Mt. Wuyi

A famous tourist spot of China, Mt. Wuyi is located in the northwest of Fujian Province and runs along the boundary between Min and Gan. Daoism has it as the 16th Grotto Heaven ( 洞天 Dongtian ), the Grotto Heaven of Ascending Perfection and Original Transformation, of all its Grotto Heavens and Blissful Realms ( 福地 Fudi ). The red cliffs revealing their beauty and the green water deep with quietness, the mountain has always enjoyed the fame as "the most marvelously beautiful place in the southeast". An ancient poem summarizes the scenery of Mt. Wuyi, saying, "the three times three beautiful water is as clear as jade, and the six times six marvelous emerald peaks are so high as to reach the sky." Here the "six times six beautiful water" refers to the Nine-Zigzagged Stream, and the "six times six marvelous peaks" refer to the 36 peaks, such as the Dawang Peak, the Yunu Peak, the Jiuxun Peak, and the Tianyou Peak.

The mountain spirit of Mt. Wuyi is Lord Wuyi. According to the chapter "Worship of Heaven and Earth" in Records of the Historian ( 史記 Shi Ji ), the Wu Emperor of the Han dynasty once sent a messenger to the mountain to worship Lord Wuyi with dried fish. It is said that Mt. Wuyi is the residence of Earthly Immortals ( 地仙 Dixian ). All the Earthly Immortals, having obtained merits through cultivation and refinement, must converge on Mt. Wuyi to be examined before they manage to be promoted to the status of heavenly immortal. Therefore, Lord Wuyi is regarded as the spirit governing Earthly Immortals. They say that on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month in the second year during the reign of Emperor Shihuang of the Qin dynasty, Lord Wuyi, together with the great grandmother of the emperor, and Prince Jian of Wei, gave a banquet at the Manting Cliff and met with over 2,000 people from his hometown. Bai Yuchan of the Song dynasty wrote a poem in praise of the matter.

In the seventh Tianbao year (A. D. 748), the imperial court established the Tianbao Temple on Mt. Wuyi to worship Lord Wuyi specially. In the first year during the Baoda era of the Southern Tang dynasty (A. D. 943), Li Liangzuo, the younger brother of Emperor Yuanzong "abandoned power and honor and became a Daoist". He entered Mt. Wuyi for cultivation and refinement. Emperor Yuanzong ordered the relative department to move and rebuild the Tianbao Temple and named it the "Immortal Assembly Temple ( 會仙觀 Huixian Guan )". In the second Daozhong Xiangfu year during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song dynasty (A. D. 1009), it was enlarged and renamed "Chongyou Temple". In the fifth Taiding year of the Yuan dynasty (A. D. 1328), the emperor ordered to changed it into "Chongyou Longevity Temple". In the Ming dynasty, the temple was renamed "Chongyuan Temple". Since it is the largest Daoist temple on Mt. Wuyi and specially worships Lord Wuyi, people also call it "Wuyi Temple".

The famous Daoist Bai Yuchan of the Southern Song dynasty was once a recluse in Mt. Wuyi and the abbot of Zhizhi Temple. This temple stands behind the Shuiguang Stone at the first bend of the Nine-Zigzagged Stream, and today only the ruins exists.

It is said that in history there were 99 Daoist temples on Mt. Wuyi, but nowadays only the Peach Spring Grotto ( 桃源洞 Taoyuan Dong ) is a Daoist temple.

The Peach Spring Grotto: It was originally known as the Small Arcadia. The cliffs lean on each other and form a very deep gate. Inside the gate the ground is very flat and vast. There are 10 to 20 mu fields. Mountains in the four directions surround the grotto. Staying inside and looking back, people will find no gate, so they suspect that it is an Arcadia. This is why the grotto is named "Small Arcadia". Temples in the grotto include the Hall of the Three Pristine Ones ( 三清殿 Sanhuang Dian ), the Hall of the Three August Ones and the Primordial Sovereign ( 三皇元君殿 Sanhuang Yuanjun Dian ), and the Hall of the Perfect Warrior ( 真武殿 Zhenwu Dian ), etc. Now a few Daoist devotees stay here, refining themselves.

The lush forests and beautiful landscape of Mt. Wuyi make it a paradise on earth and a good place for Daoists' nourishing life, cultivation and refinement. 武夷山