The Herb-Gathering Old Man
The Herb-Gathering Old Man: In Ten-Mile Gallery stands a stone peak shaped like an old man carrying a basket on his back, walking with a heavy load—this is the famous 'Herb-Gathering Old Man.' Legend says after King Xiang Tianzi's martyrdom, his army physician Peng Banxian was grief-stricken and resolved to gather the herb of resurrection to save the king's life. So he shouldered his herb basket, picked up his small hoe, and without...
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Cai Yao Lao Ren (Herb-Gathering Old Man)
In the Ten-Mile Gallery there is a stone peak shaped like an old man walking with a basket on his back, carrying a heavy load—this is the famous "Herb-Gathering Old Man."
Legend has it that after King Tianzi of Xiang met his martyrdom, his army physician Peng Banxian was overcome with grief and resolved to gather the herb that could bring the dead back to life, to save King Tianzi of Xiang's life. So he slung on his back a basket for herbs, picked up a small hoe for digging herbs, and searched day and night through the towering peaks and great valleys of Zhangjiajie.
In a flash, fifteen days passed, and this herb was nowhere to be found. One day, hungry and exhausted, Peng Banxian collapsed onto a stone slab for a nap, and dreamed that a white-bearded old man said to him: "If you want to save King Tianzi of Xiang's life, there is only one herb in the world, called 'Nine-Dragon Coil,' and it grows at the very top of Heicong Nao." Having said this, he left.
When Peng the Half-Immortal woke from his sleep, he realized it had all been a pipe dream. He scrambled to his feet at once and made straight for Heicongnao. Heicongnao is a solitary peak standing alone, its sides sheer cliffs cut as if by a knife—monkeys dare not climb it, birds dare not alight on it. Even the "rock-ear pickers," who spend their whole lives gathering rock fungus, could only sigh in helpless despair. But Peng the Half-Immortal was desperate to save his lord; steeling his heart, he dug his fingers into the cracks of the rock and inch by inch, forced himself upward. For nine double-hours he climbed, until the flesh of his fingers and toes was worn away to bare bone, and at long last he hauled himself onto the summit. On the mountaintop lay a primeval forest untouched by human feet for tens of millions of years. Dense and impenetrable, the ancient woods blotted out the sun and sky; from deep within the wild forest came, from time to time, the howls of pythons wrestling and starving tigers fighting over prey. Peng the Half-Immortal scattered some realgar powder and beef jerky into the woods; the pythons were subdued, and the starving tigers went off to fight over the beef. He searched and searched, when suddenly a mass of silver light flashed before his eyes—that round, glistening thing the size of a winnowing basket, was it not the "Nine-Dragon Coil"? The so-called "Nine-Dragon Coil" is in fact nine venomous snakes coiled upon a thousand-year-old lingzhi mushroom—a lingzhi of this kind is encountered but once in a century, rare beyond compare in all the world. Peng the Half-Immortal lunged forward and reached out to pluck it, but before his fingers could even draw near, nine snarling, fang-baring snake heads suddenly darted out! Peng the Half-Immortal dropped to one knee and prayed: "O Nine-Dragon Coil, Nine-Dragon Coil, had it not been to save King Xiang Tianzi from calamity, why would I risk death to seek you? I, Peng, have practiced medicine for most of my life, only to save the people from suffering—I am no greedy seeker of wealth." At this, the nine snakes slowly drew their heads back, then wound and entwined around one another, forming a round coil pressed upon the lingzhi mushroom. Peng the Half-Immortal no longer dared to pick from the center; he gently broke off just a small piece from the edge. He weighed the lingzhi in his palm and felt it was a bit too little—after all, it had been no easy feat to come all this way. So he reached his hand toward the edge of the lingzhi again. Just as he was about to break off a piece, the nine snakes suddenly thrust out their heads once more! Peng the Half-Immortal broke out in a cold sweat of fright, and hastily slung his basket on his back and retreated.
Having gathered the "Nine-Dragon Coil," Peng the Half-Immortal was just about to find a wild vine to swing himself down the cliff, when he saw a mass of ominous clouds and black mist come surging from the direction of Yuanjiajie. Wherever that cloud and mist rolled, that place lost the light of sun and moon, torrential rain poured down, and the whole earth was plunged into darkness. Legend says that was the unquiet ghost of King Xiang Tianzi. Peng the Half-Immortal knew that King Xiang Tianzi's allotted time had run out and that saving him would be difficult; in his anxiety, he lost his footing and fell from the cliff into a bottomless abyss. Several years later, people discovered that to the south of Shentang Bay there had risen an "Old Man Peak." People said: "That is the herb-gathering old man—it is Peng the Half-Immortal, transformed after death."
