[SPRING 1613, TAIZHOU PREFECTURE, ZHEJIANG]

Mount Tiantai [Tiantai Shan] ranks among China’s most important religious sites and is the home of Tiantai (Japanese: Tendai) Buddhism, founded there in the sixth century by the monk Wise Quietude (Zhiyi; 538–97). Today, it remains a popular destination for both Chinese and Japanese pilgrims. The main temple on the mountain is Clarity in the Realm Monastery [Guoqing Si]; to this day, Rock Gate [Shimen] and its cascading waterfall remain Mount Tiantai’s premier sightseeing attractions.

Guichou year, last day of the third month [19 May 1613]: I departed from the west gate of Ninghai County.¹ The clouds scattered, and the sun shone brightly. My thoughts and the radiant glow of the mountains together created a joyous feeling. After thirty li, I reached Royals of the Liang Mountain [Lianghuang Shan].² I heard reports of tigers along the road, and that several scores of people had been mauled in recent months, so I decided to stop there for the night.

First day of the fourth month [20 May]: It rained in the morning. I proceeded fifteen li to a fork in the road, then turned my horse toward Mount Tai.³ As the sky gradually cleared, I proceeded another ten li and reached Pine Gate Ridge [Songmen Ling]. The mountain was steep, and the trail was slippery, so I dismounted and went ahead on foot. Although one crosses several ridges coming this way from Fenghua County, all have paths along their foothills.⁴ But after reaching Pine Gate Ridge, I followed twisting and turning trails along the crests of the mountains. The sky cleared after a shower. The gurgling of springs and glitter of mountains faded in and out as sounds and colors transformed the landscape. Mountain azaleas (shanjuan) shone from groves of verdant green, which made me forget about the toils of clambering and trudging along the trail. I proceeded another fifteen li and then stopped for a meal at Resilient Bamboo Retreat [Jinzhu An] on the mountain’s summit, where wheat is planted everywhere.⁵ I proceeded south from Resilient Bamboo Ridge [Jinzhu Ling] toward the main trail to Clarity in the Realm Monastery.⁶ By chance, I shared a meal with the monk Cloudy Peak (Yunfeng) from Clarity in the Realm, who told me the mountain trail to Rock Bridge [Shiliang] is dangerous and long, so carrying luggage is inconvenient.⁷ He suggested it would be better to proceed with a lighter load. Porters could take the heavier bags to Clarity in the Realm and wait for me there. I followed his suggestion and had the porters accompany Cloudy Peak to Clarity in the Realm. The Superior One, Lotus Boat, and I headed toward the trail to Rock Bridge.⁸ We proceeded five li and passed Resilient Bamboo Ridge. Along the sides of the ridge are numerous dwarf pines. Their old trunks are knotty and knobby, their roots and leaves verdant and exquisite, like my miniature potted plants in the Suzhou style.⁹

Proceeded another thirty-some li and arrived at Amitabha Retreat [Mituo An]. During my ascents and descents along the lofty ridges, I was deep in the mountains, which were desolate and still. Out of fear that the vegetation could harbor tigers, it has been burned away. A mountain spring roared in a driving wind. No sightseers were on the trail. The retreat is in a hollow surrounded by countless mountains. The trail was desolate and long, and I had only made it halfway to my destination, so this was a fitting place to have a meal and spend the night.

Second day [21 May]: The rain did not let up until after breakfast. In due course, I passed by some rain-drenched trails and began clambering up a ridge. The rocks in the stream gradually became more striking. Proceeded twenty li and, at dusk, reached Heavenly Sanctioned Monastery [Tianfeng Si]. I thought about the morning ascent to the peak’s summit as I lay asleep. I considered the bright and clear weather an auspicious omen, probably because the evenings had been clear for several days, but daybreak had not brought fair skies. At fifth watch, while in a dream, I heard a voice say bright stars filled the sky.¹⁰ I was so thrilled that I could not go back to sleep.

