Kunwu Mountain/昆吾山

Explore Kunwu Mountain's fiery red copper ore deposits, linked to the legendary battle of the Yellow Emperor, and the unique golden-furred animal that thrives in this mineral-rich landscape.

In Kunwu Mountain, there are many red copper ores, and the color of these ores is as red as fire. In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor deployed his forces here when he campaigned against Chi You. They dug a pit a hundred zhang deep below Kunwu Mountain, but they hadn’t reached underground water yet. Instead, they saw flickering flames at the bottom of the pit, resembling stars in the sky. Kunwu Mountain is rich in red ores, and by smelting these ores, they could extract copper. The color of the copper produced was blue and extremely sharp. The mountain’s springs also had a red hue. The flowers, plants, and trees in the mountain were exceptionally robust and sharp, and the soil on the mountain was hard and sharp as well. During the reign of King Goujian of Yue, workers were once ordered to offer white horses and white cattle as sacrifices to the gods of Kunwu Mountain. They also began mining and smelting the ores, casting them into eight exceptional treasure swords: 1. The first treasure sword was named “Yanri,” and when this sword was pointed at the sun, it could dim the sun’s light during the day. Copper is associated with the principle of Yin, and when Yin energy prevails, Yang energy naturally wanes. 2. The second treasure sword was named “Duanshui,” and by wielding this sword, one could cut water, preventing it from merging. 3. The third treasure sword was named “Zhuanpo,” and pointing it at the moon could cause the moon to reverse its course. 4. The fourth treasure sword was named “Xuanjian,” and any flying bird that touched its blade would be cut into two pieces. 5. The fifth treasure sword was named “Jingni,” and when carried while sailing at sea, it could cause whales to hide in the depths. 6. The sixth treasure sword was named “Miehun,” and carrying it at night would protect against encountering ghosts and demons. 7. The seventh treasure sword was named “Que Xie,” and demons and evil spirits would bow and submit when they saw it. 8. The eighth treasure sword was named “Zhen Gang,” and it could cut jade and sever metal as effortlessly as if cutting through soil and chopping wood. These eight treasure swords were forged by combining the spiritual energies from the eight directions.

On Kunwu Mountain, there is a wild animal, about the size of a rabbit, with golden fur. It feeds on the red ores found underground and builds its nests deep beneath the earth. This creature sometimes consumes copper and iron as well, and both its gallbladder and kidneys are as hard as iron. The fur of the female of this species is as pure and white as silver. In the past, in the Wu Kingdom’s armory, all the weapons and iron tools were completely devoured, but the seals on the armory doors remained intact. The King of Wu ordered an investigation of the armory’s caves and captured a pair of these rabbit-like creatures, one white and one golden in color. When they were killed and dissected, it was discovered that their gallbladders and kidneys were made of iron. It was then understood that the iron from the weapons and swords had been consumed by these creatures. The King of Wu summoned swordsmiths and instructed them to forge swords using the gallbladders and kidneys of these rabbits. Two swords were ultimately created, one male named “Gan Jiang” and one female named “Mo Ye.” These two swords could cut through jade and sever rhinoceros horns. The King of Wu greatly cherished these two swords and considered them treasures. Eventually, they contributed to the Wu Kingdom’s dominance. Later, the King of Wu buried the two swords in a stone chest underground. During the resurgence of the Jin Dynasty, people often saw purple clouds rising directly towards the North Star and the Altair star. Zhang Hua appointed Lei Huan as the prefect of Fengcheng County, where Lei Huan uncovered the male and female swords. Zhang Hua and Lei Huan each kept one of the swords. When they were polished with Huayin soil, they shone even brighter. Later, Zhang Hua was assassinated, and the sword he had kept was lost to history. Lei Huan’s son carried the remaining sword and passed through Yanping Ferry, where the sword suddenly emitted a loud sound and flew into the water. When they tried to retrieve the sword from the water, they only saw two dragons coiled beneath the deep pool. The dragons’ eyes emitted a radiant light like lightning, deterring them from approaching to search for the lost treasure sword.

昆吾山，其下多赤金，色如火。昔黃帝伐蚩尤，陳兵於此地，掘深百丈，猶未及泉，惟見火光如星。地中多丹，煉石為銅，銅色青而利。泉色赤。山草木皆勁利，土亦剛而精。至越王勾踐，使工人以白馬白牛祠昆吾之神，採金鑄之，以成八劍之精：一名掩日，以之指日，則光晝暗。金陰也，陰盛則陽滅。二名斷水，以之劃水，開即不合。三名轉魄，以之指月，蟾兔為之倒轉。四名懸翦，飛鳥遊過觸其刃，如斬截焉。五名驚鯢，以之泛海，鯨鯢為之深入。六曰滅魂，挾之夜行，不逢魑魅。七名卻邪，有妖魅者，見之則伏。八名真剛，以切玉斷金，如削土木矣。以應八方之氣鑄之也。其山有獸，大如兔，毛色如金，食土下之丹石，深穴地以為窟；亦食銅鐵，膽腎皆如鐵。其雌者色白如銀。昔吳國武庫之中，兵刃鐵器，俱被食盡，而封署依然。王令檢其庫穴，獵得雙兔，一白一黃，殺之，開其腹，而有鐵膽腎，方知兵刃之鐵為兔所食。王乃召其劍工，令鑄其膽腎以為劍，一雌一雄，號“干將”者雄，號“鏌邪”者雌。其劍可以切玉斷犀，王深寶之，遂霸其國。後以石匝埋藏。及晉之中興，夜有紫色衝鬥牛。張華使雷煥為豐城縣令，掘而得之。華與煥各寶其一。拭以華陰之土，光耀射人。後華遇害，失劍所在。煥子佩其一劍，過延平津，劍鳴飛入水。及入水尋之，但見雙龍纏屈於潭下，目光如電，遂不敢前取矣。