South of the Yangtze

by Bill Porter

  Putuoshan is one of over a hundred islands that make up the archipelago, and it’s not the only one to which ships sail every day from Ningpo. Several of the larger islands were being developed for tourism. But Putoshan had been the destination of pilgrims for a thousand years. Of course, nowadays the island’s visitors also include tourists in search of a place to relax and a place to breathe some fresh air for a change. But even tourists are aware of the merit they accrue from visiting such a place.

  According to the Surangama Sutra, Kuan-yin was enlightened when she was able to see sound, when she broke through the limitations of the senses. Hence, her name Kuan-yin means “to see sound.” As to whether she was an actual person or was invented to teach the interpenetration of our different means of perception, it’s impossible to say. The important thing for Buddhist pilgrims is that Kuan-yin welcomes the faithful to Paradise, and it is not a bad idea to get acquainted beforehand, just in case one needs some extra help getting there. In addition to asking for Kuan-yin’s help in the next life, pilgrims also came to Putuoshan to ask for a little compassion in this life, too.

  As for the origin of Kuan-yin’s association with the island, that went back to the ninth century and seems to be tied up with the island’s location as the last point of land travelers see before they head out into the open sea, and also the first point of land they see when they return. During the eighth and ninth centuries, many Japanese monks came to China to study Buddhism, including Pure Land Buddhism, in which Kuan-yin figures prominently. Ningpo was the port they all used, and one day it happened that a Japanese monk carrying a statue of Kuan-yin back to Japan was shipwrecked on Putuoshan. He returned to Ningpo and tried again. But once more he was shipwrecked on the island. He tried again, and once more he ended up on the island. Hence, he came to the conclusion that Putuoshan must be Kuan-yin’s home. In 863, he set up the first Kuan-yin shrine on the island and left his statue there. It wasn’t long before the story of his repeated shipwrecks and Kuan-yin’s connection with the island became known throughout China.

  Heart/Mind Rock

  Our own arrival was much less eventful, other than the initial battle with the waves. Putuoshan was only a hundred kilometers from Ningpo, still it took five hours to get there. We were not alone in being glad to walk on dry land again. After disembarking, we went inside the harbor terminal and bought tickets for the night boat to Shanghai, and left our bags at the luggage depository. We had to be in Shanghai the next day and Hong Kong the following day and only had an afternoon to see the sights.

  Rock That Flew Here

  Just outside the boat terminal, we joined our fellow pilgrims and took a shuttle bus to Puchi Temple. Ten minutes later, we were there, on the other side of the island. Before going to see the temple, we decided we needed to recover from our boat trip and walked out to a nearby beach. It was called Hundred Step Beach. There were dozens of people wading in the water and playing in the sand. But it was the first day of November, and it was too cold to go swimming. We walked down to the south end of the beach and clambered onto some rocks, and worked our way around to a point of land that jutted into the sea. We found a comfortable spot and stretched out to enjoy the late fall sun. In front of us, we could see fishing boats sailing by on their way to cast their nets somewhere in the East China Sea. To our right, we could see the temple where the Japanese monk set up the first Kuan-yin shrine on the island a thousand years ago. Just below the temple was a cave, where the sea came crashing through and echoed Kuan-yin’s name.

  We could have sat there all day, but after sharing Steve’s last joint we reluctantly walked back to Puchi Temple. This was where most people began their tour of the island. There were half a dozen major temples on Putuoshan and a dozen smaller ones, but Puchi was by far the biggest. Since our time on Putuoshan was limited to a single afternoon, we lit some incense and decided to walk the pilgrim trail that began just west of the temple. But first we bought pilgrim bags. The idea was to have one’s bag chopped in the shrine hall of each temple along the trail as a testament of one’s pilgrimage. After getting our bags chopped at Puchi, we set off. The person who sold us the bags said it took about ninety minutes to walk the whole trail, which was perfect. Our boat wasn’t due to leave for three hours.

  The trail was made of stone steps worn smooth by thousands upon thousands of pilgrims. About every ten minutes, we came to a different temple, and for one RMB we added another chop to our bags. In addition to the temples along the way, the trail also passed the island’s two most famous rocks. The first was a sloping rock face onto which someone had carved the character hsin for “mind” and painted it red. The character was so big several dozen people could sit on it at a time. The second rock was farther up the trail at the top of the ridge. It was another Rock That Flew Here, and it looked like it would fall over in a stiff breeze. But typhoons had come and gone, and it was still here, waiting to crush some unlucky pilgrim posing for a photo beneath it. The word Omitofo came to mind.