Third day [22 May]: I got up at dawn. As predicted, the sun’s rays were strikingly brilliant, so I headed toward the summit. Ascended for several li and arrived at Flowery Summit Retreat [Huading An].¹¹ After another three li, just as we approached the summit, was Taibai’s Hall [Taibai Tang].¹² There is nothing much to see at either the retreat or the hall. I had heard that below the hall on the left is the Yellow Scripture Cavern [Huangjing Dong], so I followed a small footpath in that direction.¹³ After two li, I looked down and saw a rock jutting out, which I felt was exquisite and elegant. Upon reaching the cavern, I met an un-tonsured monk who had constructed a retreat in front of it.¹⁴ Fearing that wind from inside the cavern would blow out, he stacked rocks to block the entrance. I heaved a heavy sigh of regret over this. I then backtracked and ascended, arriving back at Taibai’s Hall. Following the path, I climbed to the Ultimate Summit [Jueding].¹⁵ The tall weeds there were blown about by winds, which are frigid on this lofty mountain. Frost about an inch thick had formed on the weeds. Light and shadows whirled on the mountains around me, while delicately wrought gem-like flowers and jade-like trees filled my gaze. In the corner of the ridge, mountain wildflowers were in full bloom, but none blossomed on the summit. This is presumably because of the limitations imposed by high altitude and cold.

Following the same route as before, I descended to the Flowery Summit Retreat. Passed a small bridge beside a pond, then crossed three ridges. Streams swirled, mountains joined; trees and boulders, dense and beautiful, were each as extraordinary as the next and especially pleasing to one’s gaze. Proceeded twenty more li and passed Upper Vaipulya Retreat [Shang Fangguang An].¹⁶ When I arrived at Rock Bridge [see figure 2], I performed a ritual ceremony to honor Buddha at the Dharma Flower Pavilion [Tanhua Ting]. Still, there was no time to make a detailed observation of the cascading waterfall there. Descended and then arrived at Lower Vaipulya Retreat [Xia Fangguang]. I saw Rock Bridge’s cascading waterfall suddenly appear on the horizon. I heard on the trail that the scenery on Broken Bridge [Duanqiao] and along Beaded Curtain Stream [Zhulian Shui] is especially surpassing.¹⁷ A monk said there was still time after a meal to go there and return, so I continued from Transcendent’s Raft Bridge [Xianfa Qiao] toward the back of the mountain. Crossed a ridge and followed a torrent for eight or nine li. The waterfall raged down from Rock Gate, then twisted and turned through three bends of a mountain stream. Broken Bridge is on the upper level, where two boulders tilt toward one another and then join. Water smashes down and crashes into the rocks, then converges and forms a pool. On the middle level, two boulders stand against each other like a gate. The gate restrains the rush of the water, but its force is still quite vigorous. On the lower level, the entrance to the pool is quite broad; the place where the stream torrents down resembles a sluice. Its water slants down from a hollow. All three levels are several rods in height; each is most magical and extraordinary. However, following the different levels and descending, places that twine and twist are hidden by bends in the stream, so I could not gain a complete view. After about one more li was Beaded Curtain Stream. Where the stream inclines downward, it is flat and spacious. The stream gurgles and burbles as its force slows and scatters. In bare feet, I tramped over a grassy thicket, brushing against trees, following the edge of a cliff. Lotus Boat was not able to keep up with me. I did not go back until darkness had fallen. I halted at Transcendent’s Raft Bridge to watch a sprawling rainbow where Rock Bridge’s cascading waterfall spurted snowy foam. I almost felt like I did not want to go to sleep.

