廬山記 1.10

Going five li south from Jiangzhou out through Dehua Gate, one arrives at Yanshou Cloister, formerly named Arhat Altar. Five li past Yanshou Cloister, one arrives at Shitang Bridge. There is Lianxi, the retreat of Director Zhou. Zhou was named Dunyi, styled Maoshu, a man of Daozhou. As an official, he possessed talent and strategic vision. Early on, he admired eminent renown and delighted in the scenic splendours of Mount Lu; he consequently made his home in a country villa in Xunyang, and named it Lianxi on the outskirts of the walled city. Ten li heading east past Lianxi, one enters Baoyan Chan Cloister. Going ten li north [from there], one also arrives at Taiyi Abbey. Baoyan was formerly called Shuangxi; in the third year of the Jingde era, it was bestowed its present name. The cloister sits directly on the official postal road. In the second year of the Qianzhen era of Wu, the monk Changzhen first laid its foundations. Changzhen was a native of Jingnan, surnamed Tian; people called him 'Daoist Tian'. He toiled diligently with plow and hoe to provide for travelers from the four quarters. Monk Xumu of the Two Groves (Erlin), styled Chu-Xiang, was superintendent of the Eastern and Western Lin temples. A celebrated Bhadanta official ordered that the hermitages and cottages be abolished and dismantled. Mu said to him, 'If your dwellings are pulled down now, where will you return?' Tian replied, 'Originally I was a person beneath the groves; I will simply return beneath the groves.' Mu found his words extraordinary and treated him with reverence, presenting him with a poem: / 'Entering the gate, it is empty and desolate; / Truly a son who has left the household! / He possesses practice that ghosts cannot fathom; / With no mind, people call him a fool. / Facing cold cypresses by ancient crags, / Followed by flowing waters and fallen blossoms. / Desiring to part, why am I so reluctant? / My only regret in meeting is that it was so late.' / From then on, through the Southern Tang, it became an exemplary temple of the mountain. In the sixth year of the Xiande era, Yuanzong bestowed land upon it, dispatching it to provide for the various hermitages and cliffs; twenty-six hermitages and crags without land annually received their provisions from it. Five li south it reaches Wuzhang Ridge. Walking one li north from beneath the ridge, to the west of the road is Yunqing Hermitage, formerly called Yunjing. Channelling a flowing spring to form a pond, it rears many bream and carp; through many years, their swimming has become remarkably tame. One li west from Yunqing, one arrives at Baoji Hermitage. The pines and bamboo are dense and dark; White Cloud Pavilion sits above them. Looking north toward the Pen River, there is a flat boulder that can seat several people, with a murmuring spring passing beneath it. This is the finest among the monastic hermitages north of the mountain. Both Yunqing and Baoji lie to the south of Baoyan. Returning from Yunqing to Baoyan is also three li. Fifteen li east of Baoyan, there is Lower Longquan Cloister. North of Taiyi Abbey there is a separate Longquan Hermitage; this one is distinguished by the epithet 'Lower'. Ten li from Longquan, one reaches Zunsheng Hermitage. Eight li from Zunsheng Hermitage, one reaches White Deer Terrace. Fifteen li from White Deer Terrace, one reaches Renshou Cloister. Ten li from Renshou, one reaches Xiangji Cloister. Thirty li from Xiangji, one reaches Changling Cloister. Changling is a separate islet in Lake Pengli. In general, from Lower Longquan to Xiangji, the sites are not located within the mountains proper; yet mountain dwellers and rustic wanderers, in thoroughly exploring the secluded and distant, have all visited them. The sound of water and the rustic scenery possess ample delights. Twenty li west of Xiangji, there is the field and orchard belonging to Kaixian Temple on the south of the mountain, called Dafu Grange. Passing Dafu, one is touring the south of the mountain. One li west of Baoyan, one arrives at Longchi Hermitage, formerly called Rimeng Peak. Five li from Rimeng Peak, one arrives at An'yan Grange. One li from An'yan Grange, one arrives at Chanzhi Cloister, formerly called Jingju. Behind it is Green Field Pavilion. Five li from Chanzhi, one arrives at Dazhong Xiangfu Abbey, formerly called Taiyi Palace; in the Xiangfu era, it was bestowed its present name. Ge Hong's Shenxian zhuan ('Biographies of Divine Transcendents') states: 'The True Man Dong was named Feng, styled Junyi, a native of Houguan in Minzhong. In his youth he possessed Daoist arts. Shi Xie, the Grand Administrator of Jiaozhi, had already been dead for three days; Feng administered a single medicinal pill to him, fed it with water, and held his head, gently shaking it. Within the space of a meal, he opened his eyes and moved his hands, and his complexion gradually returned. Within half a day he could sit up; within four days he could speak, and he thereupon returned to normal. Later he lived on Mount Lu, curing people's ailments without accepting money or silk; instead, he bade each person cured to plant five apricot trees. In several years, they grew lush and formed a grove. Feng then built granaries and publicly announced to the people: 'Whoever wishes to trade for apricots need not report to me; merely exchange one vessel of apricots for one vessel of grain.' If anyone cheated, a ferocious beast would immediately chase him down. The grain accumulated was in turn distributed to the people. Later he ascended as an immortal, with the title Supervisor of the Cerulean Empyrean. This abbey is indeed the ancient site of the Apricot Grove. In the sixth year of the Shengyuan era of