  In the past, the island boasted more than two hundred temples and shrines. But during the 1950s, the island and its temples were requisitioned by the Chinese Navy for defense against a possible invasion by Taiwan. The Cultural Revolution of the ’60s and ’70s didn’t help the island’s temples either. But the 1980s finally saw a resumption of pilgrimage and the return of most of the island to the control of the Buddhists. Of course, the catch was that the monks and nuns who chose to live on the island were little more than caretakers. They were here to serve the hundreds and thousands of pilgrims and tourists, such as ourselves, who descended upon the island every day from Shanghai and Ningpo.

  After covering our bags with chops, we eventually found ourselves back on the west side of the island. That was where the trail came down the mountain. It was just as well. It was a short walk from there to the harbor, where we enjoyed an early dinner and some very good seafood. The clams in basil were delicious. Afterwards, we reclaimed our bags and boarded our ship and said good-bye to Kuan-yin.

  View of East China Sea from Putuoshan

  An hour later, our ship pulled out of the harbor, the sun went down, and we sat out on the deck. We sat there for hours and watched the stars light up the sky. We traced our journey south of the Yangtze from one star to the next. The line we traced went from Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport to the stupa that contained Hui-neng’s hair in Kuangchou, then across the Nanling Mountains to the trail of pilgrims and beggars on Hengshan, and the nonexistent paintings of Ch’i Pai-shih in Hsiangtan, and the homes of Mao Tse-tung and Liu Shao-ch’i, and the woman who choked on watermelon seeds at the Mawangtui Museum, and Tu Fu’s weed-covered grave, and Ch’u Yuan’s shrine on the Milo River, and the rocky promontory where the battle of Red Cliff was fought, and Wuhan’s Yellow Crane Tower, and our night-long trip down the Yangtze, and the misty summit of Lushan, and the village where T’ao Yuan-ming discovered Peach Blossom Spring, and the mountain where Empty Cloud celebrated his 120th birthday, and the grave of Pa-ta Shan-jen, and China’s porcelain capital of Chingtechen, and the inkstick and inkstone factories of Shehsien, and the scenic splendors of Huashan, and the Tiger Lady of Chiuhuashan, and Li Pai’s grave, and the place where he embraced the moon, and the graves of Sun Yat-sen and the King of Borneo, and the Taoist mountain of Maoshan, and the teapot capital of Yihsing, and Hsu Hsia-k’o’s grave, and the gardens of Suchou, and the hut where Stonehouse once lived, and Hangchou’s West Lake, and Shaohsing’s old wine, and Cold Mountain’s cave, and Chiang Kai-shek’s hometown, and the Buddha’s skull, and the island home of Kuan-yin. We added it up. It looked like over 3,000 kilometers across the sky, across the sky and through the heart of China. What a trip. We couldn’t wait to get home and tell our friends.

  Lexicon

  THE FOLLOWING LIST INCLUDES the modified Wade-Giles romanization used throughout this book for Chinese names, places, and terms. In each entry, the Wade-Giles romanization is followed by the Pinyin romanization and the traditional Chinese characters. Alt
hough the Wade-Giles system is no longer fashionable, it was designed as a compromise for speakers of various European languages in the mid- and late nineteenth century, while the Pinyin system was designed for Russian speakers in the mid-twentieth century.

