Chumi Rock

Chumi Rock is located on the mountainside of Lion Mountain to the west of Liantang Village, Qinglong Township, Pingle County. The cave entrance is shaped like a crescent. Legend has it that during the Ming Dynasty, three monks came here to retreat from the world and practice Buddhism. A stone hollow in the cave produced white rice, which was just enough to feed the three monks—hence the name. During the “Jiayin Rebellion” of the Kangxi era in the Qing Dynasty, even more monks came to practice here, and the stone hollow continued to produce enough rice for their needs. Later, a greedy monk, wishing to get more rice, secretly enlarged the opening of the stone hollow. But his plan backfired, and the hollow stopped producing rice altogether. A poet of the Qing Dynasty lamented this and couldn't help but write a five-character quatrain titled “Inscription on Chumi Rock,” which reads: “A hole bored through the rock, when will jade-like grains gush forth? Who is the glutton who chiseled away the fairy grain’s root?” From the foot of the mountain, one can climb stone steps along the cliff to reach the entrance. At the cave mouth stands a stone gate, framed by two square stone pillars, with a horizontal stone slab secured above, engraved with the three large characters “出米岩” (Chumi Rock). Inside the gate are two stone tablets: “Reconstruction of Chumi Rock” and “Record of Lion Rock,” as well as a “Preface to the Reconstruction of Chumi Rock” made up of 19 smaller stone tablets. To the right of the tablets, one can see a huge boulder weighing dozens of tons supported by three stone eggs, each about 60 centimeters in diameter—this is called “Stone Hollow Hall,” also known as “Miaoming Hall.” Turning left in front of the cave, you can look down into the unfathomable depths below, known as the “Hanging Tower,” the front of which still shows traces of railings. In addition, there is a “Pestle and Mortar Room” where monks once pounded rice, and a “Fragrant Kitchen” used for cooking. On the left side of the cave is a mountain spring well about 30 centimeters in diameter. The water is as clear as a mirror, and touching it brings an immediate cool sensation. Legend says the water could be used as wine, so locals call it the “Wine Well.” It is said that one day, a villager, while drawing wine, said to the well: “The wine is fragrant, the wine is mellow, too bad there’s no lees to feed the pigs.” Right after, a white silk strip drifted down from the mountain, inscribed with: “The sky may not be high, but human greed is higher; the well water turns to wine, yet still they crave the lees.” From then on, the well never produced wine again. Above the well, carved on the stone cliff, are four large characters: “Charity of a Loving Mother.” Behind the well are three stone tablets, each about 1.5 meters tall, inscribed with the four seal characters “共证菩提” (Together Attaining Enlightenment), written by Yuan Jingxing, the Qing Dynasty’s Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.