Huamei Mountain

　　“In the south there’s Mount Emei, in the north there’s Huamei Mountain” — this is a widely circulated saying around the hot spring area and one that often fills locals with pride. But where exactly is Huamei Mountain? Some say it is a small hill to the east of Taitaowu Village. Others claim it is the mountain where the Dragon King Temple at Heilongtan is located. In fact, historical texts have long recorded its identity: The earliest mention comes from the Ming Tong Yi Zhi, which states, “Wanping County produces a type of stone that is black in color and not very hard. When ground, it turns into ink. During the Jin Dynasty, palace women used it to paint their eyebrows; it was called Mei Stone, also known as Dai Stone.” The Imperial Capital’s Scenic Spots records: “Huamei Mountain produces graphite, a floating-textured, smooth stone, which was referred to as Mei Stone or Dai Stone in the imperial palace.” From Volume 5 of the Imperial Capital’s Scenic Spots, we know that the specific location of Huamei Mountain is near Yangjiazhuang in Haidian District. The Chen Yuan Shi Lüe provides an even clearer record: “Huamei Mountain is reached by crossing the ridge from Jinshan Pass to Lengquan Village and behind Taitaowu,” and “Heilongtan is on Huamei Mountain.”

　　　　Huamei Mountain is not very high, and its slopes are covered in lush green trees. The famous Heilongtan and Dragon King Temple in western Beijing are located here. The mountain produces a type of black stone with a fine texture, known as Dai Stone. During the Jin Dynasty, this stone was quarried to make eyebrow cosmetics for palace ladies, hence the mountain’s name. According to Redology scholars, Cao Xueqin was also inspired by the Huamei Stone when naming Lin Daiyu. At the time he lived near the Xiaoshiqiao Bridge in Baijiatuan, he was writing Dream of the Red Chamber. In Chapter 3 of the novel, when Baoyu and Daiyu first meet, after asking her name, he inquires about her courtesy name. Daiyu replies, “I don’t have one.” Baoyu smiles and says, “Let me give you a wonderful one—‘Pinpin’ would be perfect.” Furthermore, according to the Gu Jin Ren Wu Tong Kao, “In the West, there is a stone called Dai, which can be used as ink for painting eyebrows. Moreover, Sister Lin’s brows are slightly furrowed—as if in a frown. Using these two characters is even more fitting, isn’t it?” When Baoyu first sees Daiyu, the first things he notices are her brows and eyes: “Two arched brows, as if knitted in a frown but not truly frowning, veiled in mist; a pair of eyes, as if filled with joy yet not entirely joyful, brimming with tender feeling.” Her “brows seemed slightly drawn together in a frown.” And eyebrow makeup is done with Dai Stone—Dai Stone is Daiyu. It is evident that inspired by the Dai Stone, Cao Xueqin conceived the characteristically meaningful name “Daiyu.” The Dai Stone of Huamei Mountain, due to its property of “grinding into ink,” could also be made into ink sticks and inkstones. According to Zhang Baozhang, a historian specializing in the geography of western Beijing, although Dai Inkstones are not as hard or refined as Duan Inkstones, they are exquisite and antique in style. Especially because they are carved from Dai Stone, they stir the imagination and are beloved. Huamei Mountain also has a legend. In the 31st year of the Hongwu reign (1398), the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, passed away in Nanjing. His eldest grandson, Zhu Yunwen, succeeded him and ruled the capital, later known as Emperor Jianwen. At that time, the princes in Beijing, especially the third son, Zhu Di, were dissatisfied with the young emperor’s policies and felt that their father’s legacy had been undermined. Zhu Di, who was both powerful and capable, believed he had the strength and destiny to rule, so in 1399, he overthrew Emperor Jianwen, took the throne himself, and moved the capital to Beijing. He became known as the Yongle Emperor, with the era name Yongle, and thus is also called Emperor Yongle. As for the fate of Emperor Jianwen, there are various accounts. Some say he died by fire when Nanjing fell; others claim he fled to the southwest and became a monk, while some believe he escaped overseas, prompting Emperor Yongle to send Zheng He on seven voyages to the Western Seas, one important purpose being to search for him. Another version suggests that after being captured and brought to Beijing, Emperor Jianwen escaped to Huamei Mountain in the hot spring area. When Emperor Yongle learned of this, he personally led troops in pursuit to Huamei Mountain. The monks on the mountain, seeing the murderous intent in Zhu Di’s eyes, sought to protect Emperor Jianwen. They pointed toward the east of Taitaowu Village and said, “Huamei Mountain is over there; this is Heilongtan.” So Emperor Yongle led his troops to search the eastern hill, then left dejected. Later, Emperor Jianwen is said to have lived in the Dragon King Temple at Heilongtan, and after his death, he was buried on the mountainside south of the temple. Thus, Huamei Mountain has long been shrouded in an air of mystery.

　　　　Now, Huamei Mountain has become a sanatorium managed by the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, and the Dragon King Temple on the mountain has been designated as a key cultural relic protection unit of Beijing.

　　　　The small hill to the east of Taitaowu Village is also called Huamei Mountain and contains black Dai Stone. The hill is not tall, resembling a black turtle lying there. Legend has it that an emperor of the Qing Dynasty once dreamed of a red sky in the northwest and believed someone there sought to usurp the throne. He thus ordered the construction of a Jade Emperor Pavilion on this hill to suppress the mountain. The temple is not large, consisting only of a small three-courtyard complex. The north room serves as the main hall, enshrining the Jade Emperor, with side rooms on either side. In the courtyard stands a large bell, along with a big cypress tree and a tall dragon claw scholar tree. Elders still recall that before the Japanese army built artillery bunkers on the hill in the 1940s, there were already collapsed courtyards. Later, as villagers continuously quarried stones from the hill to build houses, it gradually became shorter. In front of Huamei Mountain lies another grand temple — the far-famed Yaowang Temple. It has three main halls: the first floor is a tea shed, the second is the Yaowang Hall, and the third is the Sanhuang Hall. The Sanhuang Hall houses statues of three figures — one clothed and two wearing leaves, likely representing the Three Sovereigns: Yao, Shun, and Yu. The Yaowang Hall enshrines the ancient medical sage Sun Simiao, along with thousands of medical texts, which were all burned for fuel in the 1950s. The courtyard contains a large locust tree with a diameter of over one meter and a height of more than 60 meters, as well as a tall catalpa tree and a cypress. It is said that two stone tablets were also buried underground. The annual temple fair in April was once a bustling event. Now, the halls have been demolished and replaced by the Taitaowu Village Primary School. A leftover bronze bell was later smashed by villagers and traded for gongs and drums. The little Huamei now remains just a bare, small hill.

　　　　Huamei Mountain