《西岳华山志》

When ancient scholars refined divine elixirs, they always entered famous mountains and blessed lands, never ordinary small hills. Why? Ordinary small hills have no true deity presiding over them. They are mostly haunted by spirit-creatures born of trees and rocks, or by old beings that have lived a thousand years. These things gather baleful energy and have no thought of bringing benefit to people.

From my reading of the Shanjing (Mountain Classic), the famous mountains suited to calm, focused refining of divine elixirs are Mount Hua, Mount Tai, Mount Huo, Mount Heng, and Mount Song. Other famous mountains are scattered across the land, some in the central plains and some far beyond the territories of the feudal lords, too many to list one by one. Each of these mountains has true deities, and some shelter earthly immortals in seclusion and grow numinous mushrooms and immortal herbs. If a cultivator of the Dao (道) climbs such a mountain to practice, the mountain deity will help them, and the elixir they refine will surely succeed.

My home region, Jincheng (an ancient place name), stretches a thousand li in every direction and commands the area of the Three Rivers. Its mountains and rivers are beautiful, and Mount Taihua (that is, Mount Hua) stands here. Taihua is as steady as one of the Three Dukes in rank and shares renown with the Four Peaks. Mount Zhongnan and Mount Taibai stand back on either side, and Mount Shouyang and Mount Wangwu dare not contest its height. Looking west, one sees the sun just sinking into Meigu, the valley of dusk; looking east, one sees Fusang already bright with dawn. No mountain here rises higher, and only the sky stands above it. Mount Hua receives the primordial essential qi (气, Qi) of Taisu, and also takes in the clear, crisp qi of the West, the Virtue of Metal. It nurtures the myriad things and governs the western position of Dui.

Mount Hua is ranked among the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens and revered as a land of utmost perfection. It seems to hold the sun and moon within it and to breathe clouds in and out. The towers and terraces in the mountains seem born beyond the dusty world, and the scenery is no ordinary sight of the human realm. It is also counted among the Eighteen Water Residences: in Chexiang Valley lies a deep pool, whose underground channels run southeast to the rivers and seas. For this reason, sacrifices to Mount Hua are included among the regular state rites, in which people cast golden dragons into the water and present jade tablets.

As for the scenery of Mount Hua, the Immortal's Palm Peak rises high into the clouds, and the sun comes up over Azure Dragon Ridge. The surrounding peaks cluster around the main summit, and mist and cloud flow among the mountains like water. The green seems to cling to the robes of visitors and lingers long without fading. When the setting sun lights the peaks, Lotus Peak takes on a golden-jade radiance, neither red nor blue, endlessly splendid and beyond description. Pines yield amber that glows at night, and sweet springs well up from the ground, regarded as auspicious omens for the state.

Mount Hua is a fitting place for the Five Numinous Profound Elders to descend, and the Perfected One of Hangu once lived there in seclusion. Some, wearing star-crowns and feathered robes, rode the clouds to pay homage to emperors. Others, in jeweled carriages beneath feathered canopies, drove dragons to court at the Daluo Heaven. True sages and immortal spirits gather here, and so Mount Hua is also the capital of the immortals.

My friend Wang Ziyuan awakened to the principle early and held fast to the heart of the Dao. He stood alone in the world yet remained at peace. He often told people, "I wish to wander through the cloud-forests with a staff and raise a cup among the rosy ridges. I have cherished this wish for many years." Just after finishing his marriage arrangements, he gave up his household affairs and entered a famous mountain to refine the Golden Liquid (金液, which Daoism uses to refer to the art of alchemy). If not Mount Taihua, where else should he go? Everyone said, "He may go."

So Master Wang took out an old volume he had kept, the Huashan Ji (Record of Mount Hua). Worried that it was incomplete, he consulted the Tujing (Illustrated Gazetteer) of his home prefecture, Liu Xiang's Liexian Zhuan (Biographies of the Immortals), and other books that record Mount Hua. He gathered the relevant material, added it in, and arranged the sections in order so the structure would be clear. From the section on landscape, readers can see the mountain's peaks, caves, forests, valleys, rocks, ponds, wells, streams, and deep pools and springs. From the section on shrines, they can learn of the palaces, temples, elixir furnaces, and altars, the places where the divine manifests. The book also records the medicinal substances produced on Mount Hua, such as poria, calamus, asarum, and ziwu, all herbs chosen by the Yan Emperor. It also notes immortals such as Lord Pei of Qingxu, Lord Baiyang, and Huang Chuping, as well as sixteen perfected ones. All of them took part in the banquets of the Jade Emperor and had nothing to do with the dusty world.

Alas! The immortals' traces and sacred relics of Mount Hua are now largely complete, nearly all-encompassing. The whole book has only a little over seventy sections, so Master Wang had craftsmen carve printing blocks, hoping it would circulate widely. Is this merely a modest contribution? When the book was finished, he asked me to write a preface.

At first I declined, but then I grew glad of the task and said: "My talent does not match that of Qingyun, and I cannot write prose with the weight of a thousand jun. Still, I am glad to see Master Wang hold such an aspiration, for it is also mine. I too wish to enter a famous mountain and refine divine elixirs, though I do not know where to go. Since Master Wang has accomplished this, it fulfills my wish as well."

Whoever enters a famous mountain to refine divine elixirs must have something to rely on. The Shu (Book of Documents) says that when a shaman performs rites, spirits must attach to them, and when an image of a deity is set up, a spirit must preside over it. How much more so when one who refines immortal medicine enters a famous mountain: how could the true deities of the mountain fail to come and protect them? Seen in this light, the completion of the immortal elixir is only a matter of time.

Yet one should not think the matter easy, imagining that with the blue sky wide and white dragons carrying one, one can go at once to Xuanzhou, meet the host of immortals, soar above the Purple Empyrean, pay homage to Taiyi, listen to the music of Jun Heaven, and feast on the nine numinous mushrooms. As for other matters, it is not that I do not understand them. But the cryptic words of the heavens and the hollow numinous texts I will leave to discuss with Master Wang another day.

Written in the twelfth month, on the renshen day, of the guimao year of the Dading era, by Liu Dayong, styled Qizhi, of Niyang.

Heaven and Earth have the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the stars mark out the directions of the sky; the land is divided into the five regions of east, south, west, north, and center, and the great mountains guard their respective territories. When the qi (vital energy) of Yin-Yang circulates freely and in harmony, the myriad things are born from it; when the refined essences of Heaven and Earth respond to one another, the divine presences become manifest.

Mount Taihua in the west (that is, Mount Hua) stands in the position governed by the qi of lesser yin. Here the myriad things sprout and burst into bloom, and so it is called "Hua" (flowering). It lies in the western part of the Central Plain, at the due-west position among the seven palaces, and for this reason it is called the "Western Peak." On a map, Mount Hua appears sheer on all four sides, as though cut with a blade, and this is indeed so. When a measuring pole is set up to calculate its height, it reaches five thousand ren, which shows how lofty it is. Its rocky cliffs rise steep and upright, majestic and precipitous, and the surrounding mountains seem to rush toward it and cling to it.

The atmosphere of Mount Hua is solemn and clear, and its form is imposing. In terms of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), it belongs to Metal, and its corresponding hour and direction is You. Before the mountain lies the Valley of Huayang; behind it, the mountain looks down upon the commandery of Huayin. To its left it embraces the Taolin Pass, and to its right the land yields the jade of Lantian. At the foot of the mountain are found alchemists (fangshi) and Perfected Ones (zhenren), along with golden cauldrons and stone chambers; upon the mountain are legends of marvelous realms, with the Bright Star Jade Maiden, immortal herbs, and jade nectar.