[Appendix One] Concerning King Xiang Tianzi
Xiang Tianzi Wang is a Tujia ethnic hero whose story circulates in Zhangjiajie City in Hunan and in Changyang, Wufeng, Laifeng, Hefeng, and other places in Hubei. Especially in Wulingyuan, Zhangjiajie, virtually every stone peak and every gorge is connected to King Xiang Tianzi's military campaigns. In Wulingyuan, King Xiang Tianzi is nothing less than the deity who governs all things. Opinions about his story vary widely, but broadly they fall into four categories:
The first is the theory of Ba Lin Jun. According to the Changyang County Gazetteer of Hubei: "The Xiang Wang Temple stands below Gaojianzi; the temple enshrines the image of Lin Jun. Note: Lin Jun was for generations a Ba man; those who established themselves as rulers were specially charged as lords of the encircled domain, and because he rendered merit to the people, the regions of Shinan, Guiba, Changyang, and elsewhere now look to him and offer sacrifice, a custom passed down through the ages. But he is called King Xiang Tianzi without inquiry into his origins."
The second is the theory of Xiang Dancheng of the Han Dynasty: The Zizhi Tongjian records that Xiang Dancheng was a Tujia jingfu (also written qishuai, meaning Tujia chieftain or leader) of Chong County (note: within present-day Zhangjiajie City) in the Eastern Han, born around the first year of the Common Era. In the twenty-third year of Emperor Guangwu's Jianwu reign (47 CE), at the border of Sangzhi and Dayong (that is, the present-day Zhangjiajie and Tianzi Mountain area), he raised troops to resist the war against the Wuling Man launched by Liu Xiu. The Panhu Man, Wuxi Man, Lizhong Man, Louzhong Man, and Lin Jun Man of the Wuling region all responded one after another. Xiang's army fought decisive battles with the government forces at Qinglang Beach in Yuanling and at Huto Mountain; the famous Han general Fubo Ma Yuan died of illness in a cave at Huto Mountain and his corpse was brought back wrapped in horsehide. Folk tradition holds that when Xiang Dancheng raised troops against the Han, he borrowed the name of "King Xiang Tianzi" to summon the various Man peoples. This King Xiang Tianzi refers to Ba Lin Jun; today at Tianzi Mountain the ancient place name "Xiangtian Bay" still survives.
The third is the theory of a King Xiang Tianzi of the Southern Song. A stele inscription from the mid-Qing reconstruction of the Tianzi Temple at Yuanjiajie states: "Illustrious King Xiang, retired in seclusion to Shentang... in the Song dynasty he vanished; in the Qing era his fame flows on..." The Cili County Gazetteer compiled in the Republican period also records: "It is said that at the end of the Southern Song, there were brothers of the Xiang clan who, relying on strategic terrain, raised troops..." Folk tradition mostly holds this view, and "certain brothers" refers to Xiang Long, Xiang Hu, and Xiang Biao. Associated with this are legends such as "Five Women Campaigning South" and "The Yang Family Generals Campaigning Against King Xiang Tianzi."
The fourth is the theory of Xiang Dakun of the Ming Dynasty. The Yongding County Local Gazetteer compiled in the early Republican period records: "In the Ming there was a tusi called King Xiang Tian, who once resisted assimilation. A great army campaigned against him and besieged him at Shentang Bay; men and horses all starved to death. To this day, on windy and overcast evenings, one still hears the neighing of horses and the shouts of men in the valleys, as if there were spirits. The local people therefore built a temple to pacify them..." This "King Xiang Tian" is Xiang Dakun, born around the Yihai year of Emperor Shun of Yuan's Zhiyuan reign (around 1335 CE). The Xiang Clan Genealogy records: "The Duke and his brothers were first trapped by Ming Yuzhen, then pressed by the Ming general Fu Youde, while Tingfang, Jingren, and Daheng were defeated one after another and died for their country; revenge was hard to speak of, so there was no choice but to relinquish military power and withdraw far away. Father and sons traveled to Chen and Chang in Hunan, blew the horn to muster troops, established a state and proclaimed an emperor, usurping the royal title and calling themselves 'King Xiang Tianzi.'" "He had three sons: Zhidao, Zhide, and Zhishan." According to research, Xiang Dakun's rebellion against the Ming should have occurred around the eighteenth year of Hongwu, when Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhou Dexing and Deng Yu as generals to campaign south. The so-called "Five Women of the Yang Family Campaigning South" may have been conflated from the daughters of Yang Jing, the Huguang pingzhang.
