Uncover the story of Duke Xi of Lu's intense pursuit of the elusive Jie Zhitui, marked by a dramatic fire on Mianshan and the arrival of white crows.
In the 14th year of Duke Xi of Lu’s reign, Duke Wen of Jin burned Mian Mountain in search of Jie Zhitui who was in hiding. At that time, flocks of white crows surrounded the thick smoke, cawing loudly, and some white crows even gathered around Jie Zhitui, preventing the fire from reaching him. The people of Jin praised the behavior of the white crows, and they built a high platform called the “Thinking of Smoke Platform.” They also planted many Ren Shou trees around the platform. These trees resemble cypress trees but have long and flexible branches, and their flowers are edible. That’s why “The Annals of Lü Buwei” says, “The best kind of tree is one that bears fruit for longevity.” It refers to the Ren Shou tree. Some say that within hundreds of miles around the forest burned by Duke Wen of Jin that year, residents were prohibited from setting nets to catch birds, and the white crows that protected Jie Zhitui were called “Ren Wu,” which means “compassionate crows.” In the folk, white-breasted crows are also called “Ci Wu,” which are of the same kind as white crows.
僖公十四年，晉文公焚林以求介之推。有白鴉繞煙而噪，或集之推之側，火不能焚。晉人嘉之，起一高台，名曰思煙台。種仁壽木，木似柏而枝長柔軟，其花堪食，故《呂氏春秋》云：“木之美者，有仁壽之華焉。”即此是也。國雲戒所焚之山數百里居人不得設網羅，呼曰“仁烏”。俗亦謂烏白臆者為慈烏，則其類也。
錄曰：楚令尹子革有言曰：“昔穆王欲肆心周行，使天下皆有車轍馬跡。”考以《竹書》蠹簡，求諸石室，不絕金繩。《山經》、《爾雅》，及乎《大傳》，雖世歷悠遠，而記說葉同。名山大川，肆登之極，殊鄉異俗，莫不臆拜稽顙。東升巨人之台，西宴王母之堂，南渡黿鼉之梁，北經積羽之地。觴瑤池而賦詩，期井泊而遊博。勒石軒轅之丘，絕跡玄圃之上。自開闢以來，載籍所記，未有若斯神異者也。