Compiled by Wang Chuyi, the Recluse of Lotus Peak

Illustrated Gazetteer of Huazhou (Huazhou tujing)

The Zhaowenguan ji (Record of the Zhaowen Academy) states: Lotus Peak (Lianhua Feng) has three summits that soar into the clouds, as though joined to the sun, the moon, and the stars. Within the peak are twenty-eight stone pools, corresponding to the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions (the twenty-eight celestial sectors into which ancient astronomy divided the sky). The high ridges are covered with green pines and bamboo, and mist gathers to wrap around the deep, secluded hills. The original text is missing or garbled at this point, but it mentions that the mountain holds gold and jade and stores up wind and thunder. This is the detached palace of the Great Emperor, and also the grotto-dwelling of immortals.

The Fangyu zhi (Gazetteer of Regions) states: Mount Hua lies within Huayin County of Huazhou. According to the division of the Yugong (Tribute of Yu), Huazhou belonged to the territory of Yongzhou. King Xuan of Zhou enfeoffed his younger brother You at Xianlin and established the State of Zheng. In the eleventh year of Duke Wu of Qin, Zheng was reorganized as a county. Later, when the First Emperor of Qin divided the realm into thirty-six commanderies, Zheng County came under the Inner Historian; in the Han dynasty it fell under the Capital Region (Jingzhao). The Western Wei established Huazhou. Under the Sui it was successively attached to Jingzhao, and in the first year of Yining under Emperor Gong of Sui, it was called Huazhou. In the Tang, in the second year of Chuigong under Empress Wu, it was renamed Taizhou; during the Shenlong years of Emperor Zhongzong, the name Huazhou was restored. In the first year of Shangyuan under Emperor Suzong it was renamed Zhenguo Army, then renamed Taizhou the following year; in the first year of Baoying the name Huazhou was restored. In the fourth year of Qianyou under Emperor Zhaozong it became Xingde Prefecture, and in the second year of Guanghua the name Huazhou was restored once more. In the Song it was renamed Zhentong Army. Huayin was at various times called Huayin County, Taihua County, Jinyin County, Ningtai County, or Xianzhang (Immortal's Palm) County.

The text lists the following peaks and pools: Lotus Peak, the Pool of Gazing at Heaven (Yangtian Chi), the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Pool, the Taiyi Pool, the White Lotus Pool, the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions Pool, the Ten-Zhang Lotus, and the Jade Well.

The end of the original text says that ascending Lotus Peak requires a climb of forty li, and that the summit is lofty and sheer, reaching a height of five thousand (the original does not specify the unit of measure). The subsequent line, "上有明星玉为仙掌县," is incomplete, and its meaning cannot be determined with certainty.

Lotus Flower Peak (Lianhua Feng) stretches forty li from the foot of the mountain to its summit. The peak towers aloft, and tradition holds that it rises five thousand ren. On the mountain stand the separate lodge of the Jade Maiden of the Bright Star, the main hall of the Metal Heaven King, the Pool of the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, the Black Dragon Pool, the Jade Maiden's Hair-Washing Basin, the Calamus Pool, the Gazing-at-Heaven Pool, the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Pool, the Taiyi Pool, and the Supreme Spring (Taishang Spring). Nearby is also a jade well, in which, it is said, a thousand-petaled white lotus grows; whoever eats it will shed their mortal form and become an immortal.

An old poem reads: "On the summit of Mount Taihua there is a jade-well lotus; its blossoms rise ten zhang high, and its roots are as large as boats. It is white as frost and snow, and sweet as honey; eat a single petal, and deep-seated illness and grave sickness will be healed. I long to seek it out and would not fear the distance, but the cliff walls are steep and pathless, and impossible to climb. How might I obtain a long ladder, climb up to pick the lotus seeds, and then transplant them to the Seven Marshes, where they could spread and flourish?"

Taishang Mountain, Laojun Cave, Taishang Spring, Calamus Pool, and Laojun's Elixir-Refining Furnace

When Laozi saw the Zhou dynasty in decline, he journeyed west across the shifting sands and came to Hangu Pass. The Pass Warden, Yin Xi, observed that the sky had turned dark, and knew that a True Person (zhenren) was about to pass through; sure enough, he encountered Laozi. Laozi, too, perceived that Yin Xi was no ordinary man, and so wrote for him the two parts of a text that speak of the Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power). Afterward he lived in seclusion on Mount Hua.

The Records of the Zhaowen Academy states that Lotus Flower Peak is also called Taishang Mountain. Its four sides are sheer cliffs, as if cut with a blade, rising five thousand ren. Ranges encircle it, and three peaks stand soaring and upright. The summit is about ten li across, and neither birds nor beasts make their home there. On the southeastern peak of Lotus Flower Peak lies Laojun Cave, and not far to the north is the Taishang Spring. Beside the spring is Laojun's Calamus Pool, where the calamus leaves are thin as the ridge of a sword and the roots bear nine nodes to every inch. It is said that taking it strengthens the body and prolongs life.

On the northeastern peak of Canglong Ridge (Azure Dragon Ridge) stands Laojun's furnace for refining elixirs (dan). In the southwest corner of the summit there is a patch of wild ginger (xixin) of some three or four mu. Tradition says that after taking wild ginger, the body gives off a fragrance that can be smelled a hundred paces away. Ancient books record that this herb resembles silk cloth, and people today call it "Western Peak Cloth."

"Zixiang" (紫相) is a term listed on its own at the end of the original text, and the text provides no further explanation of it.

On the northeast peak at the summit of Mount Hua grows a plant called "Zixiang" (Purple Aspect), with emerald-green dew gathering between its leaves. On the fifth day of the fifth month each year, people collect the dew in oil pouches (bags used to hold oil). Those who consume it are said to be able to cultivate themselves into Earth Immortals.

The five seeds this plant bears resemble cloth, and these are what people today call "Western Peak cloth."

Zixiang (Purple Aspect)

On the northeast peak at the summit of Mount Hua grows Zixiang, with emerald-green dew gathering between its leaves. It is collected in oil pouches on the fifth day of the fifth month, and those who consume it are said to be able to cultivate themselves into Earth Immortals.

The Five-Needle Pine

On the southwest peak at the summit of Mount Hua stands the five-needle pine, its crown spreading flat like an upturned canopy. Green vines hang from the tree, reaching a hundred feet in length, while beneath it grows a human-shaped mei poria (fuling). Amber also forms on the tree: at night it glows and takes the shape of a lotus blossom, while by day it looks like an ox's eye. Those who consume it are said to be able to travel far and ascend in flight, and at night its light can be used to write by.

The Bright Star Jade Maiden, the Jade Maiden's Stone Horse, and the Jade Maiden's Hair-Washing Basins

The Shrine of the Bright Star Jade Maiden (a temple dedicated to the Bright Star Jade Maiden) stands on a tortoise-backed rock at the central peak of Mount Hua's summit. Within the shrine are the Jade Maiden's stone chamber, a sacred statue of the Jade Maiden, and a stone horse belonging to her. The stone horse is said to be remarkably numinous, and at night one can hear it neighing and chewing.

Recluses living on the summit often see the Jade Maiden. In front of the shrine are five stone basins, each filled with water, which is why they are called the "Jade Maiden's Hair-Washing Basins." The water is emerald green and crystal clear; it does not dry up in the morning, nor does it overflow when rain falls. The Shenwu Jing (Scripture of Divine Mist) says: "The Bright Star Jade Maiden holds the jade nectar, and those who consume it are enabled to attain Shen (spirit)."

