Nan Yan Palace brings good fortune, longevity, health and peace

The four large characters "Longevity, Happiness, Health and Peace" carved on the cliff most simply and concisely expounding the purpose of Taoist cultivation and also the lifelong pursuit of the common people. The engraving of these four characters in this place is simply a stroke of genius. However, these four characters were not carved during the Great Xiu Wu period of the Yongle Ming Dynasty. They originated from an internal struggle within the imperial court. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the incompetent Emperor Jiajing, in the face of a political situation surrounded on all sides, did not rectify the court. Instead, influenced by Taoism, he believed that gods could save everything, thus triggering a wave of governance on the Xuan Mountain. At that time, there was a minor official named Xia Yan. He recognized the emperor's mentality and submitted a memorial advocating "separate sacrifices to heaven and earth", suggesting the construction of a large altar. This suggestion was indeed appreciated by the emperor. Xia Yan was immediately promoted to the position of Attendant Scholar and then rose rapidly to the position of Minister of Rites, becoming a trusted confidant of the emperor. After entering the pavilion, Xia Yan, for his own purpose, sent his trusted disciple wang 颙 to wudang mountain to pay homage to the great emperor zhenwu, and wrote the four characters "Heavenly Son for ten thousand years", and asked wang to erect a stele in the south rock palace. Wang 颙 came to wudang mountain. After the sacrifice, he took the initiative to write a character for "longevity" and had it engraved on a stone tablet. The character for "longevity" that we see now was written by 王颙. When the emperor learned of the erection of the "Emperor's Eternal Life" stele, he highly appreciated Xia Yan and rewarded him. Thus, Xia Yan became the first official in the Ming Dynasty to be enfeoffed as a member of the Shangzhu State. However, the internal struggle within the ruling class was complex and cruel. The treacherous minister Yan Song, in collusion with his accomplices, plotted a series of battles, causing Xia Yan to suffer consecutive defeats and be punished and dismissed from his post. What awaits Xia Yan is the extermination of his nine clans. At this time, Xia Yan could only save himself through deities. His greatest wish at that time was to have a peaceful and peaceful day and a healthy body. So he wrote the three characters "Fu Kang Ning" and sent someone to Wudang Mountain to have them engraved on the stone wall. Xia Yan's prayer aroused Emperor Jiajing's compassion. Not long after, Xia Yan returned to the Ministry of Rites and was appointed as the Grand Secretary of the Yingwu Hall. After Xia Yan was reinstated from his position, he expelled the traitors and intended to punish Yan Song and his son, causing them to kneel before Xia Yan's bed and weep in apology. Little did they know that Xia Yan failed to punish Yan Song, and eventually a serious mistake was made. Later, under the instigation of the treacherous gang led by Yan Song, the emperor finally removed Xia Yan from his official position and he died in the market. That period of history has become history, but the words "longevity, happiness, health and peace" written by Xia Yan and his disciples remain on the stone wall and blend together to form a sentence. It has become a major attraction of Nan Yan.