress Dowager Xianren came here to celebrate. On Gengshen and Jiazi days, the birthdays of the emperor and empress, and other such occasions, the court ordered Zhaijiao rites to be held. The palace secretary composed the qingci prayers and submitted them to the throne; the rites were then performed, with soldiers assigned to guard the grounds. Later, the court withdrew the soldiers and instead allowed residents at the foot of the mountain to lease land and take responsibility for fire prevention.

In the seventh year of the Chunyou era under Emperor Lizong (1247), Master Sun Chudao, known as Lingji Tongzhen, petitioned the court for funds to purchase additional property and support the palace’s daily expenses. From then on, the mountain gate and its buildings grew in scale. During the Zhenghe era, Dongxiao Palace cited the Tang precedent of the Temple of the Heavenly Pillar and, after approval from the Ministry of Rites in the Department of State Affairs, received an official seal. In the second year of the Qingyuan era (1196), the palace director, Chen Yiming, applied for a replacement seal because the original was old and its characters had become indistinct.

In the early Song, when Daoist rites were held for the emperor’s birthday, civil and military officials from Yuhang County would enter the mountain to attend, and Daoists from nearby mountains would also take their places in the ceremony. After the court moved south, only Daoists performed the rites at the palace; county officials instead held them at Pujue Temple. After senior officials such as chief councillors retired from office, they were often given the nominal title “Director of Dongxiao Palace in Lin’an Prefecture.”

In the winter of the Jiaxu year of the Xianchun era (1274), Dongxiao Palace was completely destroyed by fire. Reconstruction began after the Bingzi year of the Zhiyuan era (1276), but before it was complete, the palace was destroyed again in the summer of the Jiashen year (1284). It was rebuilt once more on a grander scale than before, for the specific purpose of offering incense and performing purification rites on behalf of the state, reporting to Heaven, and praying for the emperor’s long life. On the emperor’s birthday, the Palace continued to hold Zhaijiao rites according to custom. Dongxiao Palace was also authorized to oversee Daoist affairs across the circuits of Jiangnan, and to administer Daoist affairs across Jiang-Huai, Jingxiang, and other circuits, reporting on the famous mountains to the court.

In the eighteenth year of the Zhiyuan era (1281), the court issued an order directing Dongxiao Palace to perform incense offerings and purification rites on behalf of the state, report to Heaven, pray for the emperor’s long life, and protect the mountain gate. In the eleventh month of the twenty-third year of the Zhiyuan era (1286), another order placed this mountain and its affiliated temples under protection. In the first and second years of the Yuanzhen era, and in the third year of the Dade era, the court successively appointed the palace’s abbot, supervisory director, and director, authorizing them to oversee the temples on the mountain as well. In the sixth month of the eighth year of the Dade era (1304), an imperial order called for the temples to be repaired and expanded, and the Ministry of Rites in the Department of State Affairs cast and issued the seal of the “Director’s Office of Dongxiao Palace, Hangzhou Circuit.”

Among the famous mountains of the realm, apart from the Five Sacred Peaks, tradition speaks of eight pillars supporting Heaven. Five of them lie far overseas and can no longer be verified; three are visible within China today. Dongxiao Palace has been honored by successive generations since ancient times, and its renown has nearly rivaled that of the Five Sacred Peaks. It far surpasses famous mountains in places such as Shuzhou and Shouyang. This distinction is no accident, which is why the history of Dongxiao Palace is set out at the beginning.

The “Gate to True Reality” means the gate leading to the realm of truth.

This gate was not among the original four gates of Yuhang County. It was built during the Shaoxing era of the Song dynasty, and legend says that people entered Dongxiao Palace through it. It was rebuilt during the Yuan dynasty. As early as the Baoyou era of the Song, the Daoist Bei Daqin, who lived on the mountain, purchased stone, paved the mountain road, and planted trees along both sides. After following the road for eighteen li, one reached the gate of Jiusuo Mountain.

Gate of Jiusuo Mountain

The Gate of Jiusuo Mountain stands outside the mountain, three li from the temple complex. The three large seal-script characters “Jiusuo Mountain” are inscribed above the gate in an archaic, unusual hand by Cheng Ju.

Outer Gate

The Outer Gate opens onto the main road up Jiusuo Mountain. Following the road leads to the Dragon and Phoenix Caves; the road straight ahead climbs toward Qizhen Cave. Turning off at the junction brings one to Huixian Bridge, followed by Cuijiao Pavilion. Huge rocks flank the road on both sides, forming a passage like two gate towers, as though marking the entrance to a grotto heaven. The words “Grotto Heaven and Blessed Land” are inscribed above the gate. They were written by imperial command of Emperor Lizong of the Song in the seventh year of the Chunyou era.

Paired Tablet Gates

Entering through the Outer Gate and crossing Xuantong Bridge, one sees two gates facing each other. The inscription on the left reads “Heavenly Pillar Spring,” beside which is a pool. The inscription on the right reads “Great Purity Cave,” marking the entrance to the cave.

Three Gates

In the thirty-second year of the Shaoxing era of the Song, the court allocated funds from the inner treasury to build the Three Gates. In the Wuyin year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan, the recluse of the mountain, Zhai, oversaw their renovation. They were rebuilt again in the Guisi year, and the Tianxiang Pavilion was added behind them.

Altar of the Void

The Altar of the Void stands in front of the main hall. According to old records, in the second year of the Jingfu era of the Tang, King Wusu Qian established an altar here and performed the rites in accordance with the practices of the time. He also invited Master Wenqiu to conduct the Three Origins memorial and register ritual here. In the Gengzi year of the Dade era of the Yuan, the altar grounds were expanded and repaired. The Three Origins memorial and register ritual is a Daoist liturgy in which petitions are presented to the Three Officials of the celestial realms—the Heavenly Official, Earthly Official, and Water Official—and their blessings are sought.

Hall of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing)

This is where Perfected Lord Guo (Perfected Guo) built a thatched hut and practiced cultivation. Three pine trees once stood in front of the hall. It is said he planted them himself, but they are gone now. After King Qian relocated and rebuilt the halls, they faced from Geng Mountain toward Jia. This probably refers to this site.

During the Fang La rebellion in the Zhenghe era of Emperor Huizong of the Song, only the hall dedicated to Huizong’s natal deity survived. After the resident Daoist priest Jin Zhiyi submitted a memorial to the throne, an imperial order converted it into a Hall of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), housing statues of the Three Pure Ones. The statues were made by Meng Chengzhong of Bianjing (present-day Kaifeng), whose craftsmanship was said to be unsurpassed. The hall was rebuilt in the gengyin year of the Zhiyuan era under the Yuan, on a grand and splendid scale, almost surpassing its former glory. In front of it, osmanthus and cypress trees stood in alternating rows.

Haotian Pavilion

Behind Dongma. In the twenty-fifth year of the Shaoxing era under the Song, the court allocated money from the imperial treasury to build a hall here. In the xinchou year of the Dade era, it was rebuilt as a pavilion. Surrounded by mountains, this is the finest place for climbing to a height and taking in the scenery.

Youji Hall

East of the storehouse courtyard. It was built during the Jianyan era and rebuilt by Huizi Studio in the xinsi year of the Zhiyuan era.

Yousheng Hall

Originally to the left of the main hall, it was built during the Jianyan era. In the xinsi year of the Zhiyuan era, Yiyun Studio built it east of the Three Gates.

Shrine of Emperor Zhang of Cishan

Originally on a hill west of the official gate. During the Kaixi era, the court bestowed statues of the deity and his attendants. In the Jingding era, the shrine was moved to the right of the Three Gates. It was rebuilt by Huyin Studio in the gengchen year of the Zhiyuan era, then rebuilt again by the same studio in the xinmao year.

Shrine of the Dragon King and the Immortal Officials

Behind the Xiying Hall. It was built during the Jianyan era under the Song and given the plaque “Temple of Auspicious Response.” In the renwu year of the Zhiyuan era, Qingxu Studio rebuilt it. Today, the two immortal officials of the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands are worshipped together here, following ancient practice. Below the shrine are the Clapping Spring and the Great Purification Spring.

Located behind the Xiying Shrine, it was built during the Jianyan era of the Song dynasty and given the name “Jiaying Temple.” In the Renwu year of the Yuan dynasty (around 1282), the Qingxu Retreat was completed. Today, the two immortal officials of the Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land are worshipped together here, in keeping with ancient custom. The Fuzhang Spring below the shrine and the Dadi Spring share a source; both are called “Dragon Well.”

In the ninth year of the Shaoxing era of the Song dynasty, the court once ordered people to cast an iron petition into the grotto to pray for rain. Rain came afterward, and the court bestowed on the deity of the grotto the title “Marquis of Auspicious Response.” The edict stated: “We believe that places among mountains, forests, rivers, and valleys where clouds arise and wind and rain descend should all be treated with respect and carefully worshipped. This Grotto-Heaven is now a dwelling place of the spirits, who can bend and stretch, transform, and summon clouds and winds. Whenever the seasons become irregular, they swiftly bestow their blessings. The officials in charge have reported these events, and so We grant the title of marquis, extending blessings widely to the people and enabling them to honor the court’s command. We hereby confer the title Marquis of Auspicious Response.”

In the third year of the Qingyuan era, the title was elevated to “Marquis of Auspicious Response and Spiritual Aid”; in the first year of the Jiatai era, it was elevated again to “Marquis of Auspicious Response, Spiritual Aid, and Manifest Aid”; and in the third year of the Duanping era, it was elevated once more to “Marquis of Auspicious Response, Spiritual Aid, Manifest Aid, and Broad Blessings.” The spirit was also specially granted the title “Duke of Num­inous Blessings.”

Cloud Hall

Located behind the western wing, it was used to receive Daoist priests who traveled here from across the land. During the Chunyou and Xianchun eras of the Song dynasty, eminent Daoists gathered here, and stories of its former splendor are still told today. Eminent practitioners from north and south now come to visit or reside here, and the place is no less lively than in the past.

Travelers’ Lodge

Located to the right of Cloud Hall, this was a place where traveling Buddhist monks could rest temporarily.

Pavilions

The pavilions include the Emerald Flood Dragon Pavilion, Flying Jade Pavilion, Clear Sound Pavilion, Emerald Mists Pavilion, Herb-Gathering Pavilion, Nine-Bend Pavilion (see “Mountains and Waters”), Valley-Mouth Pavilion, Stone-Chamber Pavilion (see “Grottoes and Dwellings”), Auspicious Light Pavilion, Frost-Appropriate Pavilion, and Immortals-Gathering Pavilion (see “Historic Sites”).

White Deer Mountain Retreat

At the top of the Stone Chamber. Earlier, Lu Yongzhong had lived on its eastern side, where he later built a Daoist monastery. Zhu Miaoxing practiced cultivation here for twenty years, then departed through corpse liberation—a Daoist term for a practitioner’s body shedding its former form and ascending. Later, Master Ruan of Mount Tianmu lived here. The Daoist Chen from Quanzhou cut a small path around the mountain, built a thatched hut, and lived alongside him. While digging the earth, they found many unusual stones stretching for more than a hundred paces; their shapes resembled a screen. Later, warfare broke out here, and Master Ruan and Daoist Chen left as well. In the jiachen year of the Dade era (1304), someone built a mountain residence here and left an inscription.

Two Administrative Compounds

One stood half a li southwest of Yuhang County, above the Great Stream. It was completed in the fourth year of the Changxing era under the Later Tang (933) and named the “Tianzhu Inspection Compound.” It was renovated during the Xianchun era of the Song. A grove of catalpa trees stood before the gate, providing dense, pleasant shade in summer. The compound stood east of the Three Gates.

Two Compounds

One stood half a li southwest of Yuhang County, above the Great Stream. It was completed in the fourth year of the Changxing era under the Later Tang (933) and named the “Tianzhu Inspection Compound.” It was renovated during the Xianchun era of the Song. A grove of catalpa trees stood before the gate, providing dense, pleasant shade in summer. The compound stood east of the Three Gates.

Dharma Hall

Located behind the main hall. In the first year of the Kaixi era of the Song (1205), the imperial treasury provided funds for its construction. Emperor Ningzong of the Song bestowed the plaque “Hall for Expounding the Teachings.” It was rebuilt in the yichou year of the Zhiyuan era (1285). On either side of the Dharma Hall are naturally formed stones, as if shaped by supernatural craft. Behind it stands a horizontal ridge of dark blue-black cliffs. People added to the structure, piling the stones into peaks and opening a small cave in the middle. A winding path runs through the cave; after emerging, one can climb to the highest point.

Abbot’s Quarters

Located behind the Hall for Expounding the Teachings. The abbot’s quarters are where Daoist priests live or receive guests.

Storehouse Compound

Located in the eastern hemp fields. It was rebuilt in the yichou year of the Zhiyuan era (1285), and the Cinnabar Spring flows through it. The new pond recorded by Li Xuanqing of the Tang is also here.

Vegetarian Dining Hall

Located in the western hemp fields. It was rebuilt in the wuxu year of the Dade era (1298), and is where vegetarian meals are prepared and eaten.

Daoist Monastery

Behind Xima, there were once three courtyards, called Shangqing Court, Jingsi Court, and Nanling Court. They are now divided into eighteen refectories, built around a pond that lies below them at the center. The pond’s rising and drying up have sometimes been taken as signs of good or ill fortune.

On the left are seven refectories: Shanyin, Shansu, Xiuyin, Songyin, Yiyun, Suyin, and Huizi. Of these, the first six belong to Shangqing Court, while Huizi belongs to Nanling Court. On the right are four refectories: Qingyin, Guyin, and Panyin belong to Shangqing Court, while Qingxu belongs to Nanling Court. Facing forward are seven refectories: Huyin, Juyin, Youran, Xianyin, and Xueyin belong to Shangqing Court; Yiran and Bihu belong to Jingsi Court. The Dao Selection Hall stands behind the Ying Court on the west side. It was rebuilt in the yiyou year of the Zhiyuan era (1285).

