On this page, I will post my translations from Chinese of many legends and stories on Mount Tai, one of the sacred mountains in mainland China.
On an early morning of some years ago, I was preparing to climb the Mountain. At its foot is a temple, and there I was, breathing fresh air for the first time away from the hustle and bustle of Beijing. The temple was empty, being very early, except for an old man in a corner of a courtyard. He had a little cart full of old books. He greeted me with a smile full of promises.
One little green book asked for my attention a few moments after I started to look through the collection. “Legends of Mount Tai”. Its pages had turned yellow, and the cover, depicting a shrine on a mountaintop, was crumbling between my fingers.
I bought it, but only after a quick bargain.
The Jade Side of Mount Tai
Many years ago, on the side of River Chaicao east of Mount Tai lived a young man named Liu Shuan. His father had passed away when he was a child, so he lived alone, cutting firewood for a living. Often, he would look for wood to chop at the Gorge Dazhi. There, the mountain was…
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…
Otherworldly Considerations 