SUMMER AND FALL 1630

Xu Xiake visited Min (modern Fujian) five times. Diary accounts for three of those visits are extant. The first (1620), the Nine Carp Lake account, is translated earlier in this volume; the second (1628) is translated in the previous diary. What follows below is the third account, which chronicles a sightseeing trip south to Fujian in the summer and fall of 1630.

Spring of the gengwu year [1630]: My uncle, the administrator for public order in Zhangzhou Prefecture, has urged me to visit him at his government office. I had intended to put away my sightseeing sandals this year, but a steady stream of messengers from south of Zhangzhou came with invitations. My great uncle, Nian’e the Gaffer, who is advanced in age, came and sat in my home, braving the summer heat, and urged me to set off.¹ So I began my journey on the seventeenth day of the seventh month [24 August]. On the twenty-first day [28 August], I reached Wulin.² On the twenty-fourth day [31 August], I crossed the Qiantang River [Qiantang Jiang]. The waves were calm and without a ripple; I seemed to be strolling on level ground while crossing the river. On the twenty-eighth day [4 September], I reached Longyou County, where I hired a boat to take me to Blue Lake.³ Since Quzhou Prefecture was still twenty li away, we moored at Camphor Tree Pool [Zhangshu Tan].⁴

Thirtieth day [6 September]: Passed Jiangshan County and reached Blue Lake, where I abandoned the boat and proceeded on foot. Following the stream, I searched for surpassing scenic spots and found a rocky cliff on the northern shoreline. The cliff overlooks the stream’s rippling billows. A limpid pool laps against its base, while nearby crevices are adorned with dense trees. The rocks are dark green, while the trees are lushly luxuriant and bear the likeness of lotus plants emerging on the water’s surface. Monks have built dwellings against the cliff, creating quite an air of serenity and perfection.⁵ I crouched down on a rock to rest and met Liu Duiyu, with whom I immediately became friends. He told me, “Twenty li north of Jiangshan is Left Hollow [Zuokeng]. The crag rocks there are extraordinary and eerie. As for your straw sandals investigating that remote place, you cannot go there just once.” I then joyfully backtracked to where I was staying. Since it was already afternoon, I did not proceed any farther.

First day of the eighth month [7 September]: Braving the rain, I proceeded for thirty li. I gazed toward Mount Jianglang’s rocky slabs the whole way but could not see them, even though I was nearby. I had planned to climb to its base earlier but failed when I reached the trailhead. Crossed Mountain Hollow Ridge [Shankeng Ling] and stopped to spend the night at Precious Peace Bridge [Baoan Qiao].

Second day [8 September]: When I climbed Transcendent Sunglow Clouds Ridge and crossed Little Pole Ridge [Xiao Ganling], the nearby fog had already lifted, but the distant peaks were only a blur. Proceeded another ten li and had a meal at Twenty-Eight Wards [Ershiba Du]. Southeast of there is Floating Lid Mountain [Fugai Shan], which straddles the three provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi and falls within the boundaries of the four prefectures of Quzhou, Chuzhou, Guangxin, and Jianning.⁶ Perilous and towering is Floating Lid, which stands between Transcendent Sunglow Clouds and Plowshare Ridge [Liling].⁷ It serves as the crown of the other peaks. Maple Ridge [Fengling] poises in the west; Terminus Ridge [Biling] is a barrier in the east. Plowshare Ridge, then, lies to the south. Its bizarre rocks seem to snatch the clouds; its sunglow clouds hover above tapered, lush-green peaks. Each time I headed south past Little Pole Ridge and to the north crossed Plowshare Ridge, I would look far off into the distance at Floating Lid’s bounteous assembly, which I found breathtaking. After a meal, my excitement could not be held in check. I made numerous queries about the trail to climb the mountain. A cowherd told me, “If you ascend by way of Red Maple Tree Ridge—that is the main trail to the mountain, but that is the long way. If you cross the ridge to the left of the stream bridge at Twenty-Eight Wards, then pass over White Flower Cliff [Baihua Yan], that trail is narrower but closer.” I was even more delighted to hear about White Flower Cliff, even though I had to take a longer route, bypassing a shortcut! I then crossed south of the bridge and proceeded for several dozen paces, where there was a narrow trail from the left by which one could climb to the ridge.

