Zhangjiajie was originally called Qingyan Mountain, not Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie was originally called Qingyan Mountain, and at that time no one surnamed Zhang lived there. Why was it later called Zhangjiajie? This story begins with Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu of the Han Dynasty. Legend says after Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang pacified the realm, he wantonly killed his meritorious officials. Zhang Liang recalled the words spoken by Han Xin, Marquis of Huaiyin, before his death: "When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked..."
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Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie was not originally called Zhangjiajie; it was called Qingyan Mountain. At that time, there were no families surnamed Zhang on Qingyan Mountain. Why was it later called Zhangjiajie? This story must begin with Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu of the Han Dynasty.
It is said that after Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, pacified the realm, he wantonly killed his meritorious officials. Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu, recalled the words spoken by the Marquis of Huaiyin, Han Xin, before his death: "When the cunning hare dies, the running dog is cooked; when the soaring bird is gone, the good bow is put away; when the enemy state is destroyed, the strategist perishes." He could not help shivering several times, and so he followed the example of Fan Li of Yue in those years, retiring after success and hiding himself in the rivers and lakes. Thus, following in the footsteps of Chi Songzi, he endured countless hardships and dangers and came to the place where Emperor Shun of ancient times had exiled Huan Dou, and ascended Tianmen Mountain, adjacent to Chong Mountain. Afterward, he made his way to Qingyan Mountain. This place was a world apart, exactly the "paradise beyond the world" that Zhang Liang had been seeking! From then on, he lived here in seclusion, cultivated the Way, and left behind a line of Zhang descendants. It is said that to protect the feng shui of Qingyan Mountain, Zhang Liang planted seven ginkgo trees on the southern side of Qingyan Mountain. These seven ginkgo trees grew tall and large, like seven giants guarding the mountainside.
Many years later, one day, a court-appointed roaming official named Zhang Wanchong from Yongding Guard rode in an eight-bearer sedan chair, bringing his wife, children, and family to tour Qingyan Mountain. When he saw these seven ginkgo trees, he immediately conceived an evil intention and wanted to use these seven trees as a boundary to claim the entire magical land of Qingyan Mountain as his own. So he hired a carving craftsman to carve, one tree at a time, the seven large characters "Commandant Zhang Wanchong's Boundary." He also posted a notice as large as a door plank, stipulating that with the seven ginkgo trees as the boundary, within a radius of fifty li, all outsiders were forbidden to pass, and violators would be beheaded! This prohibition of his caused the surrounding common people to have to take detours even to gather firewood and graze livestock, and caused the native Zhang people to flee and become displaced, carrying their children with them.
One day, the hunter Zhang Jiaxiong went into the mountains to chase a tiger and happened to pass beneath the seven ginkgo trees. He saw that each tree was flowing with yellow water, as if weeping like a person in tears. At first Zhang Jiaxiong was astonished, not knowing why the ginkgo trees were shedding tears. Later, when he saw the seven large characters "Commandant Zhang Wanchong's Boundary," he suddenly understood, and his anger flared up. He drew his hunting knife with a swish and with several slashes changed the two characters "Wanchong" into "Jiaxiong." With several more slashes, he hacked that notice board to pieces!
This action of Zhang Jiaxiong was no small matter; people both inside and outside the stockade all cheered in unison. Zhang Wanchong was furious and sent for three hundred of his personal soldiers, surrounding Qingyan Mountain so tightly that not even water could leak through. He seized people everywhere and searched the mountains in all directions. Unable to catch Zhang Jiaxiong, he drove the stockade villagers under the ginkgo trees and declared that he would use the blood of seven young boys to dye those seven large characters red. Just as the crisis was at its height, the trees flashed with light, the leaves breathed out clouds, the branches hissed and cried out, and from the trunks suddenly spurted seven streams of yellow water as thick as buckets, shooting straight at Zhang Wanchong's troops! In an instant, raging waves and giant billows, blotting out the sky and covering the earth, swept Zhang Wanchong's three hundred soldiers and horses all the way into Golden Whip Stream! Seeing this, the stockade villagers were so frightened that they hurriedly bowed and kowtowed to the ginkgo trees, begging Heaven for protection. At that moment, they suddenly heard a voice come down from above the clouds:
"Hear me, stockade villagers: This place was created by Heaven and Earth, a paradise on earth. How could it allow Zhang Wanchong, this unworthy descendant, to run rampant here! I have already buried him beneath the sea. This place now belongs to all the people of the world in common, to live and multiply forever and ever!" Having spoken, he pointed his whisk at the seven ginkgo trees, and immediately the seven golden characters "Zhangjiajie, Paradise on Earth" appeared on the seven ginkgo trees.
Everyone looked up and saw that the immortal had his hair tied in a high topknot, wore hemp garments, had crane-white beard and a youthful face, and an air of immortal elegance throughout. Among the crowd, several elders who understood learning were greatly shocked at the sight and said, "Isn't that Lord Zifang, who cultivated the Way at Qingyan Mountain?" Hearing this, the crowd all prostrated themselves in worship. The immortal lightly flicked his long sleeve and, smiling, vanished into the vast sea of clouds, drifting away in the direction of Huangshi Stockade...
Because it was named by the immortal Zhang Liang, people afterward called Qingyan Mountain "Zhangjiajie."