The Jade Maiden's Window

The Jade Maiden's Window is located on the southern peak of Yuntai. There is a stone gate there; entering more than ten feet and looking straight up, one sees stone walls as clear as green jade. The water here does not dry up in the morning, nor does it overflow when rain falls. The Shenwu Jing says: "The Bright Star Jade Maiden holds the jade nectar, and those who consume it are enabled to attain Shen (spirit)."

Another account also speaks of a Jade Maiden's Window on the southern peak of Yuntai. There is a stone gate there, and after entering more than ten feet one comes upon a window-like stone cellar; looking out through it, one can see the Bright Star Jade Maiden's secondary lodge on the southern peak.

The Stone Tortoise Tread

The Jade Maiden's shrine on the stone tortoise stands upon an enormous rock shaped like a tortoise. The tortoise measures eight or nine paces across from east to west and more than twenty zhang from north to south, with both ends rising sheer like walls. In front of the tortoise is a crack-like stone stairway about five inches wide and fathomless in depth. If one throws an object into it, the sound can still be heard from below after the time it takes to eat a meal. It is said that this is the place where the ancients delivered documents to the Yuefu (the divine office governing the mountain).

Black Dragon Pool

The Black Dragon Pool (Heilongtan) lies atop the South Peak of Mount Hua, where one finds the Gazing-at-Heaven Pond and the Black Dragon Pool itself. When drought struck, the common people would pray here, and rain often followed. In the second year of the Chongning era under Emperor Huizong of the Song (1103), the court approved conferring the title "Marquis of Manifest Moisture" upon the deity of this place.

Dongxuan Stone Chamber

The Dongxuan (Three Caverns) Stone Chamber of the Western Peak lies on the northwest summit of Mount Hua, surrounded by sheer precipices on all sides. In the past, the Perfected Master of Pure Emptiness, Lord Pei, entered the chamber and devoted himself single-mindedly to contemplating the Dao (the Way), remaining there for twenty-three years. It is said that the Five Numinous Elders once descended here.

The chamber has a door on its eastern side and another on its western side. At the entrance, only one person can pass at a time; after turning sideways to enter, one finds the interior measures roughly five or six zhang across. The eastern door adjoins the clouds and mist above, while the western door looks down upon the earth below. Inside stands a stone statue three chi tall, wearing the "Crown of the Three Radiances Supporting the Dawn" (the name of a Daoist crown), its robes bearing folds like gauze and silk woven from nine colors. Beside the statue lie many ancient coins, pointed at several corners and pierced with holes, their faces inscribed with characters such as "Great Cloth" and "Great Seal Script."

The Calculation Ground and Reed-Flower Pond

The Calculation Ground lies atop Mount Hua. Kou Qianzhi, a Daoist of the Northern Wei, was well versed in the armillary sphere and skilled in astronomy and astrology, and he once worked out the cycles of the heavenly bodies and a system of calendrical reckoning. His calculations, however, went astray. Later, the Perfected Master Chenggong Xing feigned madness and came here disguised as a merchant; only after he disturbed Kou Qianzhi's counting rods did the results agree with reality.

Kou Qianzhi was filled with remorse because of this. He withdrew alone into the mountain forests, and later departed in the company of the Perfected Master Chenggong Xing, leaving behind his remaining counting rods. Tradition holds that these rods turned into water chestnuts and reeds, which is why the place is now called the Reed-Flower Pond.

Dusk Stone

In the original text, only the title "Dusk Stone" appears, with no accompanying body text.

The "Evening Stone" (Mushi) stands on a solitary peak at the southeastern corner of the summit. Seen from a distance, the rock resembles a square, side-by-side seat, and it does indeed look like a game board.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, a man suddenly appeared before the emperor one day. Dressed in a feathered robe and wearing a star-crowned cap, he descended from the sky in a cloud chariot drawn by white deer. Startled, the emperor asked who he was, and the man answered, "I am Wei Shuqing of the mountains." The emperor said, "If you are a man of the mountains, then you are my subject." No sooner had the words left his mouth than Wei Shuqing vanished. The emperor was deeply remorseful and promptly sent Liang Bo into the mountains to look for Wei Shuqing. Liang Bo did not find him, but met only his son, Wei Dushi.

The emperor asked Wei Dushi, "Where is your father?" Wei Dushi replied, "From his youth my father loved the way of the immortals. He gave up his family property and left, and he has been in Mount Hua for more than forty years." The emperor then sent Liang Bo and Wei Dushi to the summit of Mount Hua to search for him. There they saw Wei Shuqing playing a board game on a stone with several immortals, surrounded by dense purple mist, while a few attendant boys holding banners and tallies stood behind him.

From afar, Wei Dushi and the others bowed repeatedly to Wei Shuqing in deep reverence. Wei Shuqing asked, "Why have you come?" Wei Dushi replied, "The emperor regrets the hasty meeting of the other day, when he was unable to speak with you, Father." Wei Shuqing said, "That day I came at the command of Taishang (the Supreme One, a venerated Daoist deity), hoping to persuade the emperor not to pursue his insatiable desires or act perversely. But the emperor, proud of his high station and stubborn in his arrogance, instead wanted to make me his subject. Such a man is not worth speaking with, and so I left." He then warned Wei Dushi, "Whatever you do, never become a subject of the Han, and do not carry the emperor's messages again." Liang Bo and Wei Dushi bowed in farewell and returned to the capital.

This story appears in the Liexian zhuan (Biographies of Immortals).

Stone Immortal, Waterfall, Stone Immortal Cave, Zhaoyang Cave, Zhengyang Cave, Xixuan Cave, Water Curtain Cave (the names of Mount Hua scenic sites listed in the original).

The Stone Immortal (Shi Xianren) lies halfway up the northern side of Mount Hua. The Dengzhen yinjue (Secret Instructions for the Ascent to Perfection) records that the caves of Mount Hua run three hundred li deep. Within them stand jade terraces and jade chambers, where su-mao grass and fragrant groves grow, and the emerald springs hold rare substances such as stone marrow and gold essence (Jing). Seen from afar, the cave mouth measures more than ten feet across. The paths around it are so steep and perilous that almost no one can reach it, and from time to time strangely colored black clouds well up from within. Above the entrance is a red rock with blue-green stone beside it. Figures of immortals seem to be painted on the stone, complete with crowns and robes, and their forms, sizes, and heights resemble those of true persons (zhenren). For this reason the place is called the "Stone Immortal." Above it, a waterfall plunges more than three thousand zhang, so this immortal cave is also known as the "Water Curtain Cave." Mount Hua has four caves in all: the Zhaoyang Cave in the east, the Xixuan Cave in the west, the Zhengyang Cave in the south, and the Water Curtain Cave in the north.

The Crab's Abandoned Cavern

The Crab's Abandoned Cavern (Xie Yi Xue) lies on a peak to the northwest of Mount Hua's summit. The Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai jing) records that on Mount Hua there lives a winged beast with six feet and a serpent's body. Whenever it appears, a great drought falls upon the world.

The Palm of Juling and the Stone Moon of the Immortal's Palm

The half-wheel stone moon on the palm print of Juling's left hand lies on a peak to the northeast of Mount Hua's summit. The Dunjia kaishan tu (Diagram of Opening the Mountains by Dunjia) records that Juling realized the Dao of Primordial Mystery (Xuanyuan), was born together with primordial Qi, and was the teacher of Chaos and the ancestor of the Nine Primes. Emperor Wu of the Han once viewed the Immortal's Palm Stone there, and for that reason he built a special shrine to the divine Juling.

The summit of Mount Hua is where perfected immortals descend and where the divine immortals gather, and many strange manifestations appear there; only a few are mentioned here.

