The Mystery of Guiguzi's Shadow on the Cliff
The Mystery of Guiguzi's Shadow on the Cliff: In the hundred-meter precipice on the south side of Tianmen Mountain lies a natural karst cave. Legend says Guiguzi, a hermit of the Warring States period, faced the wall here to study the 'I Ching,' cultivated his skills, and founded the world-famous 'Guigu Divine Skill' (commonly known as 'Dayong Hard Qigong'). He also wrote the martial arts secret manual 'Tianmen's Thirty-Six Acupoints Measuring Ruler.' Later generations named this cave Guigu Cave. So, how did Guiguzi...
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The Mystery of Guiguzi's Wall-Facing Shadow
In the hundred-meter cliff on the south side of Tianmen Mountain, there is a natural karst cave. Legend has it that Guiguzi, a hermit of the Warring States period, faced the wall here to study the I Ching, devoted himself to practicing martial arts, and founded the world-famous "Guigu Divine Skill" (commonly known as "Dayong Hard Qigong"), and also wrote the martial arts secret manual "Tianmen Thirty-Six Acupoints Measuring Heaven Ruler." Later generations called this cave Guigu Cave.
So did Guiguzi really cultivate himself in Guigu Cave on Tianmen Mountain? Historians have identified nine places in China related to "Guigu," among which Dayong Guigu is located at Tianmen Mountain. The Qing Dynasty Daoguang "Yongding County Annals" records: "Guigu Cave... the stone chamber is deep and secluded, with clear water below. It is said that Guiguzi studied the I Ching here, and today on the stone wall there are seal-script characters of the sexagenary cycle." The "Yongding County Local Annals" also records: "The cave is on the cliff of Tianmen Mountain, with no path or steps. A woodcutter mistakenly entered the cave and saw characters painted on the wall like seal script, bizarre and indecipherable. Wishing to go further, clouds surged angrily and he could not proceed. Upon returning he told others, and curious people went to seek it, but the path was lost and they could not enter." In the 1880s, contemporary explorers occasionally discovered Guiguzi's shadow in Guigu Cave, but this shadow was not an imagined illusion, but truly imprinted on the stone wall. Legend says this was exactly Guiguzi facing the wall studying the I Ching, inadvertently imprinting his body on the stone wall. Shaolin Temple's Patriarch Bodhidharma faced the wall for ten years and transmitted his shadow onto a wall, becoming a great miracle in the Buddhist world, but that image was hazy and ambiguous, whereas Guiguzi's image is a vivid, true likeness. The "Guiguzi" on the stone wall is a profile of the head, with facial features clearly distinguishable—the high topknot on the head, eyebrows, nose, thick lips, protruding chin, full chin beard, ears, neck, Adam's apple, collarbone, chest, and even the two nipples on the bare chest—all vividly protruding on it!