Fourth day [23 May]: Sky and mountains formed a single swath of blue-green as dark as kohl. There was no time for an early breakfast, so I immediately ascended to Dharma Flower Pavilion from Transcendent’s Raft Bridge. Rock Bridge is just beyond the pavilion. The bridge is over one foot in width and measures three rods in length. It spans a hollow between two mountains. Two waterfalls cascade down from the left side of the pavilion. Upon reaching the bridge, they join in plummeting down a thousand rods with a thunderous roar like a river whose dam had burst. As I proceeded across the bridge, I looked down into the bottomless pool below and felt terrified to the bone. At the end of the bridge, the way was blocked by a huge boulder, so I could not reach the mountain up ahead. I then backtracked the way I came. Passed Dharma Flower Pavilion and reached Upper Vaipulya Retreat Monastery [Shang Fangguang An Si]. I followed the stream before the monastery and again arrived at the giant boulder blocking the way to the mountain. I sat down on the rock and observed Rock Bridge. A monk from Upper Vaipulya Monastery urged me to go there and have a meal, so I left for the monastery. After the meal proceeded fifteen li and reached Myriad Years Monastery [Wannian Si], where I ascended to the Sutras Depository Belvedere [Cangjing Ge].¹⁸ The belvedere has two stories, one for northern sutras and another for southern sutras.¹⁹ Before and behind the monastery are numerous ancient conifers (shan), all measuring the arm spans of three people in girth. Cranes nest in the nearby trees. Their calls and cries resonated clearly throughout the mountains.

On this day, I wanted to go to Paulownia Palace [Tongbo Gong] and search for Rose Gem Terrace [Qiongtai] and Double Watchtowers [Shuangque].²⁰ But I received much misinformation on the trail and so planned to head to Clarity in the Realm instead. Clarity in the Realm is forty li from Myriad Years Monastery. One passes Dragon King Hall [Longwang Tang] on the way there. Each time I would descend from a ridge, I would remark that we had already reached level ground, but then I would descend to several more levels of ridges. Not until you see that the landscape here never settles do you realize the loftiness of Flowery Summit, which is not far at all from the heavens above! I entered Clarity in the Realm at sunset, where I met up with Cloudy Peak. It seemed like a reunion with a dear, old friend. I discussed my interest in exploring remarkable scenic sites with him. Cloudy Peak said, “As for famous scenic sites, none can match the two caves.²¹ Although far away, we can go there on horseback. First, we go to the two caves and then proceed on foot to Peach Source [Taoyuan].²² When we reach Paulownia Palace, we proceed to Jasper Citadel [Cuicheng] and Carmine Citadel [Chicheng].²³ With just this one survey, we can take in them all!”

Fifth day [24 May]: There were signs of rain, but I was not concerned. I took the trail to Cold Cave and Bright Cave from the monastery, along the way heading toward the west gate to rent horses. When the horses arrived, so did the rain. Proceeded fifteen li to River Wharf [Butou].²⁴ When the rain stopped, we left the horses and proceeded another two li on foot, passing onto the mountain, where corded peaks reflected in mountain streams. The trees were exquisite, the rocks extraordinary. I was most delighted by this beautiful view. The force of one stream, which came from Dongyang County, was great, as mighty as the Cao’e River [Cao’e Jiang].²⁵ Looking around, I saw no raft, so I forded the stream by riding on my servant’s back. The water came up above his knees. I then crossed a ravine, which took almost an hour. After another three li, I reached Bright Cave, where Cold Mountain and Foundling once lived in seclusion.²⁶ The two mountains there turn and twist around. This place is what the Gazetteer calls Eight Inch Pass [Bacun Guan].²⁷ I entered the pass, and its cliff walls were as sheer as city walls in every direction. Far behind them is a cavern several rods deep, so spacious it could hold several hundred people. Beyond the cavern, on the left, are two caves halfway up the cliff wall. On the right are rocky bamboo shoots that rear up in clusters, ascending as high as the rocky wall, with only a thread’s distance between them.²⁸ Green pines and violet flowers are deep and dense on this side and directly face the other cliff on the left, creating an unsurpassable and extraordinary sight.

