Lingxu Rock

Lingxu Rock is a very famous cave among the thirty-six rocks of Wudang Mountain, located on Taoyuan Peak to the west of Wulong Palace. Looking out from Lingxu Rock, the view is lush and green, blocking out the sky and the sun. The sound of the spring water at the bottom of the cliff reverberated through the valley like a thunderous wave. This place is serene and secluded, isolated from the outside world, making it an ideal spot for enlightenment and spiritual practice. Coming here, one cannot but admire the firm beliefs of the ancient reclusive scholars, as well as their perseverance and determination in unremitting exploration. Both Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty and Chen Tuan of the Song Dynasty once secluded themselves in Lingxu Rock to gather herbs and write books. It is recorded that Chen Tuan studied and created the "Taiji Xianxian Tu" here. According to research, there were buildings here during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In the tenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, a palace was ordered to be built to honor Emperor Xuan, Emperor Wenchang, the Ancestral Celestial Master, Sun Simiao, Chen Tuan and others, and Taoist priests were selected to burn incense. There is now a wooden and stone imitation hall in Lingxu Rock. Some experts believe that the style of the stone hall is quite different from that of the Yuan Dynasty and it should have been built in the Song Dynasty. There were originally nine statues in the stone hall, but now only three remain. Looking through the thick forest from Lingxu Rock, one can faintly see a bluestone building, which is the famous chanting platform of Wudang Mountain. Ling Xu Rock enjoys a high reputation in the history of Taoism. The Ming Dynasty literary figure Wu Cheng 'en mentioned Ling Xu Rock in the 17th chapter of "Journey to the West", titled "Sun Xingzhe's Great Rebellion in the Black Wind Cave". What truly enhanced Ling Xu Rock's reputation was that Chen Tuan, a renowned Taoist scholar and poet in China, once practiced and wrote books here.