Zhidao Palace

Zhidao Palace lies thirty li north of Yuhang County, west of Cao Bridge. It was built in the first year of the Wenming era in the Tang dynasty (684), and was originally called Fuye Abbey. The Daoist master Pan cultivated the Dao and attained realization here, as recorded in the book Cloud Friends. In the third year of the Zhiping era in the Song dynasty (1066), its name was changed to the one it bears today.

In front of the palace stands an ancient pine, its trunk about as wide as two people embracing it. Behind the palace are two Kuyao trees, as large as the pine; egrets and storks often nest and roost in them. In the kitchen courtyard are four large pots cast during the Xining era of the Song dynasty. The dates of their casting and the surnames of their donors are engraved around their rims. The recluse Ye Xuanwen wrote:

“The great pots cast in the Xining and Yuanfeng eras still remain;

in deep spring, green haze veils the road to the ancient abbey.

For a thousand years, spring ploughs still gleam beside an old tree;

white snow rises from the wild fields, swirling in the wind.”

Longde Tongxian Palace

Located south of the market town in Yuhang County. Zhao Rutan, posthumously honored as Wenyi, of the Southern Tang dynasty, once chose this site for his residence. In the Guiwei year of the Zhiyuan era under the Yuan, Lang Rushan, the resident abbot (the person in charge of the mountain monastery’s affairs), admired its streams and mountain scenery. He spent all his family’s resources to renovate the monastery, and its flowers, trees, pavilions, and ponds soon became famous. The Celestial Master, Lord Zhenjun of Expansive Harmony and Mysterious Stillness, who expounded the Dao and answered prayers, inscribed a plaque for the monastery.

Yuanqing Temple

Located in Jinnan Township, Lin’an County, at a place called Xinlu. It was the former residence of Shu Yuanyi, the resident abbot. In the Jiawu year of the Zhiyuan era, a monastery was built here. Its towers and halls rose high, surrounded by mountains and waters, and it was regarded as the finest monastery in the area.

Chongtian Abbey

Located outside the gate of Jiusuo Mountain, where East Tianzhu Mountain comes to rest. At first, during the Xianchun era of the Song, the resident abbot Gong Wenhuan built an abbey at Qingpo in Deqing. In the Renwu year of the Zhiyuan era, Zhou Yunhe, who oversaw the monastery’s affairs, moved it here. Today, the resident abbot Shen Duofu has cleared the springs, cut into the mountain rock, and planted pines and plum trees, giving the place the charm of leisurely walks and lofty views. There is a separate inscription about this site. Ye Xuanwen of Qiantang lived here in seclusion for twenty years. In the first month of the Bingwu year of the Dade era, he completed his Daoist cultivation and departed as an immortal.

Dongchen Abbey

Located by the East Outer River in Yuhang County, east of Anle Mountain. The site was formerly the residence of Chen Jiqing, a native of Yuhang. Local tradition says he once met an immortal from Zhongnan Mountain, who used a bamboo leaf as a boat. There is a separate inscription about this site.

Dongchen Abbey

Located by the East Outer River in Yuhang County, east of Anle Mountain. The site was formerly the residence of Chen Jiqing, a native of Yuhang. In the Guihai year of the Jingding era under the Song, the resident abbot Bei Daqin founded this abbey. Rows of pines shaded the grounds, while winding streams encircled them. A grove of plum trees was also planted and named “Endless Spring.” In former times, this was the most thriving place for receiving guests. There is a separate inscription about this site.

Yuanyang Abbey

Dadi Mountain lies three li south of Tianzhubu. During the Xianchun era of the Song dynasty, the Daoist Hao Churen, who lived on the mountain, founded a Daoist temple on its northern slope. In the Xinsi year of the Yuan dynasty, the temple was reoriented and rebuilt. The mountain is thickly wooded, and its secluded paths have a strong feeling of withdrawal from worldly life. Few people, however, come to visit.

Chongzhen Temple

Chongzhen Temple is in Changxing Prefecture, Huzhou Circuit. It is where Ge Xianxi of the Jin dynasty practiced alchemy. During the Xianchun era of the Song dynasty, the temple’s Daoist Zhou Guoshou rebuilt it using its old name. In the Jiawu year of the Yuan dynasty, abbot Zhou Guisheng renovated the temple buildings. Flowing water encircles the grounds, and the pine grove contains ancient junipers and old osmanthus trees. It is a pleasant place to visit and rest.

Longde Temple

Longde Temple is in Ganpu Town, Jiaxing Circuit. It was founded during the Jingding era of the Song dynasty by the temple’s Daoist Liu Yingshan. Its proximity to the sea makes it convenient for local scholars and residents to come and pray.

Xuantong Temple

Xuantong Temple is on Guixin Street in Hangzhou. The former Kanjian Garden of the Yang family had the refined elegance of the Orchid Pavilion, as well as dense woods and long stands of bamboo. In the Guisi year of the Yuan dynasty, the Daoist Lang Rushan, who lived on the mountain, founded a Daoist compound there. In the Xinchou year of the Dade era, it was renamed Xuantong Temple.

Mingxing Palace

Mingxing Palace is two li east of Yuhang County, above Mingxing Pond. In the Xinmao year of the Yuan dynasty, the palace’s Daoist Shi Defang founded a Daoist compound and named it “Clear Days Ahead.” In the Bingwu year of the Dade era, it was renamed Mingxing Palace.

Dongyang Temple

Dongyang Temple is east of Ninghai County in Taizhou. In the Guimao year of the Dade era, the palace’s Daoist Yang Yingshi bought the Zhang family residence and converted it into a Daoist temple.

Yue Shrine Daoist Compound

It is located in the Nanhu area of Yuhang County. This was originally a garden belonging to the local Wen Wugong; he later donated the land to build a shrine. From afar, Xixi is encircled by mountains whose rugged slopes rise steeply. Beside the shrine is a small hill, named Phoenix Hill because of its shape. Large rocks stand scattered across the hillside, and streams wind through it, turning and bending hundreds of times. Ge Xianweng, an immortal in Daoist legend, once practiced alchemy on the hill. The remains of the alchemical furnace there are large enough for several people to sit around. A pavilion was also built beside the water, facing the furnace. Today, a Daoist temple stands to the right of the shrine, with a plaque reading “Fengshan Daoist Temple.”

Qingzhen Daoist Temple: Located south of Qingtan Mountain on Dongtianzhu Ridge. It was built during the Xianchun era of the Song dynasty by Zhu Teli, who was in charge of the palace. Its springs and mountain scenery are quiet and beautiful.

Ningzhen Daoist Temple: Located in Muwu, beyond the Nine Locks. In the renwu year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan dynasty, the Daoist Yao Chongdao of this palace moved here from the city and built the temple.

Ruoxu Daoist Temple: Located west of Yuhang County seat. This was originally the residence of the Wo family. In the wuzi year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan dynasty, the resident mountain Daoist Cao Zhijian acquired the site and built the temple.

Tongming Daoist Temple: Located in Xiangwu, Yuhang County. In the jichou year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan dynasty, the Daoist Jin Ziji of this palace built it as a place to honor the ancestors and repay one’s roots.

Yiqing Daoist Temple: Located in Houhong, Lin’an County. In the renwu year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan dynasty, the Daoist He Ziqing of this palace built it.

Ziqing Hermitage: Located below Qingziling Mountain in Shangwu. In the yiyou year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan dynasty, the Daoist Xu Yunxi of this palace built it.

Bihu Hermitage: Located below Shiyu Mountain in Liwu. It was built during the Xianchun era of the Song dynasty by Li Yuangang, deputy head of the palace.

Xishan Hermitage: Located at Tianzhu Bu. In the dingyou year of the Dade era of the Yuan dynasty, Jin Changqing, deputy head of the palace, built it.

Xianyin Hermitage.

Beneath the green hills behind Laixian Cliff, this building was constructed by Wang Yunsheng, a Daoist of this palace, in the twenty-sixth year of the Zhiyuan era under Emperor Shizu of the Yuan dynasty (1289).

Xueyuan Nunnery

Located west of Tianzhu Ridge, it was built by Lu Jixiu, a Daoist of this palace, in the twenty-eighth year of the Zhiyuan era (1291).

Taiping Nunnery

Located in Lin’an County, it was built by the Daoist Xu Yuanying in the eighth year of the Dade era under Emperor Chengzong of the Yuan dynasty (1304).

Jixu Academy

Located five li east of Yuhang County, in the blessed realm of Bitang, this site has a very large well. According to legend, the immortal Ge (Ge Hong, a renowned figure in Daoism) once refined elixirs here. In the second year of the Yuanzhen era under Emperor Chengzong of the Yuan dynasty (1296), the Daoist Meng Zongbao built the academy as a place to reside while traveling and to teach and study. Zhang Bochun, a Hanlin Academician, inscribed the academy’s plaque, and the recluse Deng Muxin wrote its account.

Fang Hui of Ziyang Mountain wrote a poem:

The springtime of Heaven and Earth lies hidden in frozen seeds; when the season arrives, bees and butterflies dance on the spring breeze. The myriad transformations have an inexhaustible source, while a spark of numinous nature drifts through the vast sky. The wondrous realm is like a thousand rivers, each reflecting the same moon; body and mind float freely, like a wild goose crossing the boundless world. Hold fast to the mysterious Dao and understand quiet, silent keeping, so that Dragon and Tiger may unite. Why be bound to refining elixirs in a furnace according to the Zi and Wu hours?

Qiu Shancun of Qiantang wrote a poem:

By the waters east of the city, I built a dwelling in the wilds; its interior is clear and bright, as if spring were stirring. From this I understand that the empty, far-reaching realm is nothing at all; I also believe that within purity and brightness, spirits are present. In my leisure, I browse profound scriptures and admire flowers and plants, finding pleasure in them; the brush and inkstone by the window are used and renewed, with no dust left behind. Recipes for wine and secrets of elixir refining are not what I seek; I wish only to lodge my one body among ten thousand volumes of books.

Record of the Grotto-Heaven of Great Purity, upper volume

Record of the Grotto-Heaven of Great Purity, middle volume

Compiled by Deng Muxin of this mountain

An Account of the Mountains and Waters

Among the beautiful landscapes of western Zhejiang, none surpass those of Hangzhou; among Hangzhou’s scenic places, none surpass Mount Tianmu. Yet even among Mount Tianmu’s finest sights, people may not know that Dadi Grotto Heaven, the Daoist name for an immortal mountain abode, is the most remarkable. The mountains and waters of Mount Dadi begin around Mount Tianmu. Their vital currents wind through the valleys, while ridges and peaks stretch diagonally into the distance, facing one another for hundreds of miles. At last, they gather their spiritual energy here and give rise to its lovely scenery. The waters twist and turn through Caochuan before joining the broad expanse of South Lake. The peaks of Mount Ji usuo seem to close around the area like a screen, while one mountain rises in the center like a pillar. Is this not a wondrous place between Heaven and Earth, a secluded realm where immortals and spirits dwell?

The gazetteer records that from the stone chamber at the Altar of Heaven on Mount Tianmu, one can look out and see the ranges all extending toward the southwest. Two streams run side by side, then meet and flow toward Yuxian County. There the mountain range seems to pause briefly. Looking back toward Mount Tianmu, one sees it among the layers of cloud, like a steady, powerful general of old, holding his horse in check as he guards the rear. Yet the range cannot be stopped: before long, it has reached Lin’an County.

Mount Daguan is only one of its lofty peaks. Follow the range toward Mount Ji usuo, where the mountains encircle the peaks of Mount Tianzhu as if pausing for a moment. Then the successive ridges surge onward to North Peak of Mount Wulin, below Yuhang County, and rise sharply to form South Peak. The range continues through Bapanling and Ciyunling, then surrounds Phoenix Mountain with seven peaks. The mountains rise and fall like birds that spread their wings in flight and then settle to rest. They continue until the great river blocks the way, and there the range comes to an end. How extraordinary this sight is! In broad outline, this is the pattern of Hangzhou’s mountains and rivers, and this account describes it accurately.

Mount Tianmu

The Taiping Huanyu Ji records that Tianmu Mountain rises 3,900 zhang and extends 550 li around. It has many strangely beautiful rocks, sweet springs, and ancient trees hundreds of years old. Two lakes on the mountain resemble a person’s left and right eyes, giving the mountain its name, “Tianmu” (“Heaven’s Eyes”). The general meaning of the ancient Inscription on the Eastern Mountain is this: The mountain peaks tower into the clouds, their summits shrouded in mist. Their green hues seem to drip, while smoke and clouds curl around them. The peaks are too numerous to count. In the mountains lies the Pool of the Flood Dragon; its upper, middle, and lower pools are joined, with their waters flowing into one another. Xu Wuxian’s former home stands west of Stone Chamber Peak. The Celestial Master of the Han dynasty is also said to have ascended to heaven here with his entire family. This is the source of Tianzhu Mountain, and the mountains said to sweep like a flying dragon and dancing phoenix around Qiantang extend from here as well.

Huang Mountain

Huang Mountain lies northwest of the temple complex. It is the highest mountain in the area and the ancestral peak of the surrounding range, visible from as far as a hundred li away. Its range extends to the left to form Dadi Mountain and to the right to form Tianzhu Mountain. At its foot, the terrain meets Changshui Bay, where Fuhu Rock stands.

Nine-Lock Mountain

Traveling west for eighteen li from the western outskirts of Yuhang, then following the stream upstream, one comes upon seven peaks that converge on either side. Each rises several hundred chi above the ground, and their bases interlock like dogs’ teeth. The path along the stream twists nine times, which is why the place is called “Nine Locks.” Mountain lovers later gave each of the nine places a name: the First Lock is called Heaven’s Gate, the Second Lock Cloud-Hiding, the Third Lock Flying Phoenix, the Fourth Lock Soaring into the Void, the Fifth Lock Communing with the Real, the Sixth Lock Dragon’s Cry, the Seventh Lock Subtle Grotto, the Eighth Lock Cloud-Pride, and the Ninth Lock Facing the Origin.

