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Mount Emei, China, April 17th, 2007.
Rising 3,100m above sea level, blessed with cascading waterfalls and bubbling springs, and deeply tinged with a sense of spiritualism, it is no surprise that Mount Emei has been described as the `Beauty Under Heaven’ since ancient times. It is steeped in Buddhist history, with temples being built within the Mountain as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty (24-220AD). Considered by Buddhists to be one of the four most sacred mountain ranges in China, it only took us a glance to understand why as we beheld this majestic work of nature.
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Normal tours don’t usually take tourists to the peak but we weren’t tourists, and we sure were interested in getting to the peak – at the expense of our poor legs, of course! With the final prize – assessing High Level Dragons (Gou Gong Long) – in mind, we started our trek to conquer Mount Emei and conquer it we did…2 ½ hours later. And breathless as we were, the panorama from the top packed more than enough punch to sap us of our breath completely! |
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We were given 1 hour to make our assessments of the landforms, before Joey signaled discussion time. He started by asking if anyone had noticed the Curled Curtain Formation of Ancestor Veins – the type that produces scholars and intellectuals. Quite a few nodded to the affirmative, and as the discussion progressed, we learnt to appreciate how important - and relevant – texts such as the Snow Heart Classics (Xue Xin Fu) are to Feng Shui practitioners.
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As a reward for our exertions, lunch was at the Jin Ding (Peak) Restaurant, served amidst cool, lush greenery. Stomachs filled, we proceeded to descend the Mountain to identify meridian spots. And we en-route to our descent, we stopped at a 1,200-year old Temple – Wan Nian Si…no ordinary route by any means!
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Mount Emei is also home to the Wan Nian Temple and its patron `saint’, Pu Xian Pu Sha. And this Temple used to be one of the main teaching grounds, where Pu Xian Pu Sha’s knowledge was disseminated to disciples. With great weather contributing to good visibility siding us today, we could clearly make out the Release of Vein from the Xian Ren Da Zuo. A river crosses the main gate, and we also spotted the Water Mouth and Tan Lang Embrace in their respective, ideal locations. We triumphantly proclaimed our observations to Joey, remarking: “Doesn’t this contribute to the factor of longevity?” And the smiles that stretched our faces at his positive reply were truly another sight to behold today!
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With another Temple on our itinerary, we treated ourselves to sedan chair transports from Wan Nian Si. It was a really regal feeling, traveling ala the nobility of the days of Imperial China! 4 miles down the route, and we found ourselves at the White Dragon Cave (Bai Long Dong)…quite an interesting name for a Temple. According to Chinese folklore, Madam White Snake (one of the immortals in Chinese literature) spent a millennium studying and honing her Taoist knowledge here. Our curiosity piqued by such a tale, we set about looking for this place’s meridian spot – and found it behind this (formerly Taoist) Temple. With the Sun Star in front, the White Dragon Cave’s formation is truly perfect by any standards.
The last stop on our China Itinerary was another temple dedicated to Pu Xian Pu Sha – the Qing Yin Ge Temple. Upon reaching our destination, we immediately noticed that the landform formation around this Temple was extremely unique…and no less picturesque than the rest. The perfunctory audit followed suit, after which we gathered around Joey to discuss our findings. It seemed that the main `Gan Long’ (Trunk Dragon) of Mount Emei enters via Qing Yin Ge Temple and as Joey quoted from the Han Long Jing classical text, the spot where water converges usually indicates the halting of the main veins. He then led us to trace the water’s source by following the river, and to our amazement, we discovered that this particular water formation complies lock, stock and barrel with the 4 Major San He Structures! We tracked a further 2 km along the water route, and subsequently discovered a natural, 9-curve water formation…as mentioned in the famous Snow Heart Classics. `Exciting’ couldn’t really describe our feelings at seeing Feng Shui in motion…with the classics brought to life in actual situations!
Dusk was already encroaching upon the day, as we reached the foot of Mount Emei. This is our last day of the China Excursion 2007. At the final discussion – and class - back at the hotel, we pored through our audits and findings, once again. All in all, it has been a rewarding practical study course. We assessed a diverse variety of landforms, saw the classics brought to life right before our very eyes, and thanks to this Excursion, our Feng Shui skills are more firmly entrenched. (Oh yes, we also lost some weight!) `Must be seen to be believed’ best describes this tour of duty.
A dinner party consummated this year’s China Excursion, followed by a karaoke session. Amazingly enough, we’d not only good Feng Shui practitioners in our midst, but also quite a few `Idol’ wannabes as well! Some participants will be leaving tomorrow, while new ones will be joining our entourage…because this Grand Slam’s not over yet.
See you in Tibet on Thursday, April 19th!
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