Emei Mountain
Emei means the lofty eyebrow peak. The annuals of Jiading Prefecture
describes Mt. Emei as, “The verdant and beautiful mountain resembles the
graceful eyebrows of a beautiful, long, thin and extremely beautiful girl.”
The Indian monk Baozhang in the Wei and Jin Dynasty said, “The three peaks
of Mt. Emei are higher than the other four famous mountains in China (Mt.
Taishan, Mt. Huashan, Mt. Heng and Mt. Songshan). From the foot of the
mountain to the top is over 3,099 meters (10,000 ft.), therefore it is the
first mountain in China.”
Jiang Gao’s travel to Mt. Emei wrote, “Emei is the first mountain in China,
as well as a good place of instructing and relieving the common people from
the sufferings for the Bodhisativa Pu Xian. It is a sacred mountain.” In the
Qing dynasty Luo Sen’s Mt. Emei Annals there is written, “There are many
specially vagarious and beautiful mountains, but Mt. Emei tops them all and
enjoys the reputation of the most famous mountain.”
In the year of 63 AD Buddhism spread onto Mt. Emei via the Southern Silk
Road in China. In the books of Hua Yan and Fa Hua scriptures it is written
that the Bodhisattva Pu Xian, disciple to Sakyamuni, the founder of
Buddhism, had chosen Emei Mountain to stay and teach.
In
the years of the Wei Dynasty the writings of Shi Lao were the earliest book
that mentioned Taoism in Chinese history. It is written that Taoism
originated from Laozi and that he taught on Emei Mountain as early as 5, ooo
years ago.
According to the book, “The Collections of Sichuan Martial Arts,” it is
written that when Si-Tu stayed on Emei Mountain during the spring and autumn
warring states, he created the “Emei Tong Arm Kung Fu” and the “Yuan Gong
(monkey) Sword Fighting Kung Fu” by imitating the white monkeys’ fighting
actions. Since he was often in white, his disciples always called him, “The
White Monkey Kung Fu” originator. Si-Tu was not only the originator of Emei
Martial Arts, but also is the first person of China martial arts in recorded
history.
There have been many great sages and monks throughout its vast history
including the creation of Emei Qigong in 1227 AD.
Throughout the mountain are incredible waterfalls, monasteries and wild
animals. The views are breathtaking and the energy is powerful. Emei
Mountain has become a popular tourist attraction within China. The
government has recently given five billion dollars to restore the ancient
temple and modernize the local town to accommodate and make the stay of the
visitors more pleasant. It is truly one of the great places on Earth to see.
Here are some pictures from my travels.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