After three li, I descended the ridge, left the trail, and headed south, crossing a stream. Proceeded another three li, then turned into a col to the south, where a village is at the northern foot of Floating Lid Mountain. Here, the stream divides, and the ridges mingle; bamboo and pine trees are fresh and serene. The village is called Golden Bamboo Cloud [Jinzhu Yun]. I crossed a wooden bridge and entered the village at the bamboo fence gate of a paper maker. Then, taking some small stone steps, I began my climb. At first, there were plots of fields everywhere, lofty and in folds, gradually mounting straight up to precipitous cliffs. Proceeded another five li, where rough and rugged giant boulders are like chess pieces positioned in starry nets, and pines and bamboo contend with rocks inside crevices. By this time, I had already entered the places with the most surpassing scenic sights. Where bamboo is thick and rocks turn away, a single retreat towers aloft. This is White Flower Cliff. A monk pointed to the ultimate summit of the mountain behind the cliff, where the rocks on the peak are quite extraordinary. The ridge to the right of the retreat rings and rolls around then moves left. This is Inner Mountain Retreat [Lishan An].⁸ Crossed two lofty knolls through Inner Mountain, turned, and descended to the southern side of a mountain. This is Great Monastery [Dasi]. To the right is Plowshare Pinnacle Summit [Lijian Ding]; to the left is Rocky Dragon Cavern [Shilong Dong].⁹ I looked down at Plowshare Ridge ahead, which seemed I could now bend and pinch it between my fingers. I then proceeded two li from the right of the monastery and stopped to rest at Inner Mountain Retreat. From Inner Mountain to Great Monastery is about seven li. The trail is small and steep, and one must first mount a knoll and proceed for about two li. The layout of the knoll droops down toward the north. I crossed east of the knoll, where the rivers below a col all flow east. This marks the border of Pucheng County. I ascended to the south for another li, crossed a knoll, followed to its left, and ascended. This is called Lion Peak. The fog was thick, and the trail was blocked, so I gave up on it. Passed over a knoll and descended to the west, then turned south again, ascended for two li, and crossed another knoll. From the left of the knoll, one can also ascend Lion Peak. From the right, one can climb to the summit of Dragon Cavern. I then headed south, went straight down for about two li, and reached Great Monastery, where bamboo cast shadows on fissures in the rocks. White Flower Cliff perfectly captures the unique shapes of the shadows. And while other peaks and tors ring around and align, this one truly is unique in its surpassing scenery. Rain detained me in the monastery for two days.

Fourth day [10 September]: Braving the rain, I made a sightseeing trip to Dragon Cavern. With my monk guide, I chopped at trees to open a path. We clambered through jumbled scree and ascended. Fog billowed up; the thorns were like razors. Small rocks enveloping steep banks looked fierce and evil, like creepy ghosts. Through clustered rocks, we made our way to a gorge. Places that are gentle and graceful enhance the gorge’s eeriness yet conceal its dangers; bare and hilly areas enhance its risks yet restrain its steepness. It was like this for two li. While stopped beneath a tree, I glanced sidelong and spotted a cliff. I clambered and crouched my way onto it. To the right are two cliff walls pressed closely together. The distance between them is only a foot. Above and below, they seemed to form a whole, just like places called a “single thread of sky.”¹⁰ I could not tell if it provided a way to reach the summit. Next, I lit a bamboo lantern and crept and crawled into a crevice. The crevice walls pressed close together and stood erect and high, which seemed like the “single thread of sky” I just saw outside. Comparing the two, the summit of the one outside is open and bright, while the one here is joined on top and dark.

When I first entered the cavern, even closed places above still allowed one or two light streams to slip in. However, as I went deeper into the cavern, it turned pitch black. The stream at the bottom of the cavern flows over a bed of sand. The stream drenched my feet, but the path was flat. Along the path, there is a flat rock. Like a tongue, it sticks straight up in the air, directly perpendicular to the cavern’s walls. The flat rock is only three feet high. Both sides of it are attached to the cavern walls. The cavern walls not only pressed against my shoulders; my chest was right up against the rock. There was no way to clamber and tread forward. Passing through this cavern is the most difficult. I went farther, and the two walls pressed in even closer; my shoulders could not fit through. I advanced only after turning my body sideways. More rocky slabs, like those encountered earlier, blocked the entrance to the narrow passageway. They are twice the height of the earlier slabs. I could not climb farther, so the monk guide pulled me up. But after climbing up, the monk could not descend. He removed his outer jacket, twisted and turned for a long time, and got down. With my body still turned sideways, I hesitated, standing on a rock. Then I also took off my outer jacket and mustered all my strength. From the rocks below, the monk supported me with his arms so we could go farther into the cavern. Its interior walls are a bit more spacious, so we could stand shoulder to shoulder as we proceeded. The water in the cavern is relatively deep. This is called Dragon Pond [Longchi]. Facing upward, I looked at the top of the cavern. But it was too high; I could not see the ceiling. A dragon-shaped rock overhangs from the most distant point where it bestrides the walls. The color of all the other rocks in the cavern is reddish-brown. Only this one is white. The texture of the rock is coarse, like a grindstone, seemingly forming fish scales and shells. So the rock has been deified as a “dragon.” I turned up the lantern wick, looked around for a while, and exited the cavern.

