Stairway to Heaven: A Journey to the Summit of Mount Emei

Contents

Contents Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Conventions xv 1. Introduction 1 Text and Context 1 On Studying Mountains 3 Crashing Continents and Salty Seas 7 Source of Life, Abode of Gods 9 An Extraordinary Place 12 Flora and Fauna 14 A Great Globe of Light 17 2. Land of Shu 21 The Road to Shu Is Hard 21 Tang and Song Visions 27 3. A Journey of Ten Thousand Miles 45 Brocade City 45 The Journey Begins 48 4. Within Sight of Mount Emei 61 Administration and Immigration 61 Way of the Celestial Master 68 Adepts and Abbeys 70 Śākyamuni’s Teachings Come to Sichuan 78 A Colossal Buddha 85 5. The Ascent 89 On to Emei Town 89 vii Patrons in the Capital, Supporters in the Provinces 92 The Ascent 103 6. The Summit 119 The Immortal Sage Appears 119 7. How and Why Did Mount Emei Become a “Famous Buddhist Mountain”? 137 Background and Beginnings 137 Founding Myth 141 Scriptural Authentication 147 Pilgrims, Diaries, and Gazetteers 151 Four Great Famous Mountains 157 The Big Picture 160 8. The Ming, Qing, Republican, and Modern Eras 165 A Bloody Interlude 165 Florescence in the Ming 167 The Qing (1644–1911) and Republican (1912– ) Era to 1949 178 Recent Developments 185 The Tourist Era Emerges 188 Closing Thoughts 193 Abbreviations 199 Notes 201 Selected Bibliography 249 Glossary-Index 263 viii Contents ...