The King Xiang Tianzi now circulating in the Zhangjiajie scenic area has in fact fused the images of Ba Lin Jun, Xiang Dancheng, the Xiang brothers of the Song dynasty, and Xiang Dakun of the Ming dynasty—all leaders of peasant uprisings. Yet the first to be called King Xiang Tianzi was in fact Ba Lin Jun. Ba Lin Jun was the ancestor of the Ba people (another branch of the Tujia), and later descendants who rose in rebellion merely borrowed the ghost of their ancestor. This kind of mutual transmission and interpenetration, resulting in identical or similar plots and stories, itself shows that King Xiang Tianzi no longer clearly refers to "a certain individual," but is rather the embodiment of a "collective leader" shaped by folk tradition.
(Jin Kejian)
[Appendix Two] The Mystery of Shentang Bay
Legend says that after King Xiang Tianzi threw himself into Shentang Bay and died a heroic death, his unquiet ghost lingered; he and his men pitched camp and set up headquarters in the bay, keeping company with pythons, fierce beasts, and poisonous insects, drilling troops day and night, ever ready for revenge.
This legend was later recorded in the Yongding County Gazetteer, the Xiang Clan Genealogy, and other texts. The beautiful and tragic legend only added to Shentang Bay's mysterious aura, and also drew bold and knowledgeable heroes of successive ages to risk their lives venturing deep into it, retrieving objects, exploring, and seeking the truth.
As early as the late Ming, plagues swept through Yongding Guard, Jiuxi Guard, and other areas; in the tusi region of northwestern Hunan, nine out of ten households were left empty, and corpses lay strewn across the wilderness. Folk tradition held that Shentang Bay had a miraculous herb that could cure the plague. A young physician, in order to gather this herb, under the protection of two highly skilled native warriors, was lowered by rope into Shentang Bay. In the end, the heroes went and never returned—the three vanished mysteriously into the depths of the cloud and mist...
During the Tongzhi reign of the Qing dynasty, two hunters of exceptional skill, carrying bows and arrows on their backs and precious sabers in hand, went together to Shentang Bay to hunt rare birds and exotic beasts. The two tied ropes and descended the cliff, and by the time they reached the mountainside they were terrified by the eerie, horrifying scene within: trees and vines interlocked, poisonous mist swirling, a chilling wind blowing, strange sounds rising in waves, and a giant python with cold, flashing light coiling around a thousand-year-old tree. The two dropped their bows, arrows, and sabers and fled for their lives. Later, the two became dazed and confused, babbling nonsense, and before long both contracted grave illnesses and died with resentment in their hearts.
In the mid-1950s, several hunters from beyond the mountains chased a wild boar. The wounded boar fled for its life and accidentally tumbled down into Shentang Bay. One hunter volunteered to descend into the bay to retrieve the game. He tied a rope around his waist and was lowered to the fifth terrace (legend says there are nine terraces). Exhausted beyond endurance, he sat on a moss-covered dead tree to rest and smoke a pipe of tobacco. When he finished the pipe and prepared to rise, he casually knocked his bamboo tobacco pouch against the tree trunk. Unexpectedly, the trunk slowly moved. The hunter was greatly alarmed; looking closely, he realized he had been sitting on a python as thick as a barrel! The hunter was struck dumb with fright on the spot, and three days after returning home he died suddenly. On his deathbed, burning with fever, he raved and screamed hysterically: "Python! Python!" His face was contorted in utter terror.
In the late 1970s, a PLA exploration team, carrying submachine guns and leading military dogs, advanced into Shentang Bay. When they descended to the third terrace, they saw only deep moss bearing the tracks of beasts, slippery water congealing dragon saliva, dead leaves three feet thick, and centipedes crawling everywhere. Suddenly, a white monster flew out from the ancient forest. The startled soldier fired in panic, and by sheer blind luck killed the white creature—it turned out to be a white rat weighing over twenty jin! At this, the military dogs whimpered and howled strangely, restless and agitated. The several soldiers, their souls still unsettled, had no choice but to beat a hasty retreat.
In the summer of 1982, a local writer, in order to collect folk literature materials, invited four colleagues to venture into Shentang Bay. They went upstream along the Ten-Mile Gallery, took the route through Zhier Bay, intending to enter Shentang Bay from the southern gorge. Just as the group approached the mouth of the gorge, a thunderstorm suddenly broke out, poisonous insects swarmed out from the dead leaves in all directions, and the whole party was drenched to the bone. They turned back and retreated in sorry disgrace.
