廬山記 1.8

1.8

According to the Taishigong: “I climbed Mount Lu to the south and viewed the nine branches of the Yangzi engineered by Yu.” The Treatise on the Suburban Sacrifices in the Han shu states: “During the Qianfeng era, Emperor Wu sailed upon the river, departing from Xunyang, passing through Congyang, and crossing Pengli to offer sacrifice to its famous mountains and great rivers.” Sang Qin's Shuijing states: “The Lujiang River emerges from Santianzidu and flows north past Pengli County.” Shi Huiyuan's Brief Record of Mount Lu states: “The mountain is situated in Xunyang of Jiangzhou; on the south it borders Gongting Lake, and on the north it faces Jiujiang. To the south of Jiujiang, the river is called the Little River. The mountain lies over thirty li from the Little River. On the left it embraces Pengli, and on the right it borders navigable rivers, gathering the currents of the three branches of the river and occupying their confluence.” The Shanhai jing states: “The Lujiang emerges from Santianzidu; another name is the Barrier of the Son of Heaven.” Thus ancient accounts identify what it borders as Pengli. There was a Master Kuang Su, who lived around the turn of the Yin and Zhou dynasties, who fled the world, withdrew in his era, and dwelt in hiding beneath it. Some say that Su received the Dao from an immortal and together they roamed this mountain, subsequently finding lodging on the empty crags and making their dwelling upon the cliffs. Hence the people of the time referred to where he stayed as the “hut (lu) of the divine immortal,” and thereby named the mountain after it. Its mass possesses seven ranges of great ridges in all, its rounded base encircling nearly five hundred li. It is the place where winds and clouds are unfurled, and is girdled by rivers and lakes. Its lofty cliffs present upturned eaves; its sheer precipices rise ten thousand xun. In its secluded peaks and remote crags, both humans and beasts are utterly cut off. When rain is about to fall, white vapor first gathers and forms festoons beneath the ridges; when it strikes the stones and breathes out clouds, they abruptly gather. Or great winds shake the cliffs, and their lingering echoes stir the valleys, as all natural sounds join in concert, their eerie tones frightening to men. Such are its unfathomable transformations. Among the multitude of ridges, the third ridge is exceedingly high and steep, where human traces have rarely reached. Formerly, the Taishigong travelled to the east, climbed its peak to gaze afar, looking south toward the three lakes and north toward Jiujiang, letting his eyes roam east and west as if traversing the heavenly court. About half a li beneath that ridge, there are piled peaks; above there are hanging cliffs, and beside them is a stone chamber, which is the dwelling of an ancient immortal. Behind it is a crag, under which Dong Feng of the Han set up his lodge. He often treated men's illnesses, his methods possessing many marvelous and divine qualities, surpassing ordinary physicians. For those who were cured, he had them plant five apricot trees. Within several years, they grew lushly into a forest. It was calculated that Feng lived among the people for two hundred years, yet his appearance always remained as when he was twenty. Soon afterward he ascended to immortality, leaving no further trace in the apricot grove. On its northern ridge and western cliff, there are ever-cascading waters whose surging currents hurtle toward one another over a drop of more than a hundred ren, in which the clouds and mists mirror the sky, so that viewed from afar, the mountain seems suspended amid the sky and dews. Its southern ridge overlooks Gongting Lake, beneath which stands a spirit shrine named after Gongting; the story of the Marquis An Shigao's spiritual transformation of it is found in the 'Narrative of the Mountain's North' section. The seven ridges converge in the east to form a cragged peak whose precipice is utterly sheer, so that none could climb it. A rustic once saw a person wearing a śramaṇa's robe ascending directly through the void; having reached the top, he turned around and sat down astride, and after a long while vanished together with the clouds and vapors. This seems to have been one who had attained the Dao. The men of letters of that time all marveled at it. Furthermore, the place where he stayed possessed many wonders, and everything one touched had unique marvels: behind it to the north were layered hillocks, and before it lay double streams like a girdle. The mountain behind it on the left has the shape of a dragon, and there is the foundation of a stone stūpa. Beneath it a sweet spring bubbles forth, its coolness and warmth altering with winter and summer, while its fullness and scarcity remain unchanged through floods and droughts. Tracing its source, it seems to emerge from the dragon's head. Facing it to the south is a high peak upon which stands a wondrous tree, uniquely rising tens of zhang above the canopy of the forest; beneath it, [the cliff] resembles a single-tiered