Ten Thousand Volumes of Books

Ten Thousand Volumes

Upon reaching the summit of Mount Fanjing, the "Ten Thousand Volumes Cliff" comes into full view. The entire mountainside consists of neatly layered and well-stacked shale, resembling an immense collection of ancient scrolls piled up to the sky, majestic in scale — hence the name "Ten Thousand Volumes." It is one of the six great wonders of Mount Fanjing and has long been renowned worldwide. An ancient poet once wrote: “Who stores these jade-like scriptures and scrolls? / Ten thousand volumes pile up at time’s first throes; / Though the Qin fire ravaged the land below, / Untouched by flames, these mountain tomes still glow.” This verse adds a layer of cultural significance to the view.

When the monk Xuanzang returned from his journey to the West to retrieve Buddhist scriptures, he also made a special trip to Mount Fanjing to pay homage at the sacred site of Maitreya Buddha. Nearing the Golden Summit of Red Clouds, his white dragon horse suddenly stumbled, causing a stack of sutras to scatter from its back. By a fortuitous turn of events, the scrolls took root where they landed.

Location

Summit of Mount Fanjing, Jiangkou County, Tongren, Guizhou Province