the Tang, Xu Zhizheng composed the Record of the Shrine of the True Man; there is also a record from the twelfth year of the Baoda era, both of which are preserved today. The atmosphere is quiet and serene; passers-by are reverent and dare not be disrespectful. The swimming fish in the pool and spring are especially prolific and tame. Some say the True Man's Apricot Grove was up in the mountains. Zhang Jing's poem states: / 'In vain do peach blossoms speak of the Peach Blossom Spring, / Leading Master Liu astray so that he failed to attain immortality. / How could that compare to the guest beneath Lotus Peak, / Who planted red apricots and ascended to the azure heavens?' / Nowadays Lotus Peak is located behind the abbey. Five li north of the abbey, there is Longquan Hermitage. When Dharma Master Huiyuan first came to Mount Lu, he was fond of the spacious openness of this place and wished to build a hermitage here. The ground had no flowing spring; the master pierced the earth with his staff, and at once a spring welled forth, overflowing to become a stream. Later, Xunyang suffered a drought; Master Yuan recited the Dragon King Sūtra above the pool, and in a moment a dragon arose and ascended to heaven, whereupon rain fell in great abundance. Therefore it was called Dragon Spring (Longquan). Ten li south of Longquan, there is Miaozhi Cloister, formerly called Xingchun Pavilion. Five li from Miaozhi, one reaches Shegang (Serpent Ridge). The Biographies of Eminent Monks states: 'An Shigao was the crown prince of the King of Parthia. Yielding the throne to his uncle, he left the household. Between the Han and Wei dynasties, he journeyed and arrived at Lake Gongting. At that time, the lake deity was able to divide the winds upstream and downstream; boatmen revered and feared him. Thus, accompanied by over thirty fellow travelers, their boat offered sacrificial animals to pray for blessings. The deity suddenly descended and, speaking through the medium, said: 'In the past, in a foreign land, I left the household to study the Path together with you. But my nature was prone to wrath and anger, and therefore I have fallen into this spirit retribution. Seeing my fellow student today, my grief and joy are beyond words.' Shigao requested the spirit to reveal its form; the spirit then emerged as the head of a great python, whose tail could not be seen. Shigao faced it, chanting Sanskrit hymns and verses several times; the python wept tears like rain, and after a moment retreated into hiding. The shrine had a thousand bolts of silk as well as various precious objects; Shigao carried them away and used them to construct the Eastern Temple in Yuzhang. Later, people in the marshes west of the mountain saw a dead python stretching several li from head to tail.'

This is now Snake Village in Xunyang Commandery, and its height is therefore named Snake Ridge. Five li below Snake Ridge, one reaches Taiping Abbey. Two li southwest of Taiyi Abbey is Guotai Hermitage. West and above it is Lotus Flower Peak, and ten li away on the peak's summit is Lotus Flower Hermitage. Five li from Guotai, one reaches Bao'en Hermitage. One li from Bao'en, one reaches Yunjian Hermitage. Two li from Yunjian, one reaches Yongqing Hermitage, also named Lower Lotus Flower Hermitage. North of the ravine by Yongqing is the hermitage of Daoist Niu. One li west of Yongqing, one reaches Yunxi Hermitage, also named Lotus Flower Grotto. From Taiyi Abbey to Yunxi, there are eight dwellings of Buddhists and Daoists in all, together beneath Lotus Flower Peak. Two li from Yunxi, one also reaches Taiping Abbey. In the Tang, it was named the Shrine of the True Lord, Envoy of the Nine Heavens. In the first year of Shengyuan of the Southern Tang, it was granted the name Tongxuan Prefecture. In the second year of Xingguo of our dynasty, it was granted its current name. The Luyi ji states: On the twenty-first day of the eighth month in the nineteenth year of Kaiyuan of the Tang, Xuanzong dreamt that feathered escorts of immortals, with thousands of chariots and tens of thousands of horsemen, gathered in the sky. One person in red robes and a golden crown riding a chariot descended to visit the Emperor, saying: 'I conduct investigative tours of the human realm on behalf of the Nine Heavens, and wish to establish a lower palace northwest of Mount Lu. The timber, stone, and foundations are already prepared; it merely requires Your Majesty's effort.' The Emperor at once dispatched an imperial envoy to go to the northwest of the mountain. There were the foundations, clearly visible. After staying two nights, several thousand pieces of huge timber arrived naturally. Halls, chambers, corridors, and eaves were supplied with wood according to their kind, all fully sufficient. Some say that this wood had been felled by the Prince of Jiujiang, who had planned to build a palace with it; it sank in Penpu, and now floated to the surface. Ocher, chalk, vermilion, and yellow were obtained by excavating the ground north of the temple, fully providing for the colorful adornments. Soon after, at the Jianchang Ferry, there were more than five hundred spirit officials, all dressed as Daoist priests, who said that they were heading for the Envoy's Shrine. Because of this, their portraits were painted upon the walls. Alternatively, it is said that Minghuang first told his attendants of the dream, but they did not believe it. Presently a spirit descended into the courtyard, with colored clouds beneath his feet, his ceremonial guard and tally-escorts magnificent. Minghuang ordered Wu Daozi to swiftly sketch it, and the statues that were set up were modeled on that. The temple was then first established. The