Buddhist stūpa, where white cranes soar and dark clouds enter. To the southeast lies Incense Burner Peak, an isolated summit rising gracefully; when drifting vapors shroud its summit, the mists resemble fragrant incense smoke; when white clouds reflect outside it, it stands out brilliantly, distinct from all the other mountains. When rain is about to fall, the aquatic vapors beneath it surge upward like the canopy of a chariot and horse; this is what is spat out from the Dragon Well. To its left is an emerald forest, where bluefinches and white apes rest, and dark swallows hibernate. To the west is the Stone Gate, whose front resembles double gate-towers, with sheer walls rising more than a thousand ren, down which waterfalls cascade. As for the beauty of the birds, beasts, grasses, and trees within it, and the marvels of its numinous herbs and local products, how could one fully name them all? I have merely presented their unusual features.” Both Liu Zhao's commentary to the Sequel to the Han Treatise and Li Daoyuan's commentary to the Shuijing employ Huiyuan's account. Furthermore, the Old Gazetteer of Yuzhang states: “Su had the courtesy name Junping and was a descendant of Yu of the Xia. Some say his courtesy name was Junxiao. His father, the King of Dongye, together with Wu Rui, aided the Han in establishing order across the empire and died. The Han enfeoffed Su at Liyang as the Lord of Yuelu. Su and his seven brothers all loved Daoist arts, and consequently dwelt spiritually in the mountains of Dongting; hence it was called Mount Lu.” Zhang Sengjian's Record of Xunyang states: “To the south of the mountain are three palaces, the so-called Capitals of the Son of Heaven, from which the waters of Lugong Stream emerge. The Upper Palace is unreachable by mortals; it has three stone bridges, each over ten zhang long, whose walkways are barely a chi wide, with bottomless depth beneath them. The Middle Palace lies on a separate crag, all of patterned stone, flanked on both sides by small, rounded peaks of peculiar wonder called the Right Barrier Peaks, whose stone shapes resemble horses and sheep arriving along a road. Facing it is the Lower Palace, located on the shore of Lake Pengli, the ancient site of the Gongting Shrine. The mountain is two thousand three hundred and sixty zhang high and two hundred and fifty li in circumference. Its mountain has nine tiers, and its river has nine branches.” The Jun-guo zhi states: “Mount Lu has nine tiers of folded barriers, towering ten thousand ren high; it harbors the numinous, embraces the extraordinary, and encompasses all traces of immortals.” The Record of Xunyang also states: “In the seventeenth year of Qin Shihuang, he climbed Mount Lu to the east to gaze at Jiujiang, reaching Shangxiao Peak; because it joined with the clouds and Milky Way, it was named thus. Behind the peak there is an inscribed stone that says it was carved by Yu of the Xia, but its dimensions, distances, and characters cannot be deciphered.” Fu Tao's Preface to Roaming the Mountain states: “Mount Lu is the great peak of Jiangyang; its general shape backs the flow of the Min River and faces Pengli. The base where it coils covers hundreds of li; layered ridges and lofty peaks point upward into the clouds and sun, while looking down upon the currents of the rivers and lakes.” Wang Biaozhi's Preface to the Rhapsody on the Mountain states: “Mount Lu is a mountain of Pengze; although not counted among the Five Sacred Peaks, towering and majestic, it is truly a famous mountain of the utmost steepness.” Sun Fang's Rhapsody on the Mountain states: “To the south of Xunyang lies Mount Lu, the guardian mountain of Jiujiang, overlooking the marshes of Pengli and bordering broad, open plains.” Zhang Ye's Record states: “When rain is about to fall, there are white clouds that either crown the crags of the peak or stretch across the middle ridges; popular lore calls this the ‘mountain belt.’ Rain is sure to fall within three days. Whenever it rains, puddles form below, while above the sun still shines brightly. At the top of the peak there is a large flat boulder upon which several hundred people could sit.” All the above describe this mountain. The rhapsody by Zhi Tandi of the Song states: “How magnificent and grand, of the utmost steepness! Pervaded by ethereal mists, it encompasses numinous wonders, hiding its capacities and storing its sheer peaks amidst the blue clouds. When the air clears, the crags and grottoes open like mirrors; when the wind rises, the fragrant groves release their perfume. Because the ridges are marvelous, divine beings gather like scales; because it is exceedingly sheer, human traces naturally part away. Yan Qing climbed the mountain to the dark cliff; Shigao shed his influence at Gongting. The arhat mounted the clouds to sit upon the peak; vanishing in an instant, eclipsing his form, he entered appropriateness. All have long heard of their pure dust, yet this subtle non-being defies verbal praise. As for its southern side, it towers steeply; its northern back rests upon fragrant