Yan Song Cave

Yan Song Cave

Ten li southwest of Fenyi County, by the Yuan River and next to the Fenyi Power Plant, beneath the third peak of Yuan Ridge where majestic mountains and grotesque rocks stand in splendor, lies a deep stone cave that ancient people called a “scenic wonder through the ages.” Locals commonly refer to this cave as Yan Song Cave, while old records call it Hongyang Cave. The name Hongyang Cave originates from the story that two Eastern Jin Taoists, Ge Hong and Lou Yang, once stayed in this cave—thus the cave was named after them. Ge Hong, courtesy name Zhiqian and self-styled Bao Pu Zi, was from Jurong, Danyang (present-day Jurong, Jiangsu). He was born in 284 AD and died in 364 AD. He was the grandnephew of the famous Eastern Han Taoist Ge Xuan from Yexia (a region under Wangjia). It’s said that Ge Xuan once attained immortality through Taoist practice on Gaozhang Mountain in Qingjiang County (now the Qiaogao Mountain Reclamation Farm has his historical remains), and Taoism reveres him as the “Taoist Immortal Ge.” Since Ge Hong was also a Taoist, people referred to him as the “Younger Taoist Immortal Ge.”

In his youth, Ge Hong came from a poor family but loved learning. He read extensively, especially favoring Taoist doctrines, and became a renowned Taoist theorist. He traveled across the famous mountains of southern China. During the time when Sima Rui of the Jin Dynasty served as chancellor, he held positions as a consultant and military advisor. Later, hearing that cinnabar could be found in Jiaozhi, he requested to become the county magistrate of Goulou (present-day Beiliu County, Guangxi). In his later years, he settled on Luofu Mountain in Guangdong to refine elixirs and died there. Legend says that Ge Hong set off for Goulou from Hongyang Cave. Ge Hong produced numerous works in his lifetime, including the Baopuzi, Jin Kui Yao Fang, Xijing Ji (falsely attributed to Liu Xin of the Han Dynasty), Shenxian Zhuan, and hundreds of volumes of poetry and prose. The Book of Jin describes him as having “vast knowledge and profound insight unmatched in the Jiangzuo region, with writings more abundant than those of Ban Gu and Sima Qian.” His representative work, the Baopuzi, though largely speculative, includes discussions on using plants for medicinal purposes, representing primitive pharmacology. It also contains some of the world’s earliest records of diseases such as smallpox and scrub typhus. These have provided valuable material for the writing of scientific history. His literary viewpoints also have merit. He opposed the frivolous scholarly debates of his time, rejected the practice of esteeming the ancient while belittling the present, and advocated that writing must contribute to moral education. He also promoted the equal importance of literature and virtue—meaning one's words and actions should align, not saying one thing and doing another. Su Dongpo held Ge Hong in high esteem. When Su was demoted and traveled to Luofu Mountain, he wrote: “Dongpo’s master is the venerable Bao Pu, our true bond formed long before this life,” suggesting that he had been Ge Hong’s kindred spirit—and teacher—in a past life. Perhaps this was just Su Shi’s wistful expression during a low point in his career.

It’s said that in his youth, Yan Song often went to a nearby cave to study, where he was enchanted by a fox spirit. When he grew hungry, the fox spirit would spit out a pearl for him to swallow, which instantly made him feel full. Eventually, the pearl was completely swallowed by Yan Song, making him extremely intelligent and enabling him to rise to high office; however, he was also perpetually haunted by an otherworldly aura, which led him to become a treacherous official. Similar stories are still told among locals in Fenyi today. Regardless, Yan Song eventually became the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty—a place of outstanding people and spiritual energy—so this cave came to be known as Yan Cave.

Wonders of the Cave

Old records state that Hongyang Cave contains seventeen stone chambers and seventy-two caves. Except for the first chamber, the others are deep, dark, and inaccessible without lighting. At the cave entrance, the towering cliffs form a grand opening about seven or eight meters high and over ten meters wide, capable of accommodating over a hundred people. After advancing just over ten steps, there is a stone wall in the middle, over ten feet wide and more than twenty feet tall, resembling a screen or a partition that blocks the way forward. On the wall are five horizontally inscribed cursive characters, each nearly three feet tall, reading “Ancient Hongyang Cave Heaven.” They are vigorous, bold, and majestic—an exceptional piece of calligraphy. Due to severe erosion of the signature, the author remains unidentifiable. Originally, statues of Ge Hong and Lou Yang stood in front of the stone screen, but they have long been destroyed. The smooth, shiny stone wall features inscribed poems and travel records, with many ancient engravings. Among them, a flat, protruding stone resembles a bed and is called the Stone Couch. It bears an inscription by Guo Houyi of Jinjiang from the fourth year of the Jiajing era:

The crane’s chariot rides away, never to return, as I frequently visit the forest gates and mountain curtains.

Sunlight at the cave mouth reveals misty vines, while springs from the rocky hollows burst forth like snow-covered roofs.

First, I’m amazed by this secluded, otherworldly place; then I love climbing and sitting on the mossy stones.

