[SPRING 1613, WENZHOU PREFECTURE, ZHEJIANG]

Xu Xiake next travels to Mount Yandang, about 56 mi/90 km south of Mount Tiantai, near modern Wenzhou Shi in Zhejiang. The two main scenic sites described below are Numinous Peak [Lingfeng] and the Big Dragon Splash Pool [Da Longqiu].

Ninth day [of the fourth month] [28 May 1613]: I departed from Mount Tiantai and reached Huangyan County on the tenth day [29 May].¹ Although the sun had already set in the west, I left from the south gate and proceeded for thirty li. Spent the night at Eight Flats [Ba’ao].

Eleventh day [30 May]: I proceeded twenty li, then climbed Winding Mountain Ridge [Panshan Ling]. I gazed at the peaks of Mount Yan [Yanshan].² Like flowering hibiscus plants, they poke into the sky in layer after layer. They almost seemed to tap against my forehead. I proceeded another twenty li and stopped for a meal at Big Thistle Relay Station [Dajing Yi]. I then waded across a stream to the south and saw a cluster of round rocks on a peak to the west. My servant pointed out this is Two Mendicant Monks [Liang Toutuo].³ I suspected that it might be Venerable Monk Cliff [Laoseng Yan], but it did not look much like that cliff. Proceeded another five li and passed by the Zhang Family Inn [Zhangjia Lou].⁴ Only then could I see the essential features of “Venerable Monk”: “he” wore a cassock and had a monastic tonsure, appeared true to life, and stood perfectly upright, about one hundred feet high.⁵ On his flank, Small Child hunches over reverentially behind him, who just now was concealed by Venerable Monk.⁶ Proceeded two li from the Zhang Family Inn and halfway up the mountain found Rock Bridge Cavern [Shiliang Dong]. The cavern entrance faces east. At the entrance is a rock bridge, which slants down from the summit and drives right down to the ground. It resembles a cascading rainbow plummeting downward. From the flank of the bridge, I ascended a flight of steps through a crevice, which soared high and was spacious. Sat for a short while, then went down the mountain. From the foot of a mountain on the right, passed over Master Xie’s Ridge [Xiegong Ling], crossed a mountain stream, and proceeded west following that same stream.⁷ This is the way to Numinous Peak.

As soon as you make the turn into the mountain gorge, two walls, rising steeply, extend into the sky. As for the jumbled piles of precipitous peaks, some seem like they have been pared with a knife; some seem like they are formed into clusters; some seem like bamboo shoots in pairs; some seem like protruding mushrooms; some seem to stand tall and erect like writing brushes; some seem like turbans tilted to one side.⁸ Cave openings resembled drawn-up curtains; the pools were a deep shade of blue, like pure indigo. Double Simurghs [Shuangluan] and Five Elders Peaks [Wulao] fold their wings and join their shoulders.⁹ It was like this for about one li. Reached Numinous Peak Monastery [Lingfeng Si].¹⁰ Following the flank of the monastery, I climbed to Numinous Peak Cavern [Lingfeng Dong]. The peak is concave on top and stands prominently behind the monastery. On the flank of the monastery is a crevice that leads one up several scores of stone steps directly to the recessed summit, which is hidden, profound, and far-reaching, with a flat terrace that is circular and open. Inside the cavern are images of arhats. I sat and amused myself until dusk, then backtracked to the monastery.

Twelfth day [31 May]: After a meal, from the right foot of Numinous Peak, I searched for Azure Empyrean Cavern [Bixiao Dong], then backtracked along the earlier trail and reached the base of Master Xie’s Ridge. Then I headed south and passed Echo Cliff [Xiangsheng Yan]. After five more li reached the trail crossing to Vimalakīrti Monastery [Jingming Si].¹¹ I continued and searched for Water Curtain Valley [Shuilian Gu] between two cliffs pressed close together. Water glides down from the summits of the two cliffs. Proceeded five li out of the valley and reached Numinous Cliff Monastery [Lingyan Si] [see figure 4]. Here, sheer cliff walls join on its four sides, which rub against the sky and cling to the earth, twisting and crooking as one goes through them, and finally seem to open out into an entirely different world. The monastery is inside it, facing south. The back of it faces the Sunglow Clouds Screen Barrier [Pingxia Zhang]. The barrier’s summit is well-proportioned and purple. Standing several hundred rods high, its breadth matches its height. On the left of the barrier’s southernmost point is Unfurled Banner Peak [Zhanqi Feng]; on the right is Celestial Pillar Peak [Tianzhu Feng]. On the upper right side of the barrier, where it borders Celestial Pillar, first comes Dragon Snout Stream [Longbi Shui]. The opening at Dragon Snout goes straight up through a crack in the rock. It looks like Numinous Peak Cavern but is smaller. All the rocks in the opening are yellow and purple. Only the veins of the rock in the crack’s slot are wispy, deep purplish-blue, reddish black, glossy smooth, and shaped like the scaly claws of a dragon. From the summit, I threaded my way to the bottom of a cavern, which slopes down on one end like a nose. A finger could fit into the end of its “nostril.” Water from the inside drips down to form a rocky basin below. The area to the right of the barrier provides the most extraordinary scenery here.

