The "Gazing-at-Husband Rock" on the Li River

The "Gazing-at-Husband Rock" on the Li River

On the bank of the Li River in Guilin, below Jiuniu Ridge, there lies a river gorge called Huangniu Gorge. Along this gorge, you can admire wonders such as "Dragons Playing in Water" and "Frogs Crossing the River." Further along, you’ll enter Doumi Shoal. At Doumi Shoal, you can see the Gazing-at-Husband Rock.

Gazing-at-Husband Mountain is located on the west bank of the Li River, in front of Doumi Shoal, about 37 kilometers from Guilin. At the summit of the mountain stands the Immortal Stone, resembling a person in ancient attire gazing northward; midway up the mountain, there is a rock that looks like a woman carrying an infant on her back, gazing into the distance at her husband. Hence, the mountain is named Gazing-at-Husband Mountain, also known as Gazing-at-Husband Rock. A Qing Dynasty poet, Li Bingli, once wrote a poem about the Gazing-at-Husband Rock: "At the river's edge where the wife once gazed, the stone stands formed in her shape. Her hair washed twice by clouds, damp and heavy, her painted brows green beneath the mist. Her soul weeps through the vast sorrowful sky, her accumulated grief moves even the Xiang River spirits. Why do wandering travelers journey so far, their sails never ceasing to depart?"

There are many legends about the Gazing-at-Husband Rock. One of them goes like this: It is said that a young couple with their newborn baby were boating through this area when their boat unfortunately ran aground. With only one last dou (a unit of measurement) of rice left, the husband climbed to the top of the mountain to look around, hoping to spot a rescue boat. He stayed there waiting but never saw any help. In his desperation, he turned into a stone. His wife, seeing that he had not returned for a long time, carried their child up the mountain to search for him. Just as she reached the mountainside and saw that her husband had turned into a stone man, she was heartbroken and also turned into a stone.

Another version says: Once upon a time, there was a couple who made a living by rowing boats. In the depths of winter, they were rowing upstream, enduring great hardship. In the evening, the couple moored their boat by the river and encountered an elderly woman with children, who came to beg them for rice. The couple, feeling pity for them, gave their only remaining dou of rice to the old woman.

After running out of food, the couple could only hope for passing boats to bring relief. But at that time, no boats were in sight. As if things couldn’t get worse, the husband then climbed the mountain every day to look for boats. One day, the wife, noticing that her husband had not come down the mountain for a long time, went up to look for him. She found that he had frozen and starved to death on the mountain. Overcome with grief, she too died beside him.

Another story goes: Long ago, there were two boatmen making a living on the Gui River. One was surnamed Liao, the other Huang. Though unrelated, they were as close as two people sharing one head. By the time they were forty, both had married wives in the same year. The following year, both couples had babies. The one surnamed Liao had a daughter, named Shuimei; the one surnamed Huang had a son, named Shuisheng. The two children, born in the same year and growing up on the same boat, got along famously, working together through both light and heavy tasks, just like the bow and stern of a boat. The four family members—both couples—saw and thought alike, and planned to have Shuisheng and Shuimei marry.

Both sets of parents approved, and the young couple felt the same. After the three-year mourning period for their parents ended, Shuisheng and Shuimei removed the partition in the boat cabin to make a shared sleeping space, and they became a loving and respectful couple.

After getting married, the couple made a living by sailing a small boat between Guilin and Wuzhou, braving wind and rain. Whenever they encountered others in distress on the river, they would lend a hand. Once, while sailing midway, they heard someone on the shore groaning in pain. Shuimei, who had recently given birth to a child and was still in her postpartum confinement, stayed on the boat while Shuisheng rowed alone. But he couldn’t bear to ignore someone in need. He docked the boat on the shore and brought aboard an old man with a beard, a limp, a gourd on his back, and a walking stick. They sailed to the Wuzhou dock, and Shuisheng and Shuimei helped the old man ashore before finishing their task. The old man left the boat without even saying thank you.

The following year, Shuisheng and Shuimei returned to Wuzhou. After loading their cargo and buying rice, oil, salt, and firewood, they set off again for Guilin. As they poled and rowed, they arrived at a deserted place. Suddenly, they heard groaning from the shore again. The couple quickly docked the boat and saw the same limping old man. Without a word, they brought him aboard. Once he regained consciousness, the old man said, "You’re rowing upstream, where the water is fast and the rapids many, and the journey is long. I don’t want to be a burden to you. Please let me off the boat and I’ll walk to Guilin."

Shuisheng and Shuimei replied sincerely, "Elder, there’s no village ahead or shop behind. How can we leave you alone in these desolate mountains and forests? Don’t worry—we won’t delay our journey with you on board." They settled the old man in the cabin to sleep and continued sailing.

The little boat poled and rowed through countless shallows and climbed numerous rapids, slowly approaching the most treacherous rapids of the Li River. Shuisheng and Shuimei moored the boat, cooked rice, and called the limping old man to eat with them. Just as they were about to continue up the rapids, the old man walked to the bow and looked ahead. The rapids stretched endlessly, the water rushing down like it was being poured, splashing violently. The old man said, "Boatman, this rapid is long and steep—it’s not easy to row up. I want to get to Guilin quickly. Lend me some rice so I can walk from the shore!"

Hearing that the old man wanted to borrow rice, Shuisheng knew that the rice bought at the start of the journey was “sewn for a beggar—measured just enough.” Later, it had to feed three people instead of two adults, like leftover fabric scraps—there wasn’t much to spare. He asked Shuimei to check the rice jar. Shuimei said, "It doesn’t matter if I look or not—how much do you need, elder?"

Seeing Shuimei’s generosity, the old man thought for a moment and said, "A dou!" Shuimei immediately ran into the cabin, measured out a dou of rice, packed it in a sack, and handed it to the old man. Shuisheng helped the old man off the boat. As they parted, the old man smiled and said, "You two are so kind—happy days will come for you in the future!" Shuisheng sighed and said, "Elder, you love to joke about the poor. For us boatmen, happy days will only come when we become immortals!"

After sending off the old man, Shuisheng returned to the boat and asked Shuimei to measure how much rice was left in the jar. Shuimei measured it—there was exactly one dou left. Hearing this, Shuisheng grew worried—could one dou of rice last until Guilin? He said to Shuimei, "There’s only one dou of rice left. I’ll go up the mountain to see how far we are from Guilin. I don’t even have a single copper coin left—if the rice runs out, we’ll be in trouble!"

Shuisheng was gone for a long time and did not return. Shuimei, waiting on the boat, grew impatient. She strapped the baby to her back and stepped off the boat. She jumped ashore and hurried up the mountain, anxious to find out what had happened to her husband. As she climbed and climbed, halfway up the mountain she looked up and saw her husband had turned into a stone, standing stiffly upright. She burst into tears. Suddenly, she heard a voice calling from the mountaintop, "Shuimei, come quickly!" She looked up and saw the old man who had borrowed the rice and Shuisheng sitting above the white clouds. She was stunned and also turned into a stone, her soul transforming into a wisp of blue smoke that drifted upward into the sky.

At that moment, the boat on the river slowly sank to the bottom. The remaining dou of rice, after falling into the water, turned entirely into stones. From then on, people called this shoal Doumi Shoal, the stone of Shuimei the Gazing-at-Husband Rock, and the stone of Shuisheng the Boatman Rock. Both Shuisheng and Shuimei became immortals, transformed by the limping old man who had tested their hearts twice—he was the Iron-Crutch Li.