  Aichun / Aiqun /

  Aikou / Aikou /

  Aiwanting / Aiwanting /

  Amita / Amida /

  An Lu-shan / An Lushan /

  Anhui / Anhui /

  Anting / Anding /

  arhat / aluohan /

  Ayuwang / Ayuwang /

  Beijing / Beijing /

  Bodhidharma / Putidamo /

  Borneo / Boni /

  Brunei / Wencai /

  Chaitoufeng / Chaitoufeng /

  Chang Chi / Zhang Ji /

  Chang Chi-chih / Zhang Ji-zhi

  Chang Hsin-lan

  Chang Ta-ch’ien / Zhang Daqian /

  Changchiang / Changjiang /

  Changnan / Changnan /

  Changsha / Changsha /

  Changshu / Changshu /

  Ch’ang-an / Chang’an /

  Ch’ang-ta / Changda /

  Chantanlin / Zhantanlin /

  Chekiang / Zhejiang /

  Chenchueh / Zhenjue /

  Chenju / Zhenru /

  Cheng (river) / Zheng /

  Cheng Ho / Zheng He /

  Ch’i (state) / Qi /

  Ch’i Pai-shih / Qi Baishi /

  Chi-kung / Jigong /

  Ch’i-fo / Qifo /

  ch’i-kung / qigong /

  Chiang Ching-kuo / Jiang Jingguo /

  Chiang Hsiao-wu / Jiang Xiaowu /

  Chiang Kai-shek / Jiang Jieshi /

  Chiangnan / Jiangnan /

  Chiehtou / Jietou /

  Ch’ien Shao-wu / Qian Shaowu /

  Chienhu / Jianhu /

  Chientang / Qiantang /

  Chih-yi / Zhiyi /

  chih-yin / zhiyin /

  Chihpi / Chibi /

  Chihyuan / Zhiyuan /

  Chin Ch’iao-chueh / Jin Qiaojue /

  Ch’in (dynasty) / Qin /

  Ch’ing (dynasty) / Qing /

  Ch’ing-kung / Qinggong /

  Chingchuan / Qingchuan /

  Chinghsien / Jingxian /

  Chingshan / Chingshan /

  Chingte / Jingde /

  Chingtechen / Jingdezhen /

  Chingtzu / Jingzi /

  Chingyunpu / Qingyunpu /

  Chinhuai / Jinhuai /

  Chiuchiang / Jiujiang /

  Chiuchin / Jiujin /

  Chiuhsiao Wanfukung / Jiuxiao Wanfugong /

  Chiuhuashan / Jiuhuashan /

  Chiulungchuan / Jiulongquan /

  Chiutzushan / Jiuzishan /

  Ch’iu Chin / Qiu Jin /

  Chou (dynasty) / Zhou /

  Chou En-lai / Zhou Enlai /

  Choushan / Zhoushan /

  Chu Ch’uan / Zhu Quan /

  Chu Hsi / Zhu Xi /

  Chu Ta / Zhu Da /

  Chu Ying-t’ai / Zhu Yingtai /

  Ch’u (state) / Chu /

  Ch’u Yuan / Qu Yuan /

  Chu-jung Huo-shen / Zhurong Huoshen /

  Chu-ko Liang / Zhuge Liang /

  Chuang Yen / Zhuang Yan /

  Chuang-tzu / Zhuangzi /

  Chuchiang / Qujiang /

  Chung Tzu-ch’i / Zhong Ziqi /

  Chung Yung / Zhong Yong /

  Chung-shan / Zhongshan /

  Chungnan / Zhongnan /

  Chunghuamen / Zhonghuamen /

  Chuhuatai / Juhuatai /

  Chunshan / Junshan /

  Chushan / Zhushan /

  Chutang / Chutang /

  Chutzuchou / Juzizhou /

  Dogen / Daoyuan /

  Fang (layman) / Fang /

  Feilaishih / Feilaishi /

  Feng-kan / Fenggan /

  Fenghua / Fenghua /

  Fu-hsing / Fuxing /

  Fushan / Fushan /

  Fuyen / Fuyan /

  Han (river, dynasty) / Han /

  Han-shan (poet) / Hanshan /

  Hankou / Hankou /

  Hanshan (temple) / Hanshan /

  Hanyang / Hanyang /

  Hanyen / Hanyan /

  Heng-yueh / Hengyue /

  Hengshan / Hengshan /

  Hengyang / Hengyang /

  Hong Kong / Xianggang /

  Houyen / Houyan /

  Hsi-ch’ien / Xiqian /

  Hsia (dynasty) / Xia /

  Hsiamen / Xiamen /

  Hsiamushan / Xiamushan /

  Hsiang (river) / Xiang /

  Hsiangtan / Xiangtan /

  Hsichaoshan / Xizhaoshan /

  Hsikou / Xikou /

  Hsilin / Xilin /

  Hsiling / Xiling /

  hsin / xin /

  Hsin-an (river) / Xin’an /

  Hsing-fu / Xingfu /

  Hsing-k’ung / Xingkong /

  Hsingfu (temple) / Xingfu /

  Hsinping / Xinping /

  Hsiufeng / Xiufeng /

  Hsu Hsia-k’o / Xu Xiake /

  Hsu Shun-fu / Xu Shunfu /

  Hsu-lao / Xulao /

  Hsu-yun / Xuyun /

  hsuan-chih / xuan-zhi /

  Hsuan-tsang / Xuanzang /

