Old Stone Cave

Old Stone Cave

About half a li north of the Small Stone Cave, on the mountainside, there is a natural cave known as the “Old Stone Cave.” The cave is over ten feet deep, with a horizontal stone tunnel extending beneath it, stretching more than 30 meters in length, which can be reached by descending along winding stone steps. At the cave entrance are the characters “Cold Spring” (冷泉), and on the cave walls are engraved three large seal script characters “Bing Zhu You” (秉烛游, meaning “to travel by candlelight”), written by Ji Hou?, a calligrapher and artist of the Qing Dynasty. The cave walls are damp and slippery due to seeping water. The interior is dark, eerie, and bone-chillingly cold, making it unsuitable for general visitors. Explorers should bring flashlights and wear extra clothing.

Originally, there was a memorial hut belonging to the Ji family next to the cave. Ji Hou? had built several rooms here and erected a memorial archway inscribed with the words “Gu Jin San Miao” (古今三庙, meaning “Three Temples Through the Ages”), used to enshrine three revered ancient figures from Changshu: Wu Xian (巫咸), Jiang Shang (姜尚), and Yu Zhong (虞仲) (some say it was dedicated to the Wu scholar Ji Li, the Han Dynasty filial son Huang Xiang, the Yuan Dynasty master painter Huang Gongwang, and the spirits of the Ji ancestors). Ji was known for his eccentric personality, and it is said that he once hung a couplet in the cave that read: “The immortal hermit dwells in this cave; his folly surpasses even Huang’s.”