In this next section, Xu provides helpful information to future visitors to Dragon Cavern.

If you ascend the cavern from the rocky, narrow passageway, you are hemmed in; if you descend, you are blocked. When you enter the cavern, your body seems to dangle from above, but then you drop down. The physical contours of the cavern remain smooth. You turn your body sideways to get through when you come out from below. Your chest and back cling to and rub against the two walls, and your knees cannot bend and extend. The rocks stab your skin. No one can be close, either in front or behind you. Whenever one person passes another, the quicker he does so, the more likely he is to become stuck. It seemed like we feared we might meld together with the rocks. After we came out of the cavern, I was so joyous that I felt as if I had been reborn, while mountain mists suddenly dispersed, and our next destination in the empyrean came into my gaze. We proceeded on through the brightly lit gorge. Cutting and severing wild grasses and clearing away brambles, we did not go a half a li when we came to another cavern. The cavern was made up entirely of huge boulders, one on top of another, like multi-story lofts and double-layered belvederes. Inside, it was dry and fresh, with bright light passing through.

I paced about the cavern for quite a while, ascended the overlapping cliffs for two li, and climbed to the absolute summit. This is the highest place on Floating Lid. I perched myself on a rock and sat down. The fog in the northwest immediately lifted. Below, I saw Golden Bamboo Village [Jinzhu Li] one li to the east, where rocks collapsed into ravines and then plummeted into valleys. The layers of rocks seemed like emerald jade and light silk gauze, distant and near, in countless shapes. Only the area south of the summit was still out of sight. Following a ridge to the west, I descended. Then I realized this peak is the most distant one east of Floating Lid. From here, I proceeded west, wiggling and writhing over several peaks, twice lying low, twice rising high, all the way to the end of Piled Rocks Retreat [Dieshi An], which, as it turns out, is in the western corner of Floating Lid. When you descend farther, this takes you to White Flower Cliff. After crossing two consecutive peaks, you come to what is the third knoll leading to the monastery on Inner Mountain. Occasionally, whenever I would pass a peak, the weather on the peak would invariably break and clear. All the rocks on the western peaks would then spread open and come into view. From the terminus to the west of the peaks, I crossed two more peaks, both of which had tiered and terraced rocks. Yet another peak, inclining toward the south and positioned among them, has two rocks in front towering high. One is slanted to one side and pointed. This is called Plowshare Pinnacle Rock [Litou Jianshi]. The two rocks are several scores of rods high. It seems fitting that they are offshoots of Mount Jianglang.

Everywhere below the crags are several layers of rocks clustered together, supported below by a flat, rocky dish. If one sits in a recessed, empty spot, they could linger and loiter for as long as they like. On the spur below and to the south of this peak, numerous rocks tower up in tiers. These are designated Twin Stalactite Men [Shuangsun Shiren]. Its branches are all the peaks that assemble and align to the right of Great Monastery. Scattered behind the peaks are five other peaks, rotating and ringing around. Hidden among them is a level tract of land where cottages could be built, which one rarely finds among lofty peaks. Farther to the west, I crossed two peaks. The central summit of Floating Canopy is formed from stacked and heaped flat boulders. Those below form the base; those on top form the canopy. Sometimes, several rocks together shoulder a single rock; sometimes, several rocks lay side by side on a single rock. They form into layered terraces and twin watchtowers everywhere above and below, so “Floating Lid on the Transcendent’s Altar” [Fugai Xiantan] is not a misnomer. Its rocks are lofty, tapered, and without steps, so it was difficult for me to clamber up there. I climbed to its apex, where the masses of peaks were wholly revealed. Rocks on all four sides of the mountain’s summit have moss, which seems graceful and charming, drooping into delicate greenery and floating mist. To the west, I gazed at the surpassing scenic sights of Piled Rocks Peak [Dieshi Feng] and Rocky Transcendent Peak [Shixian Feng], still three or four peaks into the distance. Since it was already noon, I backtracked to have a meal in the monastery. I then departed and descended to the south. Proceeded ten li and came to a main road. I was already at the foot of Plowshare Ridge. Climbed the ridge, passed Nine Shepherds, and spent the night at the Lower Market at Fisherman’s Bridge [Yuliang Xiajie].

