Xu Xiake’s Five-day tour of Dengfeng

In the second month of spring of the year 525 in Ming Dynasty, the Songshan Mountain, with scenery and relics of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism and its grand and elegant landscape scenery welcomed a special guest: travel-stained Xu Xiake, the famous traveler, geographer and writer. After a 19-day arduous tour from Dengzhou, Ruzhou, Huangzongdian of Zhengzhou and the Tianxian temple of Mixian, the 32-year-old Xu Xiake reached Dengfeng and visited the scenery of Songshan Moutain within 5 days and left an example of five-day tour of Songshan Mountain.
On 19th, Feb 1623, Xu Xiake entered the boundary of Dengfeng. It was late and he had to spend the night at Gengdian, i.e. the Ludian Town today. He didn’t sleep well that night because he was planning his tour of Songshan Mountain and proposing the toast in his dream of Songshan Mountain. on the second day, he brooked no delay and went the way south and toured the famous “Little Guilin”--- Stone Gurgling Stream. “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.” When he arrived at Dengfeng, Songshan Mountain brought him unexpected surprise. He was delighted and went to Zhongyue Temple via Gaocheng Town. It was still early when he arrived there and he was unable to contain his excitement, so he went to Luya Temple. “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. Even the experienced and knowledgeable Xu Xiake spoke highly of the beauty of Luya Waterfall.
That night he stayed at Zhongyue Temple. The next day he paid respect to the God of Mount Tai, and then under the guidance of a woodcutter, he climbed the summit of Songshan Mountain from Jade Girl Valley of the Golden Peak. The clouds were heavy, but he was still high-spirited. He climbed to the summit after went through the Datieliang Bridge, the Denggao Cliff and the Baihe Temple. After appreciated the Zhenwu Temple and the Royal Well, he suspended downward from the west valley. There was no hiking path at that time, so going downhill was extraordinary difficult. “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.” The steep Jade Girl Valley of the Golden Peak, the inaccessible Gaodeng Cliff and the extremely risky downhill path broke his first impression on Songshan Mountain. in wonderment he came to Fawang Temple via the Endless Hole and slept at a monk’s chamber. He saw the trollflower of Songshan specialties and watched the “Moon Waiting at Song Door”between two peaks. The next day, he toured the General Cypress, the Ancestral temple of Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao and the Great Tang Tablet of the abandoned site of Songyang Palace. then he passed the former site of Chongfu Palace and Stone of Qi’s Mother. After lunch at Zhongyue Temple, he came to Shaolin Temple via Dengfeng City, Huishan Temple and Guodian and stayed in the Chamber of Ruiguang Monk.
On 23rd, under the guidance of Qianyan, a monk in Shaolin Temple, Xu Xiake stepped the frozen snow and climbed up the Secondary Buddhist Convent. He sat in the pavilion named “Small Sky”on an untouched alchemy platform; looked to the pathless south cliff with deep snow; recalled the long-cherished wish “my determination to tour the five great mountains in my childhood, especially the Songshan Mountain”and the smile of his mother thousands of miles away, he proceeded to the south stockade without hesitation.“After that 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. He 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.” Xu Xiake climbed up the cliff by snow-covered path with great courage. He also climbed the peak south of the cliff. It’s easy to go uphill and difficult to go downhill. Xu Xiake proved it again on the Shaoshi Mountain.“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 cloud mists. The gully meandered with water, and the quiet houses on the two cliffs looked like honeycombs and birds’ nests.” On 24th, Xu Xiake walked out of the Shaolin Temple and went northwest. He passed the Sweet Dew Platform, the Primary Buddhist Convent and climbed the Five-breast peak and visited the Dharma Cave. Did he just come to tour the Dharma Cave? Absolutely not. He came to open his heart and express his thanks to the Dharma. It was Dharma’s spirit of facing walls that inspired him to tour all over the country and the Songshan Mountain. Dharma taught him the supreme bodhi to the other shore of faith in the meeting. After Xu Xiake had lunch in the chamber of Ruiguang Monk, he made sentimental farewell to Dengfeng. He crossed the Xuanyuan Gate and walked toward Yique with the direction of Huashan Mountain. Five days passed. Songshan Mountain should feel satisfied because the young Xu Xiake diligently wrote a diary of these five days “Diary of the tour of Songshan Mountain”. 384 years passed, whirlwind of history whirled away countless memories, Luyan Temple, Zhenwu Temple, Ordination Platform of Huishan Temple and the Little Sky Pavilion on the Alchemy Platform all had disappeared from the tourist map of Songshan Mountain, but the five-day diary was not taken away.