To the east of the Bohai Sea, an unmeasurable distance away, lies a vast, bottomless chasm that is, in reality, an abyssal valley, unfathomably deep, known as GuiXu.
Waters from various places and even from the celestial river converge here, yet the water volume neither increases nor decreases. In this place, there are five mountains: Daiyu, Yuanyu, Fanghu, Yingzhou, and Penglai.
🎨 胡廷暉 《蓬萊仙會圖》in the Yuan Dynasty
In ancient times, after Yu the Great(DaYu) had controlled the floods, he rode in a carriage across the Weak Water and arrived at Mount Penglai.
He offered sacrifices to God at Bei’ao and attributed his great achievements in flood control to the Nine Heavens. Da Yu toured the Five Mountains and ordered craftsmen to carve stone tablets to record the distance, height, and other information of each mountain.
The characters on the tablets were written in the ancient Kochou script, which was not intelligible to the Han people.
《仙山樓閣圖(Immortal Mountain and Pavilion)》王時敏, in the Qing Dynasty
This painting was created for the 70th birthday of Chen Jingfu’s mother, shows towering mountains, lush forests, winding streams and pines. Two tall and lush pines symbolize longevity.
In the distance, there are rolling mountains. A stream flows out of the mountains and merges into a river at the bottom. In the embrace of mountains, water, and trees, a secluded pavilion can be seen in the distance.
《仙山樓閣圖(Immortal Mountain and Pavilion)》仇英, in the Ming Dynasty
The famous painter, QiuYing has another painting of the beautiful scenery of Penglai Mountain, with the same name.