A month later, they again followed the same route to explore, and again encountered a thunderstorm and failed. To this day they still cannot understand it: a moment before, the sun had been blazing like fire—why did torrential rain suddenly pour down?
In the summer of 1986, a photojournalist from Beijing, under a guide's lead, wanted to capture the secrets within Shentang Bay, so he was lowered by rope. He had been lowered only a few meters when suddenly the sound of horses neighing and men shouting came from within the bay. Immediately after, dark clouds gathered thick and rain poured down in torrents. The journalist was frightened out of his wits and swore never to photograph Shentang Bay again. To this day, among the thousands upon thousands of Zhangjiajie landscape photographs, not a single one can be found that reveals the inner secrets of Shentang Bay.
In the late 1980s, a professor led several students into the mountains, also via Zhier Bay. As they neared the mouth of the Shentang Bay gorge, a gust of eerie wind suddenly struck; the professor collapsed unconscious to the ground. The students hastily propped him up and, not daring to choose their path, scrambled and tumbled their way down the mountain in flight...
That same year, the agricultural reclamation department dispatched a well-equipped survey team in an attempt to unravel the mystery of Shentang Bay. They endured countless hardships, yet still could not approach the bottom of the bay, and had no choice but to turn back midway...
Shentang Bay is at once graceful and alluring, yet cold and unfeeling; within its terror it is full of the strange and bizarre, and within its mist lurk deadly intent and hatred. One scientific researcher said that Shentang Bay is a great magnetic field that recorded the cries and shouts of King Xiang Tianzi's bloody battle with the government troops, and releases them whenever the climate is right. Others say that the ever-present, never-dispersing mist of Shentang Bay kills and steals souls because it is caused by miasma, so that for thousands of years no one has visited it—and who the devil knows how many fierce beasts, venomous snakes, and poisonous insects are in there.
The code of Shentang Bay awaits a death-defying hero to crack it!
(Jin Kejian)
[Appendix Three] Ancient Place Names Related to the Historical Facts of King Xiang Tianzi
Divination Slips, Brush Rack, Ten-Thousand-Year Tablet—at Shuirao Simen, King Xiang established his "Xiang King's Heavenly Kingdom" on the strength of this geomantic site.
Forty-Eight Great General Rocks—forty-eight stone peaks stand in the Shuirao Simen area, said to be the transformed forms of the leaders of the forty-eight caves under King Xiang's command, who died in battle.
South Heavenly Gate—in Suoxiyu, said to be where King Xiang Tianzi practiced archery to shoot the emperor.
Five Generals Paying Homage to the Marshal—at Shandao Gou, five mountains stand side by side, bowing their heads toward the facing mountain in a posture of homage; said to be where King Xiang Tianzi appointed the leaders of five caves as marshals.
Reviewing Stand—there are reviewing stands at Huangshizhai, Tianzi Mountain, and other places; said to be where King Xiang Tianzi drilled troops and reviewed his generals.
Jundi Ping (now mistakenly written "Jundi Ping")—that is, the present seat of the Wulingyuan government. Old gazetteers record: "Jundi Ping, named because ancient troops campaigning against Xiang were stationed here."
Suoxi—the Cili County Gazetteer records: "Named Suo because Southern Song troops were stationed here to campaign against Xiang (referring to King Xiang Tianzi)."
Tianzi Seat, Golden Armchair—at the east and west of Tianzi Mountain, there are mountains shaped like chairs; said to be the dragon throne on which King Xiang Tianzi sat when he proclaimed himself king.
Shuqi Valley—west of Chaqi Valley; said to be where King Xiang Tianzi, retreating west, planted his banner and fought the pursuing troops once more.
Gonggu Ta—the area of the present Zhangjiajie Park Management Office. King Xiang Tianzi retreated to this place, assembled his forces, and beat gongs and drums in a bloody battle with the pursuing troops.
Xiejia Valley—west of Gonggu Ta. Said to be where King Xiang Tianzi, after defeat, ordered his men to remove their armor and unsaddle their horses to shake off the encircling enemy, and slipped away overnight from Macao Bay through Pipa Stream down to Jinbian Stream.
Luoma Valley—one kilometer below Shuirao Simen. Legend says King Xiang Tianzi fought his last fierce battle with the government troops here; King Xiang was unfortunately struck by an arrow and fell from his horse, the rebel army collapsed across the board, and they had no choice but to retreat to Shentang Bay.