Dadi Mountain

Dadi Mountain lies north of the temple complex and has four peaks. It is the largest of the Nine-Lock Mountains. The Western Grotto occupies the heights; the Stone Chamber emerges from the mountainside; and the Celestial Altar stands on the summit. These are all celebrated sights in the mountains. The mountain takes its name from its grotto. An old gazetteer says the grotto is so vast that it can cleanse the heart of worldly concerns, hence the name “Dadi” (“Great Purification”). Mountains and rivers do not always have an evident explanation for their names, but local elders have passed down this account for generations, so it must have some basis. The sword and shoes of Master Xuantong were left at the foot of the mountain.

Mount Tianzhu lies southwest of the official residence. It has three peaks, facing Mount Dadi, and they are similar in height. Seen from outside the palace-temple, the peaks rise like pillars. At the summit stands a stone pillar more than one zhang high and about as wide around as two people can encircle with their arms. This is how the mountain got its name.

This is the fifty-seventh Blessed Land, overseen by the Earth Immortal Wang Boyuan. Biographies record that there are eight pillars in Heaven, three of them in the Central Land: one in Shuzhou, one in Shouyang, and the other in Yuhang. The mountain in Yuhang is one of these. Since Dongxiao Palace takes it as its principal mountain, it was called “Tianzhu Monastery” in ancient times.

Old gazetteers say that the air here is clear and mild, the soil fertile, and the spring water pure. Divine snakes do not harm people, and fierce beasts can be tamed. Since Emperor Wu of Han proclaimed its miraculous events and established a palace altar, rites to pray for blessings and avert calamities have been held here through successive dynasties.

Mount Rushan

Mount Rushan is the mountain in front of the palace-temple that serves as its protective screen. The Qian clan once added earth to raise it.

Mount Xianglu

Mount Xianglu lies in front of the palace-temple, behind Mount Rushan. Its peak is very sharp.

Mount Qingtan

Mount Qingtan lies southeast of the palace-temple, to the right of the eastern Tianzhu. It is not very high, but its springs and rocks are remarkably beautiful and unusual, making it the finest among the surrounding mountains. The present-day Yongcui cliff, Shijian Rock, Laixian Rock, Binghu, and Jingtan are all on this mountain.

Mount Qingzi

Mount Qingzi lies around Mount Huang to the west of the palace-temple. Its shape resembles a screen and it faces Mount Bailu. The level part of the mountain is called Shangwu.

Mount Qingcao

Mount Qingcao lies west of the palace-temple, below Mount Qingzi. It connects eastward to the road leading to Shangwu and westward to Qizhen Cave.

Mount Bailu

Mount Bailu is in Mount Dadi and is now known as the Central Peak. According to legend, when Perfected Xu ascended from here, a white deer descended from Heaven to welcome him, giving the mountain its name.

Mount Dan

Mount Huang lies beyond the surrounding area. Its mountains rise very high and stretch out broadly for more than ten miles. Yang Village lies at their foot, with Xiangshui Rock behind it. When the stream reaches this place, it makes a “peng-peng” sound.

Purple Bamboo Hollow

This hollow lies west of Mount Qingzi. In ancient times, purple bamboo grew here in abundance, giving the place its name.

Bitter Bamboo Hollow

This hollow lies at the mountain pass of East Heavenly Pillar Ridge, about one mile from the Daoist monastery and beside Immortal Trace Rock. Its shape resembles a cloud rising from the ground, as if about to take flight but not yet airborne.

Zhuoxi Stream

The Classic of Mountains and Seas records that Mount Tianmu, also called Mount Fuyu, is the source of Cao Creek. Today, the stream flows from the area around Yugan and Lin’an, passes through the territories of Yuhang and Qiantang, then enters Huzhou and continues toward Zhenze. The prefectural gazetteer says that many Cao flowers grow along both banks. Each autumn, when the wind rises, their petals scatter across the water like flying snow; this, it says, is how the creek got its name.

The Treatise on Geography also records that the stream west of Yuhang is called Ling Creek. Four mountains stand along its banks—Qin Mountain, Crane Mountain, Fang Mountain, and Granny Mountain—and people live at the foot of each. Today, the distance from the Daoist monastery to the creek’s mouth is about five miles. This stretch is called the Heavenly Pillar Path. Beside the path is a well, also known as the Heavenly Pillar Spring. Perhaps water from the Heavenly Pillar Spring flows eastward along Nine-Lock Mountain and eventually joins this stream.

South Lake

Each year, when the Cao waters rise during the plum rains, the flow gathers here before draining into the main stream. A long embankment and small bridges line the shore, and the scenery resembles Hangzhou’s West Lake, with a haze floating over the water. At other times of year, the lake dries up, leaving only lush grass as far as the eye can see.

Cinnabar Spring, also known as the Heavenly Pillar Spring.

The spring rises at the highest point of the mountain and flows down along Tianzhu Mountain. At first, only a faint sound can be heard, like distant thunder. It emerges from underground only after one reaches a point more than a hundred paces west of Dadi Cave. Its water is clear and sweet, and never dries up even in a severe drought. It gathers in a square pool. On clear days, a red glow appears on the water’s surface, and the surrounding moss sometimes shimmers with a purple halo. A poem by Shupo says, “A quiet hut rests beside Dongxiao Palace; cinnabar lies in the well, and the water is always red.” Hence the spring was named “Cinnabar Spring.” The pavilion beside it is called “Clear Sound,” after a line in which Zuo Taichong describes the sounds of mountains and rivers as “clear.” Besides supplying water to the kitchen and the Eighteen Fasting Halls, the spring also irrigates all the surrounding fields.

The Square Pool in the Kitchen Courtyard

In the fifth year of the Dali era of the Tang dynasty, Prefect Fan Gongxifu saw the spring water seeping and flowing away, so he ordered a pool to be dug to make it easier for the kitchen to draw water. Li Xuanqing once wrote an account of it.

The Three Pools

The Three Pools lie inside the gate called “Cave Heaven and Blessed Land.” Two are to the left of the path and one to the right, arranged in a shape like the character pin. During the Qianning era of the Tang dynasty, King Qian Wusu had the three pools dug. The Venerable Dadi, Gongxifu, saw the spring water seeping and flowing away, so he ordered a pool to be dug for the kitchen’s use. Li Xuanqing wrote an account of it. (This description of the Three Pools repeats the earlier passage about the square pool in the kitchen courtyard.)

Beginning in front of Dadi Cave, stone slabs were laid to form an underground channel about one li long, carrying spring water from Tianzhu Mountain and storing it in the pools. The water is clear and bright, a pleasure to behold. After flowing out of the pool, it enters another underground channel and winds through five or six places, following the principles of geomantic arrangement.

The Emerald Flood Dragon Pavilion

Emperor Gaozong of the Song once visited this place. He walked until moonrise, grew very fond of it, and granted funds to build a waterside pavilion. It stands more than thirty paces outside the palace gate. The water from the Three Pools inside the gate flows into a mountain ravine. As the current strikes one or two planks above the pool, it roars like thunder, surging and leaping in a dance. The surrounding mountain woods are reflected in the water, giving it a deep green hue. The pavilion was therefore named “Emerald Flood Dragon,” after a line in a poem by Po Xian: “Beneath the pavilion, the flowing spring dances like an emerald flood dragon.” Later, an image of Po Xian was enshrined behind the pavilion. In front of it, a slope is scattered with stones suitable for sitting or reclining. Visitors usually climb the slope to rest.

Cold Spring

Cold Spring lies among the stone platforms beside the path east of Huixian Bridge, outside the palace gate. Its flow is slight but never stops, in any season. Passersby often cup their hands to drink. The water is colder than ice and snow, hence its name.

Peach Blossom Spring

To the west of the Dragon Cave is a slope lined with many stones where people can sit and rest. Visitors climbing up to this spot often stop to take a break.

Cold Spring

Beside the road east of Huixian Bridge, outside the palace gate, stands a stone platform. The spring trickles gently, but flows throughout the year. Passersby often cup the water in their hands to drink. It is colder than ice and snow, hence the name “Cold Spring.”

Peach Blossom Spring

Several dozen paces west of the Dragon Cave, spring water flows sideways from a stone platform and runs into a stream. In the past, people often saw peach blossom petals floating downstream, but could not discover where they came from. Hence the name “Peach Blossom Spring.”

Stone Gate

Walk east from Laixian Rock for more than fifty paces, then climb the undulating hillside to reach the Qing Tan Mountain path. To the right, the path runs alongside a rock face; to the left, it overlooks a deep ravine. Beside the path, a huge boulder stands opposite the cliff wall. It is called “Little Stone Gate.”

Moon Grotto

Beside Dongzhuo stands a huge boulder with a finely shaped, round hole in it. The opening is about two feet wide and five or six feet deep, hence the name “Moon Grotto.”

Ice Jar

West of Moon Grotto is a stone cave that holds spring water. The water is sweet and exceptionally cold, hence the name “Ice Jar.”

Mirror Pool

Below Dongzhuo is a stone cave with spring water so clear that it reflects objects. Hence the name “Mirror Pool.”

Testing Sword Rock

Walk east from Laixian Rock for more than two hundred paces to find a stone split in two, as if cleaved by a sword. It is called “Testing Sword Rock.”

Emerald-Rising Stone Wall

A little more than thirty paces beyond Testing Sword Rock stands a steep cliff facing north, as if it had surged up from the ground. It is about one or two zhang high and twenty or thirty zhang wide. Its deep green colors and delicate patterns form strange, shifting shapes that are hard to describe.

The mountain’s graceful beauty begins around Laixian Rock. After winding for more than half a li, it comes fully into view here. Stone stalactites on the cliff release a fragrance when burned. Nearby, two rock walls face one another, separated by only a few feet—too narrow for two people to pass side by side. If the passage were widened by carving, a pavilion might be built there so visitors could take in the view at leisure. A pavilion now stands on the outer side, facing away from the mountain. It is called “Cuiwei Pavilion.”

Stone Screen

From the Stone Chamber, follow the winding mountain path uphill. Large gray stones line the way for more than a hundred paces, forming what is called the “Stone Screen.”

Tongxian Bridge lies on the main road from Yuhang to the palace-temple complex, four li from Tongzhen Gate. It was built during the Jianyan era of the Song dynasty and was formerly called Shimen Bridge. In the eighth month of the jihai year of the Dade era, Yang Qingyi, who was in charge of the palace-temple, oversaw its reconstruction.

Daoshi Bridge is half a li from Tongxian Bridge. It was built by the founding master of this palace-temple, so everyone calls it Daoist Bridge.

Chaoyuan Bridge is four li outside the palace-temple. The main road leading to it branches off in the direction of Tianzhu. Local people call it Hutang Bridge. It was widened and raised in the guiyou year of the Xianchun era, and renamed Chaoyuan Bridge.

Shuangxian Bridge is three li outside the palace-temple. Local people call the place Shuangqiaotou. Legend has it that Guo Zhenjun and Ge Xianweng once leaned on their staffs here and talked, which gave the bridge its name.

Yuquan Bridge stands below Shuantianzhuling, to the left of the shrine to Lord Shi, two li from the palace-temple. Local people call it Mache Bridge. It was built during the Jianyan era of the Song dynasty. Feiyu Spring flows from here into the mountain ravine, giving the bridge its name.

Mingfeng Bridge stands to the left of Yungen Rock. Local people call it Yuanjia Bridge. It was built during the Jianyan era of the Song dynasty and named for its proximity to Mingfeng Cave.

Huixian Bridge lies on the main road to the palace-temple, in front of the gateway to Qizhen Cave, and spans a mountain ravine. In the jiachen year of the Chunxi era of the Song dynasty, the Daoist Jiang Anzhu, who had traveled throughout the lakes and seas in his youth before retiring to the mountains in later life, donated clothing, ritual implements, and money to rebuild the bridge.

Xuantong Bridge stands inside the gate to the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands. The pool beneath it drains toward Cuijiao Pavilion. In the past, Master Xuantong and King Qian Wusu surveyed the terrain together, dug the pool, and built the bridge, giving it its name.

Records of the Grotto Abode

The Daoist Jiang Anzhu, who had traveled throughout the lakes and seas in his youth before retiring to the mountains in later life, donated clothing, ritual implements, and money to rebuild Huixian Bridge.

Xuantong Bridge stands inside the gate to the Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands. The pool beneath it leads to Cuijiao Pavilion. In the past, Master Xuantong and King Qian Wusu surveyed the terrain together, dug the pool, and built the bridge, giving it its name.

Where, then, do the immortals actually dwell? The Liezi records that five sacred mountains lie in the Bohai Sea. Dongfang Shuo, whose courtesy name was Manqian, says there are ten isles beyond the sea. He once said that he had traveled three hundred thousand li across the Weak Water. The Weak Water cannot bear ships, and the jeweled trees and splendid forests, the jade towers and palaces, cannot be reached by riding in a carriage. So worldly people do not believe these accounts and regard them as absurd and strange. What is so surprising about that?

Yet the thirty-six grotto-heavens are indeed scattered throughout the world and are regarded as places where immortals dwell. Are such accounts credible or not? The sun and moon travel across the sky, sink into the vast sea, and alternate day and night without ever stopping. Thunder bursts from the void, crashes loudly, and makes all things tremble. If worldly people had never seen or heard of these phenomena, and I told them about them, would they believe me?

When ordinary people aspire to withdraw from the world, they may flee into deep forests and live in secluded valleys, keeping far from other people. How much more possible, then, is it for immortals to transform their bodies, cast off their mortal forms like cicadas shedding their shells, live on dew and gentle breezes, leave behind the world’s pollution, and enter the depths of the clouds and rosy mists? Thus, one cannot say that no such grotto-heavens exist within the Four Seas, or that no such people exist.

Even if places such as Qingcheng, Luofu, Wuyi, and Gouqu are not called grotto-heavens, I know that they are regions where perfected immortals and sages dwell together. Weiyu Mountain looks like no more than an ordinary peak; Changmingzhi is just a stone a few ren high, with a fissure barely wider than a coin. Yet both are renowned as grotto-heavens, governed respectively by the Blue Youth Lord and the immortal Lord Guo. Could it be that immortals can fly and transform, and so can go anywhere?