I left Eight Inch Pass and next ascended a cliff to its left. When I got here and gazed below, it seemed as if there was just one crevice. But after I climbed to the top, I found it bright and spacious enough to hold several hundred people. There is a well on the cliff called Transcendent Being Well [Xianren Jing]. It is shallow but never runs out of water. Beyond the cliff is a prominent rock, several rods in height, which on top splits into upright shapes that look like two people. A monk pointed out they are Cold Mountain and Foundling, or so he said. I went into the monastery.²⁹ After I ate a meal, the clouds darkened, then scattered and dispersed. A crescent moon loomed in the sky. Some people returned to the summit of the precipice, where before them, clear moonlight brimmed over its rocky wall.

Sixth day [25 May]: I left the monastery before dawn. Proceeded six or seven li and arrived at Cold Cave. Its rocky wall shoots straight up as if split with a cleaver. Looking up into the sky, I saw numerous caverns and cavities. Halfway up the cliff is a cavern, eighty paces wide and over a hundred paces deep, which is open, flat, bright, and luminous. Following the right side of the cavern, I climbed up through a rocky defile. In a craggy depression on the cliff, two boulders facing each other thrust upward. They are separated at the base but connected on top, forming Magpie Bridge [Queqiao]. Its extraordinary physical features contend with Rock Bridge at Vaipulya Retreat; it just lacks a cascading waterfall descending directly down. I returned for a meal in the monks’ quarters, then searched for a raft to cross a mountain stream. Following the stream, I proceeded along the foot of the mountain. This area comprises jagged walls and scarped cliffs, overgrown with plants and trees twisting and dangling down from above. Among them are numerous pink crab apple (haitang) and Chinese redbud (zijing) trees, which cast their colors onto a shady stream. At a spot where a fragrant breeze wafted, magnolias [yulan] and other sweet-smelling plants appeared in endless procession. By then, I had already arrived at a mountain spur, where a rocky wall rose directly up from the bottom of a torrent. The torrent is deep; its flow is swift, and there is no margin of land along its bank. Notches are chiseled along the rocky wall to help travelers proceed along the bank. The notches are only big enough to fit half of one’s foot. My soul shuddered as I crossed, my body pressed against the cliff wall.

From Cold Cave, I proceeded fifteen li to River Wharf, then took a small trail toward Peach Source. Peach Source is next to Protecting the Realm Monastery [Huguo Si]. The monastery is abandoned, and the locals know nothing about it. I followed Cloudy Peak along an overgrown path. The sun had already set, but we still had not found a place to spend the night. So I asked about the way to Mesa Top Pool [Pingtou Tan] and found it was only twenty li from River Wharf. So we took a small side trail to River Wharf rather than backtracking for more than thirty li. Spent the night there. The way to Peach Source is indeed confusing!

Seventh day [26 May]: I proceeded over thirty li down a winding trail from Mesa Top Pool. Crossed a stream and passed into a mountain. Proceeded another four or five li to where the mountain pass gradually narrowed. There is a guesthouse there called Peach Blossom Col [Taohua Wu].³⁰ I proceeded on, following a deep pool. The clear blue-green water and a cascading stream pour down from above. This is the Chiming Jade Torrent [Mingyu Jian]. The torrent follows the mountain’s contours, so one follows the torrent as one proceeds. Both sides of the mountain are solid rock. Stacked tors hemmed in by blue-green are a real treat for the eyes. The scenery here is superior to that at Cold Cave and Bright Cave. Where the torrent ends, the trail disappears. A waterfall pours down from a mountain depression, its force bold and unrestrained. I left after having a meal in the guesthouse.