Fifth Day [11 September]: Headed down to Pucheng County by boat and, after four days, reached Yanping Commandery.¹¹

Tenth day [16 September]: Next, sailing against the current, we ascended Eternal Peace Stream [Yong’an Xi] and moored at Banyan Tree Stream [Rongxi].¹² This area is the midpoint between Nanping and Sha Counties, each sixty li away. Before reaching here, the water in the stream from Pucheng County was minimal, but the stream from Yong’an County rages and swells. Thus, the boat moved as slowly downstream as it did upstream.

Eleventh day [17 September]: The boat proceeded southwest, winding as it followed the mountains. By jumbled rocks, sheer and steep, the racing current shot us along at great speed. After twenty li, the boat hit a rock. The boatman used bamboo fibers and cotton paper and stuffed in strips of wood to plug the leak, securing it with nails. This stopped water from pouring in any farther. Proceeded another ten li to where, on the right side of the stream, there was a mountain. It looks down on the stream like a crouching lion. The face of the mountain has two layers of cliffs, while a belvedere-like rock formation looks out from the top. Below the cliffs is a round rock several rods high, which juts out from inside the stream. Thus, we turned east for another ten li, landing on a beach under the moon. The boat moored in the old part of the county.

Twelfth day [18 September]: The mountains opened slightly. We proceeded northwest for twenty li and reached Sha County. The area south of the county wall overlooks Great Stream. As high as a man’s shoulders, the county wall is a cliff along the stream. Many large boats were anchored in the stream. On the two sides of the stream are waterwheels, which control the water so grain can be threshed. Proceeded west for ten li, then cut south into the mountains. The rocky bones of the mountains on the right are scarped and tapered, while in a narrow spot on the left of the mountain, there is a waterfall resembling a jade chopstick poking down into a crack in a depression. Proceeded southwest for another twenty li and moored at Yangkou.¹³ There is a road here that goes through to Youxi County.¹⁴ To the east is a mountain called Lifeng, the most prestigious height in this prefecture. I saw it yesterday when our boat passed Crouching Lion Cliff [Fushi Ya]. Today, we sailed around it to the west, then headed south.

Thirteenth day [19 September]: Proceeded southwest for twenty li and gradually entered the mountains. After another twenty-five li, we reached Double Mouths [Shuangkou]. Then we turned and proceeded northwest for five li and reached Transverse Double Mouths [Heng Shuangkou]. To the right of the stream is a river that approaches from the north. The stream from Yong’an County comes from the south. The two streams merge when reaching here. The stream that approaches from the north can be navigated for about seventy li before reaching the front of the cliff. Another five li into the territory of Yong’an is the Xinling Post Station [Xinling Pu].

Fourteenth day [20 September]: Only after we entered the boundary of Yong’an did we hear the cries of gibbons. Proceeded south for forty li to Resilient River [Gongchuan]. We ascended some big rapids for ten li. As we proceeded southeast, gazing into the distance, I suddenly saw peak rocks protruding boldly on the right side of the stream. Not long afterward, as we directly closed in on the area below them, the rocks protruding boldly changed and became spiny and spikey, and collapsed rubble, all of which circled and ran crosswise, standing like walls, forming peaks, forming crags, forming screens, and forming pillars, one after another. Among them is a peaked wall that tapers to its base. Someone had written on it in large characters: “Ride Up to the Empyrean” (Lingxiao). Hence, as for elements in the extraordinary scenery on the left side of the stream, they also seemed to stand out and contend to be the most surpassing. By this time, the boat had already turned northwest. The cliffs on the left side of the stream are somewhat more unusual and different. But there is a sight even more outstanding than the scene on the left: Peach Source Cavern.¹⁵ Its rows of peaks jut out south of the stream. Above, it ascends and closes in on the Layered Han [Cenghan]; below, it looks down on the meandering stream.¹⁶ At the base of the peaks is a deep crack through which a flowing stream bursts. I looked up at the summit, where railings meandered and railings soared, which girdled around from far away and were all different. I immediately stopped the boat and climbed up there. I followed the ravine and then entered the cavern. There was only a single crack between the cliffs, where I saw bamboo casting shadows into the stream. I came to a bridge, crossed the ravine, and then ascended again. There is a gate here called Eternal Spring Garden [Changchun Pu]. As I hastily pressed on toward the gate, the peak south of the stream that I gazed at earlier was now north of the gate.