People have at times first smelled an extraordinary fragrance and then seen auspicious clouds. Sometimes they have seen a thousand chariots and ten thousand mounted attendants; sometimes jade maidens and golden youths, hundreds of boys with their hair in twin topknots, or a thousand Daoist priests in feathered robes. Sometimes they have seen pearl-adorned banners and golden parasols, red tallies and multicolored pennants. Others have seen figures riding dragons and tigers, and immortal guests traveling on phoenixes and luan birds. Still others have seen golden light spreading across the ground, flames shooting straight into the sky, purple mist rising, and auspicious clouds covering the mountaintop, or have heard golden bells ringing.

These manifestations occur in different places: sometimes on the highest peak, sometimes atop Immortal Palm Peak, sometimes gathered at Mount Sangong, and sometimes at the Western Mysterious Cave.

In the past, the Perfected One of Pure Emptiness, Lord Pei, lived in seclusion on a peak in the northwest of the Mount Hua summit. It is said that he once descended upon the Great Luo Peak at the center of the Five Numinous Mysterious Elders. The Queen Mother (Wangmu) also appeared many times: sometimes wearing yellow robes and a golden crown, riding in a precious palanquin drawn by a five-colored mottled dragon with nine heads. The palanquin was fitted with a feathered canopy, and golden youths, jade maidens, immortal officials, and generals and officers attended on either side, too numerous to count. Later, people built a shrine at the place where she appeared. During the Zhenguan era of the Tang dynasty, the Queen Mother Temple was built at the foot of the mountain.

West of Mount Hua there is a mountain called Luofu Mountain. In the fifth year of the Dali era of the Tang dynasty, the Three Officials, the Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, appeared here and also appeared in the dream of Emperor Daizong. Later, the court ordered the construction of the Three Officials Hall, which was renamed the Chengtian Temple during the Xianping era of the Song dynasty.

At the end of the original text there are also the two characters "Shenlin" (Divine Forest), which seem to be the title of the following section.

On Mount Hua, both on the summit and at the foot of the mountain, in its valleys and beside its temples and paths, any place where trees grow is called a "Spirit Forest" (shenlin). These woods may not be felled, and anyone who violates the ban will immediately meet with misfortune. In the southwest corner of Mount Hua lies a grove of pines and cypresses soaring into the clouds, where the Spirit of the Peak goes to roam and feast; it is called the "Black Mountain Forest." Many of those who sneak in to cut firewood meet with fire, or are devoured by tigers.

The Imperial Road

The Imperial Road lies north of Immortal's Palm Peak and is the path for climbing Mount Hua. Emperor Wu of the Han and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang both once traveled it, and so it came to be called the "Imperial Road." Stone sockets stand on both sides of the road, the remains of where railings were once set up; at that time the dangerous stretches were also draped with brocade to screen and protect them. Upon reaching the summit, one must cross the Azure Dragon ridge from the Imperial Road to arrive at the Skywell of Cloud-Facing Terrace. From the summit, the mountain path descends to Qingke Plain, about twenty li; from Qingke Plain out through the mouth of the valley is also twenty li.

Zhang Chao Valley

Zhang Chao Valley is where Zhang Kai (courtesy name Gongchao) of the Eastern Han built his thatched hut and lived. In those days, those who came to study under him were as numerous as a crowd at a marketplace. Zhang Kai could also work a technique that produced a mist five li square, and so people called him the "Zhang Chao Mist Market." He often rode a donkey from the valley out to the market, and at dusk would return carrying a wine flask and wine.

Shiyang City Valley of Immortals

Stone Sheep City (Shiyangcheng) lies to the west of Zhangchao Valley. It is the place where Huang Chuping and his elder brother Huang Chuqi attained the Dao (the Way) and became immortals, which is why the valley was originally called "Immortal Valley."

Huang Chuping was a native of Danxi. When he was young, his family sent him out to herd sheep, and he went away and did not return for a very long time. His elder brother, Huang Chuqi, searched for him for nearly forty years. Eventually, Huang Chuqi heard that there was a Daoist in the marketplace who could foretell a person's fortune and misfortune, and whose predictions were as accurate as those of a spirit. He asked the Daoist, "In the Taihua Mountains there is a young shepherd named Huang Chuping. Is he your younger brother?" The Daoist replied, "He is."

Huang Chuqi bowed in thanks and followed the Daoist into the valley, where he met his younger brother. The two were both joyful and sorrowful at their reunion. After they had talked, Huang Chuqi asked, "Where are the sheep?" Huang Chuping answered, "Just on the other side of the mountain." Huang Chuqi went to look, but saw only stones, and returned to tell his brother.

Huang Chuping then said to him, "Let us go and look together." He shouted at the stones, "Sheep, arise!" At once the white stones covering the mountainside turned into sheep, numbering in the tens of thousands. Huang Chuqi knocked his head to the ground and said, "My younger brother alone has attained the Dao and become an immortal. Can I learn this too?" Huang Chuping replied, "If you have the resolve, you can succeed in learning it." Huang Chuqi then left his wife and children and became his brother's disciple. In time, both brothers became immortals.

The place where Huang Chuping shouted at the stones is broad and open on all sides, and its shape resembles a city wall and fortress. For this reason, people today call it "Stone Sheep City."

Wenxian Valley was the place where the Perfected Lord Lü (Lü Zhenjun) lived in seclusion. After he arrived there, he changed his surname to Ji, took the personal name Dongming, and adopted the Dao (the Way) name Baozhenzi. He lived in Wenxian Valley beneath Lotus Peak on Mount Hua, where he built a hermitage and practiced cultivation for forty years, and no one recognized him.

On the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival in the bingzi year of the Shaoxing era, he said to his disciple Liu Yuzhi, "Old Man Zhang and Mother Li have long been waiting for me to ascend to the Mysterious Realm." He then composed a verse: "One mouth above, one mouth below; among the firm things of the world, there is one that holds water without leaking." After giving Liu Yuzhi his final instructions, he passed away peacefully. Liu Yuzhi laid his remains to rest in a stone chamber.

Several years later, the master's spirit appeared on the pagoda at Sizhou and inscribed a poem: "A literatus of Jizhou, transformed into a winged immortal on the Three Peaks." A few years after that, he visited Liu Yuzhi and wrote another poem: "Long ago I dwelt in this place, hiding my name for forty years. Among the travelers who come and go in the red dust, who has known me?" He also wrote: "For ten years I studied letters, and ten thousand volumes of poetry and books lie stored in my breast. Like duckweed I lodge wherever cloud and water carry me; I lived on Lotus Peak, yet no one knew me."

Afterward, Liu Yuzhi went looking for the place where the remains had been laid. He found the coffin empty, with only two "mouth" characters (口) left inside, which together form the character "Lü" (呂). Only then did everyone understand that the recluse had been the Perfected Lord Lü all along.

It is said that Lü Zhenjun attained the Dao during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang, and that five hundred years had passed by the time this account was recorded. During the Yuanfeng era, he inscribed a poem at the Zither Terrace: "I am a rustic from Mount Tiantai, and my dwelling lies south of the Stone Bridge. Father and son number only two mouths in all; when my son delights in singing, I delight in clapping my hands." He also wrote: "I, a rustic, roam the four seas; two flasks of frost-and-snow-like pure qi (Qi) are my spirit (Shen). When the essences of Kan and Li (terms of alchemy for Yin-Yang, water and fire, and the like) have gathered, the Dragon-and-Tiger elixir is complete, and the mercury circulates accordingly."

The stele bearing this poem still stands in Wenxian Valley. The place is now called Yugu Hermitage.