shrine record was composed by Li Ci. Ci called himself 'a humble subject from beneath the rough gate of East Mountain in Huangmei County, Qizhou.' It was erected on the twenty-fifth day, jisi, of the first month, beginning with yisi, in the renzhen year, the twentieth year of Kaiyuan. Its summary states: 'Erected by the Envoy for the Imperial Establishment of the Shrine and Palace Attendant, who brought the true portrait of the Envoy to establish the sacrificial shrine; the Ritualist and Envoy for the Setting Up of Offerings, Master Zhang Ping of the Dahongdao Abbey; the Envoy Holding the Tally, Area Commander of Military Affairs in Jiangzhou, and Governor of Jiangzhou Dugu Zhen; the Grand Master for Dispersed Court Service and Acting Vice Prefect Yang Chu; the Acting Staff Supervisor Prince Imperial Father Chuyu; and the Magistrate of Xunyang County Wei Chang, who jointly supervised and maintained the offerings.' There is also the Record of the Auspicious Manifestations of the Envoy, composed on the eighth day, xinhai, of the third month of the renzhen year, the twentieth year of Kaiyuan, by Pan Guan, Gentleman for Declaring Righteousness and Acting County Defender of Pengze. There are five auspicious manifestations, summarized as follows: First, the river swelled with floodwaters, blowing timber close to the mountain; as soon as the calculated amount of timber was hauled up, the water returned to its former level. Second, wild bamboos and miscellaneous timber spread across connected ridges and valleys; vermilion pigments of diverse colors emerged from caves and appeared from the cliffs. Third, on the night of the pacification of the soil, wind and clouds vanished into the void, and immortal lamps shone far into the distance. Fourth, several hundred people crossed Lake Pengli to visit the shrine; what the boatmen received turned into paper money on the following day. Fifth, mounted attendants riding dragons and tigers, and carved and sculpted chariot-drivers, made of earth or wood, formed rows upon entering the shrine; suddenly sweat of five colors broke out on their faces. Its stele grew worn and eroded over the years, and was re-erected in the third year of Zhiping. There is further the Record of Spirit Official Zhang. The spirit official was named Huai, a minor commander of Wucai. He once possessed hidden merit benefiting living things, so the Emperor appointed him as an official of Feng. Among the five hundred portraits on the shrine walls, Zhang was one of them; the matter is detailed in his own record. Composed on the Lantern Festival day of the sixth year of Kaibao, the guiyou year, by the Censor-in-Chief Xu Xuan, and inscribed by Xu Kai, Right Inner Palace Recorder and Scholar of the Jixian Academy. Much of its text is omitted here. To the left of the abbey gate is the Liu Yue Stone. In the Zhidao era, the commandery prefect and Bureau Member of the Bureau of Merit Evaluation, Sun Mai, first erected a tablet and placed a shrine there. Anciently, when Kuang Su lodged on the mountain, a young man visited him repeatedly, introducing himself as: 'Surnamed Liu, named Yue; my home is to the left of the front mountain.' He invited Su to visit him the next day: 'When you arrive below the mountain, there is a stone about two feet high; that is my dwelling. You may knock upon it.' Su later went below the mountain as agreed. Looking around in all four directions, there was no dwelling, indeed only a single stone. He then knocked upon it; the stone opened for him, and thereupon he encountered immortals and affairs of the cavern grottoes. Huiyuan's record states: 'Su received the Dao from an immortal'—this was likely referring to this. Beside the abbey is the Immortal's Village Pavilion; looking down at the multi-storied pavilions, they are dignified as if a cavern grotto. Visitors all climb it. Five li southwest of Taiping Abbey is Qingtai Hermitage. One li from Qingtai, one reaches Guangze Cloister, formerly named Dragon Pool. The Three Dragon Pools are five li above on the mountain southeast of the cloister. In years of drought, the various counties always pray there. Descending the mountain from Guangze, one reaches Taiping Xingguo Temple in seven li. The water before the temple is called Clear Brook; above the brook is the Clear Brook Pavilion. The temple was established in the ninth year of Taiyuan under Emperor Wu of Jin; it was formerly named Donglin. It was abolished in the third year of Huichang of the Tang, and restored in the third year of Dazhong. In the second year of Xingguo of our imperial dynasty, it was granted its current name. The Dharma Master's taboo name was Huiyuan, and his secular surname was Jia. He was a man of Loufan in Yanmen. He studied under Dao'an at Mount Heng and became Dao'an's senior disciple. He initially resided at Shangming Temple in Jingzhou. Later, wishing to go to Mount Luofu, his route took him through Mount Lu. He resided at Longquan Hermitage, fifteen li distant from Donglin. Soon after, his fellow students gradually increased in number. At the same time, Dhyāna Master Huiyong was already residing at Incense Valley Mountain, and asked to form friendly neighborly ties. Prefect Huan Yi also held him in great esteem, and so founded the temple. The matter is fully detailed on the temple stele. Composed and inscribed on the fifteenth day of the seventh month of the nineteenth year of Kaiyuan by Li Yong, former Governor of Chenzhou. In the third year of Huichang, the monk Yungao first carved it into stone. At that time, Pei Xiu was Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan West Circuit, and Zhang Youxin was Governor of Jiangzhou; they actually assisted in its completion.

