A visit to the Songshan Mountain（Xu Xiake）

The Songshan Mountain, which is also called Songyue,Xuanye and Zhongyue, is at the top of the list of the Five Sacred Mountains. Songshan Mountain is divided into Mount Taishi and Mount Shaoshi by the Shaolin River. Mount Taishi lies to the north of Dengfeng County, like a huge screen and Mount Shaoshi stands in the west of Dengfeng County like a huge lotus. Caves are called stone rooms. There are caves on the Songshan Mountain, so it is also called stone cave. Mountains are called stone caves in the travel of Xuxiake, too. Songshan Mountain is called “the hometown of cultural relics". Three Imperial Palace of the Eastern Han Dynasty (Taishi, Shaoshi and Qimu), Songyue Pagoda built in the North Wei period are all very famous. There are many stone inscriptions of the past dynasties and temples.
The diary begins with the outskirts of Songshan Mountain. It describes all the beautiful scenery around Songshan Mountain, such as the marvelous peaks and strange water in the Incense Burner Hill and the ancient pines in the Tianshan Count. It also describes and analyses the streams and the paths besides the streams beneath Songshan Mountain. The wonderful foreshadowing in the travel renders a kind of valuable atmosphere for the travel to Songshan Mountain.

The travel describes the magnificent sight of the waterfalls when the author reaches the Luyan Temple. The description of the fine contrast of the mountains and stones is very successful. The description of the submit of Mount Taishi leads the travel to the surveying of the centre of Songshan Mountain. Then it narrates the positions of the peaks, caves and temples and pros and cons of the valleys and running water, respectively. The climax of the travel notes is the climbing of Mount Shaoshi, describing the Shaolin Temple of Mount Shaoshi, the cliffside waterfalls like bead curtains and the alchemy terrace in details. It also describes vividly the steepness of the mountains and the various forms of the clouds, the villages and woods. The whole travel is smartly and strictly arranged and the lively and vivid style of language is also extremely rare.
I cherished the aspiration in my childhood to climb the Five Sacred Mountains—The Taishan Mountain in the east, the Huashan Mountain in the north and the Songshan Mountain in the center, among which the Songshan Mountian, also known as the Central Sacred Mountain, was at the top of the list. That was why I showed more admiration for it. I had intended to travel to Huashan Mountain by way of Xiangyang Prefecture and Yunyang Prefecture(both in Hubei Province) and then take the Cloud-Connecting Plank Road at the Jian’ge Pass as the first of my journey to Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province. But as my mother was old, in order to show my filial piety I had no choice but to make a quick trip to the Taihe Mountain(also called the Wudang Mountain). As a journey along the Yangtze River would be too time-consuming, I decided that it would be better for me to go by land and return by boat in order to save some time. I planned to travel by land from Ruzhou Prefecture to Dengzhou Prefecture, a distance roughly equal to that between Shanzhou and Kaifeng Prefectures(all in Henan Province). Besides I would be able to enjoy the beautiful sights of the Songshan and Huashan Mountains and pay a visit to the Taishan Mountain on the way. I therefore made up my mind to begin my journey to the Songshan Mountain on the first day of the second lunar month in the year of gui hai, 1623. I arrived at Huangzongdian, Kaifeng Prefecture, after a nineteen-day journey. I started to walk up a stony slope from the right side of Huangzongdian to see the deep and crystal-clear Sacred Buddhist Pool on the mountainside. Down below the mountain were dried riverbeds that honeycombed the ravine. After I reached the bottom of the slope, I walked along the ravine, zigzagging my way southwards along the foot of the Censer Mountain, which had three peaks lying closely together like an inverted tripod and offered lovely views in a circle of mountain ridges and peaks. Purple stones covered the entire gully, on both sides of which were fine-textured and moist rocky cliffs stretching zigzaggedly. Imaginably, clear water would create rolling waves and huge splashes when it poured into the gully. What a spectacular sight it would be! After ten li, I came to the top of the Stone Buddha Ridge. After another five li, I was on the soil of Mixian County, where I could see the Songshan Mountain sixty li away. I went past the county after traveling twenty-five li southeastwards and arrived at the Fairy Temple. Sacrifices were offered inside the temple in honor of a fairy, or the third daughter of the legendary Yellow Emperor. A yellow pine tree, which took four people to embrace, stood at the back of the temple. According to the legend, the third daughter of the Yellow Emperor was metamorphosed into a fairy under this tree. The giant tree had three equally strong trunks towering to the sky, with pine needles standing gracefully and dancing elegantly against the wind. What a marvelous spectacle! The tree was surrounded by stone fences and faced a long corridor in the north. Poems and couplets were inscribed profusely along the corridor. After I sauntered for a while, I went down to admire the dripping water. There the gully suddenly deepened, with rocks hanging above and water dripping down below. After I returned to the West Gate of Mixian County and continued for thirty-five more li, I reached Gengdian, Dengfegn County, where a southbound road led to the Stone Gurgling Stream. I stopped for the night at Dengfeng County.