Niuxin Valley Mountain

Niuxin Valley (Niuxin Gu) was once the place where Yang Zhen lived in seclusion and taught as a young man. He lectured on the classics, and so many students came to study with him that the place was as crowded as a marketplace. The valley is full of pagoda trees, so it is also called "Yang Zhen's Pagoda Tree Market." Five-colored crows are often seen among the rocks. When snow lies on the mountain, traces of a Heavenly King can be seen: in the snow appears the figure of a Heavenly King in silver armor, riding a white horse.

Huangshen Valley

Huangshen Valley (Huangshen Gu) lies east of Mount Hua and is where the immortal Huang Luzi lived in seclusion. Huang Luzi was a man of the state of Chu, surnamed Ge, with the personal name Yue. He lived on this mountain and styled himself "Lord of the Western Peak." He was skilled at healing, and many people came from far away to seek his help; sometimes they had only to leave their names, and their illness would be cured. He could also restrain tigers and wolves so that they dared not move, and could keep flying birds from flying away. He once trained under Chisongzi, and even in his eighties he could lift a thousand jin and move fast enough to keep pace with a galloping horse. In times of great drought, he would summon the dragon from the pool and urge it to ascend to heaven and send down rain. Then one day, he rode away on a yellow dragon.

Horse-Hiding Valley and Horse-Hiding Cave

Horse-Hiding Valley (Cangma Gu) lies east of Mount Hua. Emperor Wu of the Han once sought immortals at the foot of Mount Hua and built the Palace of Gathering Spirits, the Hall of Preserved Immortals, and the Gate of Gazing at Immortals. It is said that a divine horse emerged from Mount Hua, and Emperor Wu ordered it to be kept in the stables, but before long it vanished. People searched everywhere and found it beneath a stone grotto in this valley, which is how the place came to be called "Horse-Hiding Valley" and "Horse-Hiding Cave" (Cangma Ku). Hoofprints can still be seen on the stones in the stream to the northeast.

Maonü Peak

Maonü Peak (Maonü Feng, "Hairy Woman Peak") lies west of Mount Hua. The Hairy Woman was named Yujiang and was a palace attendant of the First Emperor of Qin. Seeing that the Qin dynasty's fortunes were nearing their end, she carried her zither into Mount Hua and lived there in seclusion.

Mao Nü Peak (Maonü Feng) lies in the western part of Mount Hua. Mao Nü, whose name was Yu Jiang, was a woman of the palace of the First Emperor of Qin. Seeing that the Qin dynasty's fortunes were failing and the world was falling into turmoil, she carried her zither to Mount Hua and lived in seclusion on this peak. She ate pine needles and drank spring water, and her body gradually grew green hair, so people called her "Mao Nü" (the Hairy Woman). It is said that the sound of zither-playing can still be heard in her cave, and some Daoists have seen the cave itself. Below the peak stands the White Stone Temple, long since abandoned.

Yuntai Peak

Yuntai Peak (Cloud Terrace Peak) lies in the northeastern part of Mount Hua. Two summits rise steeply and abruptly here, surrounded on all sides by sheer, perilous cliffs; the top reaches into the clouds, while its base connects with the earth's veins. Solitary, lofty, and graceful, it resembles a terrace set among the clouds, and so it received the name "Yuntai."

Beneath the peak is a cave. In the past, a man entered it and followed the passage onward, emerging in the area of Fangshan. He said the journey felt as though he had passed beneath the bed of the Yellow River, and that he had heard the sound of flowing water.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou, the Daoist Jiao Daoguang lived alone on this peak. He did not eat grain, but cultivated himself by absorbing the Qi (vital energy) of clouds and mist, and three blue birds were often at his side, able to foretell events before they happened. Emperor Wu of Zhou came to the mountain in person and consulted him on the Dao (the Way) in the hall, and later had the Yuntai Temple (Yuntai Guan) built at the mouth of the valley. Afterward, his disciples, Hong Xian and others, saw Jiao Daoguang depart riding a creature resembling a qilin, and he never returned.

Trial Chiseled Cave

The Trial Chiseled Cave lies on the north side of Yuntai's northern peak, about a hundred feet high and so deep that its bottom cannot be seen. Beside the opening is a hard stone shaped like a chisel, its size and width seeming to match what had been cut from the cave. Tradition holds that this is the place where Master Xiyi shed his physical form and ascended as an immortal.

White Cloud Peak

White Cloud Peak (Baiyun Feng) lies in the northeastern part of Mount Hua. Princess Jinxian, the younger sister of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, once practiced cultivation here, and her place of practice was called the White Cloud Palace. Remains still found on the mountain include the Eight Immortals Cave, the Yue-Viewing Shed, the Upper and Lower Bamboo Gardens, the jujube tree, the chestnut grove, the flower garden, the herb plots, and the Dengdui (stepping mortar). On one side of White Cloud Peak is also the stone cave of Immortal Jiao.

White Sheep Peak

White Sheep Peak (Baiyang Feng) lies five li northwest of Mount Hua. Here the cliffs rise in bright, open tiers, while the cave chambers are deep and dimly lit. On each of the Three Origins, the Eight Festivals, and the various fast days, spirit lamps appear on the rock face, sometimes three and sometimes five.

Long ago a man lived in seclusion on this peak, and no one knew his name. He often rode a white sheep as he traveled through the human world. Later he ascended to immortality together with his disciple Jie Dan, and so he came to be called the Perfected One of the White Sheep. The Perfected One composed the Record of Mountain Prohibitions (Jinshan lu), and also created seventy fulu (talismans and registers) for subduing tigers, leopards, wolves, and bears, which have been handed down to the present.

Pine-and-Juniper Peak, Morning-Arrival Peak, Jade Pillar Peak, and Jade Beauty Peak

These four peaks are covered with green pines, junipers, and catalpa trees, and are often wreathed in clouds of unusual colors. The summits rise high and verdant, standing steep and solitary, rarely touched by human footsteps.

Jiao Gong Cliff

Jiao Gong Cliff lies to the southeast of Mount Hua. The Perfected One was surnamed Jiao, with the courtesy name Xiaolong, and came from Hedong. He often ate white stones, and sometimes shared them with those seated beside him; the stones tasted like taro. Later, his thatched hermitage was caught by a wildfire. People from a neighboring peak hurried over to look, and saw Master Jiao sitting upright in the midst of the flames. Only after the hermitage had burned to the ground did he slowly rise, and his clothes bore not a single mark of scorching.

Several years later, a heavy snow suddenly fell from the sky, and people could not find him. Then someone abruptly saw him walk out of the snow, wearing only a thin garment, his face ruddy, as though it were the height of summer. At times he appeared old, and at times like a young man, and even now there are people who say they have met him.

Shentu Cliff, Immortal Oil Gravel, and Zhaobi Cliff (Cliff of Avoiding the Imperial Summons)

Shentu Cliff (Cliff of Divine Earth) lies one hundred paces southeast of Yuntai. Jiao Daoguang devoted himself to cultivation, and, moved by a spiritual response, wished to build houses and corridors, but there was very little stone in that place.

The source text breaks off at this point; afterward it lists only the names "Shentu Cliff, Immortal Oil Gravel, and Zhaobi Cliff," with no accompanying description.

The Divine Earth Cliff (Shentu Yan) lies about a hundred paces southeast of Yuntai Peak. When Jiao Daoguang was single-mindedly cultivating the Dao (the Way), divine earth welled up out of the rock. He wished to build houses and corridors here, and each time the earth was used up, it grew back again. It is still so to this day.

The Immortal Oil Gravel (Xianyou Qi) lies within the rock face of Yuntai Peak. Whenever Jiao Daoguang held a Zhaijiao (purification ritual, a Daoist rite of sacrifice and prayer), oil would fall from the sky onto this stony ground. After Daoguang rode a qilin and ascended as an immortal, oil never appeared here again.