Pei inscribed at the end of the text, saying, "Reviewing the calligraphy and composition of Beihai, I can imagine his imposing style." Zhang also composed an inscription on the back of the stele. On the thirteenth day of the fourth month of the tenth year of Dazhong, the śramaṇa Xuanguan requested Pei Guangyuan of Hedong to write the seal-script header. Guangyuan was a Erudite of the National Academy in the Directorate of Education. Earlier, when Master Yuan wished to move to Incense Valley, a mountain spirit appeared to him in a dream, saying, "This place is secluded and quiet, sufficient to lodge your spirit." Suddenly, the next night, thunder and rain struck violently. Looking out the next morning, there was only white sand covering the ground, along with trees like nanmu and梓 with fine grain. Once these fine timbers were used to build the hall, it was therefore named Divine Transport. In the fourth year of Dahe, when Niu Sengru was returning to court from Wuchang, he passed by and wrote the four characters "Divine Lotus [...]" for its plaque. There was also a piece of wood several feet long, which Yuanzong of the Southern Tang inscribed as "Divine Transport Water"; both survive today. During the Huichang era, the temple and its forest were confiscated by the Ministry of Revenue to be torn down and sold off. During the Dazhong restoration, Prefect Cui An contributed private funds and gave them through verse offerings; several hundred gentlemen of the gentry followed suit, and their names and official titles are engraved today upon the lists and preserved. The appeal of that time was also written by Cui. Cui also composed the stele for the temple's restoration, which was calligraphed by Liu Gongquan, Left Policy Advisor. A flowing stream [runs through] the lower part of the temple and enters Tiger Creek. In the past, whenever Master Yuan saw off guests beyond this point, a tiger would always roar, hence the name. At that time, Tao Yuanliang lived at Lili south of the mountain, and Lu Xiujing was also a man who possessed the Dao. Master Yuan once saw these two men off; engrossed in conversation that harmonised with the Dao, they crossed it without realising, whereupon they all burst into hearty laughter. Today the "Picture of the Three Laughers" handed down in the world had its origin here. Behind the Divine Lotus Hall is the White Lotus Pond. In former times, Xie Lingyun relied on his talent and looked down on things, seldom esteeming anyone; yet as soon as he met Master Yuan, he was awed and submitted from the bottom of his heart. He then translated the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra at the temple, and for this reason excavated a pond to make a terrace, planting white lotuses in the pond, and named the terrace "Sūtra-Translating Terrace". Today's White Lotus Pavilion is its former site. Master Yuan, along with Huiyong, Huichi, Danshun, Danheng, Zhu Daosheng, Huirui, Daojing, Daobing, Danxian, and the laymen Zhang Ye, Zong Bing, Liu Yimin, Zhang Quan, Zhou Xuzhi, and Lei Cizong, as well as the Indian monk Buddhabhadra—eighteen people in all—together practiced the teachings of the Pure Land, and it was therefore called the White Lotus Society. Biographies of these eighteen worthies are appended to the end of the work. Above the pond there was formerly the Pavilion of the Auspicious Manjuśrī Image, but today the image is lost and the pavilion in ruins. As for the auspicious image in the Manjuśrī Hall, when Tao Kan of the Jin was initially Inspector of Guangzhou, a fisherman on the coast saw a radiant light at night and cast his net, obtaining a golden image of Manjuśrī Bodhisattva. On its side was an inscription saying: "Cast in antiquity by King Aśoka." Later, a merchant also found a halo in the Eastern Sea and held it up to the image, fitting it as if seamlessly. Kan sent it to Hanxi Temple in Wuchang. The temple prior, the monk Sengzhen, once traveled to Xiakou, and dreamt that the temple was on fire, but the shrine containing the image alone was surrounded by spirits. Zhen hurried back; the temple was indeed already burned down, yet the shrine of the image alone survived. When Kan was transferred to govern Jiangzhou, considering the image miraculous, he had someone fetch it to accompany him, but it was swallowed by