Rui Zhu Rock

Rui Zhu Rock

Rui Zhu Rock is located on Qishan (also known as Maqishan) in Wupu Village, Buwen. As recorded in Famous Mountains: “Qishan and Heming Mountain stand side by side, their two peaks rising majestically above the Longjiang River, stretching over ten li, with Wansong Ridge in between.” On the ridge stands Wansong Pass. The rugged beauty of this rock landscape is vividly captured in the words of Lu Wan, Minister of Personnel during the Ming Dynasty, and the Neo-Confucian scholar Cai Lie, who visited together: “Outside Wansong Pass lies Rui Zhu Rock, with peaks standing in layered grandeur. When I chance to rest on the rocks and gaze southward, I see sails hanging far off on the river.”

Rui Zhu Rock was established by the monk Chuxi during the Five Dynasties period. It got its name because when he cut through bamboo to channel a spring, withered bamboo unexpectedly sprouted shoots.

Originally, there was a temple built on the rock, featuring stone caves, stone inscriptions, clear springs, and two iron trees planted during the Tang and Song dynasties. There is also a stone meditation bed on the mountain, said to be the place where Chuxi meditated. Throughout the dynasties, figures such as Lin Han and Chen Tianding of the Ming Dynasty studied here. Lin Han built “Jieshi Yunzhao,” an octagonal pavilion; Chen Tianding carved a path through the mountain with secluded entranceways. On the overhanging cliffs are engraved the four large characters “Hai Ri Jiang Chun” (Sunrise Over Sea, Spring on River). Chen Tianding later served as an official in the Ministry of Personnel and composed a couplet for the stone pillars in the main hall of the rock temple: “When the wind calms, the tide is just full; when the mountain is still, the moon is at its zenith.” The Grand Secretary Lin Han also inscribed a couplet on the stone pillars: “Innate wisdom flourishes in abundance; supreme goodness is silent yet ever expansive.” Dai Pan, a scholar who passed the imperial examination in the 14th year of the Kangxi reign during the Qing Dynasty and later served as magistrate of Shouchang County, wrote in his poem “Visiting Rui Zhu Rock”: “Pine trees cluster in chaos, making the way seem lost; a hollowed rock forms a natural gate.” In recent years, the site has been renovated and expanded, appearing even more magnificent and grand.