Xuanga Grotto lies in Mount Dadi, while the Yunji records it as being in Mount Tianmu. Perhaps Mount Dadi is a branch of the Tianmu range. Or perhaps the authors of old did not all visit the places they wrote about and examined them insufficiently, so their records contain errors. Even histories regarded as reliable are not free of mistakes; there is nothing surprising in that.

Dadi Grotto

Dadi Cave lies about half a li northwest of the temple complex. The Biography of Lord Mao records that the thirty-fourth Grotto-Heaven is called “Heaven of the Great Purification and Mysterious Canopy” and extends four hundred li around. Within it are the essences of the sun and moon, as well as the Hall of Refined Essence and a jade chamber for immortal officials. It is a place where calamities and blessings are assessed, under the charge of Perfected Jiang. Hidden, deep passages connect it with the Grotto-Heavens of Huayang and Linwu. According to legend, Master Dongxuan once entered and explored the cave. He saw a strange realm where dragons and qilin appeared and vanished, and flowers and trees flourished in vivid profusion. On his return from Huayang to the cave entrance, he saw a stone drum about one zhang wide. When struck, it sounded “dong-dong.” Farther up, the ground on either side was smooth as if cut by a blade, and winding boulders flanked the path. A stone in the middle of the path hung upside down like a pillar, serving to separate the mortal world; it was called “Passing the Pillar.” There was also a small opening like a cave entrance. Inside, it widened to more than one zhang, with a round well at the center whose bottom could not be seen; only the gentle sound of running water could be heard. Tradition says that imperial envoys sent here by successive dynasties once cast dragon jade discs into the well and performed sacrificial rites.

Qizhen Cave lies on West Celestial Pillar Ridge, in front of Dadi Mountain, three li from the temple complex. It is also called West Cave. The Old Gazetteer records that Du Chen, the Master of Great Purification, once told his disciple He Faren: “You should live in West Cave, where you can cultivate yourself and become a perfected being in this world.” The cave was therefore named Qizhen Cave. Its ceiling is naturally formed in the shape of a canopy, and the chamber is deep and secluded, with drops falling from a mineral spring. The rock above the stone platforms to the east and west bears marks resembling coiling dragon claws, as if they had scratched and withdrawn. Someone once wiped the marks away by hand, but when they checked the next day, the marks had returned just as before. This led some to believe that the cave was a passage used by a cave dragon. On the western platform, a stone as flat as a chessboard is piled with white pebbles about the size of fists; nearby, stone benches are arranged as if people had gathered to sit around them. About three zhang inside the cave entrance stands a stone immortal, leaning back and gazing outward. Beyond the canopy, farther west, is another stone niche large enough to hold several people.

Stone Chamber Cave

This cave is also known as the “Cave of Hidden Books” and the “Cave of Shulinglong.” It lies in front of the central peak of Dadi Mountain, below White Deer Mountain. Inside are three high openings arranged like the character pin, allowing daylight to enter. A stone bridge spans the openings, and a spring trickles beneath it. The spring water swirls beneath the bridge, providing enough for more than ten people to live on.

According to legend, Perfected Lord Guo once washed here while gathering herbs on the mountain, so the spring is called the Herb-Washing Spring. The Gazetteer records that this cave was where Celestial Master Yun practiced cultivation. After the Celestial Master underwent “corpse liberation” in Xuancheng—the Daoist term for shedding the physical form and ascending to immortality—he instructed his disciples to hide his books and sword here. Since the cave contains a stone chamber, it came to be called the Cave of Hidden Books.

The Record of Exemplary Conduct states that the Celestial Master said, “My spirit should be moved to the stone chamber at Tianzhu. That is where the Most High Lord Lao had me refine my body, cast off the womb, and ascend.” He therefore chose a site on the western slope of Tianzhu Mountain. There, just as he had said, was a stone seat, with a natural opening in the rock resembling a doorway, as if prepared in advance. Thus, what was hidden here included not only books and a sword, but also the Celestial Master’s true spirit.

The Scripture of Stone Essence and Golden Radiance says that, according to the relevant methods of ascension, spirit concealment, and sword liberation, what is hidden will appear after passing temporarily through the “Purple Womb of Great Yin” and undergoing four hundred years of refinement. When the appointed time and destiny have matured, its spiritual nature will bring it forth of its own accord. An old gazetteer says that the rock doorway to the stone chamber where the Celestial Master was hidden has already opened. This account is indeed credible. Halfway up the mountain are also traces such as the Stone Hollow Goblet and the Stone Tea Cauldron, both regarded as relics left by immortals.

White Grass Cave

White Grass Cave lies west of Guanshan.

On the right side of the ridge, about ten li southwest of the official mountain, the cave entrance is faintly visible. An old account says that during the Jin dynasty, someone saw a Daoist emerge from the cave, dressed in fine, immaculate robes and headwear. When asked where he had come from, the Daoist replied, “I am Master White Mugwort. I have lived here for a long time.” The cave was then named after him.

The entrance resembles a well. Climbing down sideways for about one or two zhang brings one to a level place where twenty people could sit in a circle. Bending down and continuing another two zhang leads inside, where there are stone places for immortals to drink and rest, two stone pillars, and an opening extending straight upward through which daylight can be seen. The cave’s scenery is strange and exquisite, but the mountain is high and the paths treacherous, so few people visit.

Cave of the Crying Phoenix

The Cave of the Crying Phoenix is on a hill beside the road, one li beyond the palace. Its stone entrance is narrow and difficult to pass through, though even children can enter. Inside, the space is broad. A collapsed area is about the size of two rooms, and beside it is a small path whose destination is unknown. A spring flows down from above with a tinkling sound and pours into a square pool, which has never filled to overflowing.

Local elders say that during the Qian family’s rule, a phoenix came here and cried out. This is why the cave is called the Cave of the Crying Phoenix; the surrounding area was also renamed Lingfeng Township.

Cave of the Shed Dragon

The Cave of the Shed Dragon lies in a hollow on the mountain opposite the Cave of the Crying Phoenix, about one hundred paces away. Tall trees grow thickly around it, the rocks rise steeply in jagged formations, and the cave extends several zhang deep. In the early Huangyou era of the Song dynasty, a cultivator found the remains of a dragon’s shed bones inside. Its teeth and horns were all intact, giving the cave its name. An old account says that five caves are secretly connected to one another, and the Cave of the Shed Dragon is one of them.

Cave of the Returning Bud

The Cave of the Returning Bud is five li from the palace, about half a li to the left of Qizhen Cave; it is also Qizhen Cave’s rear entrance. The cave is more than one hundred chi deep, with smooth, bright stone walls and a shadowy, deep ceiling. It is secretly connected to the caves mentioned earlier and is one of them.

Five li from the Leaving Palace, about half a li to the outer left of Qizhen Cave, lies the cave’s rear entrance. The cave extends more than a hundred feet inward. Its stone walls are smooth and bright, and its ceiling is somewhat lower than that of the front cave. According to records, immortals used this side passage when turning their carriages around, so it is called “Returning Clouds Cave.”

The entrance is only a few feet wide. Descending about one zhang, one sees stones along the way streaked with five colors like agate, resembling swirling clouds and moving rosy light. These patterns continue down to a small square pool. The water is less than a foot deep, about two feet wide and three feet long. Its bottom is pure white, like strings of beads and carved jade, and very lovely, though the spring’s water level rises and falls. A dozen or so steps farther down are three white stones shaped like gourds. After a few more steps, climb up to the left to see a stone basin into which a trickling spring flows; the water can be used for washing one’s hands. Stalactites hang all around like dangling necklaces. Returning to the right and continuing downward for fourteen or fifteen steps, the cave widens to about two zhang. Inside is a stone resembling a pile of copper coins, and the ground around it is level, with room for more than thirty people.

Historical Traces

Things in the human world change and pass away, but mountains and rivers know no distinction between past and present. Though we live a thousand years later, our thoughts can reach across those thousand years. Climbing Mount Ji, we recall Xu You’s noble gesture of washing his ears; paying respects at Mount Shouyang, we grieve for Boyi and Shuqi, who would rather starve to death than abandon their principles. Their concerns and circumstances have nothing to do with ours, and we had no dealings with them. Yet old farmers in the fields, woodcutters, and shepherd boys still linger there, singing mournfully and giving voice to their sorrow. How much more so for those who aspire to rise above the common world and act with passionate purpose?

Across ten thousand years, the principles remain connected; across ten thousand people, hearts are alike. The ancients are long gone, and those in their tombs cannot return to life. But if we walk through the places where they lived in seclusion and see where they rested and wandered, how could our hearts not be stirred, as though we had received their teachings in person? The wooden stake on Taming the Tiger Rock is still intact, and the cinnabar at the Ascending-to-Heaven Altar—the traces of alchemical practice—looks as though it was left there only recently. The mountains are empty of people, and the scenery stretches into the distance, bringing an unending melancholy. Is this feeling truly something only people of the Jin dynasty could have, something people today can no longer feel?

The traces of the past in these mountains are always worth examining. I have also gathered one or two strange accounts to include here.

The Han Palace and the wooden stake on Taming the Tiger Rock are still intact; the cinnabar at the Ascending-to-Heaven Altar…

Mount Ao has not yet taken on a desolate, wintry aspect, and the empty mountain has no one in it, leaving one lost and melancholy. Could it be that only people of the Jin dynasty could feel this, while people today can no longer do so? The mountain’s old stories are often worth investigating; here I have appended one or two strange accounts.

The Han Palace Altar

The Han Palace Altar lies in front of the Great Purity Grotto. It is said to have been built in the third year of the Yuanfeng era under Emperor Wu of Han (108 BCE), but today its remains can no longer be identified.

The Altar of Ascension to Heaven

Old gazetteers record that the Altar of Ascension to Heaven stood on the summit of a peak in the mountains and was also known as the Altar of the Fa-xiang. Its upper part was round, symbolizing Heaven; its lower part was square, symbolizing Earth; and the middle was octagonal, representing the hexagrams of the Book of Changes. The Perfected Lord Xu Yuanyou, a Daoist immortal of legend, devoted himself to studying the scriptures of the Three Caverns. After ascending the altar, he attained immortality and departed. At that time, a white deer descended from Heaven to welcome him, and so this central peak came to be called White Deer Mountain.

Today, within the pine grove at the summit, there is a patch of ground several zhang square where no plants can grow. It is said to be the site of the altar. During the Zhenghe era of Emperor Huizong of Song, auspicious clouds often appeared there, accompanied by the sound of flutes moving to and fro.

Crouching Tiger Crag

Crouching Tiger Crag lies among the cliffs southwest of Gong Mountain. Its shape resembles a small chamber enclosed on all four sides. A path approaches from the south, descending from above; one must then follow steep stone steps to reach it. Vines grow thickly here, and strange birds call even in daylight. It is a place suited only to those who cultivate the Dao.

Legend says that Perfected Lord Guo once subdued a ferocious tiger here. The Book of Jin records that Ge Hong and He Youdao once visited together. They saw only the cave; neither said a word. They gave a long whistle and left.

The Tang dynasty Celestial Master Hao loved this historic site. Whenever he visited, he lingered and could hardly bear to leave; he also inscribed a poem on the crag. The verses have grown indistinct and worn away with time. Their general meaning is that Guo Sheng, even in his youth, had a wish to transcend the world: he withdrew from worldly affairs and practiced the Dao in a secluded forest. He moved even the unusual creatures, and even fierce beasts revered his virtue. One who is truly free of attachment does not dwell on the past; these words carry a subtle and profound meaning. The final line probably alludes to the exchange between the Perfected Lord and Wen Jiao.

Immortal Trace Crag

Immortal Trace Crag lies one li from Gong Mountain, on a rock beside the road, across a stream. An old account says that Qin Shi Huang drove the mountains, hoping to use them to block the Eastern Sea, and set ghosts and spirits to carrying them. Just as the mountain was about to move, an immortal suddenly appeared…

A mile from the palace, beside the main road and across the stream, lies a stone. According to the records, Qin Shi Huang once sought to harness the mountains and block Shuming, ordering spirits and demons to move the stones. Just as the mountains were about to shift, an immortal rebuked the spirits and demons and braced the stone with his body, preventing it from moving. Faint traces of a shoulder pressed against it and the shape of a hairpin crown can still be seen on the stone. The relic is smooth and lustrous, and no moss grows on it. Rub it with your hand for a long while, and it gives off the fragrance of ancient osmanthus.

Yang Jie wrote in a poem: “The First Emperor’s quest for immortality was all in vain. He came riding over the sea and still sought to move the mountains and stones. A divine being leaned against the rock and would not let it depart; before the cliff, the faint traces of an immortal remain.”

Lai Xian Rock

This rock lies before Qingtan Mountain, southeast of the palace. Its hollow cave extends several zhang, and winding rocks and bamboo surround it, making it a pleasant place to wander and rest. During the Xining era of the Song dynasty, when Su Dongpo (Su Shi) served as an assistant prefect in Hangzhou, he came here to explore and linger with Cai Zhun, Wu Tianchang, Le Fuguo, Wenren Andao Yu, Kang Zhi, Zhang Rihua, and others. They wore cloth headwraps and carried ornate staffs.

Su Dongpo wrote in a poem: “The Lord of Heaven dwells on high and pities the foolishness of humankind, so he left a jade-like immortal’s lodge among us. The Nine Locks of the green mountains are hard to reach; seven poet friends sit facing one another, at ease. Beneath the courtyard, a spring flows like a blue dragon dancing; through the cave, flying squirrels dart and white crows wheel. The ancient pines and strange rocks are well suited to white-haired visitors. There is no need to take the Golden Elixir and struggle to hold back youth.” Later, people named this cave Lai Xian Rock and built a pavilion on it called Yishuang Pavilion.

Stone Chamber

The Daoist master Haotian of the Tang dynasty once wrote here and wore a sword. Lu Weizhi and Zhu Miaoxing also lived here during the Song dynasty.