wind and waves. At that time, the people of Jingchu made a ballad about it, saying: "Tao was solely a hero of the sword; / The image was marked by spiritual marvel. / Soaring into clouds or lodging in mud, / How far and distant! / It can be brought by sincerity, / But hardly summoned by force." When Master Yuan founded the temple, he prayed over the waters, and the image re-emerged; it was then initially welcomed and enshrined in the Divine Transport Hall. Later, a multi-storied pavilion was built to offer incense and lamps. Therefore, Li Yong's temple record states: "Aśoka expiated guilt; / Manjuśrī manifested his form. / Treading the sea, it did not sink; / It was driven along by Tao Kan. / Threatened by fire, it did not scorch; / It appeared in a dream to Sengzhen." This was surely what it referred to. When the temple was destroyed during the Huichang era, two monks carried the image on their backs and hid it at the summit of Jinxiu Valley. Afterwards, when the temple was restored, they searched the hiding place but could not find it; the two monks suspected each other of concealing it. Suddenly they saw a halo of auspicious colours appear in the sky. Therefore, down to the present day, when travelers reach the summit, there are those who behold this radiant manifestation at Buddha-Hand Rock and Tianchi. The temple has a Jin-dynasty palanquin decorated with horned dragons, formerly called the Palanquin of Emperor Huan; hence Guanxiu's poem says: "Huan Xuan's old palanquin is damp with remaining clouds; / The solitary grave of Yeśas lingers in the setting sun." Today people label it as the palanquin of Emperor An. Upon examination, in the second year of Daheng of the Jin, Huan Xuan usurped the throne and demoted the emperor to King of Pinggu, exiling him to Xunyang. When the righteous army arose, Xuan fled to Xunyang, with his banners, carriages, and robes still prepared according to imperial rites. At the juncture when he forced Ping[gu] to flee westward, he consequently left the palanquin at Donglin. That it was formerly called Huan's palanquin was indeed for good reason; "Huan" and "An" sound close, and later people changed it without careful scrutiny. The Sūtra Canon Cloister is in the eastern corridor of the temple. Among the colophons of the sūtras, there are some that say they were copied in the thirteenth year of Zhenyuan. The stele for the Sūtra Canon was composed on the fifteenth day, gengwu, of the ninth month, beginning with the new moon on bingchen, in the seventh year of Yuanhe, the year renchen, by Li Zhao, Court Gentleman for Consultation and Acting Director of Music of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. It says in brief: In the fourth year of Yuanhe, the monk Lingche of Yunmen, having been exiled and returned to lodge on this mountain, was about to depart and spoke to the Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan West Circuit, Duke Wei Dan, Duke of Wuyang. Wei's wife, Lady Xiao of Lanling, had died, and had formerly used her jewelry and clothing funds to purchase fields in Jingzhou, collecting their rent to make charitable donations. At this time he took them, supplemented them with his own salary, and had copies made in Hongzhou and sent over, subsequently building a hall; he further appointed the monk Yizhou of Fucha Temple to oversee the secret treasury. During the calamity of the Huichang era, the monk Daoshen secretly concealed them in a stone cave. Later, when the temple was restored, the sūtras were brought out, but more than half had been lost. The monk Zhengyan gradually supplemented them. In the twelfth year of Dazhong, Wuyang's son Zhou again inherited the office of surveillance commissioner; he thereupon donated money to rebuild the hall and recorded the matter, so there are portraits of Wei Dan and Wei Zhou. In the eighth year of Xiantong, the prefect Miao Shen wrote an encomium for the portraits of the two Weis; Shen was a maternal grandson of Zhou. There is another figure whose caption reads: "Monk of the Prince of Ji's Temple"; beside it there was formerly a full official title: Yang Che, Prince of Dehua and Prefect of Jiangzhou. The text was peeling off and missing characters, and through whitewashing was obliterated. Today the temple owns fields at the lower mouth of Pinglin.