The Cliff of Evading Summons (Bizhao Yan) is southwest of Mount Hua. In ancient times, certain recluses who shunned the world hid here to escape being summoned into service by the imperial court.

White Deer Niche

The White Deer Niche lies east of Mount Hua, on the right side of the mountain path. It was established by the immortal Lu Nüsheng. A flying spring drips and flows beside it. Lu Nüsheng was an immortal of ancient times who attained the Dao on Mount Hua. She lived on the mountain for two hundred years and later vanished, no one knew where. Afterward, someone met her in front of the Temple of the Peak. She was riding a white deer, attended by ten Jade Maidens. She bade the person farewell and departed.

Taiji Zongxian Cave (Cave of the Gathered Immortals of the Supreme Ultimate)

The Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Zongxian Cave lies in the rock wall on the western side of Maonü Peak. There is a cave in the rock face called the Taiji Zongxian Cave, and beneath it lies the Carriage-Box Pool (Chexiang Tan).

The Three Caves of Wang and Diao

The Wang-Diao Triple Cavern lies east of Mount Hua. The immortal Wang Yao, styled Boliao, was a native of Poyang. He had a wife but no children, and he was a skilled healer; none of those he treated failed to recover. He held no sacrifices and used no talismanic water, acupuncture, or medicines. When someone was afflicted by a malevolent spirit, he would draw the shape of a prison on the ground and strike a stone to summon the spirit. The creatures causing the trouble would all reveal their forms, such as foxes, danqiao, and yinzhen serpents, and were then beheaded and burned.

The Perfected Wang had his disciple Qian Ge carry a bamboo basket on a staff of nine-jointed bamboo. For more than ten years, Qian Ge never saw the basket opened. Wang Yao sometimes met immortals dressed in feathered robes, yet he never revealed his own identity to them; when he traveled at night, torches went ahead to light his way.

Later, Wang Yao came to this cave and met his friend Diao Ziran. He opened the basket and took out three five-tongued bamboo reed instruments (bamboo instruments fitted with reeds), and the three of them played together. As Wang Yao took his leave, Diao Ziran said to him, "You should have come sooner, and you should not linger long in the human world; let us agree to meet again in this cave." Afterward, Wang Yao, Diao Ziran, and Qian Ge all became immortals.

No one can reach the upper cave; the entrance to the middle cave is blocked by flying rocks; those living in seclusion are all in the lower cave.

Biyun Cave and Biyun Stream

Biyun Cave and Biyun Stream lie east of Mount Hua. The text that follows survives only as fragments such as "it was Zheng Huan...", and the passage seems to be damaged.

Biyun Cave (Biyundong) and Biyun Stream (Biyunxi) lie on the eastern side of Mount Hua. They were the retreats of four lofty recluses: Zheng Yunsou, Luo Yinzhi, Zhai Shiduan, and Zheng Yin.

Zheng Ao, courtesy name Yunsou, was a native of Nanyan. Of pure integrity and unwilling to yield, Zheng Ao left wife and children behind. Having heard that the resin of the five-bristled pine (a kind of pine) on Mount Hua, once congealed over a thousand years, could prolong life and resist aging, Zheng Ao came to live in seclusion at Biyun Cave. During the Tiancheng era, the court offered the post of Reminder (Shiyi), which Zheng Ao declined. Zheng Ao was later granted the title "Master of Carefree Wandering" (Xiaoyao Xiansheng).

Luo Yinzhi was a Daoist of Yuliang Temple on Yusun Mountain in Xingan County, Linjiang Army, who later came to dwell on Mount Hua. Sometimes by the water, sometimes climbing the mountain, Luo Yinzhi drank wine and composed poems, living at ease and content. During the Tianfu era, Luo Yinzhi was granted the title "Master Xiyi" (Xiyi Xiansheng).

Zhai Shiduan, courtesy name Biaozheng, was a native of the Qi region. Zhai Shiduan was well versed in the Nine Classics (the Confucian canon). During the Xiangfu era, Emperor Zhenzong of the Song went to Fenyin to perform sacrifices and invited Zhai Shiduan to enter office with courteous gifts, but Zhai Shiduan did not answer the summons and later died without illness. It is said that seven days after death the body was still warm, and that at the cremation there was a sound like thunder and rays of five colors appeared.

Zheng Yin, courtesy name Mingchu, was a native of Fengfu in Yanzhou. On the left arm Zheng Yin bore a black hawk-like mark shaped like the Big Dipper. Zheng Yin often stayed at the mouth of the Three Caves of Wang and Diao and did not leave the cave from winter through spring, which people found remarkable. During the Xiangfu era, when Emperor Zhenzong returned from sacrificing to the Earth deity (Houtu), the emperor summoned Zheng Yin by edict while the imperial carriage halted at a relay station, and granted the title "Master Zhenhui" (Zhenhui Xiansheng). The later text records that the emperor also bestowed a piece of writing praising Zheng Yin for living in seclusion in the mountains, amusing oneself with the zither and wine, listening to the pines by the water, and roaming through every valley. It also tells how Zheng Yin discussed the Way of Xiyi (the subtle and the imperceptible) and probed profound mysteries, leaving the emperor's mind clear and serene. Zheng Yin then took leave of the court and returned to the mountains and forests, content with personal aspirations, indifferent to worldly show, and fond of chanting and whistling songs.

The latter part of the original text contains evident miswritten characters and repetitions; the above has been arranged according to the discernible meaning.

The Stone Chamber of Hugong

The Stone Chamber of Hugong (Hugong shishi) lies on a solitary peak northwest of Mount Hua. Inside the chamber is a spring, and the space can hold more than ten people. Heading northeast, one can enter Fog Market Valley. The valley to the east is where the Northern Wei Daoist Kou Qianzhi and others practiced cultivation, while in the valley to the west are the traces of the stone couch that Xiuyang Gong carved out of the rock.

No one knows Hugong's name. He often hung an empty gourd on the seat where he sat, and once the sun had set, he would leap into the gourd. When Fei Zhangfang followed him in studying the Dao (the Way), Hugong had him stay in this stone chamber. Within the chamber was a square stone more than ten feet across. Hugong struck it with a rope of thatch, and the stone hung suspended in midair. He had Fei Zhangfang sit on another stone beneath it, then set many snakes and insects to gnaw at the rope in competition. The rope was on the verge of snapping, yet Fei Zhangfang remained sitting or lying there, utterly composed, and never felt fear. Hugong was greatly pleased and said, "You can be taught." He then bestowed on him the post of "Master of the Earthly Realm" and had him ride a bamboo staff home. Later, when Fei Zhangfang reached Gepi, he threw the staff into the pond, and it turned into a dragon and flew away. In this way he gained the ability to command ghosts and spirits.

The Stone Chamber of Mount Sangong

Mount Sangong (the "Three Dukes") lies southeast of Mount Hua. Three peaks rise prominently from it, each beautiful in its own way, resembling the three star-officials of the Three Terraces (Santai) in the heavens. Because they pair with the other peaks of Mount Hua, the mountain is called "Sangong."

Yan Ji, courtesy name Ziwei, lived in the time of Emperor Ming of the Han. He lived in seclusion in this stone chamber and took wood-yellow polygonatum (a plant taken by Daoist practitioners). He usually wore his hair loose and kept a plain silk headcloth, which he put on only on festival days such as the first of each month. At times he played the zither and chanted poetry, and a yellow-white cloud-qi (Qi, vital energy) often hovered over his head. Later, he took leave of his friends and departed riding the clouds.