To the southwest is Lone Elegance Peak [Duxiu Feng]. It is smaller than Celestial Pillar but is not inferior in height and pointedness. Below Lone Elegance is Upright Writing Brush Peak [Zhuobi Feng]. Its height is half that of Lone Elegance but is similarly pointed. From a hollow to the south and inside these two peaks, one hears the deafening roar of water streaming down into the Little Dragon Splash Pool [Xiao Longqiu]. Separating the Big Dragon Splash Pool and Lone Elegance, which are directly facing them, is Jade Maiden Peak [Yunü Feng]. On its summit are spring flowers, which seem to stick into the “maiden’s” coiffure. From here, I passed Double Simurghs, the farthest point from Celestial Pillar. At the foot of Double Simurghs, two peaks rise together. Bowing Monk Rock [Sengbai Shi] is on the peaks’ margin. With “his” cassock, hunched-back, and reverential posture, “he” is a true likeness! Where the upper left part of the barrier borders Unfurled Banner, first comes Quiet Meditation Valley [Anchan Gu]. This valley hosts the lower cliff of Sunglow Clouds Screen Barrier. To the southeast is Rock Screen Peak [Shiping Feng]. In shape, it is like Sunglow Screen Clouds Barrier but is only half as high and wide. It rests precisely at the far end of Sunglow Clouds Screen Barrier. On the summit of Screen Wind [Pingfeng] is Toad Rock [Chanchu Shi], which faces Jade Tortoise [Yugui].

I proceeded south from the barrier, where a footpath goes straight up into a mountain fold that flanks Unfurled Banner. But a stone threshold blocks the way at the end of the steps. From the threshold, I peeped down into an abyss. Above is a cavernous void. Beyond it are two circular openings. On the flank is a single, long space. Sunlight shot into the extended opening, creating a unique scene. This is the Celestial Perception Cavern [Tiancong Dong]. This ranks as the most extraordinary scenic sight among the peaks to the left of the barrier. Its pointy peaks rise one after the other, folding around to the left and right, fantastic and exquisite. This site is truly a wonder of the world! I passed through Celestial Pillar and Unfurled Banner along the lower reaches of the Little Dragon Splash Pool. A bridge spans above them; the monastery’s main gate looks down from above. Beyond the bridge, Holding Pearl Cliff [Hanzhu Yan] is at the foot of Celestial Pillar; Summit Pearl Peak is above Unfurled Banner. Here, one also gets a different view of Numinous Cliff.

Thirteenth day [1 June]: I left from the main gate of the monastery, followed the mountain’s base, then turned right. A sunglow flush and brilliant sunshine covered the spiky, spiny cliff walls along the trail. Plank Barrier Cliff [Banzhang Yan] is a lofty and broad one. The one standing precipitously below it, pointy and narrow, is Little Shears Peak [Xiao Jiandao Feng]. Farther in front, on a layered crag, a single peak, tall and upright, pokes into the sky. This is Avalokiteśvara Cliff [Guanyin Yan]. On the flank of the cliff, Horse Saddle Ridge [Ma’an Ling] spans in front, twisting and turning like a bird-track trail.¹² Passing a hollow, I turned right, where the flow of a stream rushed and roared at the bottom of a ravine with rocks as flat as a whetstone. I followed the ravine deep into the mountains to where I was ten-some li from Numinous Cliff. After passing Constant Clouds Peak [Changyun Feng], I next came to Big Shears Peak [Da Jiandao Feng], standing next to the gorge. To the north of the peak, layered crags rise steeply. This is known as Linked Clouds Peak [Lianyun Feng]. From here on, the peaks circle around, then return and merge. As it turns out, this is where the peaks end.