…were all his […] offerings; therefore, the monastery’s monks painted his likeness and placed it between the two Wei [brothers] to show their ongoing veneration. According to the Tang History, Che Tian was once enfeoffed as the Prince of Ji. In the fifteenth year of Tianyou, Xu Zhixun was in Yangzhou and was killed by Zhu Jin; in the Baoda reign era, he was posthumously enfeoffed as the Prince of Ji. Thus his deeds had no connection with the two Lin [Monasteries], and later generations simply added him without warrant. Lord Bai’s Thatched Cottage lies in the northeastern corner of the monastery. In the tenth year of Yuanhe, while serving as Grand Master of Palace Leisure to the Crown Prince, Lord Bai offended the ruling council by speaking out on affairs and was demoted to become the prefectural vice-prefect. The following year, he built the Thatched Cottage north of Incense Burner Peak and south of Yiai Temple, frequently visiting and staying there. Lord Bai composed a record himself, which appears in his collected works. Later, both it and Yiai Temple fell into decay for a long time. Enthusiasts admiring the lord’s exemplary traces built a hall outside the blue enclosure wall to the north of Donglin Temple. During the chaos of the Five Dynasties, it was again ruined by military arson and wild fires. In the Zhidao reign era, Prefectural Governor Sun Kaogong rebuilt it, but none of these were on the original site from the Yuanhe era. Formerly, when Lord Bai visited Donglin, he saw in the canonical repository the poetic exchange collection of Master Yuan and various literati. At that time, the elders of the monastery also requested the lord’s literary collection to preserve it alongside [the other]. By the ninth year of Dahe, when he was Junior Mentor to the Crown Prince, he finally deposited sixty fascicles of his literary works there. During the Huichang reign era, after retiring from office, he again sent ten fascicles of his later collection, as well as a portrait of himself as the Lay Practitioner of Xiangshan. During the Guangming reign era, along with Master Yuan’s Kuangshan ji, both were seized by Gao Pian of Huainan. In the sixth year of the Wu reign era Dahe, Che, Prince of Dehua, frequently transcribed and copied them to make up for the lacunae, but they were lost again later. Those presently held are in fact ones collated by the Historiography Institute and bestowed by imperial decree in the fourth year of Jingde. The Kuangshan ji was also twenty fascicles; it was once recopied in the second year of Jingfu. During the Mingdao reign era, it was borrowed by Xu Shen of the Ministry of Punishments, a commissioner of the circuits. Today, the Lushan lüeji and the preface to the poem on touring Stone Gate are engraved on stone at the monastery, both deriving from the copies in this collection. Passing the Thatched Cottage halfway up the mountain, two springs emerge from between the rocks, called Twin Jade Stream. Next is the Upper Śarīra Stūpa, established by Chan Master Buddhabhadra. Buddhabhadra is Sanskrit; in Han it means Awoken Goodness (Juexian). He was a descendant of King Amṛtodana of Kapilavastu. At the age of seventeen, Kumāralāta ordained him, and he assembled with his fellow disciples to master their studies: where the others took a month, Juexian grasped it in a single day. His master sighed and said, ‘Juexian is equal to thirty men.’ Entering Chang'an, he analyzed the profound purports with Kumārajīva, who yielded to him. Arriving at Mount Lu, he joined Master Yuan’s fellowship. He had earlier brought three relics of Śākyamuni with him, which he buried at a mountain ridge, marking it with a stūpa. Later, Emperor Xiaowu of Song summoned him to Daochang Temple to translate the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. In the fourteenth year of Kaiyuan of the Tang, Li Ne, Director of the Bureau of Military Supplies, Imperial Drafter, and Prefect of Jiangzhou, composed a record of the Chan master. Ne also called himself Chan Master Wuwu. It was written by Zhang Tinggui, Grand Master for Golden Purple的光祿, Prefect of Tongzhou, Supreme Pillar of State, and Founding Baron of Fanyang County. It was erected on the fifteenth day, a guimao day, of the seventh month, whose first day was a jichou day, in the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan, the jisi year. By its side is engraved Yan Lugong’s inscription of one hundred and sixty characters. North of the upper site is Tiger Paw Spring. Formerly, when Master Yuan and the worthies of the society toured this peak top, they were troubled by the long distance to water. On another day, a tiger pawed the rocks, and a spring emerged. Next is Five Cedars Pavilion. The five cedars are tall and lush, several arm-spans in girth, overlooked by a towering pavilion. During the Southern Tang, the Western Mountain monk Yingzhi once built a hermitage among the five cedars. In the Baoda reign era, he was […] favored by Yuanzong and composed the Wushan ji, which circulated in the world: a necessary book for the Buddhist sangha. Now only vague traces of it remain. The Sweet Dew Precept Platform is in the southeastern corner of the monastery. During the Taiqing reign era of the Liang, Dharma Master Xi preached the Golden Light Sūtra among the woods, and sweet dew soaked the trees for three days; hence a precept platform was built in the woods. Tradition relates that Jiangnan had three precept platforms, of which this is one. It was constantly used as a vegetable plot for the monks' quarters. A monk dreamed of a deity clad in golden armor who grasped him by the throat and reprimanded him for defiling the sacred platform. Frightened, the monk paved it with bricks and stones, preserving its remains. Master Yuan was initially given the