Yifeng Wufeng Mountain

Yifeng Wufeng Mountain

Wufeng Mountain is located at Jingjue Temple on Wufeng Mountain in Huanggang Township, Yifeng County (Wangxi Village, Huanggang Township, Yifeng County, Jiangxi Province). It features five peaks — Guiyun (Returning Clouds), Jicui (Accumulated Emerald), Luohan (Arhats), Yuegui (Laurel Moon), and Fuyan (Brushing Rock) — all renowned for their secluded beauty. The Jingjue Temple in the mountain was first built during the Yongchu era (420–422) of the Liu Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, over 1,500 years ago, and was later renamed Puli Temple. During the Dazhong era (847–859) of the Tang Dynasty, the eminent monk Changguan resided here as abbot. During the Tang and Song dynasties, the place teemed with monks and enjoyed immense incense popularity. Liu Gongquan once inscribed a plaque for the temple, while Huang Tingjian and others composed poems about it, and Su Zhe wrote a stupa inscription for the temple monks and donated scriptures to the temple. Wufeng Mountain, along with Dongshan and Huangbo Mountains, are collectively known as the "Three Major Ancestral Courts of Buddhism." The mountain boasts uniquely shaped peaks and towering waterfalls, with clouds and mist lingering year-round, and is abundant in historic relics.

According to the Buddhist history of Yifeng, Wufeng Mountain was commissioned and built by Emperor Wu of the Liu Song Dynasty (reigned 420–422). During the Dazhong era (847–859) of the Tang Dynasty, Changguan, a distinguished disciple of Master Huaihai from Bai Zhang Temple, and Xiyun, the founder of the Linji School, went their separate ways after completing their studies — one spreading the teachings at Huangbo Mountain, and the other begging alms at Wufeng Mountain. In the early Qing Dynasty (1663–1741), the 32nd and 36th lineage holders of the Linji School, Xu Gaozhao and Ci Nian, revitalized the struggling Linji tradition in the forests of Wufeng Mountain, striking the dharma drum and passing on the light, leaving behind this significant Buddhist heritage for future generations.

Turning northward and westward from the town of Huanggang in Yifeng, you’ll soon enter a mountainous area covered with overlapping ridges and peaks, where the road twists and turns along the elevation. Upon reaching Wangxi Village, you’ll see five peaks spread out like a hand, casting a cool shade, with the surrounding mountains resembling the tall hats worn by monks. Birds startle in the mountain streams, springs hang over terraced fields, and winds howl through the valley. This is Wufeng Mountain.

Like many eminent monks, Wufeng Mountain spreads its understanding and insight of Buddhism to the world, taking the principle of encouraging kindness to the extreme. Beneath the Xuezhai Bridge along the way, there is a mural titled “Reclining Buddha.” It is a naturally formed stone wall about five square meters in size, engraved with an image of the Buddha — bare-chested, resting his elbow and pretending to sleep, with a gentle smile and tipsy expression, resembling both the Maitreya Buddha and a farmer taking a rest by the roadside after tilling under the scorching sun. On the upper left side of the stone wall, the two characters “Reclining Buddha” (卧佛) are written in bold yet serene strokes. Changguan and Xiyun integrated Buddhism into the labor of “carrying water and chopping wood,” transforming worldly desires into a serene contentment of “being poor without resentment, and wealthy without arrogance.” This vivid stone carving exudes a deep sense of life’s flavors.

Arriving at the former site of the mountain gate of Jingjue Temple, this “Ancient Monastery of the Four Directions” over 1,500 years ago now has none of its original ochre walls and yellow tiles. Stone mortars are scattered, and there's no sign of the uncomplaining, non-attached, and world-detached poet-monks, painter-monks, and calligrapher-monks who once practiced here. Stone mills, stone pedestals, stone bowls, and stone jars lie across the fields and mountainsides for miles, lying incongruously with wild grass and rocks, creating a sense of dislocation. Fortunately, a stone plaque about two meters long, inscribed with the words “Jingjue Chanlin” (Jingjue Buddhist Grove), offers some solace to visitors’ emotions. It is said that the inscription on the plaque was written by the abbot of Jingjue Temple. There are also two well-preserved ancient tombs on the mountain: one is the domed tomb of Master Changguan, built in the sixth year of the Xiantong era of the Tang Dynasty (865 AD), and the other is the pavilion-shaped tomb of Master Xu Gaozhao, built in the second year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1663 AD), both believed to be the works of Xu Gaozhao, the 32nd lineage holder of the Linji School. The layout is composed and serene, a stark contrast to the sharp and intense style of the Linji School. Historical accounts say Xu Gaozhao was learned in both scholarship and art. Looking at the now-declining Jingjue Temple, it’s hard to reconcile its millennia-old ancestral court reputation with what is seen today, let alone compare it with some gaudy, lavishly-funded artificial landscapes. What is the true value of such a thousand-year-old Zen temple?

Scholarly Evaluations

After visiting Wufeng Mountain, Professor Liu Zeliang from the History Department of Xiamen University remarked at the 10th-anniversary symposium of the publication of Research on Gan Culture: “I was deeply moved and also filled with emotion when I saw these tombs. I couldn’t bear to look — the stupa of such a master from the glorious Tang Dynasty, it’s so desolate... Jingjue Temple is not just Yifeng’s, it’s China’s, and even the world’s. 97% of the world’s Buddhism is Zen Buddhism, and seven out of ten of those are Linji School. The teacher of Linji’s founder, Master Yixuan, was Xiyun. Xiyun’s ‘Essentials of Transmitting the Mind’ is the third milestone in the Sinicization of Buddhism...”