The waterfall’s roar at the Big Dragon Splash Pool is deafening as it falls and crashes into the pool below. The contour of the cliff is such that it is open and outspread, sheer and steep. There is nowhere for the water to go, so it bounds into the air, then whirls and heaves. This immediately made me dizzy and scared. There is a hall by the pool. Tradition says this is the spot where Nakula observed the waterfall.¹³ Behind the entrance is a flight of steps going straight up, where there is a pavilion with wing-like eaves outspread like a bird. I crouched down to rest for a long time facing the waterfall, then went to the retreat for a meal.¹⁴ A delicate, fine rain would not let up, but my spirit was already flying to the summit of Wild Goose Lake Mountain [Yanhu Shan]. So braving the shower, I reached Constant Clouds Peak, and halfway up the trail to the peak and beyond Pine Cavern [Songdong], I clambered up sheer stone steps for three li to White Cloud Retreat [Baiyun An]. No one was there, and the retreat was in ruins. A monk in the bushes saw that I had arrived but only glanced at me and left. I continued for another li and came to Cloudy Calm Retreat [Yunjing An], so I stayed there for the night. The monk Pure Reticence [Qingyin] has been bedridden for several decades but still could chat and laugh with me. I noticed it was cloudy, rainy, cool, and chilly in the mountains, so I could not help but worry about tomorrow morning’s weather.

Fourteenth day [2 June]: The skies suddenly cleared and turned bright, so I urged a disciple of Pure Reticence to serve as a guide. Pure Reticence remarked that the lake bed on top of Mount Yandang is filled with vegetation and had already become an overgrown plot of weeds. The disciple had somewhere else to go, so he could only accompany me as far as the peak’s summit. I thought that upon reaching the summit, I could find a place to sit by the lake. So we grabbed our walking sticks and clambered up through the deep vegetation. With each step, I gasped for a breath. I got through to the lofty summit only after proceeding for several li. White clouds in every direction formed an expanse of boundless haze, which had settled and unfolded below the peak. The peaks above collected into clusters, but only one summit was revealed, upon which sunlight shone like an icy pot in a gemmy realm where one cannot distinguish between land and sea.¹⁵ But in the sea was a faint trace of Jade Bracelet [Yuhuan].¹⁶ It almost seemed like I could bend down and pick it up. I looked down toward the north, where a cliff stood upright in a mountain hollow, in which rocky bamboo shoots were thick and profuse but irregular in appearance. Its scenery, encircled and enclosed on three sides by blue-green precipices, surpasses Numinous Cliff’s. But its valley is secluded and thus cut off from the outside world. The only thing I heard was the sound of water gurgling and burbling, but I could not distinguish where it was coming from. Gazing all around, the peaks and tors, stacked and heaped, below crouched like little mounds. Only Constant Clouds Peak, rising majestically alone far off to the east, can rival them.

The guide told me he was now taking his leave. He pointed out that the lake was in a depression on a peak to the west, beyond three more pointed peaks. He provided directions, but the trail disappeared after the first pointed peak. After crossing the second pointed peak and climbing to the summit, I was already halfway into the heavens! I read the following in the Gazetteer: “The tarn is on the mountain’s summit. The water for the Dragon Splash Pool comes from this tarn.”¹⁷

This next section of the diary entry for 2 June presents a vivid account of the lengths Xu Xiake would go—essentially risking his life—to reach a stunning, scenic landscape “where all traces of human presence have disappeared.”

The mountain’s contour gradually slopes down, but the upper reaches of the Dragon Splash Pool’s water source originate on a lofty peak to the east, two valleys away. So I backtracked and then headed east. Gazing eastward, I headed for a high peak in that direction. Lotus Boat was exhausted, and so he did not accompany me. He descended following our former trail. With the two servants, I crossed two ridges to the east, where all traces of human presence have disappeared. A short time later, the ridges became narrower as the mountains rose. As the ridges on both sides stood high and pressed close together, it seemed like I was walking on the edge of a knife blade. Moreover, the rocky stretch ahead looked cruel and ruthless and seemed to rise in a rage. Each time I passed a ridge, a jagged peak would immediately appear. I clambered and pulled myself upward through a phalanx of “knives” and “swords.” It was the same over the next three ridges, where looking around, there was no room for my feet. How could there be space for a lake up here? Later, when I got to the most distant point on the lofty summit, there was a boulder that looked like it had been cleaved in half. Earlier, I feared the sharp edges of the boulders could stab me. But when I reached the spot by the boulder, there were no sharp edges to put my feet on! I dilly- dallied on a cliff, not daring to retrace my former route. Looking down at the rocky wall on the south side of the cliff, there was a flight of steps. So I had the servants remove four of their leggings, which we tied together and dangled down from the cliff. One of the servants went down first, and I followed. We found a trail to clamber and pull our way along. But when we got down, there was only enough space for our feet, with no room to spare. I gazed down at how steep it was, hundreds of rods deep below the cliff. I wanted to devise a plan to return the way we came, but the cliff edge was more than three rods above us. Since we could not bound up there, we tried to go up by grasping a cloth tied to a protruding rock. But it suddenly ripped apart. I tried again and got it to hang down. We spent all our strength drawing and pulling ourselves up and managed to climb and ascend to the summit. We escaped danger and returned to Cloudy Calm Retreat as the sun sank slowly in the west. The clothing and shoes of both master and servants were torn to shreds. Such are the vicissitudes of my search for the lake! So I bade them farewell and descended the cliff, returning to the Dragon Splash Pool.¹⁸ Then, after prolonged rain, the waterfall raged in anger as it gushed and poured down, fluctuating with tremendous force. As it spurted foam, it thundered and boomed at a volume double that of yesterday! I sat there until sunset, and it was dark before I left. Proceeded south for four li and spent the night in the Nengren Monastery [Nengren Si].