Clapping Spring

The spring lies beneath the Dragon Shrine in the palace. It is only three feet deep, and its water is clear, cool, and bright. Dig into it and water can be drawn at once. An old poem asks: “Could it be that, beneath this three-foot-deep spring, another world lies hidden within a pot?” The spring water changes among five colors from time to time, and each change foretells an auspicious event.

The Yuhang Gazetteer records that when King Wusu of Qian took up his post, two cranes circled above the spring. He clapped his hands to summon them; they alighted, and the spring water gushed forth. When Chen Yaozuo, the grain transport commissioner responsible for overseeing transport and inspecting local areas, came to inspect the place, he asked a Daoist priest how the spring had got its name. The priest replied that long ago an immortal had clapped his hands, and the water had surged up. Chen Yaozuo clapped his hands too, and sure enough, the water gushed forth.

An inscription at the Haotian Master’s Temple says the spring’s volume does not change with drought or flood, and its shimmering water reflects the pavilions and buildings. In summer, the water is clear and cold, so that the sand and gravel can be seen; in winter, it is warm, with duckweed and algae floating on its surface. In the early years of the Xining era under the Song, a creature like an eel was seen swimming around the railings and through the covered walkways, its two eyes red as cinnabar. When people struck it with staffs, it fell into the spring. Soon, dark mists rose on all sides, and floodwaters surged in from Tianzhuyuan with terrifying force, seeming about to engulf the halls. Then, all at once, they stopped. Some believed that a dragon had grown angry.

Today, stonework surrounds the spring, and a pavilion covers it, topped with vermilion railings. It is said that Emperor Gaozong of Song once drew water from the spring to drink.

Stained by the Bright Star

The Yuhang Gazetteer records that this place lies ten li and two hundred paces east of Yuhang County. It is 150 paces around, beside a pond on the south bank of a stream. Across the dynasties, those appointed to deliver Dragon Documents—Daoist writings bearing sacrificial petitions, cast into water—at Tianzhu Dadi Cave first had to worship the Bright Star. The Gazetteer of the Nine Regions gives the same account of this place. Local elders say that long ago someone saw brilliant starlight here in broad daylight, which is how the place got its name. Many pools lie beneath the stream, all carved out by flowing water. Counting westward from the new weir, the third pool is the deepest, with clear, wide water. The elders also say that a Daoist once lived near the road on the pool’s southern side, and traces of his former dwelling remain. Today this land belongs to this palace, and the palace built here is also called the Bright Star Palace.

Herb Garden

The herb garden lies below Yishuang Pavilion at Laixian Crag. Celestial Master Xiahou once cultivated medicinal plants here. Various herbs grew among the beds and trees. He often gave out medicine to people at the market, offering it according to the depth of each person’s affinity. One day, a woodcutter heard a loud roar from the garden. Looking through the fence, he saw the Celestial Master crack his whip and ride a strange beast, neither tiger nor anything else, swift as the wind, into the eastern mountain. More than sixty kinds of medicinal herbs now grow in the surrounding mountains, and traces of the herb garden still remain.

Lecture Hall of Celestial Master Ye

An old gazetteer records that the lecture hall originally stood outside the mountain gate. Celestial Master Ye had spirits and gods build it; its craftsmanship was so exquisite that it could not have been the work of ordinary artisans. During the Kaiyuan era, the Celestial Master taught classics such as the Dao De Jing and the Du Ren Jing here. It is said that celestial flowers and numinous cranes descended from the sky. Esteemed scholars from the Wu and Yue regions came in large numbers to listen, and each gained some understanding. More than three hundred disciples wished to enter his school. The Celestial Master taught them to aid the lonely, suffering, and poor; revere Heaven and Earth; remain loyal to their ruler and parents; cherish human life; cultivate upright body and mind; and refrain from extravagance. He said these were the foundations of cultivating the Dao.

The lecture hall was later repeatedly ravaged by war, and no traces of it remain. The palace has now moved the Hall of Teaching and Transformation into the official compound.

This building was founded by the Qian family. During the Jingming era of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang, it was destroyed by warfare and fire, and no traces remained. It has since been relocated to the official compound and turned into a teaching hall. Casting aside extravagance and gathering the mind and body are the very foundations of cultivating the Dao.

Thatched Hall

The Thatched Hall was founded by the Qian family. In the second year of Jingyou during Emperor Zhaozong’s reign, King Wusu invited Master Xianqiu to live here. After that, every ten days King Wusu would enter the mountains to seek the Dao. On each of the Three Primordial festivals—the Upper, Middle, and Lower Primordial days—he would establish an altar and teach the Way; the altar was named the Shangqing Altar. Luo Yin, Vice Censor-in-Chief, was also a close disciple.

Cloud chambers stood in a ring outside the hall, providing lodging and rest for disciples who aspired to cultivate the Dao. The disciples entered the hall to practice morning and evening. When they came out, they shut themselves away for quiet cultivation: some recited scriptures, some discussed the Dao, and some refined Shen and cultivated the true. Each gained something in their own way. The Shangqing lineage known today in the Daoist monastery as “Liuzhen” was passed down from here.

Day Tower

The Day Tower, also called the Tower of Manifest Signs, was where the Celestial Master lived. In his youth, the Celestial Master loved the classics and histories and wrote extensively; books filled the space around him. By day he would gather and refine the sun’s essence, and at night he would absorb and refine the moon’s essence. This was a method of cultivating the upper Dao known as “Panshi Ziwen.” A small opening was made in each of the east and west walls, just large enough for a person’s face; these were the windows through which he gathered and refined the essence of the sun and moon. Bai Yuanjian wrote a poem about this. The site of the Day Tower is also within today’s Daoist monastery, and this tradition of focused contemplation and cultivation has been passed down from there.

Southern Mound

The Southern Mound is the site of today’s Daoist monastery. According to legend, Perfected Xu once lived on Mount Dadi, north of the palace. When he was about to ascend, he told a close friend at the Southern Mound in advance, “Tomorrow I am going to pay court to the Jade Emperor.” On the appointed day, the friend climbed to the top of the mound and looked north. Sure enough, clouds of many colors filled the sky, and Perfected Xu, riding a white deer, gradually disappeared into the distance. This is why the place was called the Southern Mound. Today it is also known as “Liuzhen.”

The Daoist Wang Jie of the Seven Min regions wrote this poem: “The immortal drifted away on a crane, seeking the perfected ones; the wild wanderer returns here and cannot help but linger, sighing. In the forest of Xu Mai, the cinnabar turtle’s spirit is wondrous; atop Guo Wen’s mountain, white clouds stretch deep and far. The old story of the Southern Mound is no longer as it was; yet the promised return to the Northern Ridge is remembered to this day. Cherish the endless affection of the Jade Capital; await the accumulation of merit, and nurture lofty aspirations.”

Howling Pavilion

Five li south of Yuhang County. During the Jin dynasty, the Perfected Lord Guo lived on Mount Dadi and often went to the market to sell medicine. A tiger always followed him. He would have the tiger lie down here; if he was late returning, the tiger would roar. For this reason, the place was called “Roaring Pavilion.” Strange ravine rocks and trickling streams can still be seen below the mountain.

Gathering Immortals Pavilion

An old gazetteer records that the site of the pavilion was open and bright, at a point where a spur of the Tianzhu Peak range extended downward. From the pavilion, one could look out over the government offices and enjoy the quiet beauty of the scenery. Master Xuantong once built a pavilion here and observed the mountain’s changing mists and clouds. During the Qianning era, people heard the sound of jade pendants from the pavilion and smelled a rich, unusual fragrance. They hurried to report this to the master. He said, “The immortal officials of the grotto-heaven are paying court to the Northern Dipper, symbol of the Celestial Emperor. Tonight, the hundred spirits are listening to a lecture. They have been sent to this pavilion to ask for instruction in the methods of the Great Dao.” The pavilion was therefore named “Gathering Immortals Pavilion.” Chancellor Chen Yaosou once wrote: “Ancient cypresses stand in solemn ranks, as if waving banners for refining elixirs; fragrant clouds drift and gather at Gathering Immortals Pavilion.”

Auspicious Light Pavilion

The pavilion stands at the entrance to Dadi Grotto. When Qian Wusu was young, he pointed to a huge rock at the entrance and said, “If I become wealthy and honored one day, I will build a pavilion to shelter this rock.” After he rose to prominence, he built the pavilion and adorned it lavishly. Beneath it lies a rock where woodcutters once saw immortals playing chess in the pavilion. When they approached to look, the immortals had vanished.

In the fifth year of the Xiangfu era, the imperial envoy Bai, the transport commissioner Chen, and local officials all came here. The sky was clear that day, without a cloud for ten thousand li. As they were lighting incense, they suddenly saw five-colored clouds rise from the grotto and shoot into the sky, then spread downward through the mountain forests and foothills. Within the clouds, there seemed to be immortals and their attendants, as if immortal officials were on their way to the Jade Capital, the Daoist celestial city, to pay court to the Celestial Emperor. After a long while, the clouds dispersed. The visitors reported the event to the throne, and the pavilion was named “Auspicious Light Pavilion.” Its plaque now reads “Dadi Grotto-Heaven.”

Tongming Lodge

Tongming Lodge stands to the left of the Hall of the August Heaven. Emperor Gaozong of Song once came here in person and lived and took his meals in the lodge. The bed and other furnishings were placed in the rear tower, from which one could climb up and gaze freely across the surrounding mountains.

Spirit-Responsive Bell

Old gazetteers record that in the fourth year of the Dali era of the Tang (769), Taizhou suffered a severe drought. The local people prayed for rain many times, but their prayers went unanswered. They then went to Dadi Cave in Hangzhou to pray for rain, and rain did indeed fall. The local earth deity appeared in a dream to the county magistrate and said, “A golden bell should be cast to repay this rainfall.” The magistrate did as instructed.

By the Xuanhe era of the Song, more than 360 years after the bell had been cast, it was destroyed in a fire. In the eighth year of the Shaoxing era (1138), the Daoist Zhou Xiji and others collected the broken pieces of the bell and prepared to recast it. A deity conveyed this message: “It will succeed only if it is cast in its original place.” The group had no choice but to comply, and the bell was completed that same year. In the inscription, Chicheng Zuofan wrote: “The bell’s destruction came about through the workings of fate; it was not simply consumed by fire. Its recasting depended on the deities, and was beyond human power. Though cast here, the bell is to be used elsewhere. May it protect this county and bring it unending blessings.” For this reason, the bell was called the “Bell of Divine Response.”

Divine Light in the Western Cave

In the xinchou year of the Shaoding era of the Song, Yang Bocha, grandson of Prince Taigong, came to visit the mountains and reached Qizhen Cave. As he raised a torch to examine the cave’s ceiling, he suddenly saw a divine light shining from a terrace above. Half the light was blue and half white. It rose slowly, round as the full moon, and did not fade for a long while. Astonished by this wondrous sight, Lord Yang left a poem in the mountains. It reads: “The immortal maiden of Eastern Terrace permits us to explore the mystery; moonlike radiance appears throughout the great thousandfold world.” The Daoist Wang Siming once erected a stele to record the event.

Pine-Flower Stone

There were originally two pine-flower stones in front of the Huanji Hall, but they are no longer there.

The Tree That Flourished Again

The Yukang Gazetteer records that outside the palace temple stood a large tree, said to have been planted by Celestial Master Hao during the Xianluan era of the Tang. In the first year of the Laichengping era, the tree withered for no apparent reason. Fifteen years later, in the renzi year of the Xiangfu era, it flourished again. Chen Yaozuo, commissioner for water transport, considered this an extraordinary event. He had the tree depicted and submitted the image to the court, reporting as well that five-colored clouds had appeared and springs had welled up from the ground. Before long, the court ordered a Zhaijiao purification ritual to honor these auspicious signs, and the place was renamed Dongxiao Palace.

Later, in the fifth month of the third year of the Xining era, a night of fierce wind and thunder came, and the tree vanished without a trace. People believed that it had manifested its numinous power and transformed away.

Boneless Chopsticks

Mount Gong extends for about a hundred li in circumference, and many qianzhux grow in its forests. In the past, when the True Lord Xu Yuanyou of the Jin dynasty, a perfected immortal revered by Daoists, ascended to immortality, he said to his disciples, “I have ten portions of the Golden Elixir, but your achievements in cultivation and the accumulation of De have not yet reached the required level, so you cannot take them at once. I have hidden them in the mountain beneath boneless chopsticks. Those who are destined to find them will encounter them in time.” Later, laborers entered the mountain to gather firewood and sometimes brought chopsticks back with them. When they lit a fire to cook, they would often find a Golden Elixir hidden inside. Yet while gathering chopsticks, no one could tell which ones were boneless. Some people, eager to seek them out, searched for years among steep and secluded places, but found nothing. What immortals conceal can be found only by those who were already connected to it in a former life.

The Taoyao Bird

There are only two of these birds, hidden among the deep woods. At night they call until dawn, their cries sounding like someone pounding medicine. They call from morning until evening, but fly far away as soon as they see a person, so no one knows what they look like.

The Stone Incense Burner

When the Song-dynasty academician Chen Yaozuo (Lord Chen Yaozuo) was serving in the outer administrative office, he said to the Daoist Feng Dezhi, “I once dreamed that I was visiting a famous mountain and saw an immortal make an appointment with me using a ding vessel. How could I dare hope for such a thing?” Feng Dezhi replied, “The academician’s virtue and reputation are admired by all, and his name has already been entered in the registers of the immortals. How could worldly wealth and rank compare with that?” Chen Yaozuo was indeed later entrusted with important responsibilities. He then had two large purple-stone ding vessels made and placed them on Xiangguang Pavilion.

The inscription on the first vessel reads: The ding and its furnace are shaped like a gourd, and smoke rises from within. The human body should be kept empty of mind to nurture the origin. What seems useless has its own use; let all things follow their natural course. The ding and the human alike embody the Dao.

