廬山記 2.2.3

2.2.3

On the second day of the third month of the fifth year, he passed away. His complexion appeared as though alive, and a pure fragrance did not cease. Three days later, the followers on Mount Lu all saw the Master's rainbow banners fluttering as he arrived and halted, but in an instant they knew not where he was. When the Master departed, he was always wearing a cloth sack; at this time the cloth sack was hanging from a tree upon the crags. Now a peak by the western stream is named Cloth Sack Cliff (Bunang Yan). He was posthumously granted the title Master Jianji. His former dwelling was first made into the Jianji Abbey. On the seventh day of the second month of the first year of the Taiji era of the Tang, an imperial order decreed an offering (jiao) at the abbey, where anomalies such as a black dragon and a flock of cranes occurred. An imperial edict was issued praising the wondrous event, which was then submitted to the Historiography Institute; its words are too extensive to record here. The abbey lies below White Cloud Peak (Baiyun Feng). Among them, a peak that rises singly, elegant and towering, is called Purple Cloud Peak (Zixiao Feng). Thus Zhang Hu's poem says: 'Beneath Purple Cloud Peak is the thatched cottage immortal; / For a thousand years, left in vain, the stone chiming-stone hangs.' To its north there is also Screen Mountain (Pingfeng Shan), with vermilion precipices and purple cliffs encircling and sprawling grandly; it is truly the finest sight south of the mountain. One li before it is Cock-cage Mountain (Jilong Shan), over a hundred zhang high; beside the peak is a stone that, viewed from afar, resembles cocks, one bluish-green and one red. The Xunyang ji says: 'Below Cock-cage Mountain is stream water, constantly one foot deep. The spring surges like a tidal bore, without erring by a moment, and is especially large on the new and full moons.' The local people call it the Tide Spring (Chaoquan). Today it is overgrown and unknown. Above the abbey gate is the Court of Facing the Perfected (Chaozhen Ge). In front of the hall is the Master's sacrificial stone, six or seven feet high and over a zhang square, facing qian-hai; it is also called the Stone for Worshipping the Dipper (Lidou Shi). Behind the hall is a stone-carved catalogue of the Daoist Canon arrayed upon the four walls. Within the canon repository is a bronze statue of the Heavenly Worthy; elders say that this statue was originally the Buddha of Guizong Temple. When temples were destroyed in the Huichang era, it was obtained by Daoists; although the temple was restored, it was not returned. Thus its statue wears śramaṇa robes but has a crown added above. Those who hear of it smile. Next there is the Master's stone chime; its sound is pure and clear. West of the shrine hall is White Cloud Tower (Baiyun Lou). During the Liang, this abbey was called Jianji Lodging (Jianji Guan). Shen Xuan of Wuxing, Right Senior Clerk of the Minister of Works, Groom of the Heir Apparent, and Founding Marquis of Jianchang County, composed the record, erected in the eleventh month of the fourteenth year of Tianjian. By the Baoying era of the Tang, the Daoist Wu Yun again composed a stele for the Master, erected on the thirteenth day of the ninth month of the xinchou year, the second year of Shangyuan. Both steles were re-erected in the Baoda era. This abbey preserves many poems and inscriptions by people from the Chen and Sui dynasties down to the Tang. A hanging waterfall from the western stream drops before the covered walkways. When Wei Yingwu served as prefect, he wandered beneath it; thus the final stanza of his poem says: 'Long have I cherished this delight for years, / Only on this spring excursion do I seek it anew. / For now I take my horizontal flute, / To express all the sounds of the streams and hills.' To its north is another waterfall that joins the western stream below; seated in White Cloud Tower, one sees both waterfalls. Bitter bamboo grows continuously in the mountain valley; its spring shoots newly emerge, sweet and delicious in taste. Popular lore relates a Mount Lu poem: 'Sweet bitter-bamboo