The Twentieth Day
I took the road southward. For twenty-five li I saw nothing but the mounds. I walked a long distance before I came to a stream. I crossed the stream and continued my southward journey along a bumpy mountain ridge, delighted to have the Stone Gurgling Stream into view from below. After I entered Kaifeng Prefecture, I stepped on a flat and vast land, known as the “Land Sea” in ancient times. Springs were hard to find on this land and the rocks were harder to find near the springs. When I approached the Songshan Mountain, I began to see strenuous mountain peaks, with the Jingxi Stream and the Xuxi Stream in the north and the Yingshui Stream in the south winding through the mounds. The Stone Gurgling Stream,located thirty li southeast of Dengfeng County, originated from the East Valley of the Songshan Mountain and would join the Yingshui Stream. The water meandered on low grounds along uneven terrains and was suddenly blocked by high and steep rocks near the Songshan Mountain. The rocks stood between two cliffs in the middle of a gorge like a strong man guarding a strategic pass. With water running along the base of the rocks, water and the rocks interacted to create all kinds of fascinating sights. Surrounded by water, the cliffs on both banks looked like standing swans or flying wild geese. The rocks in the middle of the stream were shaped like either a drinking rhinoceros or a crouching tiger. Low rocks turned into islets and high rocks became terraces. The higher the rocks were, the farther they were away from the surface of water. Cavities and holes were formed on the upper part of the rocks. As far as I could tell, the rocks were about eight chi away from each other at the lower part and several zhang apart at the upper part of the rocks when water rose to the highest level. Water ran between the rocks while the rocks rose above the water. The water added expression to the rocks like the gestures of a human figure, while the rocks attached substance to the water like the bones behind a skin. I did not expect to see such refreshing sights among the grass and bushes.
I stepped up onto the farmland ridges and walked ten li westward before I reached the town of Gaocheng, where the ancient Gaocheng County was located. The Observation Terrace lay at the north of the town. I reached the Temple of the Central Sacred Mountain after I traveled twenty-five li northwestwards. When I entered the temple from the east gate, it was already sunset. As I was eager to visit the House-Size Rock, I continued my journey northeastwards from the temple along a mountain path. After I walked ten li across several hills, I came into the mountain area to find the Temple of the House_Size Rock. The sound of water running sonorously down into a rocky gorge a few steps away form the temple began to impinge on my ears. A rainbow spanned in the dense mist between the hills on both sides of the gorge. I walked upstream to the back of the temple. Down at the bottom of the gorge was high and upright cliff in a semicircle, with its top reaching outwards and its bottom sinking inwards. A spring fell from the Cliffside like a piece of drifting silk, splashing tiny drops all over the entire gorge and creating a scene comparable to the Water Curtain Cave in the Wuyi Mountain. It was already quite rare for a stream to exist in this place, and the presence of rocks in the stream became an even more exciting sight. The rocks sped rather than obstructed the flow of water so that it could dash forward, creating a much more magnificent sight than the Water Curtain Cave in the Wuyi Mountain. I stayed at the bottom of the waterfall for along while, and Monk Fanyin entertained me with food and tea. As it grew dark, I hastened back to the Temple of the Central Scared Mountain.
