Yujing Cave

Yujing Cave

In the courtyard in front of Yujing Cave, there is an alchemy well with crystal-clear, sweet-tasting water that all visitors are encouraged to try. A famous line describes it as: “Lift your gourd to sip the cold spring, one sip dispels a hundred worries.”

Introduction

From Wuyue Tower on Chicheng Mountain, follow the walking path up the steps, and in no time you’ll reach Yujing Cave. In 1936, Cai Yuanpei visited and inscribed a couplet: “In the mountain, cultivate stillness and observe the morning hibiscus; beneath the bamboo, silently face the purple tea.”

The gate of Yujing Cave faces west and bears a plaque inscribed with “The Sixth Grotto Heaven” (now changed to Chicheng Taoist Temple). The couplet on the gate reads: “In the mountain, cultivate stillness and observe the morning hibiscus; beneath the pine, enjoy a pure meal of dew-kissed greens.” These lines are taken from the poetry of Wang Wei, a renowned Tang Dynasty landscape poet, and they depict the serene environment inside the cave. Beyond the gate lies a courtyard covering nearly 100 square meters. Houses built within the cave, water dripping from the rock ledges, vermilion cliffs and emerald cypresses complement each other, while the ancient well and rock shoots blend into one, creating an extremely primitive and tranquil atmosphere.

Yujing Cave is hidden within a crimson cliff. The cave is over 10 meters high, more than 20 meters wide, and about 7 meters deep. Inside the cave are statues of the Three Pure Ones of Taoism — Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun.

Beneath the offering table lies a bluestone slab about one meter square, carved with lotus flowers. It is said to be the site where “a golden lotus platform suddenly emerged from the ground” when the Immortal Lady Wei ascended to heaven. In the past, a standing statue of the Immortal Lady Wei was enshrined on this “lotus stone slab.”

Throughout history, countless literati and scholars have visited Yujing Cave, leaving behind immortal poems and writings. Among them are Xia Song, Yu Shuang, Hong Shi, Wang Shipeng, Yang Weizhen, Cao Wenhuai, Fan Li, Xu Junwei, Xu Xiake, Pan Lei, Qi Zhouhua, and Kang Youwei. One notable poem is Song Dynasty poet Hu Rong’s “Alchemy Well”: “The mossy stone has weathered and peeled, the cloud-wrapped vines reveal serenity. I recall the sage of alchemy, who refined elixirs atop the lofty hill.”