Hundred Steps Cloud Ladder

　　Introduction      The Hundred Steps Cloud Ladder is situated on the steep cliffs on the northwest side of Lotus Peak. Not far from the "Lotus Stalk," there are two large rocks, one shaped like a turtle and the other like a snake, lying parallel to each other. Over a hundred perilous and precipitous orange-hued steps are carved out of the cliff face, passing between the two rocks and descending downward. When viewed from the opposite Ao Fish Cave, the stairway seems to hang over a deep abyss, resembling a long ladder leaning against the cliffs, often shrouded in mist—extremely treacherous. This is the “Hundred Steps Cloud Ladder.” The turtle and snake rocks just happen to be at the entrance of the ladder, as if guarding it, hence the name “Turtle and Snake Guarding the Cloud Ladder.” A poem by Shi Houjing of the Ming Dynasty reads: “The narrow sky-high crevice cannot be climbed; within the clouds there lies a ladder to ascend. Monkeys, startled, dare not climb back up the stream, birds, terrified, fly down late into wild vines. Travelers with walking sticks often rise and fall, monks with shoes ascend as if flying. The later steps are fortunate to be guarded by wondrous pines, standing alone shielding the most perilous layers.” A modern poet also wrote: “A hundred steps on the cloud ladder startle the heart, winding and twisting toward the heavens. Do not say nature has many dangers, the journey of life is even harder.”

　　    Legend has it that long ago, at the foot of the mountain lived a kind-hearted man surnamed Huang, who spent his days repairing bridges and mending roads, doing good deeds and helping others. At that time, the front mountains and back mountains were not connected, with the bottleneck located at the cliff between Lotus Stamen Peak and Bāyú Peak. Locals called this cliff the “Head-Chopping Cliff.” Even though Huang was willing to pay high wages, he couldn’t hire any help, leaving him no choice but to do the job himself. His compassion moved the beggar immortal Tieguai Li, the god who saves suffering. To test Huang’s determination to open the path, Tieguai Li transformed into a young and beautiful mountain-visiting maiden who got lost and asked Huang to escort her out of the mountains. Huang agreed to protect the lost woman down the mountain, but to his surprise, the woman kept finding ways to trouble him—first spraining her ankle, then scraping her skin, insisting that Huang carry her down the mountain. After descending, she told him: “I will come to take you to heaven tomorrow to join the ranks of the immortals.” Only then did Huang realize that the beggar was actually Tieguai Li. The next day, Huang found himself effortlessly chiseling out several stone steps in a row. When he straightened up to look, the sky was clear and light, and a flat, wide stairway stretched all the way from the mountain foot to the summit. Tieguai Li was walking toward him with a smile. Huang quickly said, “Immortal, please wait. Let me carve the words ‘Hundred Steps Cloud Ladder Built by Tieguai Li’ as a keepsake, would you?” Tieguai Li replied, “No need, no need. Immortals seek no fame, and mortals can hardly be free of vanity. Come with me quickly!” With that, he took Huang’s hand and together they rode the clouds away. Later, a wandering monk, seeing that the Hundred Steps Cloud Ladder controlled the strategic throat between the front and back mountains, harbored evil thoughts and falsely claimed that he had funded its construction, demanding that all passersby pay a toll. This violated Buddhist precepts, and the Jade Emperor sent a golden-armored deity who struck him with a whip, turning him into the “Old Monk in Meditation,” the clever rock formation seen today.

　　 Huangshan City, Anhui