Hua Shan is called the western mountain of Taoism, it is in Shaanxi province. It is fifty five miles from the ancient capital of Chang’an, or Xian. Hua Shan is the “fourth cavern” of 36 Taoist heavenly places. Hua Shan is dedicated to the goddess in all of her many manifestations. Records indicate that Taoists have lived on Hua Shan since at least the Han dynasty. [200 B.C.]

Hua Shan has a reputation for being the most dangerous and the most magnificent of the sacred peaks. It has the most vertical ascent and at well over a mile up it is cold on top at night even in the summer and snow covered in the winter. There were monuments to people who fell off the mountain going back to the Tang dynasty. The Chinese say that a dragon coiled over the mountain and left its skeleton on the outside, its convolutions forming sharp ridges between the tremendous valleys.

This mountain greatly influenced the early Chinese landscape paintings by the artists at Ch’ang-an, the nearby capital of the Tang Dynasty [618-907]. To this day Hua Shan is like a living Chinese landscape painting that is as awe inspiring as it was in ancient times. There are several very clear streams and many famous views as you ascend the mountain. Of all the Taoist sacred peaks in China, Hua Shan is the only one dedicated to the Goddess. Most of the temples and grottoes were dedicated to different female deities.

Some of the historical artifacts [stone stele mostly] on Hua Shan were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and the monks were removed for ten years. As of a few years ago there were about forty young monks and ten nuns living on the mountain. They report that many of the old monks fled deep into the Kunlun range and still live there. Huashan is of particular interest because the Healing Sounds Chi Kung, Eight Pieces of Brocade exercises, and Tai-Chi Ruler that we practice all come from there.

Now, after consulting prognosticators for the auspicious time and date to enter the mountain, let us climb the sacred peak of Hua shan. Like most of these sights, the temples and buildings built with royal patronage are usually at the foot of the mountain. That way the Emperor or his representative would not have to climb to the summit to pay homage to the deities there. So as we walk toward the mountain first we come to

Hua Yue temple- this temple was originally built at the foot of the mountain for Imperial emissaries to pray and burn incense. The building that exists now was built in the late Ming and early Ching eras. The architecture imitates the Emperor’s palace in Peking. The outer surroundings are from the Ming dynasty. Hou ling men- wall of nine dragons that hide the door. Opposite that is the five phoenix building. It has five doors and the roof is held up by twelve huge stone columns shaped like the character “shan,” or mountain. Nearby was a Han era temple called Hsi Yue . It burned to the ground in 1932. It was rebuilt soon afterwards. This temple is a famous structure with a gate that frames the distant peak of Hua Shan.

Wu yue- Five Mountains Rock this is one of the most famous stone tablets on any of the sacred mountains. It was erected in A.D.724 and originally contained 738 characters written by the Emperor Tong, Hsien Tsung. Unfortunately, today most of it is gone but you can still see a picture of a flying hsien on one side and a warrior on the other.

The Jade Spring Compound is at the mouth of Hua Shan. This is where Chen Tuan, the most famous resident of Hua Shan in ancient times, lived in seclusion and obtained immortality. He spent months in sleeping meditation, a practice still done today. The huge green trees inside the compound hide the sky much of the year. The group of buildings around the compound are situated so that they merge with the mountain. The whole building is magnificent with winding covered pathways that go up and down. One of the most scenic spots is in the courtyard where there is a very clear spring. Legend says it is connected to the Jade Well up on the mountain at Cheng Yue temple. The water from this spring is exceptionally clear and sweet to this day.

In the compound there is the main hall dedicated to Chen Tuan and it is called His-I temple. Inside the simple gray brick building with a blue slate roof is a statue of Chen Tuan. To the west of the courtyard is a corridor that leads to a stone boat and then the Wu Yo Shu, or No Worries Temple, where there is a famous tree said to have been planted by Chen Tuan. Buildings in this part of the compound include the Han Ching Temple.

The Hsi–I cave is where the famous carved stone statue of Chen Tuan reclining in sleep meditation is located. This statue dates from the Song dynasty and the carving is so subtle that it looks real. The Shan Sun Ting is a pavilion built by Chen Tuan that is also located here and it is situated on a huge rock.