As the carriage turns back out of the valley, a thousand peaks lie shrouded in dusk, with monkeys howling and birds crying in the sorrowful ravines.

In front of the Stone Couch is a small, sunken area over a foot deep and pitch black, seemingly with ashes remaining—said to be the remnants of where Ge Hong and Lou Yang refined elixirs. This is the first chamber.

Stepping into the second chamber from the side of the stone, the terrain gradually descends, twisting and turning as if entering a fairyland. By the fifth chamber, the space becomes relatively spacious, able to hold three or four hundred people. From here, the cave splits into eastern and western routes—five chambers to the east and seven to the west. Due to insufficient attention to protecting historical culture, some organizations a few years ago considered converting the cave into a natural warehouse. Most of the first five chambers and the eastern five chambers were heavily damaged by blasting and hammering, and the corridor-like stone walls vanished. Upright stone pillars, layered silver peaks, valleys and rocks, sea-of-clouds bells, crouching lions and roaring tigers, stone monks, and longevity stars—all lie shattered. The main cave area largely remains intact. Scenes like Cloud Nest and Snow Cliff, Spring Scenery, Chang’e Flying to the Moon, and a Crane Among Chickens; some resemble birds, beasts, insects, and fish, others elderly women, graceful children; some feature mountains hanging with white silk, others willows in blooming flowers. A hundred splendid forms, ever-changing and unpredictable. The Southern Song scholar Zhu Xi wrote:

People say the returning clouds aren’t worth boasting about, but Hongyang’s stone milk is even more intriguing.

Linked rings enter dreams, hard to unwind, as I turn my head to the west wind and the slanting sun.

Entering the cave, observing the scenery, envisioning its shapes, and attaching emotion to it truly feels like dreaming. Among the first five and eastern five chambers, the most awe-inspiring is the “Sky-Connecting Opening.” The surrounding stone walls are steep and rugged, and the space gradually narrows from the bottom up, like an upside-down funnel. At the top, about thirty feet high, only a tiny hole remains, letting in a thread of sunlight. Around the dangerous rocks below, clusters of smaller stones are scattered, resembling orioles yearning to emerge toward the light or young swallows striving to fly. After a long period of groping in the darkness, suddenly emerging into a vast open space and seeing light and vibrant life brings a lightness and joy to the heart, a unique feeling. The western seven chambers lie several steps higher than the first ten. The first sight is a large stone jutting down from the center, thick at the base and slightly rounded, with a gap in the middle that allows passage—it’s poetically called the Stone Drum. Visitors enjoy tapping it with sticks, producing a faint sound. Above it are jade-like peaks and caves, clouds drifting through the skies, sails hoisted high, and stone swallows flying about—offering a different charm. Starting from the third chamber, the cave passages gradually narrow to less than ten feet. The floor slopes slightly, damp and slippery. The path is rugged—two steps up, three steps down, some areas like field ridges, others like depressions, stretching several yards like an overturned ladder. Clearly, this shows signs of having been washed by a significant flow of water. During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Yingzhi, the magistrate of Fenyi, described this area as “fish swimming among islets, reflections in the clear, deep stream.” It’s evident that the water once featured snow-white banks, ice rocks, and stone flowers, with records stating “below, the spring water is cool and refreshing.” Though the water is now dry, the scale suggests it was no mere trickle. It was once said that in the western seven chambers, “one could hear the sounds of boat poles at Changshan Ferry”—likely not false. The western seven chambers face the direction of Qianjing Mountain, and by estimation, they indeed extend to the edge of the Yuan River’s Changshan Gorge. In the exceptionally quiet depths, one might hear the sound of boatmen poling. And this “clear, deep stream” was probably seepage from the Changshan Gorge. Now, due to the construction of the Jiangkou Hydropower Station, the gorge’s shores have been cemented, preventing substantial seepage, so the water has dried up.

Finally, the cave widens to only four or five feet, not even tall enough for a person. In the center is a smooth, oval, and gleaming stone, which the ancients nicknamed the “Armillary Sphere.” I’d call it a “Roadblock Tiger”—it not only almost blocks the cave but also halts the breathtaking scenery. Squeezing past the back of this stone, you enter a tiny space barely big enough for three or four people, where you can’t even straighten your back.

According to records, atop Hongyang Cave lies a smaller Hongyang Cave. Its entrance is extremely narrow, but inside it opens up unexpectedly, able to accommodate over a thousand people. Inside are stone warehouses, stone pavilions, stone mills, and inscriptions from the Jin and Song dynasties in the deeper areas. Due to the dangerous and narrow access, it was later sealed off for safety.

　Ticket & Opening Hours:

Ticket: 15 RMB (additional guide fee for entering the cave)

Opening Hours: 8:00–17:00

Transportation: From downtown, after arriving in Xinyu, Jiangxi, take a bus directly from the station next to No. 1 Middle School.

County Town: Take the bus to the power plant and get off at the terminal. Best Travel Time:

Xinyu has a typical subtropical humid climate, characterized by distinct seasons, mild weather, ample sunshine, abundant rainfall, a long frost-free period, and short severe winters. The annual average temperature is 17.7°C, and the best travel times are spring and autumn.