The Stone Chamber of Changchun

The Stone Chamber of Changchun (the "Ever Spring" chamber) lies beside Yuntai Mountain. During the Zhenguan era of Emperor Taizong of the Tang, the Daoist Du Huaiqian lived here. He abstained from grains and did not eat meals, and he loved playing the long flute, often having people buy many flutes for him. Whenever he finished playing one in a corner of the mountain, he would throw it down beneath the cliff. When the flutes were used up, someone would bring new ones to the rock. He did not move for months at a time and called himself "Master Changchun." Today the stone chamber still stands, as if the sound of his flute had never ceased.

The Stone Couch of Xiuyang Gong

The Stone Couch (Shita): Located in an immortals' valley to the northwest of Mount Hua. Inside a stone chamber lies a stone couch, on which Xiuyang Gong often rested; over many years it was worn into a deep hollow. He ordinarily ate nothing. When Emperor Jing of the Han saw him, he asked, "What abilities do you have?" Xiuyang Gong gave no answer and promptly transformed into a stone ram. On the ram's back were carved the words "Xiuyang Gong thanks the Son of Heaven." Later, people placed the stone ram on the Tongling Terrace, and it left again, no one knowing where it went.

Outer Immortal Plain (Waixian Ping): Located within Zhang Chao Valley. Here there is a stone chamber said to be the place where the Perfected Zhang Chao left his shed remains. "Shed bones" (tuigu) refers to the skeletal remains left behind by a practitioner. Later, woodcutters and herdsmen often came there to play, and a stone flew through the air and blocked the mouth of the cave. For this reason the place is now called only the "Outer Immortal Plain."

Herb-Planting Plain (Zhongyao Ping): The Perfected Wang Hui habitually took medicinal substances such as atractylodes and polygonatum, and had the power to command tigers and leopards. When he planted polygonatum, he harnessed tigers and leopards to plow the ground; at other times he rode them, complete with saddles and reins, urging them on with a bamboo staff, as imposingly as a man riding a mule or horse. He often chanted a poem made up of nine-character lines, over a hundred characters long, whose meaning no one could understand. Later he ascended to heaven, and no one ever saw him again.

The Sweet Spring and the Jade Spring: The Sweet Spring lies directly beneath the old hermitage. Its water carries a faint fragrance of wine and has a rich, mellow taste; it was regarded as an auspicious omen for the state, and it is said that phoenixes came to drink from it many times. Beside the spring stands a shrine to the Jade Maiden goddess. The Jade Spring is at the mouth of Zhang Chao Valley, and its water is the color of rice-starch broth, which is why the Jade Spring Temple was built there. Both springs are said to contain jade marrow, and drinking from them over a long period can cure illnesses that have long resisted treatment.

Yellow Dragon Pool: Located at the mouth of Shen Valley. It is said that prayers for rain made here receive a response, and for this reason the pool was enfeoffed as the "Marquis of Broad Moisture" (Guangrun Hou).

Carriage-Box Pool (Chexiang Tan): The original text gives only the name of the pool and provides no accompanying record.

Chexiang Pool (车箱潭) lies within Immortal Valley, about ten li away, and is the deep pool beneath the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Zongxian Cave. During the Mingdao era of Emperor Renzong of the Song, the court sent envoys here every year to cast golden dragons and jade tablets into the water as a rite of sacrifice to the Water Mansion. In the second year of the Chongning era under Emperor Huizong, Chexiang Pool was formally enfeoffed as "Marquis of Abundant Moisture." According to the Record of the Water Mansions, there are eighteen Water Mansions under heaven, and Chexiang Pool on Mount Hua is the seventh. Like the Eastern Sea, the Southern Sea, and Wenjiang, it is a place where golden dragons and jade tablets are offered.

Crane-Riding Pavilion

Crane-Riding Pavilion stands halfway along the Zhongfang route. It is said to be the place where Princess Jinxian rode a crane up to heaven after attaining the Dao (the Way).

Divine Maiden Grove

Divine Maiden Grove lies within Huangshen Valley. On the east side of the grove stands the Duzuo Gugu Temple. The pines and junipers here are so large that it takes a full embrace of the arms to encircle one, and there are tens of thousands of them. Cutting them down is forbidden.

Avenue of Ancient Parasol Trees

In the ninth year of the Taikang era of the Jin dynasty, the prefect Wei Junshi visited the ancient temple of the Western Peak. Along both sides of the road to the temple were planted parasol trees (wutong), too many to count. Beacon posts (fenghou, watchtowers used for observation and relaying alarms) were also set up along the road, numbered with characters from the Thousand Character Classic. Grazing livestock and gathering firewood here were prohibited.

The Sorrow-Free Tree

The Tree of No Sorrow (Wuyou Tree) was a tree beside the hermitage of Master Chen Xiyi. Master Chen, whose surname was Chen and given name Tuan, with the courtesy name Tunan and the Daoist name Master Fuyao, was a native of Zhenyuan in Bozhou. During the Changxing era of the Tang dynasty, he sat for the imperial examination (jinshi degree) but failed, and so he gave himself over to wandering among mountains and rivers. Later he came to the old site of the Yuntai Temple (Yuntai Guan) on Mount Hua, cleared away the brambles and weeds, and settled there. When he foretold the fortunes and misfortunes of others, his predictions were often fulfilled as exactly as the two halves of a tally fit together.

Later, Chai Rong, Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou, summoned him and kept him in the palace for more than a month. The emperor appointed him Counselor-Remonstrant (an official charged with offering admonitions to the emperor), but he firmly declined the post, and Shizong then bestowed on him the title "Master of the White Cloud." It was only when Emperor Taizong of the Song issued a decree summoning him that he answered the call. Wearing a Huayang headscarf and straw sandals, with the sandal laces trailing, he was received as a guest in the Yanying Hall. Taizong granted him a seat, conversed with him at length, and bestowed on him the further title "Master Xiyi" (Master of the Rarefied and Subtle). His works, including the Zhixuan pian (Treatise on Pointing to the Mystery), the Diaotan ji (Collection of the Fishing Pool), the Chaokuhai shi (Poems on Transcending the Sea of Suffering), the Rushi huandan jue (Instructions for Entering the Chamber and Returning the Elixir), and the Sanfeng yuyan (Allegories of the Three Peaks), have been handed down to the present.

The Upper Precinct was the Baiyun Palace (White Cloud Palace), the Middle Precinct was the Taiqing Palace (Palace of Great Purity), and the Lower Precinct was the Yuntai Palace (Yuntai Gong), which is the present-day Yuntai Temple. Besides these there were the Hall of the Perfected Lord of the Western Peak, the Huayue Temple, the Luquan Temple, the Gongji Temple, the Taiping Xingguo Temple, the Queen Mother Temple, the Xiangong Temple, the Xiugen Monastery, the Shrine of the Divine Ministers (Chenling Shrine), and the Lanshi Monastery.

The three precincts of Upper, Middle, and Lower were all built under the direction of the feathered adept (yuren) Jiao Daoguang. During the Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, the emperor ordered Wei Bao, Right Rectifier of Omissions and Academician of the Jixian Academy, to compose the Record of the Restoration of the Three Precincts. The Temple of the Perfected Lord of the Western Peak was converted into the Chenling Shrine during the Chongning era; the Lanshi Monastery.

The Upper, Middle, and Lower Precinct Palaces were all built under the direction of Jiao Daoguang, a Yuren (feathered one, a Daoist who attained immortality). During the Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, the emperor ordered Wei Bao, Consultant of the Right and Academician of the Jixian Academy, to compose the Record of Building the Three Precincts (Xiu Sanfang Ji), which tells how the three palaces were built.