Next, I headed north and ascended. Beside the trail is a rock, square and as flat as a whetstone. As sunset hues filled the mountains, I came to intersecting trails and could not tell which way to go. So I went to Great Master’s Ceremonial Hall [Dashi Dian], where I found a Daoist to guide me. Following a cliff, we passed the Literary Splendor Belvedere as I accompanied him north. Turned and crossed two pavilions, which stood poised on the cliffs, embellishing its walls. From here, we turned into a narrow gap in the steep wall, which only measured the width of a thread. A gap cleaved through to the mountain’s apex and, in the distance, pierced through to the mountain’s north side. In the gap, there is not enough room for one’s shoulders to pass. As it turns out, someone has chiseled away at the gap, making it passable, and built up steps that slant and ascend directly through it. I have never seen one as grand, confining, remote, and orderly among the several “single thread of sky” locations at Mount Wuyi, Mount Huang, and Floating Canopy.

Not long afterward, I came across an opening in the sky above, where peaks all around gathered and aligned. I ascended through the gap to a square and well-proportioned rock called Chessboard Mesa [Qiping]. Along the way, I next came to a terrace. On it is a tree rising high in the sky. Its roots coil around the terrace. Next, I came to a trestle bridge built between two cliff walls. The walls above and below are tapered. When I crossed the bridge, I felt poised in midair. Where peaks are gathered, and rocks are split in two, an abyss forms a cavern called Jade Ring [Huanyu]. After I came out of the cavern, next got through to a col in the west and ascended from the flank of Chessboard Mesa, where I came to a well with sweet and clear water. I next traversed the peak’s northern corner with a very spacious pavilion. It is just that the stream from the north descends and winds around the peak and then narrows and tapers, so I could not look down at it. From here, I descended to the left and again came to a spring whose deep waters gathered to form a pool. As it was sunset, there was no time to go there.

Next, to the south, I ascended the ultimate summit, crowned with an octagonal-shaped pavilion. I descended the mountain by the western trail and came out at Nestled against the Clouds Pass [Yiyun Guan], where stone steps lead down steeply inside a gap, then descend for a hundred rods. Presumably, all four sides of the mountain are steep and sheer, with only a “single thread” as a stairway in the dark and “hundreds of rods of stone steps” as a ladder in the light.¹⁷ Only when sightseers use the “ladder” to descend and the “thread” to ascend can they see all the extraordinary scenes. Aside from these, there are no other paths to the summit. We then returned to Great Master’s Ceremonial Hall. It was dusky and dark, so we could not go out. The Daoist had one of his disciples chop some wood and make a fire, then accompanied me to the side of the stream, where our solitary lamp light passed through the verdant col, almost like a will-o-the-wisp in a dark room. The Daoist said, “Two li distant from Eternal Spring Garden is Dustless Inn [Buchen Guan]. Next is Hundred Rods Cliff [Baizhang Yan], which has surpassing scenery. You can sightsee there.” I nodded to him in agreement. I backtracked to the boat and urged the boatman that we travel by night. He refused, so I joined forces with my servants and punted the boat. Fortunately, there were no rocks in the rapids. The moon gradually became bright, and by the second drum, we had moored beneath an abandoned stone bridge. Proceeded on for twenty li and stopped just two li from Yong’an County.

Fifteenth day [21 September]: We reached a place below a bridge west of the county wall. The bridge is already in ruins. A big stream approaches from the west; the stream below the bridge approaches from the south. Both streams looked just like when I went sightseeing at Jade Flower Cavern.¹⁸ Made a circuit around the western section of the county wall and proceeded south. I departed by proceeding against the stream that approaches from the south. Proceeded fifty li and reached Changqian, where the stream emerges from the right side of a mountain, and a trail follows the left side. So I abandoned the stream and climbed a ridge. Crossed two mountain ridges. And to the southwest, crossed a bridge over a stream.