The inscription on the second vessel reads: The mountain rises high, piercing the clouds; its caves lie deep, a dwelling place for perfected beings. Luan birds and cranes flash past, while people marvel at a hundred years. To reach that place, one must nurture Jing, Qi, and Shen, and gather the spirit inward.

Pine Trees at the Boundaries of the Four Mountains

In the third year of the Chunxi reign of the Song dynasty (1176), the official Zhang Juzhong had pine trees planted all along the hills where the temple grounds met the people’s settlements, and personally oversaw the work. Once it was complete, he often led younger generations up the mountain in spring and autumn, teaching them to recognize the boundaries of the temple grounds. Today, rows of pines stand on the surrounding hills, their twisted trunks and branches like dragons, each with a girth of about one zhang. These trees were first planted and tended in his time; his contribution should not be forgotten.

A Poem on a Dream-Inspired Visit

In the jiwei year of the Yuanfeng reign of the Song dynasty (1079), Lord Zhao Qingxian (Zhao Bian, who had served as prefect of Hangzhou) submitted a memorial requesting permission to retire and grow old in peace. In the eighth month of a jiazi year, he suddenly came to the mountains for a visit. He said to the Daoist priest Shen Riyi, “Some time ago, I dreamed that I entered an immortal realm. Its palaces were tall and magnificent, and several Daoist priests stood nearby. I asked them where I was, and they said this was Dongxiao Palace. After waking, I remembered that I had governed this prefecture twice, yet had never visited this place. So I came here despite the summer heat. Now I see that the springs, rocks, and pavilions are exactly as they appeared in my dream. Could it be that the immortals and sages drew me here through some destined affinity?”

He wrote this poem: “The mountain winds and coils like a dragon, offering a tranquil place to hide away; the spring runs clear, as if it would answer a clap of the hands. Far from the turmoil of the world, one might live long in an immortal realm even by daylight. My nature is quiet and unattached—who would still care for fame and fortune? If someone in my dream laughed at me, now I will go to Dongxiao Palace myself.”

The Calligraphy of Lord Chen Wenhui

In the renzi year of the Xiangfu reign of the Song dynasty (1012), when Lord Chen Wenhui (Chen Yaozuo) was serving as an official overseeing grain transport, he submitted a memorial requesting the repair of the temple and a change to its official name. By imperial command, he wrote and bestowed the six characters “Palace of Dongxiao.”

Reciting the Scripture for Deliverance

Reciting the Scripture for Deliverance (Duren Jing), a Daoist classic.

The Yuhang Gazetteer records that the Daoist who oversaw religious affairs at Dongxiao Palace, a Daoist temple, often recited the Scripture for Deliverance and repeatedly experienced wondrous responses. Each time, he recited it beside the Dragon Pool near his residence. One day, an old man emerged from the pool and knelt before him, saying, “I am the Dragon King. Whenever I hear the scripture, I feel heartfelt reverence and take refuge in it. Now I dare to ask you for something. Whenever you come to the pool, the spirits of the netherworld all rise and greet you respectfully. They remain standing for a long time and do not leave, which makes me very uncomfortable. I hope you will sit quietly in the fasting chamber and recite the scripture there, completing your daily practice as usual and allowing the spirits to rest.”

That day, the Dragon King sent two jin of fresh milk for the Daoist’s fasting meal. The Daoist agreed. The next morning, the kitchen worker reported that clean, fresh milk had appeared on the table. No one knew who had brought it, but it weighed exactly two jin. The same thing happened every day thereafter.

Several years later, the fresh milk suddenly stopped arriving for several days. The Daoist grew puzzled and happened to go to the water’s edge, where he saw the same old man again. The old man said, “Milk is a human product, and I do not have any. I have only been fortunate enough to serve as the local earth god. Whenever people in this world deceive others and seek unjust profit, I can investigate them in secret. There is a nearby merchant named Dong Qi who habitually tampers with his scales, treating fourteen liang as one jin. So I took his milk. Now he is away, and his father has taken over the business. His father never cheats or seeks profit unjustly, so I can no longer take the milk. This does not mean I have broken my word.”

Hearing this, the Daoist sighed with deep feeling. He often told the story in the village, encouraging people to do good. Local elders still recount it to this day, though they can no longer remember the Daoist’s name or the year when the story took place.

Record of the Great Purity Grotto-Heavens, fascicle two

Record of the Great Purity Grotto-Heavens, fascicle three

Compiled by Deng Muxin of this mountain

Collected Inscriptions

Record of the Celestial Pillar Abbey

The Celestial Pillar Abbey takes its name from the mountain. According to …

The Temple of Heavenly Pillar takes its name from Mount Heavenly Pillar. A biography says that there are eight pillars supporting the heavens, three of them in China: one in Shuzhou and two in Shouyang. Mount Heavenly Pillar in Yuhang is also among them. Daoist scriptures further say that between Heaven and Earth lie ten Great Grotto-Heavens and thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, arranged in layers of subordination like the frontier commands, prefectures, and counties of a state. Each Grotto-Heaven has its own essence of sun and moon, its halls of gold and chambers of jade, and its immortal officials, who oversee affairs and investigate signs of calamity and good or ill fortune. Mount Heavenly Pillar is the Great Cleansing Grotto-Heaven described in the Zhengao. A tunnel in the mountain secretly leads to Huayang and Linwu. Immortals ride the wind and travel on beams of light, appearing and vanishing in an instant. Their hidden paths are impossible to fathom, and beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

South of the great river lie the lands of Wu and Yue. The peaks of Mount Heavenly Pillar extend westward to Longyuan, whose two ridges resemble the eyes of Heaven, then join the misty slopes of Stone Mirror Mountain. To the east, the mountain rests against the broad waterways of the Zhejiang. The waters are clear and the mountains beautiful; waterways lead to the sea and allow travel to many lands. Place names here also include East Tianmu, West Tianmu, and Tianzhu. Perhaps they were given the word “Heaven” because their peaks rise so high they seem to reach the sky and pierce the clouds, marking their extraordinary character.

From the heights, one can see layer upon layer of peaks and ravines, gleaming like gold and jade. The mountains coil like a crouching dragon or a resting tiger. The numinous vitality of the landscape gathers here, giving rise in every generation to remarkable people. If such outstanding figures were not formed by the landscape’s concentrated spirit, where could they have come from? Mount Heavenly Pillar is especially blessed with clear air and a gentle climate, fertile soil, and pure springs. It is said that divine serpents do not harm people here, and even fierce beasts can be tamed.

Emperor Wu of Han was deeply devoted to the arts of immortality. He praised the sacred traces of this place and had an altar built at the entrance to the grotto. Prayers for blessings and rituals to avert calamity were performed here throughout the dynasties. During the Eastern Jin, Master Guo Wenju attained the Dao and lived in seclusion on the mountain. Tigers came to him and became tame; the histories record this. Beside his thatched hut, he also planted three pines with his own hands. Their branches and trunks arched like a rainbow and rose like the heads of phoenixes, remaining green for a thousand years. The pines before the hall today are said to be those very trees.

In the Tang dynasty, the imperial house honored the Emperor of Primordial Mystery, Laozi, as its ancestor, esteeming Daoism and promoting the Dao. During Emperor Ruizong’s reign, Master Pan expounded the true meaning of Daoism and sought out sacred places. In the first year of the Hongdao era, he was ordered to establish the Temple of Heavenly Pillar. A thousand paces around it were designated as protected land, where cutting firewood and felling trees were forbidden, preserving the mountain forests as a forest of longevity. During Emperor Zhongzong’s reign, the court granted the temple an estate to provide incense and lamp oil. Thus the temple’s terraces and halls seemed built without human effort, and its corridors, pillars, and railings seemed to have arisen naturally. Its star altar and moonlit steps were modest in scale, yet complete in form.

Many people came to live in seclusion and cultivate the Dao here. Some wore coarse cloth; others sat leaning against paulownia trees, savoring a life as pure as spring water and quietly practicing beneath the shade of green vines. Celestial Masters (Tianshi) such as Ye Fashan, Zhu Junxu, Wu Yun, Qi Wu, Sima Chengzhen, and Xiahou Ziyun lived on the mountain in succession. They were widely renowned: they had left seclusion to assist emperors and were also famous for cultivating immortality and transmitting the Dao. Their deeds are clearly recorded, so I will not recount them one by one. The mountain also has such features as three springs converging, two rocks like a gateway, a medicinal herb garden, a new pond, an ancient altar, and a library. Each has its own inscription or poem, adding to the splendor of the place.

The author, Qian Liu, says that he was appointed to govern a frontier command and oversee the region of Min and Yue. Though he held a high position, he often thought of this renowned mountain, so close to his native place, and had always revered Daoism and known its history. The Temple of Heavenly Pillar originally faced south. Later, Master Zhu examined the terrain and turned it to face north. Although this followed the mountain’s contours, the grotto entrance sat askew, and its orientation did not accord with the layout of a Daoist temple. The ridges to the left and right were also out of harmony with the terrain; the entrance turned its back on the route by which the gods arrived, while the clear spring flowed toward the White Tiger quarter. The author believes these factors caused the temple to fall into decline and made it difficult to retain worthy people. One contributing cause, he says, was that the principal hall stood with its back to the water and was struck by the current.

In the second year of the Qianning era, Qian Liu visited mountains and grottoes throughout the region. He wished to repay the benevolence of emperors throughout the dynasties and to establish a place where soldiers and people could pray for blessings. While conducting Zhaijiao (purification rituals involving altars and scripture recitation to pray for blessings and avert calamity), he examined the terrain and found that the site of the main hall lacked the conditions for prosperity. The Daoists lived in hardship and could barely maintain the daily offering of incense; they could not properly conduct ritual services throughout the year. He therefore submitted a memorial to the court, asking that the Shangqing Daoist Lüqiu Fangyuan and more than thirty other Daoists be put in charge of the temple. Each year, they were to perform Daoist rites for the state in spring and autumn and at the four seasonal transitions. Qian Liu himself would fund the construction of the halls and the relocation of the site.

The mountain has three peaks, two rounded rises like breasts, and traces of Master Xu Mai’s alchemical practice. The group leveled the low ground and filled in the hollows, then reoriented the temple toward Jia—the most auspicious direction according to the system of the Five Tones—and enlarged the rounded rises so they would form a screen before the main hall. Within a year or two of the relocation, the temple’s presiding master was twice favored by the court, Daoist affairs flourished, and everything needed for the resident community was provided. It seemed that blue oxen and white deer could rest beneath the shade of jade trees, while the processions of the immortals repeatedly appeared above the star altar. The author believes that the temple’s Daoist tradition was revived because it had been relocated in accord with the mountain’s contours.

Later, Qian Liu submitted another memorial recommending Lüqiu Fangyuan for his virtue in the Dao. The emperor said that the tradition of the immortals had been handed down through the ages, its radiance enduring, and that he often journeyed in dreams through the realms of the immortals. Now, he wished to promote the teaching of Wuwei (non-action). Hearing of a man who had attained the Dao, he bestowed on Lüqiu Fangyuan the title “Master of Subtle Being” and granted him Daoist robes. Though cultivators of the Dao do not prize honors, it was fitting for the court to use them to recognize and encourage virtue. Another Daoist, Zheng Maozhang, was born in the Central Plains and had lived for a long time among famous mountains, where he had attuned himself to the mystery of the Dao. Carrying his books on his back, he came to the temple. He revered Lüqiu Fangyuan and stayed to assist him, together performing Zhaijiao at the Three Origins and the Eight Seasonal Festivals. Their prayers for blessings rose to the ancestral temples and extended down to the soldiers and people. Before long, Zheng Maozhang too was granted purple robes and cultivated the Dao here.

The main hall contains statues of the Celestial Worthy, the Perfected Ones, and the Two Lords of the Dragon and Tiger, with a full retinue of attendant deities. The temple also built a new Shangqing Hall for Focused Contemplation, where people could pay homage to the true gods, recite scriptures, and cultivate the Dao. Halls and kitchens were built, along with spaces for keeping ritual vessels and hanging bells and chimes. The gateways, corridors, rooms, and steps were all renovated. The mountain wind often swept through the courtyard, its sound passing through the windows. Qian Liu also inscribed the temple’s signboard himself, marking the achievement of this construction. He says he did so not to show off his calligraphy, but to preserve his intentions for a long time to come. Master of Subtle Being Lüqiu Fangyuan is a man of outstanding virtue, rare as a lingzhi mushroom and graceful as a white crane. He practices with devotion morning and evening and strictly observes the rules and precepts of the liturgy. He is an example to the immortals and a support of Daoism.

Lüqiu Fangyuan was born at Mount Heavenly Pillar in Shuzhou. He was determined to travel among famous mountains, climbing to their heights without weariness. That he came from Mount Heavenly Pillar and later practiced there is, on closer examination, no coincidence. The renovation of this temple was likewise undertaken together with the Daoist community to seek out and open up a sacred realm. The Dao is everywhere, and every age has its cultivators. From the beginning of construction to its completion, the temple was renovated in keeping with the immortal realm’s splendid landscape, to promote the tradition of the sacred ancestors. When the work was finished, images were made and sent to the court.

On the twenty-seventh day of the eleventh month in the second year of the Guanghua era, an imperial edict replied to Qian Liu: “We have received your presentation of the drawings of the renovated Temple of Heavenly Pillar. The state inherits the blessings of the immortal Dao and journeys in spirit through the realms of the Dao; sacred sites are numerous throughout the land. Yet years of warfare have left the foundations of many temples in ruins, and remote, secluded places are especially difficult to repair in time. You examined local maps and gazetteers and learned that emperors of past dynasties had all revered this place. You therefore went in person to inspect the splendid site, rebuilt the dwelling of the immortals, and selected devoted Daoists to perform the rites with reverence. You hope thereby to receive the protection of the mysterious Dao and help the state prosper. This shows not only your care for Daoist institutions but also your loyalty to the ruler. We have read your memorial several times and are deeply pleased. As winter’s chill sets in, may you remain safe and well. This letter conveys our reply; we will say no more.”