The Temple of the True Lord of the Western Peak was renamed the Chongning Wanshou Temple during the Chongning era, the Bao'en Guangxiao Temple during the Shaoxing era, and then the Yingxiang Temple during the Fucheng era. In the past, Sima, Duke Wen, petitioned the throne to establish temples to the True Lords of the Five Peaks throughout the realm and to bestow gold tablets upon them, so that they might guard the Dongtian Fudi (the grotto-heavens and blessed lands, the dwellings of immortals and renowned sacred mountains in Daoism) for all time.

The Huayue Temple was built by Emperor Wu of the Han and flourished again in the Xiangfu era because of four eminent men of high principle. The Luquan Temple was originally west of Zhugu Ridge. During the Daguan era, the Daoist Qiu Run requested that a name plaque be granted, and the Luquan Temple was then built at the foot of Mount Hua. The Gongji Temple was built at Yueqianshe during the Xuanhe era. The Taiping Xingguo Temple was originally within Guan Valley. During the Shaoxing era, the Daoist Jiao Xu requested a name plaque, and the temple was afterward built at the foot of Mount Hua.

The Temple of the Queen Mother was originally below Daluo Peak, where a shrine had stood since ancient times. During the Zhenguan era of the Tang, it was built at the foot of Mount Hua. The Xianguan Temple was originally a residence of Princess Jinxian. After she departed riding a crane, the place was converted into the Xianguan Temple.

The Xiugen Hermitage lies within Xiangxing. During the Taiping Xingguo era, the Daoist Xiugen went to court for an audience, and Emperor Taizong bestowed on him a scripture (Jing), wrote a poem to send him back to the mountain, and conferred on him the title "Master of the Tranquil Cliffs." Xiugen composed the Xiugen Poems in three hundred stanzas, which circulated widely.

The Lanshi Hermitage has long been abandoned, and only the shrine of the Divine Giant (Juling) remains. It is said that this shrine was built by Emperor Wu of the Han.

The Altar for Paying Homage to the Peak

The Altar for Paying Homage to the Peak was where Emperor Wu of the Han made offerings to the Western Peak. In the time of Emperor Taizong of the Tang, it was built into the Zhenyue Yiling Immortal Monastery. Later only the shrine of the Divine Giant remained, which is said to have been built by Emperor Wu of the Han.

The original text repeats some material, such as the entries on the Gongji Temple and the Taiping Xingguo Temple, and some sentences connect unclearly, so the translation above has been arranged according to the meaning that can be made out.

The Altar for Worshiping the Peak (the altar used to offer sacrifices to Mount Hua) is said to be where Emperor Wu of the Han made his offerings to the mountain. In the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang, the site was built into the Zhenyue Yiling Xian Temple (Temple of the Immortal Spirit Who Guards the Peak). Later it was sometimes called Shenghui Yuan (Hall of the Victorious Assembly) and sometimes Zhaoqing Temple.

Xuanze Pavilion

Xuanze Pavilion is where Emperor Zhenzong of the Song worshiped Mount Hua, and it stands beside the Taihua Post Station. On the twentieth day of the seventh month in the fourth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era (1011), Zhenzong made offerings to the peak here and bestowed the name "Xuanze Pavilion." Inside the pavilion stands an imperially composed stele, its crest carved with a dragon's head and its base shaped like a dragon. The area was once forbidden ground.

Sulingguan (Hall of the Plain Spirit)

According to the "Biography of Ma Zhou" in the Taiping Guangji, Mount Hua holds a Suling Palace, in which dwells an immortal sovereign who commands the cavern-heavens above as well as the spirit foxes of the Ten Continents and Three Isles.

Jizhen Dongtian (Cavern-Heaven of Ultimate Truth)

According to the Record of the Ten Great Cavern-Heavens, the first of the ten great cavern-heavens is the Xiaoyou Cavern on Mount Wangwu, with a circumference of ten thousand li. The poet Du Fu wrote: "Vines stretch ten thousand li from the Qiuchi grotto, secretly linking to the Xiaoyou Heaven." The fourth cavern-heaven is the Xixuan Cavern on Mount Hua, with a circumference of three thousand li, and it is called the "Jizhen Dongtian."

Within this cavern-heaven, the heavens and earth are vast, and the sun, moon, stars, wind, clouds, grasses, and trees resemble those of the human world. Yet the sun and moon seem to have halted in their courses, their radiance shining on and joining the boundless sky, and so this place is called the Realm of Eternal Spring. Its palaces and towers are built entirely of gold, jade, and other precious materials, while beside them grow purple forests and fragrant flowers. Jade marrow and golden liquid (jinye) are likewise among the sights of the cavern-heaven.

The Perfected One Suling (Suling Zhenren) once composed the "Ode on Penetrating the Cavern-Heaven of Ultimate Truth." In it he describes strange fruits and flowers too many to name, and says that one seeking the Perfected need not travel as far as Penglai or Yingzhou. Heavens and earth like jade-green clouds are ranged within the cavern, and towers of white jade seem to appear from beyond the world. In the valleys, lingzhi herbs and orchids cover the lofty ridges, and among the peaks, mists and clouds swirl and rise tier upon tier. It was here that the Eight Dukes received the golden liquid; after taking it, their whole households ascended to the realm of Taiqing (Supreme Purity).

Zongxian Dongtian (Cavern-Heaven of the Assembled Immortals)

The Record of the Thirty-Six Lesser Grotto-Heavens says: the first is the Huotong Mountain Grotto, with a circumference of three thousand li, named "Huolin Grotto-Heaven"; the second is the Grotto of Mount Tai, the Eastern Peak, with a circumference of three thousand li, named "Penglai-Xuan Grotto-Heaven"; the third is the Grotto of Mount Hua, the Western Peak, with a circumference of three hundred li, named "Zongxian Grotto-Heaven" (Gathering of Immortals).

The Perfected One Suling praised it, saying: "Fallen stones became immortals, and they are called the Seven Stars; the five gates are matched with the sun and moon, following a profound and mysterious course. Clouds fly and rain scatters as they ascend into the heavens; they govern the forests and mountain ranges, giving them their distinct names."

Imperial Edict Investing the Spirit of Mount Hua as King of Golden Heaven

The text of the edict styles the spirit of Mount Hua "Sage-Compliant Emperor, King of Golden Heaven." It says that the spirit of Mount Hua can turn stones into immortals, who are called the Seven Stars; that the five gates are matched with the sun and moon and follow a profound and mysterious course. Riding the clouds and driving the rain, the spirit ascends into the heavens and governs the forests and mountain ranges, giving each its own extraordinary name.

Imperial Edict Investing the Spirit of Mount Hua as King of Golden Heaven

The text of the edict styles the spirit of Mount Hua "Sage-Compliant Emperor, King of Golden Heaven." The spirit of Mount Hua is able to summon clouds and send down rain, and holds the most honored position among the deities of the west. The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan once traveled to Mount Hua to roam and meet with the spirits; Emperor Shun of Yu also gazed upon Mount Hua from afar and received the feudal lords there. From the Xia dynasty down to the Sui, across five dynasties and a span of three thousand years, the ceremonies and institutions followed the old precedents without change.

Altars and temples were repaired by successive generations, and sacrifices were offered three times each year without interruption. This was to repay the spirit for protecting the growth of all things, and also to serve the spirit. The spirit of Mount Hua bestowed blessings and manifested efficacy, yet calamities and strange, ominous events never disappeared entirely.

The temple of the Mount Hua spirit was originally located at the mouth of Huangshen Valley. After the Han dynasty arose, during the Guangchu era it was moved to the north side of the official road, and a palace hall was built. The sacrificial rites, offerings, and implements in the courtyard were all arranged according to the ritual regulations for the Three Ducal Ministers.

"The third year of the Xianyuan era of the Tang" is the reign date recorded in the original text.