法苑珠林 63.91

63.91

In the time of Jie of Xia, Mount Li disappeared. In the time of Qin Shi Huang, the Three Mountains disappeared. In the thirty-second year of King Xian of Zhou, the Song altar of the soil at Daqiu disappeared. At the end of the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Han, the altar of the soil at Changyi in Chenliu disappeared. Jing Fang's Yizhuan states: "When a mountain moves silently on its own, there will be warfare in the world and the altars of state will perish." Therefore, in Langya in Shanyin of Kuaiji, there was a strange mountain; tradition says it was originally Mount Dongwu of Langya. At that time, on a night of rain, wind, and murky darkness, at dawn this mountain was seen to be there. The common people found it strange, so they named it Strange Mountain. At that time, the mountain of Dongwu County had also vanished of its own accord overnight. Those who recognized its shape knew that it had moved and arrived there. Today beneath Strange Mountain there is Dongwu Village, which takes its name precisely from recording where the mountain originated. Furthermore, Mount Cuizhou of Jiaozhou moved to Qingzhou. In general, the shifting of mountains is an anomaly of the utmost extreme. The eras of these two matters are not clearly known. The "Metal-Bound Coffer" chapter of the Shangshu states: "When mountains shift, the ruler does not employ men of the Way, and worthy persons do not rise; or emoluments leave the public house, and rewards and punishments do not proceed from the ruler; private clans form factions beyond remedy, which presages a change of dynastic generation and an alteration of the dynastic title." A commentary says: "Those who speak well of Heaven must verify it in human affairs. Heaven has the four seasons and the five elements; the sun and moon push one another, and cold and heat alternate. In their rotation: when harmonized, they become rain; when enraged, they become wind; when dispersed, they become dew; when disrupted, they become fog; when congealed, they become frost and snow; and when manifested, they become rainbows. These are the regular constants of Heaven and Earth. If the four seasons lose their operation and cold and heat go awry, then the five planets wax and wane, the stars move erratically, the sun and moon are eclipsed, and comets erupt and shooting stars fly about. These are the omens and signs of Heaven and Earth. When cold and heat are out of season, Heaven and Earth are in imminent decline. Therefore, the mounding and bulging of earth are the pimples and boils of Heaven and Earth; landslides and sinkholes are the ulcers and carbuncles of Heaven and Earth; violent winds and torrential rains are the rushing breath of Heaven and Earth; and the failure of rains to fall and rivers drying up are the parched desiccation of Heaven and Earth."