The landscape gives rise to spiritual vitality, and Heaven opens grotto palaces. Even before the Three Sovereigns, there was more than one Perfected Sage. Riding on emptiness and traveling upon light, they moved between existence and nonexistence. Though they occasionally appear in accounts, their names cannot be traced. Each ruled a grotto, and the Great Cleansing Grotto-Heaven was one of them. From the Jin and Han dynasties through the Tang, cultivators of the Dao came to the Temple of Heavenly Pillar one after another, following the path of quiet practice laid by their predecessors. When the realm was at peace, people could experience here a state of clarity and mystery. Now the immortal palace rises high, and those of great attainment gather here. Bells and chimes sound throughout the six periods of the day, and the Zhaijiao rites of the eight seasonal festivals are never omitted. In this way, they protect the good fortune of the state and shelter the people of both prefectures.

At the time, Qian Liu governed the mountains and rivers of Wu and Yue and held a distinguished office. He reverently served the ancestral temples and altars of the state, and looked after the soldiers and people below. In both he honored the spirits and followed the Great Dao. The age was blessed with a wise ruler, and the four seas were united in allegiance. Qian Liu was fortunate to receive the charge to govern the southeast, to be granted the title of meritorious official and a golden certificate, and to return home in glory as commander of the military and civil affairs of the two circuits. All this was due to the ruler’s favor and also to the protection of the orthodox Daoist teachings. The Most Holy Emperor of Primordial Mystery deserves reverence, and the true scriptures of the Great Dao teach Wuwei (non-action). Qian Liu therefore had these matters carved into a stone stele, to leave them for worthy people of later generations. This account was written on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the third year of the Guanghua era.

The achievements of “suppressing disorder and bringing peace to the state” are attributed to the Most Sagely One, Xuanyuan (Laozi, revered in Daoism). Reverence for the sacred Dao brings blessings. The true standard of the Great Dao is to teach people through the way of Wuwei (non-action). To preserve these teachings for posterity, they were specially carved into enduring stone, for worthy people of later generations to read. This inscription was written on the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the third year of the Guanghua era.

The author of the inscription was Qian Liu, whose titles and offices included: meritorious minister for suppressing disorder and securing the state; military governor of the Zhenhai and Zhendong armies; regional surveillance commissioner for the eastern and western circuits of Zhejiang, also in charge of agricultural colonies, punitive campaigns, and pacification; concurrently commissioner for salt and iron administration and transport in the Two Zhejiang circuits; holder of the rank of Kaifu Yitong Sansi; acting Grand Preceptor and concurrently Secretariat Director; bearer of the imperial tally and commander of military affairs in Hangzhou, Yuezhou, and other prefectures; concurrently prefect of Hangzhou and Yuezhou; and holder of the titles Pillar of State and Prince of Pengcheng Commandery, with a fief of five thousand households, of which two hundred were granted as an actual estate.

This stele was erected at the Tiānzhù Temple.

The Grand Historian says that the great wilderness contains five thousand famous mountains. In the Central Plains, the Five Sacred Mountains stand guard, assisted by ten renowned peaks such as Luofu and Kuocang; the remaining famous mountains are too numerous to record one by one. Three mountains are known as “Pillars of Heaven”: Qianshan, Huoshan, and this mountain, Dadi. They bear this name because their roots plunge deep into the earth, their peaks uphold the framework of Heaven, and within them lie grotto abodes. They conceal not only precious gold and jade, but also dwellings prized by numinous immortals; they can raise clouds and bring rain, nourishing all things.

From the walls of Yuhang, follow the Yi Stream for ten li. Land on the south bank, pass the babbling waters, and enter the steep mountain range. After a thousand paces along a secluded, winding path, sheer cliffs suddenly lean into view, while the surrounding peaks embrace the land like the folds of a robe. Before long, a quiet Daoist temple appears. I asked people familiar with the place and consulted written accounts, and learned that the eminent Guo Wenju once lived here in seclusion, making the cloud-filled woods his home and staying for the rest of his life. His virtue transformed even other creatures: fierce beasts became tame. The Biographies of Recluses in the Book of Jin recounts his deeds in detail; here I give only a brief account.

After Master Guo withdrew from the world and ascended to immortality, people built a shrine in his honor. In the first year of the Hongdao era of the Tang dynasty (683), they expanded the site of his immortal traces and established the Temple of the Pillar of Heaven. Nearby are five connected grottoes, the most renowned of which is called “Great Cleansing.” The grotto extends far into darkness and cannot be explored to its depths. It is said to connect with the grotto-heavens of Linwu and Huayang, reaching all the way to the hidden palace of the Great Emperor.

There are three sources of water here: two slender streams and one deep pool. Though their origins differ, they join together, and their flow remains unchanged in drought or flood. Together they form winding ponds that reflect the halls and houses. In summer the water is cool, and the sand and pebbles on the bottom are clearly visible; in winter it is warm, with duckweed floating on the surface. One may wash and drink from the springs, or rest in peace with an arm bent beneath the head for a pillow—there is pleasure in such simple things. The local soil is not muddy, and the winds are not fierce, so residents enjoy calm spirits and long lives. The mountain paths wind through deep, quiet places; the surroundings are serene and gentle. Tigers do not harm people, nor do snakes—how much less, then, would people harm one another?

In the early years of the Zhenguan era, a Master Xu Mai, versed in the Dao, came here to cultivate in seclusion. Though repeatedly summoned, he refused to enter official service. Later, the Daoists Zhang Zheng, Ye Fashan, Zhu Junxu, Sima Ziwei, Ji Qiwu, and Xiahou Ziyun were also eminent figures within the Daoist tradition. Some visited the place; others lived here for a long time, unwilling to leave even after the year had run its course.

During the Baoying era, monks and Daoists gathered from across the land. Warfare burned the cities, leaving the houses in ruins, yet this place alone survived. Without the protection of spirits, how could this have happened? The prefect Xiangli Zao and the county magistrate Fan Xi governed well. Their teaching spread and public affairs were orderly; they ruled without harsh measures. Displaced people, drawn by their reputation, came in search of refuge and restored their former livelihoods.

I, Wu Yun, and the hermit Li Xuanqing both love this peaceful place. Since we have made our home here, where else could we go? I worry that gentlemen of later generations may not know the story of this place, so I have recorded it and had it carved on solid stone as a marker. This text was written by Wu Yun, a Daoist of Mount Zhongyue, on the fifteenth day of the first month of the thirteenth year of the Dali era (778).

When one encounters a kindred spirit who knows how to appreciate and make good use of something, this is true not only of people, but of things as well.

At first, the kitchen compound used the surplus water seeping from an old pond to supply the hall. The water flowed only a few steps before reaching the eaves, and there was just enough for cooking and washing utensils. Later, Fan Xi of Shunyang became the local governor. Though he lived among the crowds, his heart longed for lofty, tranquil places, and he often used his days off to seek the Dao in the mountains and forests. Seeing that a naturally formed pond had been dug into a drainage channel, he ordered the Daoist priests to enlarge it according to his wishes. They excavated around the buildings, lined the banks with stone, and then filled the pond and made it deeper. Its waters lay still and clear, while the cool beauty of autumn spread across the courtyard. From then on, the cooks no longer had to labor to fetch water for washing, and those who carried water no longer had to toil drawing it up. Without cumbersome equipment or labor, the daily supply became more abundant. Lord Fan was indeed a kindred spirit to this new pond.

A quiet heart makes the Dao-heart pure and deep; a serene setting makes the spirit flourish. Together with Celestial Master Hao, I seek the true Dao. Morning and evening, we gaze at the pond in the cavern dwelling, its waters clear and bright, as if washing the heart and gallbladder clean; our dullness and scattered thoughts dissolve with them. When things accord with the heart, one can be content without climbing the Gusu Terrace or gazing out over the Five Lakes. So, in the space left on the stele, I have engraved this account in stone, as a poet might sing of the Mi Spring.

On the first day of the eighth month in the fifth year of the Dali era, in the year of the Intercalary Mao, recorded by the recluse Li Xuanqing.

The enlightened Son of Heaven holds the Mandate of Heaven and governs the realm, revering Heaven and cherishing the people. Whenever rainfall or drought departs even slightly from its proper course, he goes to various places to offer sacrifices and prayers. Wherever he goes, he often succeeds in communing with the spirits. Among the places where spirits have quietly manifested their power and left their deeds, Dadi Mountain in Hangzhou is foremost. The mountain is counted among the thirty-four Grotto-Heavens and is a blessed sanctuary beneath a pillar of Heaven. It lies about three she—an ancient unit of distance—from the temporary capital, and the court has respectfully offered sacrifices there for many years. Its palace and temple buildings are imposing, but it lacked one thing: a great bell. An envoy therefore reported this to the court. The Son of Heaven considered how best to express his reverence and make the spirits’ power manifest, then issued an edict to cast a bell on a dinghai day in a certain month of the jichou year of the Shaoding era. It was completed on a jiwei day in mid-autumn.

Some mountains and rivers stretch far; others rise steeply. Clouds gather and disperse in turn, and through them the spirits carry out the work of creation and bestow their blessings. The bell tower’s upturned eaves reach into the sky, while the bell’s mighty sound rises to the clouds. Through it, the Son of Heaven protects the celebrated mountain and proclaims his great achievements. The spirits have rendered manifest service, and the Son of Heaven has repaid them with fitting ceremony. How could such a splendid event go unrecorded?

The records tell that during the Dali era of the Tang dynasty there was once a wondrous and efficacious bell at Huangyan in Taizhou. After praying for rain, local people would give thanks for the spirits’ grace and often use the bell to divine whether the weather would be clear or rainy. Later, after years of war, fire destroyed the bell tower, and the bell’s sound was no longer as it had been. During the Kaixi era, the frontier commander Bi Zaiyu came upon an old bell from the Jingling Palace in the Huai and Si region. The fiscal commissioner Huang Luo then petitioned to have it sent to Dadi Mountain, but the plan ultimately came to nothing. Objects wear out with use, and when decline reaches its limit, renewal is in order. Yet replacing the old with the new must await the right moment and the proper alignment of fate.

After the Son of Heaven’s command was issued, the court allocated funds from its inner treasury and selected highly skilled artisans. It also granted ordination certificates—Daoist documents that could serve as a means of raising funds—to help cover the costs, and melted down various precious metals to improve the bell’s material. Everyone worked together, and this great vessel was completed in a single casting. Its form was neither ostentatious nor crude, and its thickness was just right. Its tone was clear and resonant, neither dull nor muffled. Once the bell was finished, the bell tower was enlarged as well; perhaps the moment had come into accord with the times.

The close attendant Liu Shiheng was commissioned to oversee the work. He arranged everything properly and served with diligence, even preparing an illustration to present to the emperor. Hearing the report, the emperor was delighted and praised the undertaking as grand and auspicious. The Son of Heaven’s generous treatment of this celebrated mountain equals the kindness shown by earlier emperors, who granted it land and visited in person; it is worthy of enduring transmission.

That which transcends form is called the Dao (the Way); that which has form and substance is called a vessel. The bell is a vessel, yet the Dao is also embodied within it. If the bell’s sound can long spread the Great Dao, it can dispel turmoil and preserve purity and harmony, bringing clarity to the heart and stillness to the world outside. When cultivation and accumulation reach great depth, one may enter the secluded mountain paths of Huayang, accompany immortals on a visit to the Moon Palace, subdue fierce beasts before the cliffs, and store the Golden Elixir beneath a bamboo vessel. Then auspicious signs appear in the mountains and rivers, and the spirits send down favorable omens: phoenixes call from high ridges, dragons shed their traces and vanish into hidden caverns, clear springs well up from wells, and auspicious light illumines the sky. They say that places of spiritual power produce outstanding people. Could such things have existed only in ancient times and not today?

If one clears the spirit and reduces desire, understands the Dao, cultivates the true, and nurtures one’s nature, then good people will steadily increase and auspicious events will come of themselves. When needed, one may pray for rain or for clear skies. This is how to fulfill the present dynasty’s devotion to the spirits. As for hearing the bell ring each morning and evening as an expression of gratitude for divine grace, praying for the emperor’s long life and the realm’s security, and wishing that they endure alongside the Grotto-Heavens and blessed sanctuaries, there is no need to say more.

Cao Shuyuan wrote “Record of the Hall for Expounding the Teaching.”

When Pangu opened Heaven and formed Earth, Heaven took shape first, and Earth settled afterward. Three pillars supported the vault of Heaven, standing at the farthest reaches of the eight directions. We may set aside for now the one north of Mount Buzhou. Only east of Mount Ji and south of Mount Hang did the Qi of Heaven and Earth gather in gentle abundance, where two pillars rose high. Because they reached upward to the Palace of Taiwei, the celestial palace where the Celestial Emperor dwells, they were called “Cavern Heavens.” Because they held within them the sun, moon, and stars—the Three Luminaries—and the three fundamental kinds of Qi, they were called “Heavenly Pillars.”

The Daoist school delights in speaking of Heaven and the Celestial Emperor, but does not place Earth alongside Heaven as an equal. This is because the power that sustains and governs the myriad things is in Heaven, while Earth merely bears them. Dongxiao Palace was once called the Temple of the Heavenly Pillars; the Hall for Expounding the Teaching, beneath those pillars, is where the Dao lineage is received and De is taught.

In the past, the Hall for Expounding the Teaching stood before a great gate. People outside said that spirits had brought the hall into being through transformation, and that it was unlike any house built with human skill—something truly difficult to explain. Later, it was destroyed in the fires of war and rebuilt near the main hall. Repairs began during the Shaoxing era, the buildings were expanded in the Kaixi era, and the terrace was raised in the Duanping era. The hall within was spacious and bright, its pillars broad and well spaced. Painted roof ridges curved around the beams like a pair of rainbows, while sloping rafters supported the eaves. Behind the hall, rocks were piled to form the Gathering Immortals Pavilion. Climbing the railings on either side led to the Abbot’s Quarters. The grand hall was broad in aspect, truly suited to discussing the Dao of primordial unity and passing judgment on ancient sage rulers such as the Yellow Emperor and Emperor Shun.

