Yefu Takes a Disciple
Yefu Takes a Disciple. Legend says Yefu was a general under Li Zicheng's rebel army in the late Ming. After defeat he retreated to Lizhou (present-day Lixian) and lived in seclusion with Monk Fengtianyu (said to be Li Zicheng) at Jiashan Temple in Shimen, continuing to lead the joint Ming resistance against the Qing. During the Shunzhi reign, when Monk Fengtianyu passed away, Yefu went alone to Tianmen Mountain in Yongding and became abbot of Tianmenshan Temple...
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Yefu Takes Disciples
Legend has it that Yefu was a general under Li Zicheng's rebel army in the late Ming Dynasty. After suffering defeat, he retreated to Lizhou (present-day Li County) and lived in seclusion with the monk Fengtian Yu (said to be Li Zicheng) at the Jiashan Temple in Shimen, continuing to lead the joint Ming resistance against the Qing. During the Shunzhi reign, when the monk Fengtian Yu passed away (a monk's death), Yefu went alone to Tianmen Mountain in Yongding and became the abbot of Tianmen Mountain Temple.
One day, as Yefu was teaching several young monks martial arts in the courtyard, he suddenly heard a commotion outside. The gatekeeping monk reported: "There are seven or eight pilgrims outside making a fuss, demanding to see the abbot!" Yefu drew back his fist and said, "Let them in!"
As the temple doors opened, the pilgrims rushed in and surrounded Yefu. Yefu looked them over: every one had dark brows and fierce eyes, built like oxen—clearly up to no good. The leader spoke: "You're the abbot Yefu?" Yefu pressed his palms together and replied, "This humble monk is he." "We've been climbing and we're starving—hurry up and cook us some food!" Yefu said, "You have come from afar and must be weary from the journey, but our humble temple has always been poor and has no rice to offer. I beg your understanding." At this, the leader whipped a dagger from his leg wrappings, and the others drew their daggers as well, menacingly pressing in on Yefu. Yefu smiled apologetically and said, "Let's talk this over. I'll cook you some food!" With that, he brought out a basket of unhusked grain, poured it into a stone mortar, and with his right hand, fingers pressed together, went "chop! chop! chop!" pounding it in. Up and down, in just a few strokes, the basket of grain was husked into white rice. Yefu lifted the mortar and poured the rice into the basket. Then with "thump, thump, thump" he strode to the firewood shed, brought out a log as thick as a rice bowl, braced it against his knee, and with a "crack" the log broke in two. Then he raised his right palm and with two "smack, smack" sounds split the log into several pieces! Just then three eagles were flying overhead. Yefu snatched up the three daggers and "whoosh! whoosh! whoosh!" sent them flying into the air—neither too high nor too low, neither too soon nor too late—each dagger striking an eagle in the throat. With a cry of "oh," the three eagles fluttered and tumbled down into the courtyard. Yefu said, "Guests, we monks do not eat meat, so I must trouble you to do the cooking yourselves. Please—!" Seeing Yefu's skills, the pilgrims were already trembling with fear, their legs shaking like sifting chaff—who would dare make a sound? Yefu sneered and walked step by step toward the leader. Catching him off guard, with a "rip" he tore open the man's clothing, and at once a character "Qing" was revealed on his chest. The "pilgrims" threw down their daggers and "thud, thud" knelt before Yefu, crying out, "Spare us, Master, spare us!"
It turned out that after Yefu disappeared from Jiashan Temple, the Qing court ordered the Lizhou prefecture to send secret agents to hunt him down. Eventually they learned he had gone to Tianmen Mountain and had taken the tonsure as a monk, so they disguised themselves as "pilgrims" and forced their way up Tianmen Mountain.
It is said that these Qing soldiers, grateful to Yefu for sparing their lives and admiring his martial skills, all took him as their master and entered the monastic life. Yefu was happy to take them in as disciples.
(Collected by Xifang Shuo)
[Appendix] Yefu's Tombstone Inscription
Regarding Yefu's retreat to Tianmen Mountain, the Yongding County Local Gazetteer records: "In the late Ming, there was a Yefu who flew on his staff from Jiashan Temple to this mountain (referring to Tianmen Mountain). Fu was a remnant partisan of the rebel Chuang and, for this reason, shaved his head and became a monk, managing to escape the emperor's punishment." Fengtian Yu is said to be Li Zicheng's assumed name. Because Li Chuangwang had once called himself "Fengtian Chuangyi Wenwu Grand Marshal," after taking the tonsure he still styled himself "Fengtian Yu" to encourage himself. Legend says that after Yefu's death, his corpse vanished overnight, and the Qing court searched everywhere in vain. It was not until the Xianfeng reign that a local scholar, Mr. Longgang, following the secret instructions of his predecessors, built a tomb for Yefu and composed an epitaph, and the mystery of Yefu's disappearance was finally revealed to the world. It turned out that before his death, Yefu had anticipated that the Qing court would dig up his grave and destroy his corpse, so he secretly instructed that his body be transported to a remote mountain in Gaofeng Township, Cili County, for burial, and that a stele and tomb be erected only after peace returned to the land. This inscription was discovered in the early 1980s and is the only historical evidence of Yefu's activities in the Lishui River basin. The full text of the inscription reads as follows:
The old Zen master was a warrior. Born in the Ming, died in the Qing. His ambition was lofty, his bearing awe-inspiring. Possessing the talent to order heaven and earth,
he long hated the powerful eunuchs; riding the momentum to overturn seas and rivers, he dared to pursue the bandit forests. Resting on his spear until dawn, he hoped to restore China; drawing his sword and mounting
the altar, he was determined to pacify the realm. He fought the Prince of Wu at Guizhou, and pursued Li Chuang at the Lishui River. Yet as warfare repeatedly arose, he could not unfold his path to glory;
thus, not pursuing the contest for the realm, he willingly chose to dwell among springs and stones. So he came to Lingyang, trod the Xiang Cave, built a hut of thatch, and raised a temple of timber.
The foundation was newly laid, the fields gradually reclaimed. The clarity of his mind was here, the manifestation of his nature was here. And in the wilderness he
brushed away [worldly dust], and in innocence he cultivated himself. Preface.
Composed by Longgang on the twenty-first day of the twelfth month of the Xinyou year, the eleventh year of Xianfeng [1861].