Luanchuan Slope—the slope from Xianghui Rock on Jinbian Stream up to Yuanjiajie. Legend says that a detachment of King Xiang Tianzi's troops retreated up Tianzi Mountain from here, and when government troops pursued and killed them, they were beaten into scattering in all directions by the native soldiers' rolling logs and boulders.
Immortal Bridge—at Chapanta on Tianzi Mountain. Legend says King Xiang's troops were defeated here and surrounded by the enemy army; a fairy maiden threw her sash across the sheer cliff and made a stone bridge, by which King Xiang was able to escape.
Fairy Maiden Offering Flowers—at Tianzi Mountain. Legend says that when King Xiang Tianzi was retreating up the mountain, a Tujia maiden of the Xia clan on the mountain offered flowers in welcome. After King Xiang's death, the Xia maiden gathered flowers ceaselessly day and night to summon the soul of the dead, year after year without ever stopping. This moved the heavenly gods, who transformed her into stone.
Divine Troops Assembly — Located in the Laowuchang area, a thousand stone peaks line up as if in formation, popularly believed to be King Xiang's "divine troops assembling."
Xiangtian Bay, located in Tianzi Mountain, was anciently called 'Xiangtian Bay'. It is said that during the Han Dynasty, the Tujia people of the Xiang clan took refuge here. Later, a famous Tujia chieftain named Xiang Dancheng emerged, who launched a peasant uprising second only to the Dazexiang Uprising during the Jianwu era of Emperor Guangwu of Han. The rebel army captured Chongcheng (the ancient site of Chongcheng is now Zhuzhu Gang in Zhangjiajie City) and attacked Wuling Commandery (present-day Changde). The imperial court successively sent General of Might Liu Shang, Grand General Li Song, General Fubo Ma Yuan, and Sikong Zong Jun to suppress them. Xiang Dancheng was defeated and killed, and Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu ordered the extermination of the nine generations of the Xiang clan. Those who escaped from the Xiang family changed their surname from 'Xiang' to 'Xiang' (a different character). Thus, folk legend says that Xiang Dakun's lineage is the descendant of Xiang Dancheng.
General Rock — West of Tianzi Mountain. A stone resembles a general clad in armor, said to be the transformation of King Xiang Tianzi.
Imperial Brush Peak — On Tianzi Mountain. It is the iconic scenic spot of Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan. Legend says that after King Xiang met his martyrdom at Shentang Bay, he dropped the imperial brush with which he composed poetry and wrote documents, and it was later transformed into stone by the gods.
Five Women Conquer the South — At Laomo Bay. Legend says the "Five Women" refer to the five daughters of Yang Jing, Pingzhang of Huguang during the Ming Dynasty, who campaigned against King Xiang Tianzi on behalf of their father. In the early Hongwu years, Yang Jing had suppressed the Maogang Tusi Qin Hou's uprising, and was later demoted for poor command.
Baizhang Pass — At Baizhang Gorge, established by the Ming court to control the Maogang Tusi. It is also said to have been established by King Xiang Tianzi to resist the court's attacks.
King Xiang Tianzi Temple — After King Xiang Tianzi's martyrdom, the Tujia people built five King Xiang Tianzi temples at Tianzi Mountain, Longweiba, Laomuyu, and other places. The Cili County Gazetteer records: "...Shentang Bay: it is said that at the end of the Southern Song, certain brothers of the Xiang clan, relying on natural defenses, raised troops and were defeated and killed, becoming vengeful spirits. The local people built shrines to appease them. Today the Upper, Middle, and Lower Tianzi Temples still stand towering." The Yongding County Local Gazetteer holds that it was Xiang Dakun in the Ming Dynasty who proclaimed himself King Xiang Tianzi, and after his defeat at Shentang Bay the temples were built by the Tujia people.
Dragon-Phoenix Temple — At Luoma Valley, now destroyed. After King Xiang Tianzi's death, a temple was built here enshrining statues of King Xiang Tianzi and the Great General Eight-Bu Dawang.
Zhakou Pass — At Wujiazui in Wulingyuan. Legend says it was established by the Ming court for the campaign against King Xiang Tianzi. "Zhakou Pass, an old Ming garrison, is one of the four passes of Jiuxi."
Three Passes — At Sanguansi, about 20 kilometers east of present-day Wulingyuan. Legend says it was established by the Ming court for the campaign against King Xiang Tianzi. Later a temple was built here called "Sanguan Temple," one of the four passes of Jiuxi Guard in the Ming Dynasty.