The Twenty-first Day

I paid obeisance to the God of the Central Sacred Mountain in the morning. After I left the temple hall, I headed eastward to he precipitous top of Mount Taishi. According to my research findings, the Songshan Mountain was situated between the Heaven and the Earth, ranking first among the Five Sacred Mountains in terms of worshipping order; hence, it was called Mount Songgao, or the High Mountain. It stood opposite Mount Shaoshi and had many small caves at the base, hence its name Mount Taishi(meaning “grand caverns”). Seen in the distance ,the two mountains Taishi and Shaoshi looked like two eyebrows. Mount Shaoshi( meaning “minor caverns”) was thin and rugged while Mountaishi was overbearing and majestic, like an emperor sitting against a screen. I started to ascend the verdant mountain from its foot. Cliffs towering across the mountainside like folding screens and flying banners looked even higher and more awesome. The practice of paying respects to and holding memorial ceremonies on the Songshan Mountain originated in ancient times. Upon hearing the echoes of “Long live the emperor!” from the mountain, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty ordered that a temple be built on the mountain, where memorial ceremonies were to be held in honor of the God of the Central Sacred Mountain . The memorial ceremonies were the grandest during the Song Dynasty as the mountain was located in the vicinity of the capital. Inscriptions bearing the words the words “the Big Iron Bridge” and “the Stockaded Summer Village” still existed at the top of the mountain. I could only imagine the grandeur of the ceremony at the time.
To the southeast of Mount Taishi was a mountain branch by the name of the Yellow Canopy Peak, at the bottom of which was the grand and magnificent Temple of the Central Sacred Mountain. In the courtyard of the temple was a forest of stone steles with inscriptions by people in the Song and Liao dynasties. The main road to the top of the Songshan Mountain lay at the foot of the Longevity Peak to the south of Mount Taishi. I already passed by the East Peak when I headed towards the House-Size Rock yesterday. On the way I saw a peak standing out magnificently, with a crack in the middle like a gate. Someone pointed to the crack and told me it was the Jade Maid Gully of the God Peak. Along the gully there was also a path leading to the top of the Songshan Mountain. I made an appointment with a woodchopper to guide me to the mountaintop today. As I approached the place where the cracked peal stood out, the road came to a mild turn. The precipitous cliff made direct passage impossible. I turned northwards along a trail on an earthen hill. The trail was as narrow as a rope, barely wide enough for me to climb upwards. After about twenty li I surmounted the East Peak and came to the top of the gate-shaped crack. I walked westward up a narrow ridge towards the mountaintop. I continued my journey in spite of the dark clouds. The mist turned denser and denser. After the sky cleared up a little, I looked down an d could see the precipitous cliffs an d peaks, which looked like folding silk and cut jade. When mists gathered from below, I felt as if I was sailing on the sea. After another five-li journey, I reached the Heavenly Gate, where overlapping stone peaks came into my view and most of the paths were covered with snow. The guide pointed to the mostly precipitous cliff and told me that it was the Big Iron Bridge. I turned westward and came to the southern side of the peak after walking another three li. I went downhill towards the south and reached the Ascension Rock. Generally speaking, if there were rocks in the depth of mountains, a passage would be blocked, and if there were no rocks blocking the way, one could not enjoy the charming scenery in which sights concealed and revealed each other on a meandering path. The Ascension Rock was an exception though. It was set against layers of cliffs up above and overlooked a steep gully below. On the rock there was a cave opening protected by a cluster of peaks and surrounded on both sides by peaks like terraces and screens. The moment I set foot onto the rock, I was greeted by a deep and spacious cave. I entered the slanting cave, but after a few steps a five-li wide gap blocked my way, making it difficult for me to step forward. As a skillful local woodchopper, the guide moved as swiftly as a monkey and leaped onto the side of the gap. He came back with two tree trunks and laid them across the gap as a passage. Beyond the gap was a rock dome overhead with such beautiful sights as the Milky Spring, the Alchemy Stove and the Stone Bed. I ascended the rock from one side and saw another terraced rock overlooking deep ravines on three sides. The guide said, “From here we can take a look at Dnegfeng County down below as well as the Jishan Mountain and Yingshui Stream in the