Following the col, I proceeded southeast. Crossed two ridges and searched for Rose Gem Terrace and Double Watchtowers, but as it turned out, no one knew the way. I discovered they were on the mountain’s summit only after proceeding for several more li. Together with Cloudy Peak, I followed the trail. We clambered and pulled ourselves upward. Only then did we reach the mountain’s apex. It was steep and sheer, ringing and rolling, just like the scene at Peach Source. But the blue-green cliff walls here, countless rods high, surpass Peach Source in the danger they pose. The peak divides in two, forming Double Watchtowers. Where Double Watchtowers narrows and rings around—this forms Rose Gem Terrace. Behind three sheer cliff walls, the terrace turns and immediately connects with Double Watchtowers. The sun had set when I faced the watchtowers, so there was no time to climb farther. But in one day, I had already experienced all the outstanding scenic sites here. So I descended the mountain and returned from the backside of Carmine Citadel to Clarity in the Realm, altogether covering a distance of thirty li.

Eighth Day [27 May]: I left Clarity in the Realm. From behind the mountain, proceeded five li and climbed up to Carmine Citadel. The circular cliff wall on the summit of Carmine Citadel rises prominently, and when one gazes at it from afar, it resembles a city wall. The color of its rock, however, is faded red. The caves on the cliff serve as monks’ living quarters, but they are in disorder and disarray, concealing whatever natural appeal the scenery may have. What is referred to as Jade Capital Cavern [Yujing Dong], Gold Coin Pond [Jinqian Chi], and Purging Bowels Well [Xichang Jing] do not provide any notable scenic sights.

—Translated by James M. Hargett

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Source: “You Tiantai Shan riji; Zhejiang, Taizhou fu” (YJJZ, 1:1–8; YJ, 1:1–6). Taizhou Prefecture corresponds to Taizhou Shi, Zhejiang. Mount Tiantai is just northeast of modern Tiantai Xian.

1. 1  Modern Ninghai Xian, Zhejiang.

2. 2  This mountain is so named because two princes (or “royals”) supposedly took refuge there during a rebellion in the closing years of the Liang dynasty (502–57).

3. 3  That is, Mount Tiantai.

4. 4  Modern Fenghua Shi, Zhejiang.

5. 5  The term “retreat” (an) appears often in Xu Xiake’s travel narratives and usually refers to a thatched hut, cottage, or cave used as a hermitage by Buddhist monks.

6. 6  Clarity in the Realm Monastery is just outside the wall of the Tiantai County Seat. Despite the singular noun “monastery” in its name, Clarity in the Realm was a massive monastic complex comprising numerous halls and pagodas. During the Tang dynasty, when many Japanese diplomats and religious pilgrims came to China, the eminent Japanese Buddhist monk Highest Transparence (Saichō, 767–822) arrived at Tiantai in 804, where he studied and mastered the Tiantai doctrine. Highest Transparence later returned to Japan, where he founded the Tendai School of Buddhism. The Buddhist traditions of East and Southeast Asia have all thoroughly integrated the teachings of the Tiantai/Tendai School, and its influence is still significant today, especially in Japan.

7. 7  Rock Bridge, a natural granite bridge that spans above Mount Tiantai’s famous cascading waterfall (feibu), is one of the mountain’s most notable scenic sites. Travelers like Xu Xiake, who dared to cross it, found that at one point, the width of the bridge narrows to just a few inches. Xu remarks below that he was “terrified to the bone” when he walked across it.

8. 8  Lotus Boat, of the Welcoming Good Fortune Monastery in Jiangyin, was a close friend of Xu Xiake. Superior One (Shangren) is a classification of Buddhist monks distinguished by their virtue, wisdom, and exemplary conduct.

9. 9  In the Chinese text, Chang Gate [Changmen] is used here as a synecdoche for the famous city of Suzhou in Jiangsu, renowned for its gardens, canals, and—as noted here—miniature potted plants.

10. 10  The fifth watch fell between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m. For a description of the various watches and drums of the nighttime hours, see the section “Daytime and Nighttime References” under “Conventions.” Footnotes will not be provided hereafter when watches and drums are mentioned.

11. 11  This retreat, constructed in 936, was just below Flowery Summit Peak [Huading Feng], the highest point on Mount Tiantai, which stands 3,602 ft/1,098 m above sea level.

