in a crevice, so that only its head protrudes. High up on a ridge you see a stone bear that has sat there since the world was created, if not longer. A cave high up in a perpendicular wall of rock with traces of water issuing from it is the navel of the creator (Laotze chin). Behind two stone tablets let into a rock there is said to be the cup, into which the dice were thrown, when the Emperor Chao-Kwang-yin of the Sung dynasty lost the mountain to the monk who founded the monastery. At that time he had not yet succeeded to the throne, but was already known as an inveterate gambler and daring adventurer. The monk had an inspiration that he would one day become emperor, induced him to play for the mountain as a stake and to sign a deed, when he lost, which he did all the more readily as the mountain did not belong to him. In one of the temples you are shown the place, where the same men played draughts; the traces of the god's (Lao-chin) hand are also visible there. In another there is a stone horse, in a third the plough, with which Lao-chin himself used to plough. His horse has left an imprint of its hoof on an inaccessible mountain side. Near one temple, flowers are seen in the rock — close to another there is a pool in which people search for lucky copper coins. Whoever finds one is sure to have his wishes fulfilled. In his joy he throws less lucky coins into the water as an offering and in this simple manner this inexhaustible supply is kept up.
The principal temples on the mountain are Nan feng (built during the T'ang dynasty), Pei feng (of the Yan Ch'an dynasty), Tsung feng, Hsi feng, Tung feng and Nan tian feng, which can only be reached by people who are willing to risk their lives on a rotten
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IIIFカラー高解像度