roots. Hanging cascades part their currents in flying torrents; seven ridges pile their peaks in layered forms. Shaded by bamboo and cypress, dense with tamarisks and pines, entwined by the three lakes, girdled by the nine river branches. Ah, the lush elegance of the four plants alone flourishes in the dark of winter! How lovely the murmuring flow of the two streams, the ford where the hundred rivers converge! Sheer gates rise a hundred xun, lofty gate-towers tower a thousand ren. The Incense Burner breathes out clouds like smoke; sweet springs gush forth, bringing early moisture.” The preface by Emperor Yuan of Liang states: “Now the sun and moon cling to heaven so that the heavenly vault displays its constancy; rivers and peaks girdle the earth so that the sovereign earth extends its tranquility. Mount Lu is indeed the virtuous guardian of the southern realm; although its forests and stones assume differing stances, its clouds and sunset glows share the same colors. When long winds arise at night, ten thousand currents echo together; when morning flying squirrels chirp at dawn, a hundred ridges respond in unison. Looking east toward the Hong Well, one knows that the dragging silk is here; looking west toward the Stone Bridge, one sees that cast-off jewels may be gathered. Truly, yearning for one's kind easily brings sorrow, and one can hardly remain long within the mountains; grasping vines and entwining cassia, many are seen lingering on. As for the rest, the rhapsodies and poems from ancient times to the present cannot all be recorded. It is truly a famous mountain under heaven.” Jiangzhou is twenty li north of the mountain. Originally it lay north of the Great River, on the northern bank of the Xun River, hence the name Xunyang. Present-day Lancheng of Qizhou is its ancient northern site. In the ninth year of Xianhe, Inspector Wen Qiao first moved it from north of the river to south of Pencheng. In the first year of Yixi, Inspector Guo Chang moved the seat to Jiangxia. In the eighth year, Meng Huaiyu returned to govern from Xunyang. In the second year of Taiqing, Xiao Daxin, on account of Hou Jing's rebellion, wished to rely on a defensible stronghold, and thus moved it to the town of Penkou, still calling Huaiyu's former town the “Old Administrative Seat.” Zhang Sengjian's Record of Xunyang states: “The town of Penkou was built by Guan Ying. During the Jianping era of the Han, Sun Quan passed by the northern town and ordered a well to be dug. In the middle they happened to unearth an ancient Sanskrit stone box whose inscription read: ‘In the sixth year of the Han, the Marquis of Yingyin opened it and divined: It shall be blocked in three hundred years; less than a hundred years later, it shall be opened by one whose destiny corresponds to the cycle.’ Quan was overjoyed, regarding it as his own auspicious omen. The well is extremely deep; whenever there are wind and waves on the Pen River, the well water moves accordingly. The local people thus call it the Surging Well (Langjing).” Therefore, Li Bai's poem 'Descending Xunyang City and Boating on Pengli' says: “The waves stir in Guan Ying's well; / The wind blows over the Xunyang River.” Today the well is located in the western garden inside the prefectural administrative compound. Atop the city wall stands the North Tower, overlooking the Pen River; leaning against the heights to look afar, it is the scenic wonder of the whole commandery. A poem on Pencheng by Zhang Zhengjian, Cavalier Regular Attendant of the Chen, says: “Kuang Mountain warms the distant ravine; / The ramparts of Guan Ying meet the mid-stream. / City blossoms flying reflect upon the water; / The river moon ascends the bright tower.” According to the Jin shu's biography of Yu Liang: “When Liang was in Wuchang, his various assistants, Yin Hao and his circle, went up to the South Tower together on an autumn night. Suddenly, unaware of Liang's arrival, they were about to withdraw. Liang said, ‘Stay a little, gentlemen; this old fellow's enthusiasm in this place is not shallow.’ He then sat on a folding chair and engaged in conversation and chanting with Hao and the others through the rest of the sitting.” Thus the event took place at the South Tower in Wuchang. Later generations, because Liang had once served as Inspector of Jiangzhou, consequently named this tower the Yu Tower, which is in fact not the site where he ascended that autumn night. In former ages, this commandery was sometimes named Jiujiang and sometimes Xunyang. The Yang and Li families of the Tang in turn held it, elevating it to the Fenghua Army Military Commission. In the fourth year of Kaibao of our present dynasty, upon pacifying Jiangnan, it was reduced to a military prefecture. In the third year of Taiping Xingguo, Xingzi Town was elevated to a county and remained subordinate to it. In the seventh year, the three counties of Xingzi, Jianchang, and Duchang were detached to establish the Nankang Military District. Thereupon the south of the mountain came under Nankang, and the north of the mountain under Jiangzhou.