shoots in Jianji Abbey; / Bland salted pickles in Guizong Temple.' This means both are rare delicacies. Outside the abbey gate is the Master's elixir-refining well. Next there is an entwined-branch tree (lianli shu); its trunks unite in a single embrace, and its roots coil and cover over a giant rock. In the stream is Xu Jian's clothes-washing stone. Jian was a rustic man of Jiangnan who possessed Daoist arts and was also skilled in chanting poetry. He died in an inn in Jinling, but later people still encountered him; he was fond of washing clothes and drying them on this stone. From Jianji to Qiyin Abbey is five li. Anciently named Qiyin Grotto, tradition holds it was the study of Crown Prince Zhaoming of the Liang. During the Baoda era, the Daoist Tan Zixiao came from Min; granted the title Feathered Guest of the Golden Gate, he first founded the abbey here. When Tan was in Min, he was styled Heavenly Master of Cavernous Mystery, Master Zhenyi. Five li east of Qiyin is Guling Hermitage. From Guling to Kaixian Chan Cloister is ten li. Tradition holds that when Crown Prince Zhaoming of the Liang dwelt at Qiyin, he also built the Chamber for Beckoning the Recluse (Zhaoyin Shi) here. When Yuanzong of the Southern Tang resided in his princely estate, it was his study; after ascending the throne, in the Baoda era, it was first made a saṅghārāma named Kaixian. Feng Yanji's stele record is still extant. In the second year of the Xingguo era of our dynasty, it was bestowed the name Huazang. Crane Cry Peak (Heming Feng) is behind it. When Yuanzong moved to the Southern Capital, he came to this cloister and lingered in appreciation for a long time; thus portraits of Liezu, Yuanzong, and the Last Lord, as well as Yuanzong's former couch, are preserved here to this day. The monks of the four cloisters—Kaixian, Qixian, Guizong, and Yuantong—all prepare vegetarian feasts on the three death anniversaries to commemorate them. Proceeding from the official road across the stream bridge, above is Four Assemblies Pavilion (Sihui Ting), then Red Bayberry Pavilion (Yangmei Ting). Directly facing the temple gate is Beckoning Recluse Bridge (Zhaoyin Qiao); beneath the bridge is a stone well called Beckoning Recluse Spring (Zhaoyin Quan), ranked sixth in Lu Yu's Tea Classic. 'Zhaoyin' is an ancient name; Yuanzong first built the bridge here. The waterfall is to its west. Waterfalls south and north of the mountain number no fewer than ten-odd places; hence Guanxiu wrote of Mount Lu: 'A small waterfall is already three hundred feet high; / Short pines are mostly a thousand years old.' Only this cascade was renowned in former generations. Xu Ning's Tang poem says: 'From ancient times to now, ever like white silk flying, / A single strip slicing through the green mountain's hue.' Li Bai said: 'Its flying stream plunges directly down three thousand feet, / Suspected to be the Silver River falling from the midmost sky.' It is precisely this cascade. Incense Burner Peak and Twin Swords Peak (Shuangjian Feng) connect beside the waterfall. Fledgling Orioles Valley (Qianying Gu) is to its northeast. The water source is at the mountaintop, and no one has ever traced it to its end; some say it enters Kangwang Valley to the west to become the Water Curtain, and flows east to become the waterfall of Kaixian. From Great Compassion Pavilion (Dabei Ting) and the various halls and terraces east of the cloister, one often sees it while leaning on an armrest. The stones in the stream sometimes contain mica; on them one can sit, lie down, rinse the mouth, or wash. Above the stream is a stone bridge, upon which is Rinsing Jade Pavilion (Shouyu Ting). This is the supreme scene south of the mountain. Crossing the creek one li west in front of the cloister is Stone Stele Hermitage (Shibei An). A large rock stands on the mountain ridge, naturally resembling a great stele, hard and mineral-rich, incapable of being engraved. Ascending the mountain seven li from the Stone Stele, one reaches Yongtai Cloister. Above it is Yellow Rock Cliff (Huangshi Yan). The Jiujiang lu says: 'The ancient Zhaoyin Temple was beneath Yellow Rock Cliff.'