釋迦氏譜 1.84

1.84

Fourth, verifying it by the water sources: In my humble view, the four seas serve as the drainage basin, being the ultimate destination of the waters. In the middle of Jambūdvīpa there is the Great Gandhamādana Mountain, which is another name for Kunlun. This mountain is singularly lofty, the most extreme in the continent. South of the mountain is a lake named Anavatapta, which means "Free from the Torment of Heat." Endowed with the eight virtues, it is the residence of a great dragon king, called the Palace of Waters. In each direction it issues a river to flow into the four seas. Thus, water follows the high terrain to pour toward the low-lying flow. That is high and this is low; the center and the periphery are thereby determined. The Yellow River of this land has its source there. Thus the Erya states: "The River emerges from the ruins of Kunlun, and its color is white." Guo Pu's Illustrated Eulogy states: "Kunlun has three tiers, called the Pillar of Heaven; it is truly the source of the River, the numinous palace of waters." When the Yu Gong speaks of "directing the River from Jishi," it refers to the place where its subterranean stream surges forth. Thus we know that water comes from the high, and the high is the center. Furthermore, the Hetu states: "Five thousand li southeast of Mount Kunlun, it is called the Divine Province, and also called the Red District." Mount Kunlun is named the Pillar of Heaven, so in principle it cannot be a peripheral corner; calling this the southeast makes it clearly known not to be the true [center]. Furthermore, Li Xiong fled west to Kunlun, which also provides evidence for paying court to the source; the Yellow Emperor's dream journey to Huaxu also demonstrates its centrality from facts (as Wang Shao explained: "The land of Huaxu is indeed the land of Tianzhu").