distance.” Unfortunately, the dense fog veiled everything around me. I walked two li northwards after leaving the rock and arrived at the old site of the White Stork Temple, which was situated on a level ground in the mountains and far from precipices. A pine tree standing singly at the temple created a feeling of openness. After I journeyed three more li northwards, I ascended the summit of Mount Taishi, where there was the Temple of God of the North Star with three halls. By the side of the temple was a well with crystal-clear water named the Imperial Well, dug when Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty came for the summer. After I had my meal in the temple, I asked abut the way to the foot of the mountain. “The main road leads directly to the base of the Longevity Peak, covering twenty li, and if you go down the ravine from the western side, you only need to travel half the distance, but it will be a dangerous journey, “said the guide. I was much delighted to hear that. I had thought that the Songshan Mountain didn’t have anything spectacular to show off as no part of it was sufficiently high or precipitous. I followed the guide closely, heading toward the gully with the support of a stick. I slid down the ravine first by holding to rocks and breaking thick bushes and then slipped downwards along a narrow path between two cliffs. From below I could see the cliffs on both sides towering to the sky. Previously at the summit, the mist lingered liked tiny raindrops, but it turned light down here to reveal a wonderful view. However, there were no stone steps along this perpendicular path for me to set my feet on, nor was it possible for me to stop. The farther downward I slipped, the more spectacular the cliffs were. When the first ravine came to an end, I turned to another one. I did not dare to look sideways, nor could I stop. This way, I moved down ten li before I left the ravines and reached the flatland, where I started to take the main road. I passed by the Cave of the Supreme Ultimate, turned west and surmounted several hills. I hastened my steps through the grass and reached the Temple of the Emperor Monk after I traveled five li. The canarycreepers grown in the temple were native to the area and could not be found anywhere else. As a rain fell all of a sudden, I lodged for the night at the monk’s place. The two peaks east of the temple stood facing each other, with the valley between the peals catching the moonlight when the new moon rose above it. It was a sigh called “the Gate of the Songshan Mountain Expecting the Moon”. All the ravines I had passed lay above this valley. I now sat facing the valley and could feel the presence of mists up there. I could not believe that I had come down from there. The Twenty-second Day After I came out of the mountains and walked five li eastward, I reached the ruins of the Songyang Temple, where nothing remained except three giant green cypress trees christened “the Three Generals” in the Han Dynasty. The biggest one was seven armfuls thick, the medium one five armfuls thick and the smallest three armfuls thick. To the north of the trees were three rooms, where sacrifices were offered to Cheng Hao (1032-1085) and Cheng Yi (1033-1107), both celebrated scholars of Confucianism. To the west of the trees was a stone pillar from the old temple, half of which was buried in the earth. The pillar bore inscriptions. By people in the Song Dynasty, with the inscriptions by Zu Wuze of Fanyang, Kou Wuzhong of Shanggu and Su Caiuweng still recognizable. To the southwest of the cypress trees were huge and magnificent stone steles with delicate dragon designs engraved on all sides. On the right were the steles of the Tang Dynasty, whose inscriptions were composed by Pei Jiong and written by Xu Hao(703-782) in ba fen shu, a clerical official script in Chinese calligraphy I continued my journey eastward for another two li, passing by the old site of the Sublime Happiness Temple, also known as the Longevity Temple, where the ministers of the Song Dynasty appointed officials in charge of imperial temples. I went farther east, arriving at the Pock of the Mother of Emperor Qi, which was as large as several rooms. At he side of the rock was a flat stone like a hone. I continued to travel eight li eastward and returned to the Temple of the Central Sacred Mountain, where I had my meal and studied the stele inscriptions of the Song and Yuan dynasties. After I went westward for eight li, I arrived at Dengfeng County. After a further five-li westward journey, I diverted northwestwards. After still another five li, I reached the Gathering Benevolence Temple. In the small hall on the west wing of the temple was a stone tablet with The Tea Eulogy on it, an inscription from the Yuan Dynasty. Behind it at the corner of the wall lay another stone tablet on which were the inscriptions of The Buddhist Monastic Disciplines composed by Lu Changyuan, the