Proceeded five li and to the south passed Murmuring Stream Bridge [Ximing Qiao]. After another five li, I approached a mountain’s corner to the southwest. I thought, at last, I had reached the ultimate summit, but the top of the mountain was even more vaulted, like a dome. I ascended no farther. I proceeded south along the midpoint of the mountain, winding and cutting through the hazy-blue mist. I looked down at its base, where a stream curved, then twisted and turned. I could only hear the roar of its howling rage. But the mountain’s base was so deep that I could not see any water. Presumably, the pinnacled, rocky peaks with tapered crests stand melded like joined teeth while rivers rinse their foundations below. Everywhere above are massed trees. But travelers only see a green lushness floating in the sky. They would probably think this was a single mountain if they did not hear the water. After some time, a meandering, swift current appeared in an opening between the trees. Its turbid, carmine color looked like blood. Proceeded another five li and came upon Carmine Stream. After another five li, we stopped at Lin’s Field.

Sixteenth day [22 September]: I followed along a mountain for two li to where a peak directly descends from the south. East of the peak, there is a small stream. A larger stream forms in the west. Both join in the north at Lin’s Field and then surge to the west of Big Baleful Ridge [Dasha Ling]. Following a peak, I crossed a small stream, ascended to the south for five li, and reached Lower Bridge [Xiaqiao]. Winding about, I ascended southward for another eight li, where I came to Upper Bridge [Shangqiao]. Truly, it soars through the sky, seemingly poised in midair as it crosses the stream. On both sides are lofty peaks that poke into the sky. After I crossed the bridge, the trail became steeper. After ten more li, by way of a narrow through the mountains, I ascended to the south of two lofty peaks and up to the ridge’s apex. When I turned around to look at the two lofty mountains, they were already below my sandals. I reckoned that, as for the loftiness and steepness of this ridge, Big Baleful and Floating Lid should rank below it. I descended south for thirty-five li and reached Ningyang County.¹⁹

Seventeenth day [23 September]: I set off by boat for Mount Huafeng [Huafeng Shan].

Eighteenth day [24 September]: We did not land until morning. I then gradually climbed a mountain slope. The stream runs along the right side of the slope. But because the rapids were high and rocks blocked the way, the boat could not advance. Proceeded on foot for another ten li, passed the foot of a mountain, then proceeded five more li and cut across the ultimate summit of Mount Huafeng. The stream cuts across below it, then departs to the west. I looked far off to the west for several li, where rapid rocks pile one on top of the other, and the force of the water dashes and surges. I reached an area with nothing but rocks. The most dangerous spot in the gorge is among the rocks that cut off the stream and where no water is visible. I recalled how I could not get there earlier because of the rain. Why should I miss the chance now? So I descended north for three li and came to a village in a col, which I thought was not far from the stream. I followed the col west for about one li, wanting to look down on the stream, but I could not find a trail. Only then did I descend through a sugarcane field. After passing through the field, I came to a place with vines. The flowers on the vines were like beans, while the thin pods had not yet formed. Next, I treaded along on the vines. The shifting sand under my feet reduced the traction of my sandals, so I just continued along, stepping on the vines. Soon afterward, I came to where the vines end. Now everywhere were thistles and thorns, vines and briars. They were so numerous that I could not go in them. At first, I turned my body sideways and shuffled my feet forward but could not tell if I was going up high or down low. Time after time, I fell into rocky clefts and got entangled in tree branches. Soon after that, I suddenly came to a stream spanning right before me, with a main road following alongside it.

I proceeded west for three li, looking down at a stream before me. The roar of its rapids was deafening. I remarked that this must be the dangerous place I had gazed upon earlier that cuts off the stream. The main road went directly west, passing through Wu Garrison [Wuzhen] and Luo Wharf [Luobu]. I searched for a trail descending to the stream, but for a long time, I could not find one. Then I saw a small trail down low inside a thicket of brambles, so I crept and crawled toward it. At first, there were still shadows on the trail, but soon afterward, beneath me was nothing but a heap of leaves, about one foot high, covered with spider webs.²⁰ Above were brambles and brushes, dense and deep, which snagged my hair and snared my legs. Even though I tried every way I could think of, it was still hard to break free of the brambles. After I finally broke free, I saw headlong rushing torrents and surging streams, along with dangerous rocks, tiered and recessed on the way down. All the rocks pile straight up into the sky. Only after I climbed to the top of the rocks did I again see the stream. But the rocks did not provide any footing, so I turned and tumbled down into some dense brush. I figured I could not move forward, so I clambered over the rocks in the torrent water, then treaded through the current and got to the top of a rock. As big as a hundred houses, it sits sideways south of the stream. On the north side of the stream again are collapsed banks that dam up the water. The water then heads south and bypasses the gigantic rock. To the north, it surges through tumbled masses of rock, rushing and pounding with no resistance, leaping through rock gaps and descending. Upon descending, it immediately rises and falls, running headlong and precipitously, causing the water to gush backward and curl around, causing the banks to topple over. How could a boat get through such a place? I crouched down and sat on a huge rock.