  Hsuan-tsung / Xuanzong /

  Hsuancheng / Xuancheng /

  Hu K’ai-wen / Hu Kaiwen /

  Hua Yin-t’ang / Hua Yintang /

  Huai-jang / Huairang /

  Huai-shu / Huaishu /

  Huaminglou / Huaminglou /

  Huang Hsing / Huang Xing /

  Huang-ti / Huangdi /

  Huangchih / Huangchi

  Huangho / Huanghe /

  Huangholou / Huanghelou /

  Huangshan / Huangshan /

  Huanyou Laojen / Huanyou Laoren /

  Huashan / Huashan /

  Huayen / Huayan /

  Huchou / Huzhou /

  Hui-neng / Huineng /

  Hui-shen / Huishen /

  Hui-ssu / Huisi /

  Hui-yuan / Huiyuan /

  Huichou / Huizhou /

  Huiyenfeng / Huiyanfeng /

  Hukou / Hukou /

  Hunan / Hunan /

  Hung Hsiu-ch’uan / Hong Xiuquan /

  Hung-jen / Hongren /

  Hung-wu / Hongwu /

  Hunghu / Honghu /

  Hupei / Hubei /

  Hupin / Hubin /

  Hutien / Hutian /

  Jenmin / Renmin /

  Joushen Paodien / Roushen Baodian /

  Kai Tak / Qide /

  Kaifeng / Kaifeng /

  Kan (river) / Gan /

  Kao Chih-hsi / Gao Zhixi /

  Kao Yung-k’uei / Gao Yongkui /

  Kaoling / Gaoling /

  Kiangsi / Jiangsi /

  Kiangsu / Jiangsu /

  k’o / ke /

  Koshan / Keshan /

  Kou Chien / Gou Jian /

  Koupuli / Goubuli /

  Ku Ching-chou / Gu Jingzhou /

  Kuaichishan / Kuaijishan /

  Kuan-kung / Guangong /

  Kuan-yin / Guanyin /

  Kuanchien / Guanqian /

  Kuangchou / Guangzhou /

  Kuanghsiao / Guangxiao /

  Kuangsi / Guangxi /

  Kuangtung / Guangdong /

  Kuantang / Guantang /

  Kueilin / Guilin /

  Kueiyuankuan / Guiyuanguan /

  Kunlun / Kunlun /

  kuo-pa / guoba /

  Kuoching / Guoqing /

  Kuo-yi / Guoyi /

  Kushan / Gushan /

  Lanting / Lanting /

  lao-chiu / lao-jiu /

  Lao-tzu / Laozi /

  Lei Tsu / Lei Zu /

  Leifeng / Leifeng /

  Leitienchen / Leitianzhen /

  Li Ch’ang-hung / Li Changhong /

  Li Mi / Li Mi /

  Li Pai / Li Bai /

  Li T’ing-kuei / Li Tinggui /

  Liang Shan-po / Liang Shanbo /

  Liangchu / Liangzhu /

  Lienhuafeng / Lianhuafeng /
/>
  Lin Ho-ching / Lin Hejing /

  Lin Piao / Lin Biao /

  Linchuan / Linchuan /

  Lingnan / Lingnan /

  Lingyin / Lingyin /

  Liu Cheng-ch’uan / Liu Zhengquan /

  Liu Shao-ch’i / Liu Shaoqi /

  Liuhua / Liuhua /

  Liujung / Liurong /

  Liuyuan / Liuyuan /

  Louwailou / Louyailou /

  Loyang / Luoyang /

  Lu Hsun / Lu Xun /

  Lu You / Lu You /

  Lulin / Lulin

  Lungching / Longjing /

  Lungshan / Longshan /

  Lungweishan / Longweishan /

  Lushan / Lushan /

  Ma-anshan / Ma’anshan /

  Ma-ku / Magu /

  Ma-tsu / Mazu /

  Machen / Mazhen /

  Maitreya / Mile /

  Manchu / Manzu /

  Manjusri / Manjusri /

  Mao Meng / Mao Meng /

  Mao Tse-tung / Mao Zedong /

  Maochien / Maojian /

  Maoshan / Maoshan /

  Mawangtui / Mawangdui /

  Milo / Miluo /

  Ming (dynasty) / Ming /

  Mingyen / Mingyan /

  Mokanshan / Moganshan /

  Nanchang / Nanchang /

  Nanlin / Nanlin /

  Nanling / Nanling /

  Nantai / Nantai /

  Nantienmen / Nantianmen /

  Nanyueh / Nanyue /

  Nengjen / Nengren /

  Ning (prince) / Ning /

  Ninghsiang / Ningxiang /

  Ningpo / Ningbo /

  Nora Sun / Sun Suifen /

  Omeishan / Emeishan /

  Omitofo / Amituofo /

  Pa-ta Shan-jen / Bada Shanren /

  Pai Chu-yi / Bai Juyi /

  Pailutung Shuyuan / Bailutong Shuyuan /

  Paiti / Baiti /

  Paiyunlou / Paiyunlou /

  Paiyunshan / Baiyunshan /

  Pao Y.K. / Bao Yugang /

  Pao-t’an / Baotan /

  P’eng (bird) / Peng /

  P’eng Te-huai / Peng Dehuai /

  Pingchiang / Pingjiang /

  Pingchiao / Pingqiao /

  Poyanghu / Boyanghu /