governor of Ruzhou Prefecture, and written by Lu Ying of Henan during the Zhenyuan Reign(785-804) of the Tang Dynasty. Farther west of the temple was the old site of the Buddhist Altar, where broken stone steles with delicate and neat inscriptions lay scattered in the grassy rubbles. I came to the main road after walking five li southwestwards and arrived at Guodian after another ten-li journey. I turned southwestwards and set foot on the road to the Shaolin Temple. After walking for five li, I reached the Shaolin Temple and stayed at Monk Ruiguang’s chamber for night. The twenty-third Day The clouds and mists dispersed. I entered the main hall of the Shaolin Temple to pay respects to Buddha. Then I headed for the South Village Peak, or the summit of the precipitous Mount Shaoshi,which was as high as Mount Taishi but steeper, earning the reputation of “the Lotus in Heaven”, lying low around the back of Mount Shaoshi was the Nine Mounds, which meandered eastwards to Mount Taishi, and the Shaolin Temple was located on the northern side of the Nine Mounds. The temple was neat-looking and had rows of old and new steles in the courtyard. On either side of the steps was a pine tree. The two trees were of equal height and size as if they were specifically trimmed. Though Mount Shaoshi was only a stone’s throw from the temple, I could not see its top. As the tourists in the Shaolin Temple stood against Mount Shaoshi like facing a wall, I decided that it would be better for me to see the sights of Mount Shaoshi from the distance. When I entered the temple yesterday evening, I asked the monks about the way to the summit of Mount Shaoshi. They told me that the journey would be impossible because the road was blocked by deep snow and that I had better climb the mountain in fine weather. While I was climbing Mount Taishi, the mountain was enveloped by mist. It was believed that the mountain god refused guests, but it was not known that only half Mount Taishi was enough to show its majesty and grandeur. If the beauty of Mount Shaoshi lay in the fact that the rocks and mists outshone each other, then how could a thin mist veil the beauty of the mountain? It was a clear day today, and given such a good opportunity, nothing could stop me from climbing Mount Shaoshi. I went past a cave from the south of the temple to ascend the mountain. After six or seven li, I reached the Temple of the Second Patriarch, where the mountain was covered with stones instead of earth. A cliff extended to the bottom of the mountain, where a deep pit was formed. Spring water flew from the upper part of the pit onto a rock and then fell rapidly to the bottom. The waterfall was named “the Bead Curtain”. I went forward alone with the support of a stick. The lower I wet down, the harder it was for me to advance. It was quite a while before. I reached the foot of the cliff, where rocks were not as majestic or huge as but deeper and steeper than those at the House-Size Rock. Down at the bottom of the cliff was a deep green pond with undisturbed snow all around. I turned back and resumed climbing until I came to the Alchemy Terrace. The peak was high and steep on three sides, with only one side leaning against a verdant cliff. On the top of the peak was pavilion named “Tiny Sky”, which bore no footsteps of tourists. Past the pavilion I began to climb the mountain along a rocky and bare ridge, which lay on top the high and precipitous cliffs. I had to move ahead with my hands an feet alternately. After totally seven li, I reached a big summit at last, which was broad and flat. I moment ago I was climbing along steep rocks, but now there was all earth. K walked five li southwards through grass and bushes and reached the top of the South Village Peak, where the earth that covered the rocks disappeared. It was actually the northern summit of Mount Shaoshi. From the point of the Shaolin Temple, however, it was the “south village”. It turned out that the top of Mount Shaoshi was split into two parts that ran from the north to the south, with the northern summit stretching like a screen and the southern summit standing erect like sharp knives. The two summits were about eight to ten chi apart, with a deep ravine and precipitous cliffs in between. A peak rose well above the rest from the ravine between the two summits. That was the Star-Picking Terrance, located at the center of Mount Shaoshi. It was a short distance away from the northern summit, but a gap prevented direct passage. Looking down at the precipice below, I saw that only a tiny part of the terrace was barely connected with the northern summit. I took off my coat, edged along the tiny connection and came to the Star-Picking Terrace. The Nine Mounds on the southern summit stood abreast before me, while the cliff of the northern summit firmly supported my back. To the east and west of the terrace were deep pits, but I could not see the bottom of