Origin of the Guardian of the Cerulean Clouds

On Mount Tai’s peak lies a brass-tiled palace, the Shrine of Cerulean Clouds. Here, people worship the spirit of the mountain, the Guardian of the Cerulean Clouds.

According to the legend, she was the daughter of a man called Shi Gandang, who lived beneath the tall Mount Culai, east of Mount Tai. He was an honest and righteous man, but his family were poor. They would get by solely by farming a small piece of land.

Shi Guandang and his wife had no son, only three daughters. The two eldest had already married, while the youngest was still at home. After the two sisters had left, life for the family became rather tough, but the young daughter had proven to be good-hearted and hardworking since childhood. She would climb the mountain every morning to chop firewood and sell it at a nearby market.

One day, as she was climbing the mountain, a sudden, sharp wind blew. The sky turned black, and rain began to pour violently. No shelter was in sight, and the rain showed no sign of letting up. Although she knew every path and shortcut on the mountain, the girl soon lost her way. She was frightened, and the more she could not find her way home, the more agitated she became.

Suddenly, a light flickered on the top of the mountain in the distance. She followed it, hoping to find shelter, until she noticed it came from inside a cave.

There was an old lady who was warming up by a bonfire. The girl felt less worried, seeing that she was old. She stepped inside and, bowing her head, explained that the rain had brought her. The old lady was moved by the girl, so she let her stay in the cave for the night until the rain stopped. The following day, after the girl had cut firewood for the lady as a sign of gratitude, she made her way home.

From that day on, the young girl would return to the cave whenever she was on the mountain to chop wood. Sometimes, she would collect some for the old lady. Other times, she would climb down to the gorge to fetch her some water or sweep the cave’s floor.

In this way, many years went by, and the girl and the old lady grew fond of each other. One day, the latter, who had understood the true nature of her guest, whispered to her:

“You are no average person. You are, indeed, an immortal spirit, descended into our world. You are a woman of extraordinary destiny: a great blessing walks with you, and a profound fortune embraces you!”

Her face turned solemn: “You should leave Mount Culai at once: your immortal nature has already lowered the mountain’s height of three chi!”

Mount Culai’s peak is not as steep as Mount Tai’s but, in fact, flat. The topmost point is named Great Plain, and above it is only the Sky.

The old lady stressed: “You shan’t stay here. Leave this mountain!”

“I shall go!” began the girl, “But, alas, where to? After all, my parents are here. How could I abandon them?”

“From here, walk northwest for roughly fifty li. There it lies the great Mount Tai! You shall live there. There is no spirit to guard that mountain…”

The mouth of the old lady turned into a gentle smile. “You should become its guardian! Very soon, there will be a gathering of immortals from everywhere. They will elect the guardian of Mount Tai. You listen carefully to my instructions, and you will succeed.

“Climb about halfway up the mountain, where you will see a big pine tree. Under its roots, dig three chi, and you will find a musical instrument, a wooden-fish, that had been buried. Take it out and dig for three more chi. Then, you will bury one of your embroidered shoes. Fill the pit and place the fish at three chi below the ground where you found it. Finally, cover the pit. This should be enough… Partake in the gathering. You will know when to reveal your true self!”

The girl did what she was told: when she found the pine tree, she unearthed the musical instrument she found there, hid her shoe, and buried the wooden-fish on top of it.

Later that day, the Jade Emperor summoned every immortal to Mount Tai. At that time, every mountain under-the-sky but Mount Tai had a spirit guardian. Immortals came to learn who was the worthiest to be its guardian. But how to choose? According to the ancient laws, only the immortal to get to the mountain first on the day of the gathering would become its protector.

When everyone had arrived, the Jade Emperor looked at each of the immortals, and thus spoke:

“Who then arrived first today?”

“It was me who came first, my Lord.” Burst out the Sovereign of Firewood, standing up. “I should be worthy to be the guardian of this Mountain.”

“Do you have proof of that?” Asked the Jade Emperor.

“Underneath a big pine tree located around halfway on the slope of the mountain, I buried a wooden-fish used during the readings of the sacred texts. If you do not believe, go and see!”

Then, all the other spirits expressed the desire to see the proof.

All of a sudden, the girl from Mount Culai uttered:

“I came first!”

“You?” Asked the Jade Emperor abruptly.

“Do you have proof?”

“Underneath a big pine tree located around halfway of the slope of the mountain, I buried my embroidered shoe.”

At that point, no immortal could make out what had happened, so they had to go and check.

They began digging as they reached the pine tree. After three chi, they found the wooden-fish. For many immortals, that was proof that the Sovereign of Firewood arrived first that morning. However, the girl did not flinch and asked them to dig more. They did so, and after a few chi, they did find her shoe. That was, without a doubt, the proof that she had gotten there first, being that the shoe was deeper in the ground than the musical instrument.

It was in this way that the young girl became the guardian of Mount Tai. No mountain under-the-sky was left without a guardian. This satisfied the Jade Emperor, who gave her the name of Guardian of the Cerulean Clouds.

On the contrary, the Sovereign of Firewood was not pleased to hear that and raged. Recklessly, he uprooted every pine tree on the peak. He then bundled them all up and left. Without any shelter from sunlight, he hoped that the girl would have died of sunburn.

The bundle of trees was not lightweight, and soon, he felt tired. Thus, he thought: “The effort is not worth the hassle. After all, the trees have been eradicated already. Why should I bother taking them away?”

When he arrived at the Gate of the Southern Heaven, he dropped and kicked them until many were torn to shreds – those had been some of the taller and more beautiful pine trees of Mount Tai. The rest of the bundle rolled down reaching the Depression of the Last Rock, where, later, a great green-frond pine tree grew.

From that day on, the peak of Mount Tai was barren. On this account, the new spirit guardian suffered for many years. As if that was not enough, she often thought of home, and tears ran down her cheeks. But who was the old lady who guided the young girl to Mount Tai? She was none other than the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. She manifested herself to help the girl, who, after becoming the spirit of the mountain, did not stop looking after her. So, owing her gratitude, the bodhisattva would cover the sky over Mount Tai with blue clouds to protect the girl from the sunlight every summer.

This is why people built a great temple for the girl, calling it the Shrine of Cerulean Clouds.