12. 12  According to legend, the famous Tang dynasty poet Li Bai (701–62), also known as Li Taibai, once studied in this hall. Hence the name “Taibai.”

13. 13  “Yellow Scripture” refers to the Yellow Court Scripture (Huangting jing), a Daoist divination text of unknown origin dating from sometime before the fourth century.

14. 14  Buddhist monks in China are usually tonsured to express their religious devotion.

15. 15  Ultimate Summit refers to Flowery Summit Peak, for which see note 11 above.

16. 16  Vaipulya (Chinese: fangguang) is a Sanskrit term often used to describe lengthy, inclusive Mahāyāna sutras. On Mount Tiantai, there were two Vaipulya retreats located at different elevations. Hence, the distinctions between Upper (here) and Lower (mentioned below). In other places in his diary, Xu Xiake refers to these retreats as monasteries or retreat monasteries.

17. 17  “Broken Bridge” refers to a mountain of that name below the Rock Bridge. Beaded Curtain Stream is just north of that mountain. Readers should note that when Xu Xiake says, “I heard …,” he usually repeats information from another sightseer he met on the trail.

18. 18  This once vast monastic complex, dating from the ninth century and rebuilt and renamed several times since, is north of the Tiantai County seat, at the base of the mountain from which it takes its name. In 985, more than five hundred arhat (luohan) statues were cast by imperial decree and deposited in the temple. In Buddhism, an arhat is a being who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved nirvana. Images or sculpted likenesses of arhats are familiar in Buddhist monasteries.

19. 19  A sutra depository is a library of Buddhist religious texts. Usually, such depositories are closed with little or no public access, the idea being that the books held therein were for “show” only. The terms southern and northern indicate that one of the sutra libraries held texts associated with southern Hīnayāna traditions in Southeast Asia (based on texts in the Pāli Canon), while the other held works related to the northern or Mahāyāna tradition in China and Tibet.

20. 20  Rose Gem Terrace and Double Watchtowers are the names of mountain ridges.

21. 21  The “two caves” mentioned in this line are Cold Cave [Hanyan] and Bright Cave [Mingyan], both of which are described in the next diary entry.

22. 22  The reference here is to the Peach Source Cavern [Taoyuan Dong], associated with the legendary figures Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao of remote antiquity, who supposedly “discovered” Mount Tiantai in 62 CE while gathering herbs on its slopes.

23. 23  Carmine Citadel, so-called because of the dark red color of its soil, is a raised mound just north of modern Tiantai Xian. It rises to a height of 1,122 ft/339 m and is known for its twelve scenic caverns.

24. 24  Reading Butou 步[埠]頭, or “River Wharf,” as a proper noun, referring to a ferry crossing bearing that name.  

25. 25  Dongyang County, which was northwest of Mount Tiantai, refers to modern Dongyang Shi, Zhejiang. The Cao’e River is one of the largest waterways in Zhejiang Province.

26. 26  Cold Mountain (Hanshan) and Foundling (Shide) are two figures who lived in seclusion on Mount Tiantai during the Tang dynasty, where they enjoyed each other’s company far away from the hustle and bustle of the secular world outside. Both are popular figures in Zen painting, especially in Japan, where they are known as Kanzan and Jittoku.

27. 27  The Gazetteer” (Zhi) in Xu Xiake’s diaries usually refers to the Unified and Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Great Ming. However, a check of the received version of that text failed to produce any reference to Eight Inch Pass.

28. 28  The reference here is a stalagmite-like rock formation resembling a bamboo shoot. See the “Rocky Bamboo Shoots” section under “Conventions.” This descriptive term appears often in subsequent diary entries.

29. 29  Xu Xiake is referring to an unnamed monastery near Bright Cave.

30. 30  The term wu 塢, rendered here and elsewhere in the diaries as “col,” refers to a gap between two mountains. Xu Xiake uses this term often in his descriptions of mountain landscapes.