the pits from the top. Suddenly there was a gust of wind. I felt as if I were floating on the wind like a feather. I turned northeastwards from the South Village Peak to go down the mountain. Suddenly I saw large footprints of a tiger. I walked about six li in the bushes and reached a thatched temple. I made fire with flint to cook the rice that I brought along with me. After I ate four bowls of rice gruel, my hunger and thirst quickly quenched. Then I asked the monk of the temple to show me the way to the Dragon Pond. I began to go down a peak, whose ridge turned narrower and narrower, with earth and rocks appearing alternately. I took hold of shrubs and vines to swing down. Suddenly an extremely high cliff blocked my way. I walked up the cliff and then came down along the zigzagging peak, where the rocks were also upright and steep. After going back and forth for several li, I finally bypassed a hilly country, and after I walked another five li, there appeared a path—I finally arrived at the Dragon Pond Gully. Looking up at the place where I got lost moments age, I saw precipitous peaks and sloppy rocks above immeasurably high cliffs. Spring water gushed from the cliffside, covering the high and dark rocks with clouds mists. The gully meandered with water, and the quiet houses on the two cliffs looked like honeycombs and birds’ nests. After a five-li travel, I finally arrived at the First Dragon Pond, a tranquil green pond with unfathomable depth. Then I passed by the Second Dragon Pond. After I came out of the gully, I entered the Shaolin Temple, where I stayed for the night. The twenty-fourth day I went northwards from the western side of the temple, pasting by the Sweet Dew Terrace and the Temple of the First Patriarch. After I walked four li northward, I ascended the Five Mounds to explore the Cave of the First Patriarch. The cave was two zhang long and less than two zhang wide. It was the place where Bodhidharma (or the First Patriarch of Zen) sat facing the wall in meditation for nine years. The opening of the cave overlooked the Shaolin Temple and faced Mount Shaolin directly. The cave was uninhabited as it had no underground water. I went down to the Temple of the First Patriarch, where the Meditation Rock of Bodhidharma was enshrined. The white rock was nearly three chi high, with black textures resembling the image of a standing monk from the Western Region. A cypress tree in front of the Central Hall planted by Master Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, was already three armfuls thick. According to the stele inscription, the seed of the tree was brought in an alms-bowl to the place from Guangdong by Master Huineng. The two pine trees on both sides of the steps were not comparable to those in the Shaolin Temple. The trees in the Shaolin Temple were tall and majestic, unlike those in the Temple of the Central Sacred Mountain that were aslant, prostrate and coiling. The trees here were upright, too. I came down to the Sweet Terrace, which was actually a high mound. On top of the mound was the Hall of Buddhist Scriptures. I came down from the terrace past three halls. There were so many steles with inscriptions but I had hardly enough time to see them all. After the steles came the Hall of One Thousand Buddhas, boasting unparalleled magnificence in its architecture. I left the hall for meal in Master Ruiguang’s chamber. After the meal, I rode a horse along the road to Dengfeng County by way of the Xuanyuan Ridge and lodged for the night at datum. The Twenty-fifth Day I traveled fifty li southwestward. Suddenly the ridge came to an end, and I found myself before the Yique Mountain. The Yishui River ran from the south via the foot of the mountain, with a depth navigable for freight boat. The continuous Yique Mountain extended from the east to the west. A wooden bridge was built across the Yishui River. I walked along the bridge and reached the west bank, where the cliffs were even higher and more precipitous. The entire mountainside was a smooth cliff, on which statues of Buddha were engraved. There were dozens of big grottoes, each dozens of zhang high. Outside the grottoes a steep cliff reached to the top of the mountain, on which small grottoes were chiseled. All the grottoes had statues of Buddha engraved inside. Actually Buddha statues were found everywhere on the entire cliff, even on a smallest piece of it. They were too many to be counted when viewed from the distance. Spring water ran down from the mountain on the left of the grottoes into a square pool before pouring into the Yishui River. Clear water gurgling endlessly down the hundred-zhang-high Yique Mountain created a rare sight in the area. An endless stream of people and carriages moved along a road in front of the mountain that extended from Hubei and Henan to the border of Henan and Shanxi in the northwest. I took this road to start my journey to the Huashan Mountain.