Next, I clambered and crossed a stream with a protruding rock, where I sat down. I gazed up ahead, where the stream departs to the west. As for the force of its swift flow, there is no place more dangerous than this. For quite a while, I treaded over jumbled rocks against the current of a large stream. Terraced fields were patched together where I turned at a mountain along the stream. I did not find the road until I had gotten through the fields. I followed the road and then turned west. When I was about two li past the rock in the stream where I had crouched down, I heard the roar of the rapids that now heaved as they had before. I had come to another dangerous promontory. I proceeded two li west and found a small trail. Following the crest of a mountain, I looked straight down at the stream as I descended. Only then could I see the rapids along its upper reaches that had prevented our earlier descent. The rapids with nothing but rocks that cut off the stream I had gazed at from the top of the ridge are along its lower reaches. The spur of the ridge where I was standing seemed to be perched between the upper and lower reaches of the stream. Had I not reached that spot, the two runs of rapids would not have been visible. I passed over a ridge and descended to the boat. The next day, I arrived at the office of the administrator for public order in Zhangzhou Prefecture.

—Translated by James M. Hargett

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1. Source: “Minyou riji hou” (YJJZ, 1.100–108; YJ, 1.61–68).

2. 1  Xu Xiake’s great uncle Nian’e the Gaffer (Nian’e Weng) is not further identified. The messengers bearing invitations urging Xu Xiake to visit Fujian were presumably sent by his uncle, Xu Risheng. The uncle’s government office was in Nanjing County, west (not south) of Zhangzhou Prefecture.

3. 2  Wulin (lit., “Martial Wood”) is another name for Hangzhou.

4. 3  Modern Longyou Xian, Zhejiang.

5. 4  Modern Quzhou Shi, Zhejiang.

6. 5  The expression “join together railings” (jiejian) is a synecdoche meaning “built dwellings.”

7. 6  Quzhou and Chuzhou are in Zhejiang, Guangxin in Jiangxi, and Jianning in Fujian. During the Ming, these prefectures were in the general area where the borders of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian intersect.

8. 7  The original Chinese text uses li 犁 (plowshare) and li 梨 (pear) interchangeably. I follow YJJZ, 1:104n4, and regard “plowshare” as the correct reading throughout the text.

9. 8  Following YJ, 1:62, and reading Lishan 裏山 (“Inner Mountain”).

10. 9  References in the text below to “Dragon Cavern” [Longdong 龍洞] seem to refer to this same cavern.

11. 10  When describing an extremely narrow breach through rocky cliff walls, Xu Xiake often uses the expression “a single thread of sky” (yixian tian 一線天) to emphasize the narrowness of the opening. Sometimes, the expression designates a proper noun (place-name); at other times, as we see in this line, it simply refers to a narrow passageway through a rocky cliff wall.

12. 11  That is, Yanping Prefecture.

13. 12  According to YJJZ, 1:104–5n14, this is an alternate name for Sand Stream, mentioned in Xu Xiake’s first Min provincial diary (entry for 21 April), this volume.

14. 13  This village corresponds to modern Yangxi Xiang.

15. 14  Modern Youxi Xian.

16. 15  I follow YJJZ, 1:109n8, and read “Peach Source Cavern” (Taoyuan Dong 桃源洞). This same note marks the cavern 6 mi/10 km north of modern Yong’an Cheng in Fujian.

17. 16  “Layered Han” denotes the Milky Way. “Han” refers to the Han River in the sky, another name for the Milky Way.

18. 17  There were two ways to reach the summit: one through darkness, the other through daylight.

19. 18  Xu Xiake’s earlier visit to Jade Flower Cavern is described in his “Earlier Travels in Min” (diary entry for 23 April), this volume.

20. 19  Modern Ningyang Xian, Fujian.

21. 20  That is to say, the trail’s surface was still visible.