Huangbo Mountain

Huangbo Mountain

Located in Huangbo Natural Village, Huanggang Township, Yifeng County, Huangbo Mountain is a border mountain shared by Yifeng, Wanzi, and Tonggu counties. It lies 48 kilometers from the county seat, with its main peak, Xianggudong, rising to an elevation of 1,404 meters. Huangbo Mountain was a renowned Zen Buddhist site flourishing during the Tang and Song dynasties, and also the birthplace of the Linji School—one of the five major schools of Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Huangbo Mountain is not only famous both at home and abroad as the ancestral home of the Linji School, but is also widely known for its tea, bamboo, waterfalls, and springs. Huangbo Zen Tea has been hailed as the “supreme tea of Central China” and was once served as tribute tea. The great literary figures of the Song Dynasty, Su Zhe, Liu Kezhuang, and Wang Yinglin, all left timeless praise for Huangbo Mountain. Today, Huangbo Mountain has become a sacred site for Linji School practitioners from China and abroad to trace their roots, and its reputation continues to spread far and wide.

The eminent monk Master Xiyun founded a temple on Huangbo Mountain during the Kaicheng era of the Tang Dynasty and pioneered the “stick-and-shout” teaching method, which attracted monks from all over. Before ascending the throne, Emperor Xuānzong of Tang (Li Chen) once lived in seclusion on Huangbo Mountain and studied Buddhism under Master Xiyun. After Xiyun’s passing, his body was buried on Tashan Mountain in front of his stupa. Emperor Xuānzong bestowed upon him the posthumous title “Master Duanjie” and revered him as an unparalleled eminent monk. By the end of the 12th century, Japanese monk Eisai introduced the Linji School to Japan, making it the mainstream school of Zen Buddhism in Japan, and Huangbo Mountain became a shared ancestral temple honored by the Linji School.

Major attractions include:

① Millennium Turtle Stone — This stone is over 10 meters long and 2 meters high, shaped like a turtle, with distinct eyes and head. Legend says it was a divine turtle from Fairy Gorge that, moved by Master Xiyun’s teachings, came to his tomb after his passing and chose to guard his stupa. Locals regard the Turtle Stone as a “guardian stone” that watches over the land, and they pay it reverence. When struck with pebbles at its rear, the stone emits a hollow knocking sound.

② Stupa of Master Xiyun — Master Xiyun had profound attainments in Buddhist studies and was a master synthesizer of the Dharma. In his youth, he traveled to study under many eminent teachers and received the true transmission from Master Huairang of Bai Zhang Mountain in Fengxin. Later, seeing that Huangbo Mountain was surrounded by mountains on three sides, located at the source of the range, and blessed with excellent feng shui, he took up residence there. Master Xiyun passed away in the 11th year of the Dazhong era (857) during the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuānzong conferred on him the posthumous title “Master Duanjie,” and he was buried here. The stupa bears the inscription “Stupa of Master Duanjie.” On the stone tablet behind the stupa enclosure is also carved: “Stupa of the Founding Patriarch, the Venerable Master Shang Xi Xia Yun, Posthumously Titled Master Duanjie.”

③ Huangbo Zen Temple — The original temple now exists only as ruins, but reconstruction is underway. The rebuilt Huangbo Temple will cover an area of 135 mu (approximately 9 hectares), built in the Ming Dynasty architectural style, with an estimated total investment of 60 million yuan.

④ Tiger Running Spring — Legend of Tiger Running Spring: Once, while Master Xiyun was preaching the Dharma to monks in the main hall, a fierce tiger suddenly ran down from the mountain, burst into the hall, knocked over the incense table, and terrified the monks. Calmly, Master Xiyun closed his eyes, pointed with his hand, and the incense table turned into a huge rock that pinned the tiger underneath. From then on, the tiger stayed beneath the rock, listening to Master Xiyun’s teachings daily. Over time, it was said to be enlightened. After Master Xiyun passed away, the tiger suddenly burst out from beneath the rock, ran to the stupa, and dashed its head against it before dying, choosing to follow its master. Later, spring water gushed from a cave beneath, pooling into a small pond—thus named Tiger Running Spring. Tea brewed with water from this spring tastes especially wonderful.

⑤ Stupa of Master Yiwei’an — This stupa is shaped like a yurt, locally referred to as “a big bell covering a small bell,” or “a stupa within a stupa.” The inner stupa stands 2.47 meters tall and 1.2 meters wide. There is only one such uniquely designed Buddhist stupa in China, making it truly one of a kind. Built in the 25th year of the Kangxi reign (1686) during the Qing Dynasty, the front of the stupa is inscribed with “Stupa of Master Yiwei’an.” A stone tablet embedded in the back wall of the outer stupa bears the inscription: “Born on the sixth day of the sixth month at noon in the year Yimai of the Tianqi era, died on the fifth day of the first month at midnight in the year Yichou of the Kangxi era, the 34th-generation Dharma descendant and Master Yiwei’an. Stupa erected on a propitious day in the winter month of the 25th year of Kangxi.” The space between the inner and outer stupas can accommodate around a dozen people.

Huangbo Village: Huangbo Village is located in Huanggang Town at the westernmost part of Yifeng County, Jiangxi Province. The main peak of Huangbo Mountain, Xianggudong, stands at 1,404 meters above sea level and marks the border of Yifeng, Wanzi, and Tonggu counties. About 48 kilometers from Yifeng County seat, it was a famous Zen Buddhist site thriving during the Tang and Song dynasties, and also the ancestral home of the Linji School—one of the five major schools of Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism.

Huangbo Mountain was originally called Jiufeng (Vulture Peak). A Western Region monk who once lived on this peak noted that the mountain resembled Vulture Peak in India, hence the name. During the Kaicheng era of the Tang Dynasty (836–840), after receiving the true transmission from Master Baizhang, Master Xiyun took up residence on Jiufeng. Xiyun became a monk in his youth at Huangbo Mountain in Qing County, Fujian, and named it after his hometown... More details about Huangbo Village ++