posthumous title Bianjue. In the third year of Shengyuan, he was granted the title Grand Master Zhengjue; in the third year of Xingguo, he was granted the title Grand Master Yuanwu, and his tomb was designated the Stūpa of Congealed Stillness. The stūpa lies between the two Lin [Monasteries]. Beside it stand two cedars: one at a higher spot, measuring twenty-seven chi in girth; the other slightly lower, measuring twenty chi in girth. Master Yuan died in the twelfth year of Yixi of the Jin and was buried on this mountain; they are said to have been planted at that time. Qianming Temple is located over a hundred paces west of the Stūpa of Congealed Stillness. Formerly named Xilin Xing[…], its present name-board marks it as the bodhimaṇḍa of Chan Master Huiyong of the Jin. The Stele of the Xilin Bodhimaṇḍa was composed by Ouyang Xun of Bohai, Court Gentleman of the Imperial Sacrifices under the Sui. It bears no calligrapher’s name, yet the brushwork is crisp and vigorous; tradition holds it to be Ouyang’s own calligraphy. It was erected on the fifteenth day, a renchen day, of the tenth month, whose first day was a wuyin day, in the twelfth year of Daye, the dingchou year. It reads in summary: ‘Formerly there was the bhikṣu Tanxian, originally surnamed Zhu. Originally a fine general of the pseudo-Zhao, he gathered his dwelling in secluded retirement among the numinous cliffs of Mount Kuang. When his spirit migrated and transformed, relying on the early quiet of the cliffs, there was Huiyong of the Fan clan of Henei who halted compassion, praised as the foremost disciples. An extraordinary fragrance filled the chamber; ferocious beasts grew tame on the steps. Continuing the master’s work, he settled in dhyāna and constructed dwellings. [Xi] Fan of Xunyang, Grand Master of the Palace Watch under the Jin, founded the saṅghārāma and named it Xilin. This was the second year of Taihe of the Jin.’ In the third year of […] of the Liang, Vinaya Master Seng’en, in the Sui, Dharma Master Zhikai, in the second year of Daye, Chan Master Huiyuan, and in the seventh year, Dharma Master Daosui, all added renovations. In the first year of Yongtai of the Tang, Yan Lugong and Vinaya Master Fazhen ascended the multi-storied pavilion to view the painting of Vairocana Buddha by Zhang Sengyou and the bowl-bag embroidered with twisted thread by Emperor Wu of Liang, also writing an inscription at the top of Ouyang’s stele. The multi-storied pavilion was built in the second year of Daye; today all three have been lost. Master Yong manifested his passing in the tenth year of Yixi and was buried at the entrance to Incense Valley south of the stream. In the third year of Xingguo, he was also granted the posthumous title Grand Master Jueji, and his stūpa was named the Stūpa of True Wisdom. At the high ground behind the monastery is Incense Valley Pavilion. Formerly, when Master Yong was at Xilin, he separately established a thatched hut on the ridge whenever he wished to practice dhyāna contemplation.

he promptly went and resided there. The chamber frequently had a fragrant aroma, so it was named Fragrant Valley. Later generations built a pavilion above it, calling it Fragrant Valley Pavilion, in order to preserve the old story. Below it is the Water Pavilion Cloister, which during the Xingguo era was bestowed the name Longjiao. In the second year of the Zhenyuan era of the Tang, it was the bodhimaṇḍa of Vinaya Master Qilang. Master Lang manifested nirvāṇa on the sixteenth day of the tenth month in the second year of the Changqing era, and there is a stele for him. It was composed by Zheng Suxiang of the Tang and erected on the jisi day, the sixth day from the jiawu new moon of the third month, in the renzi year, the sixth year of the Taihe era. In the eighth year of the Baoda era, Xu Jingyun, the Filial and Settled Duke of the state of Bao in the Southern Tang, rebuilt it. The scriptural canon was also donated by the Duke; all volumes have colophons and are stored along the western wall. Wang Han, a man of the Southern Tang who called himself the Woodcutter, painted Subhūti. In this temple the beauty of the waters and stones was preceded by virtuous men; it is also second only to Donglin. In the early part of the Qingli era, the Great Master Zonghui, Daoyizhen of Dangtu, built a seven-tiered stūpa at Longjiao Cloister, occupying the vantage ground of Fragrant Valley. One li past Tongyin Bridge in front of the temple, one reaches Linkou Market, where formerly Zhu Daosheng was buried. What was once deep forests and secluded valleys in former generations was opened up into houses and dwellings in times of peace to gather merchants and travelers, while his grave [...] in Donglin still preserves his handwriting. To its west are some three hundred stone steps; descending from the upper level and passing Dripping Jade-Green Cliff, resting three times more, one reaches the Spring of Intelligence. The Spring of Intelligence owes its name to Yin Zhongkan of Jingzhou visiting Master Yuan. They conversed on the Book of Changes amid the pines, and Zhongkan was eloquent and erudite; Master Yuan then pointed to the spring and said, 'Your eloquence gushes forth like this spring.' Later generations thus named it the Spring of Intelligence. Formerly, Duke Li of Wei's Rhapsody on Mount Lu stated, 'Discourses on subtle doctrines amidst the pines,' and its commentary stated, 'Several pines at Donglin Temple still remain.' Today there is a building above the spring but no pines; this is said to be its former site. Next is the Buddha's Shadow Terrace. Master Yuan's Record of Mount Kuang says: 'The Buddha's shadow is in the Western Regions, south of the country of Nagarahāra, in an ancient immortal's stone chamber. On the first day of the fifth month