Fifteenth day [3 June]: I searched behind the monastery for square bamboo and found a few handfuls that were as thin as twigs.¹⁹ Some new stems were in a nearby grove but were only one inch in diameter and too pliant to serve as a walking stick. I then crossed the mountain bend at Forty-Nine Turns [Sishijiu Pan], following the route south toward the sea. Crossed Kiln Flat Ridge [Yao’ao Ling] and headed toward Yueqing County.

—Translated by James M. Hargett

____________________

Source: “You Yandang Shan riji; Zhejiang, Wenzhou fu” (YJJZ, 1:9–14; YJ, 1:6–10). Wenzhou Prefecture corresponds to modern Wenzhou Shi.

1. 1  Huangyan County (modern Huangyan Qu, Zhejiang) is about 44 mi/72 km south of Mount Tiantai.

2. 2  Yanshan is an abbreviation of “Yandang Shan,” or Mount Yandang.

3. 3  This is the name of a prominent cliff on Mount Yandang.

4. 4  This structure, built by Zhang Yan during the Ming dynasty, was designed as a rest stop for travelers heading for Mount Yandang. Ni Qixin et al., trans., Zhongguo gudai youji xuan, 2:226n13.

5. 5  That is, the “monk’s” head was shaved on top with a crown of hair below.

6. 6  The “small child” mentioned in this line refers to Small Child Cliff [Xiaotong Yan].

7. 7  According to legend, this ridge is named after Xie Lingyun (385–433), one of the most prominent and influential poets of the Six Dynasties era, who supposedly once toured Mount Yandang when he served as prefect of Yongjia (modern Wenzhou Shi, Zhejiang) between 422 and 423.

8. 8  The point is that some peaks protruded or extended outward on top, like a mushroom (zhi) cap. Each element in this string of similes refers to an individual peak.

9. 9  “Simurgh” (luan) is a fabulous bird in China, often mentioned together with the “phoenix” (feng). The expression “fold their wings and join their shoulders” (anyi lianjian 按翼聯肩) means the two peaks were pared or tapered and stood close together.

10. 10  This monastery, sitting in the gorge just below Numinous Peak, dates from the eleventh century.

11. 11  Vimalakīrti (Chinese: Weimo; also known as Jingming) is a prominent figure in Mahāyāna Buddhism. He was said to be a layman renowned for his wisdom and skill in teaching the dharma—the nature of reality—as a universal truth taught by the Buddha. His story is told in the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sutra, an important Mahāyāna text.

12. 12  A “bird-track” trail (niaodao) is a dangerously narrow path, usually over rough, mountainous terrain. Xu Xiake uses this term often in his diaries.

13. 13  Nakula (Chinese: Nuojuna) is the name of a famous arhat whom tradition says once resided on Mount Yandang.

14. 14  The “retreat” mentioned here refers to the Numinous Peak Monastery.

15. 15  In other words, the scene here distinctly glistened and was pure white, almost like the extraterrestrial realms inhabited by transcendent beings.

16. 16  Jade Bracelet is an island in the East China Sea off the coast of modern Yueqing Xian, Zhejiang.

17. 17  This line does not appear in the received editions of the Unified and Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Great Ming. A tarn (dang) is a mountain lake or pond. The origin of Mount Yandang’s name is usually explained in this way: there is a tarn on the summit of the mountain where wild geese (yan) stop to rest during their annual migration.

18. 18  The referent of “bade farewell” presumably is the Buddhist monks at Cloudy Calm Retreat.

19. 19  “Square bamboo” (fangzhu) is a unique variety of bamboo known for its square-shaped culms, or stems. Unlike typical bamboo, which has round stems, the culms of square bamboo have a distinctly angular, four-sided shape. They are often used to make walking sticks.