To the east of the courtyard is Hua T’o’s tomb. He was the famous second century A.D. doctor who performed brain surgery and codified herbal medicine. The History of the Later Han records that Hua T’o [born A. D. 190] realized that the best way to prevent disease and aid self-healing was through movement. He researched ancient exercises and developed five sets of exercises based on animal movements and used them by prescription as a preventative medicine. The five Animal Frolics developed by Hua T’o are the oldest form of Taoist yoga practiced in its ancient form.

Also in the eastern quadrant of the complex is The East Tao Courtyard, Dong Tao Yuan, it was originally called Nine Heaven Temple, Chui Tien Gong, it is on the east side of the Ching Ko bridge. This building dates from the Ching era of Kang Hsi and faces west. Inside the main hall is a statue of the Goddess of the Nine Heavens, Chui Tien Hsu Nu. This is a very special place with a bamboo garden to the south. Pull back the bamboo to look to the south to see what was called the “little heaven,” peng lai, with clouds and mist, plum blossoms, and caves with waterfall curtains in the distance. Hua Shan is indeed a very special place.

All of the landscaping inside of the Jade Spring Courtyard uses the natural environment and the feng shui is very good. It is next to the mountain, the spring bubbles in the middle, the bamboo sways in the cool mountain air. Throughout the pagodas and winding corridors all is peaceful and has a deeply spiritual feeling.

Ch’ien-chih-ch’uang, Streamer of a Thousand Steps is cut into the solid rock with iron chains to hold onto. This is the pilgrim path and it skirted the great crater dominated by the Fairy Palm Cliff. Beyond the Dragon steps is a spot called Ch’i-erh Yen, where the monkey “scratched his ears” when faced with such a climb.

Northern Peak Monastery, Pei-feng- at 6,280 feet high it is the lowest peak. On the crest are two cave-temples hollowed out of the rock. The water supply was stored in cisterns hollowed out of the rock and fed through channels to direct the rainwater to reservoirs. It is said in ancient times that Lao tze came to the north peak of Hua Shan and Lao Chun Li Kuo is situated on a very dangerous place with a deep trench around it that they say Lao tze plowed. Lao tze left Hua Shan to go to Chow-chi in Shaanxi to teach the Tao Te Ching to I-Hsi.

West Peak Monastery is 8,100 feet high. From this peak the plains below are visible, showing the confluence of the Wei and Yellow Rivers and the Phoenix Mountains beyond. On the saddle of the swinging ridge that joins West Peak to South Peak is the temple of Lao-tzu. On its porch was a huge furnace ten feet wide and six feet high used to compound an elixir of immortality. Endless swirls of clouds dash against the granite walls of the Western Cliff like a giant cauldron.

Central Peak-Fallen Eagle Pinnacle- this is the highest point on Hua Shan, being 200 feet higher than west peak. A poem by Li Po [705-762] is carved in large calligraphic characters on a granite slab. At the top of this cliff are two hollowed out pools, the Cleaning Heaven Pools, one for the sun [yang] and one for the moon[yin]. They were used for bathing in their reflections. Yu Nu Ssu- Jade Girl Temple is built on a natural stone turtle. The Jade Girl or Woman is an immortal whose symbol is the hsiao, or flute. She rides a phoenix and ascended to heaven. The temple has been rebuilt several times and the one we have now is from the Ching dynasty.

South Peak Temple, Palace of Golden Heaven, this is where the monks lived. You descended South Peak to begin climbing to reach East Peak another thousand steps up. On a bare rock to the right is a bronze pavilion where the hsien play chess. The path has eroded and no one can remember how to get there anymore.

East Peak, Tung feng, from the courtyard of one of the temples a gateway opens onto the void, for the leap into eternity. Suicide at the end of a difficult pilgrimage was common during different periods on many of the sacred mountains in China, both Taoist and Buddhist. East and West peaks are terminal points where you could go no further. After visiting the peaks you descended into the wooded central bowl, following the path through Central Peak, Chung-feng, back to Five Cloud Crest. The pilgrim circuit from North Point and back is five miles long with an ascent of 2000 feet. There is the Jade Emperor’s cave on East Peak and it is large, containing statues of Taoist religious deities, and in the summer a monk offers I Ching readings to tourists.

East peak has a shear cliff face but the rock is relatively soft so in the 13^th century a man named He, Zhi Zheng dug shallow meditation caves into it. In total he dug 72 caves on Hua Shan and gave them to his neigong students. The only way to get to some of these meditation caves is by walking on, and holding onto, chains secured to the rock.

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