Our Emperor Gaozong once wrote out the Scripture for Deliverance from Tribulations by Hand, to protect this pure and sacred sanctuary. Emperor Xiaozong composed a poem, “Pines by an Ancient Stream,” honoring the Dao of long life and immortality. Emperor Ningzong inscribed a plaque, and the Empress Dowager bestowed funds. Now the sovereign has also ordered Master Chongmiao Daming to oversee and direct the work. Such was the splendor with which sage rulers through the ages cultivated the Dao and honored its teaching.

The Hall for Expounding the Teaching had only just been completed when Daming died. His disciples Chudao, the Palace Supervisor Danian, and Daqin carried on their master’s intentions. They set down the history of the undertaking and asked Hao Yong of Tongchuan to write this record. Hao Yong said:

Do you know how this hall is related to the “teaching”? Did the teaching come first, and the hall get built afterward? Or did the hall come first, and the teaching follow? When the buildings fell into disrepair in the past, did the teaching decline along with them? Now that the buildings have been rebuilt, has the teaching become new as well?

Let me tell you: halls are built and destroyed, but the teaching of Daoism has no old or new. The Immortals and sages value only the teaching. Sages teach through their own conduct, while perfected beings perceive through spiritual communion. Sages make their bodies the teaching, so they do not become attached to the outward splendor of the Dao. Perfected beings perceive through the spirit, so they do not pursue the surface meaning of words.

People now build a palace a mu in size or construct a dwelling bounded by walls on four sides. They labor to cut timber, lay thatch, and plaster the walls, making the house neat and beautiful for the sake of its outward appearance. Yet the human body itself has inner palaces: the heart is the Crimson Palace, the spleen the Yellow Chamber, the lungs the Bright Court; the face has the Red House, the ears have three gates, and the throat has twelve towers. Between the eyebrows are the Purple Gate and Green Chamber, and the seven openings each have a gate of gold and a key of jade. These are the halls within each person, yet people often fail to notice them.

Some take the Three Caverns and Twelve Sections—the classification of Daoist scriptures—as the foundation of the teaching, and the more than five thousand volumes of Daoist writings as the pivot of the Dao. They believe that wondrous principles revolve on the tongue and move within the body and mind. They therefore call oral instruction “expounding the wondrous teaching,” and what is heard by the ear “realizing the truth.” Yet ever since this mountain took shape, the Qi of Yin and Yang has alternately soaked the world; day and night have taken turns, the sun and moon have moved in their courses, and clouds and thunder have stirred one another. Violent winds and torrential rains suddenly disperse into emptiness; clouds, mist, and rosy hues return again to simplicity. When birds call, the mountain forest grows still; within movement there is its own quiet. Dragons move and clouds rise, mist coils around them; in stillness, too, there is response. The transformations of the myriad things give rise to the four seasons, and forms turn and flow into all manner of things. This power that governs without imposing rule, this wondrous force without form or image, is the teaching of nature itself. People simply have not understood it.

Chudao said, “If what you say is true, then have the halls of the hundreds of sages, from ancient times until today, all fallen into ruin?”

Hao Yong replied, “Let me explain further. Laozi’s teaching takes stillness and open clarity as its foundation, and puts compassion, frugality, loyalty, and filial devotion into practice. Its Wuwei (non-action) does not mean doing nothing; it means following the grain of things, so that nothing is left undone. This comes close to the meaning of the Book of Changes. It advocates not contending, so that no one can contend with it; this comes close to the strategy taught in the Book of Documents. The ‘Valley Spirit’ is akin to an open and receptive mind; the infant serves as an image of careful nurturing. Cultivating body and mind to prolong life comes close to praying Heaven to preserve life. The True Telling says that one’s nature is in accord with the Dao, because the substance of the Dao comes close to the harmony and balance described in the Doctrine of the Mean. Wangzi’s saying that the spirit of the One Qi is present within the body at midnight also comes close to the teachings of Mencius.

“As for the principles set out in the Huainanzi’s ‘Treatise on the Way’s Origin,’ they lead back to harmony and our inborn nature: a father does not grieve at the loss of his son, an elder brother does not weep when his younger brother dies, children are not left orphaned, women are not left widowed, the unborn young of animals are not slaughtered, and birds’ eggs are not destroyed. This is also the tradition of our Confucian school.”

Now that the Hall for Expounding the Teaching has been built, people of clear vision will surely discuss it. Will none of them look up toward the Great Dao and hope to see it with their own eyes? If one can savor the meaning of the teaching as one tastes honey, attune the mind as one tunes a string, and cleanse the spirit as one polishes a mirror; if one does good without seeking a name and studies without becoming complacent; and if even a pair of fine jades and a carriage drawn by four horses cannot change one’s resolve to advance in the Great Dao, then sages and perfected beings are within oneself, and need not be sought from others.

May the disciples, radiant as rosy clouds, study the principles deeply; may those who follow, light as clouds, bring clarity to their minds.

Recorded on the sixteenth day of the seventh month in the third year of Chunyou by Hao Yong, Academician of the Baizhang Pavilion and Court Gentleman for Court Audiences, Superintendent of the Jade Vastness Palace of the Longevity of the Myriad Years in Longxing Prefecture, Founding Viscount of Zhongjiang County, with a fief of six hundred households, and bearer of the Purple-Gold Fish-Bag.

I once climbed Mount Pingdu and visited places where Master Lianxi, Zhou Dunyi, the Northern Song thinker, had traveled. Among scattered steles, I found a small fragment inscribed with two quatrains by Master Zhou. The characters were strong and upright, still conveying his warm yet stern bearing. He had written them while serving as an official in Heyang. One of the poems sings of the Yin Immortal’s Elixir Formula, a set of verses about Yin-Yang transformation and the practice of alchemy:

“When I first read the Elixir Formula, I found it mysterious and hard to understand. Only later did I believe that it revealed how Yin and Yang bring about transformation on Mount Pingdu. A child is formed within its mother; when their spirits unite, one can then go on to grasp the subtle workings.”

I also obtained an Elixir Formula from someone in the mountains. For twenty years it stayed with me, often returning to my thoughts, and I never forgot it. My ancestors’ graves were in Yuhang, and I once lived in the mountains to tend them, visiting Dongxiao Palace, a Daoist temple, many times. There, reliable copies of the Daoist Canon were preserved, and I often borrowed them to read in my leisure. Only after reading them again and again did I understand the principle expressed in the Elixir Formula: Zhou Dunyi had summed it up in a single line.

At Dongxiao Palace I once met a Daoist named Dian Du, whose personal name was Daqin. He was from Yuhang and had been granted the title Lingyi. He built a small tower, neither luxurious nor plain, well suited to composing poetry and drinking wine. It rose high above the dusty world. When I visited with some guests, he asked me to give it a name. Just then, the sun was rising above the high ridge, so I wrote “East Sun Tower” and gave it to him. The name came from a line in the Yin Immortal’s Elixir Formula.

More than ten years later, I could no longer recall the contents of that formula, though the meaning of Zhou Dunyi’s poem remained clear in my mind. Lingyi’s grandson Shouyi sent Rugui to visit me. He told me that Lingyi had died at the age of eighty-six, and asked me to explain what I had meant when I named the tower, so that his grandfather’s legacy might be honored.

I said: The Yang spirit of Qian, the first principle of Heaven, is the root of my life; the Yin essence of Kun, the first principle of Earth, is what enables me to be born. The primal source is one, yet it divides into the two forms of Yin and Yang, giving rise to distinctions of high and low, noble and humble. In terms of rank, Qian comes before Kun, so what is honored takes precedence. In terms of value, Yin comes before Yang, so what is precious comes afterward.

Once there is a before and an after, there can be union and estrangement, harmony and conflict. The myriad things cannot be made wholly equal. What is unequal separates; after separation, change follows. What protects and supports one another can unite, and in union gives rise to great harmony. The myriad things grow through harmony and perish through change. When human spirits unite as one, it is like the joining of the sun and moon. When the sun and moon unite, the primal source of Qian and Kun returns to oneness. This is the proper Way of Heaven and Earth, and the principle shared by all things.

The sages based their rites and music on this principle and put them into practice throughout the world. Rites depend on reciprocal exchange; music follows cycles of advance and retreat. This principle has always existed among people. Some understand only a small part of it; others grasp its full breadth, but it has never been lost. After the Zhou declined and the transmission of the Way waned, the texts of the ancient rites and music were held by the Keeper of the Archives, a title often associated with Laozi. Some people drew on this knowledge to preserve their own lives. Yet rites and music are means of realizing great harmony: they establish order between Heaven and Earth and benefit all things. They are not something an individual can claim as private property. To claim them for oneself is to make the Great Dao small. If one broadens one’s understanding and continually enriches it, one’s realm of insight can become vast.

A single thing comes to an end, but the myriad things have no end. One person’s life ends, while generations of people continue without cease. Why, then, cling to the distinction between oneself and others and claim the principle as one’s own? Though Lingyi’s life reached its end, if all within the four seas are regarded as equals, then everyone still living can be said to carry Lingyi onward. Seen this way, can he not endure alongside Heaven and Earth?

The clouds and mist on Mount Pingdu stretch far and wide, and few of the stone inscriptions remain. So I have had this account carved at Dongxiao Palace, in the hope that the thoughts left by the Confucian sages of old will not be buried and forgotten. Is that not a worthy thing to do?

Written in the second month of spring in the first year of Xianchun (1265), by Yang Dong of Meishan, Academician of the Zizheng Hall and Grand Master for Splendid Happiness.

In the early summer of the Xinmao year of the Shaoding era (1231), the court official Yang Yanzhan toured Mount Jiusu, exploring nearly all its secluded cliffs and ravines. On the twenty-first day, he came to Qizhen Cave and climbed the high terraces to its east and west. At the top of the cave was a place shaped like a canopy. While everyone was lighting it with torches, a divine light suddenly appeared on the eastern terrace, round like the full moon and half blue, half white. It rose to the canopy and stopped there. Its brightness outshone the torches, and only after a long while did it fade. Everyone present was astonished.

Yang turned to the Daoist priests accompanying him and asked, “What auspicious sign is this?” Wang Siming replied, “This happened more than two hundred and twenty years ago. During the Xiangfu era, when Emperor Zhenzong of the Song dynasty held Daoism in high esteem, the transport commissioner Chen Wenhui led officials to pray at Dadi Cave. A light like this appeared in the cave then, illuminating the mountains and forests. Chen Wenhui reported it to the court and received the emperor’s praise. It was also on that occasion that the Dongxiao Palace received its name and a plaque inscribed ‘Auspicious Light.’ It was a celebrated event of its time.

“Daoism flourishes just as much today as it did in the Xiangfu era. Yang is descended from meritorious officials and has served as a court official for many years. Can his reputation and virtue be any less than Chen Wenhui’s? The two manifestations of divine light each appeared in response to something; neither was accidental.”

Yang said with feeling, “Who am I to dare compare myself with Chen Wenhui? This auspicious sign simply happens to echo what took place in the past. Still, I dare not fail to repay the protection of the divine beings of this sacred mountain. So I donated money to purchase some fields, whose proceeds will help provide food for the vegetarian hall, in gratitude to the divine beings.”

Since Emperor Wu of Han ascended Mount Tianmu during the Yuanfeng era, how could the wondrous events revealed in every succeeding age have been few? I have had this event, which I witnessed with my own eyes and which is enough to move people in our time, carved into stone so that those who come later may have evidence of it and not forget Yang’s kindness. Yang’s personal name was Bocha and his courtesy name was Yanzhan; he was a grandson of Prince Wugong. He delighted in doing good and never took pride in his power or status. In character, he was no different from a Confucian scholar. A Daoist priest known as the Immortal of Bundled Terrace once composed this verse: “Permit me to seek the mystery; the full moon’s radiance appears throughout the great universe.” This account was recorded by Wang Siming, Master Elemental, a Daoist priest of this mountain, on the summer solstice of the fifth year of Shaoding.

Inscription for a plaque to be hung in the Preaching Hall, where Daoist teachings are expounded:

Dongxiao Palace, a Daoist temple, and Dadi Mountain receive the protection of the divine. Jade pendants chime against one another, golden bells ring, and the many gods gather. The summit of Tianzhu Peak pierces the blue sky; nine tiers of cloud gates rise one above another like a deep-green screen. Mist veils the peaks to the north and south, while cool breezes drift through the caves to the east and west. I have heard that Su Dongpo left behind his poems and calligraphy here. Come sit with me at the Green Dragon Pavilion and take in the view.

As guests enter the cave gate, they feel the mountain’s stillness, and see how spring vapors have nourished its stones. Deep, layered ridges stretch away in endless green; the ancient caves remain verdant. By the waterfall and spring, the wind stirs leaves like jade and brushes thousand-year-old grasses. Clouds rise beside the rocks, and dew nourishes ten-thousand-year-old sacred fungi. I will summon Wenqiu Xuantong and invite Sima Chengzheng; take Guo Wenju by the left hand and Xu Youyou by the right. We will climb to the Heavenly Altar, explore the stone chamber, enter the medicinal garden, pay our respects at the thatched hall, and ascend together to Laixian Cliff in search of the legendary boneless chopsticks. Ten thousand fir trees screen out the mortal world. Cold gathers along the secluded path, where green moss lies mottled.

This is where emperors offered sacrifices to the Thunder God and subdued him, and where the Dragon Gods held their inspections. Thus, when emperors toured the south, they respectfully performed incense rites here; the Purple Pavilion to the west was prepared as a place for ministers to rest. In former times, rites were performed with golden dragons and jade tablets; today, prayers written in blue and memorials written in vermilion are still presented to the gods. Emperors of every age have paid this place special attention, and the present ruler honors it all the more. Today the weather is fair and mild; white egrets rejoice, and the waters are warm and the flowers fragrant. The National Preceptor and the Ningguo Morning Attendant, Daoist officials who have come under imperial orders, personally received the charge…