in the renzi year, the eighteenth year of the Yixi era of the Jin, through a Kashmirian dhyāna master and a Vinaya-studying Taoist master from the southern realm, this terrace was together erected. An image was modeled on the original mountain, taking marvel from the traces; though completed by the skill of human artisans, it added nothing of true merit. When the year was in Xingji-chifenruozhen, at the station of Taiyin on the third day of the ninth month, an inscription was engraved on stone with detailed examinations and separate records.' Meng Huaiyu, Prefect of Jiangzhou; Wang Qiaozhi, Attendant Officer; Zhang Ye, Attendant-in-Ordinary; Yin Yin, Governor of Jin'an; Mao Xiuzhi, Yellow Gate Attendant; Zong Bing, the Recluse; Attendant-in-Ordinary Meng and Commandant Meng (the personal names of both are missing); Yin Wei, Administrative Assistant; Fan Yuezhi, Filial and Incorrupt; and Adjunct Wang [...] and Yeye all composed inscriptions and eulogies. Master Yuan's five Inscriptions on the Buddha's Shadow are recorded in the Biographies of Eminent Monks. Liu Yimin also composed a eulogy saying: 'The cloud-painting displays shimmering radiance; / The shadow matches sleeve and fold. / Its fashioning emerges from harmonious principle; / Its deeds are not of human doing.' Li Yong's record states: 'The shadow [...] came from the west; the relics transformed the east. Sometimes a stūpa leaped up from the earth; sometimes light connected to heaven.' The painting of the shadow refers to [...] the shadow; the relics refer to those preserved by Buddhabhadra. This terrace was reconstructed by the temple monks in later times. This temple is indeed the most ancient monastery of Mount Lushan. From the Kaiyuan and Yuanhe eras of the Tang down to the Baoda and Xiande eras, the stelae, records, visitors' songs, poems, and signatures have survived in distinct rows; their catalog is now recorded in the following fascicles. In the sixth year of the Dazhong era, Master Yuan was posthumously granted the title Dharma Master Bianjue; Pei Xiu wrote the calligraphy. On the eastern wall of its Guanyin Hall, there is a painting of Vimalakīrti the Layman copied in the eleventh year of the Dazhong era by Hong Kai of Wanling after Zhang Sengyou. The rest of the wall paintings were also painted in the Dazhong, Guangming, and Xiantong eras; although from common brushes, they are beyond what modern painters can achieve. The plaque for the Lotus Aiding-Sagehood Cloister was written by the monk Qiji. There is also a bronze statue of Emperor Minghuang and a portrait of Elder Li Tongxuan, all former relics of bygone generations. When the present dynasty changed the name of the temple, Attendant-in-Ordinary Xu Xuan personally wrote in seal script the six characters 'Taiping Xingguo Zhi Si' (Temple of the Taiping Xingguo Era); they are all preserved today. In the past it was passed down that the temple possessed Master Yuan's kāṣāya, Zhu Daosheng's whisk-tail fan, and Emperor Wu of Liang's almsbowl-bag. Master Yuan's kāṣāya is the saṃghāṭī robe paid homage to by Lord Yan, which is now already decayed and rotten; yet the leather slippers of the two venerable ones including Buddhabhadra, and five or six talipot palm leaves from Xie Lingyun's translation of the scriptures still remain; the rest are all lost. Li Yong's stele says: 'Kumārajīva presented his washing bottle, whose craftsmanship exhausted the double spout; Yao Hong offered his carved statue, whose artistry reached five years of labor.' These matters are also fully recorded in the Biographies of Eminent Monks; as time has grown ever more distant, it is natural that none survives. The poem by Guanhua of Chanyue says: 'Lu Lengjia's painting is completely overgrown with moss; / Yin Zhongkan's stele has been pierced through by dripping rain.' Guanxiu was a man of the Tianyou era, more than a hundred and fifty years before the present; the temple monks also did not know [its site]. His burial site was subsequently amid the noisy marketplace. In the early Kangding era, Tian Yu, the Prefect, had the temple monks reinter him to the left of Ningji. The Jiujiang Record states: 'South of Tongyin Bridge is Golden Lion Peak; on it are the tombs of three āraṇyas. Below the peak is Suogu Pond.' Today Suogu Pond still remains; the rest are all gone. One li west of Tongyin Bridge is the Temple of Lord Kuang. The Record of Xunyang states: 'In the past, when Emperor Wu of the Han traveled south to sacrifice at famous mountains, he asked what spirit Lord Lu was. The Erudite replied: "In ancient times Kuang Su attained the Way here." The emperor thereupon conferred the title Duke Daming. In the first year of the Tianbao era of the Tang, an imperial edict established a shrine there.' Five li east of Xilin is Yellow Earth Hermitage, beside which is the Scripture-Reading Hermitage. One li from Scripture-Reading Hermitage is Chongfu Hermitage. Five li from Chongfu Hermitage is Fragrant City Hermitage. Beside Fragrant City is Guanyin Hermitage; next is East Hermitage. Going down slightly for one li from East Hermitage, there is Guangji Hermitage. Another half-li further is Holy Monk Cliff. Two li from Holy Monk Cliff is Stone Basin Hermitage. Five li southeast of Xilin, one reaches Lower Huacheng Cloister. Three li from Lower Huacheng, one reaches Protect-the-Country Hermitage. One li from Protect-the-Country, one also reaches Stone Basin Hermitage. The stone basin is on the mountain, not made by chiseled stone; the clear spring in the basin does not dry up even in drought. Half a li above the stone basin, one reaches Baoyu Hermitage. Half a li to its side is Great Master Hermitage. Next is Upper Huacheng Cloister, which was also established by Master Yuan during the Yixi era. During the Xiangfu era,