Wulei Mountain
Wulei Mountain, Cili County: Wulei Mountain was originally called Dawei Mountain. Why was it renamed Wulei Mountain? Legend says long ago, when evil spirits plagued the mortal world, the Heavenly Emperor sent the Northern Zhenwu Patriarch down to save the people. The Patriarch transformed into a Taoist priest, vanquishing demons and healing the sick everywhere. After he subdued the Five Thunders and Five Tones at Chasi Mountain in Sichuan, he heard that in Cili County of Wuling Commandery, five wicked dragons were fighting over...
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Wulei Mountain
Wulei Mountain in Cili County was originally called Dawei Mountain. Why was it renamed Wulei Mountain?
Legend has it that long ago, when demons and evil spirits ran rampant in the mortal world, the Heavenly Emperor ordered the Northern Zhenwu Patriarch to descend to the mortal realm to save the common people.
The Patriarch transformed himself into a Daoist priest, traveling everywhere to eliminate evil and destroy demons and to heal the sick. After he had subdued the Five Thunders and Five Sounds at Chasi Mountain in Sichuan, he heard people say that in Cili County of Wuling Commandery, five wicked dragons were fighting over the sacred summit of a mountain, battling so fiercely that heaven and earth were overturned and the common people suffered along with them. These five wicked dragons were the Azure Dragon of the East, the Red Dragon of the South, the White Dragon of the West, the Black Dragon of the North, and the Yellow Dragon of the Center. They had cultivated on this mountain for over a thousand years and had all attained the Dao. When they first began cultivating, they had agreed: "Whoever attains the Dao first shall be honored, and everyone shall exalt him as the sage." But who would have thought that all five dragons attained the Dao at the same time, with powers so evenly matched that none would yield to another in the contest for the sage's position, and they fought until heaven and earth were darkened and sun and moon lost their light.
The Patriarch and the Five Thunder Gods descended from the clouds and stood atop the high mountain. The Patriarch pointed the Three Terraces Seven Stars Sword and recited a true incantation. The five wicked dragons were startled and quickly returned to their respective positions, writhing and rolling. The Patriarch stood on the summit and looked around, exclaiming several times, "What a fine place, what a fine place!" He thought: This is a blessed land; better to build a temple here, and come often to this place to rest and to eliminate evil and destroy demons, protecting the common people. That very night, he sent a dream to Zhang Dui, who lived halfway up the mountain, saying: "The Patriarch of Wudang Mountain wishes to build a temporary palace atop this high mountain, to protect the people of this region and keep them safe and well."
Zhang Dui was no ordinary commoner—he was a Hanlin academician and a compiler of the national history, who had retired to his hometown in old age and lived in seclusion at the foot of this mountain. After receiving the dream, he immediately invited the Prince of Huayang of Lizhou Prefecture and the Prince of Rongding of Changde Prefecture to jointly take the lead in raising funds and organizing the construction of the temple.
When the five wicked dragons saw that people were building a temple on this sacred ground, they flew into a rage, and the mountain shook and the earth trembled, and all was foul smoke and miasma. At that moment, the Patriarch ordered the five thunder gods to each stand in one of the five directions. The five thunder gods raised their divine hammers, and five thunderclaps subdued the five wicked dragons, who lay prostrate on the summit, not daring to move. This is what is now called "Five Dragons Paying Homage to the Sage." If you do not believe it, stand on the summit and look—five small mountain ridges, like dragon bodies, all face toward one peak.
After people heard the five thunderclaps, they suddenly saw a great radiance shining from the summit; the black clouds dispersed, the sun came out, and they said the Patriarch had manifested his power and was spreading auspicious light. That was the later Golden Summit, on which Zhang Dui specially built a magnificent and resplendent great hall, anciently called the "Golden Hall." Because of the story of the Five Thunders subduing the dragons, Dawei Mountain was later renamed Wulei Mountain. And because the Patriarch had attained the Dao at Northern Wudang Mountain and this was his temporary palace, it was called Southern Wudang. Later, when people built temples, they all followed the model of Northern Wudang Mountain. From then on, Wulei Mountain became another Daoist holy site in China.