The Legend of Taohua Jian

2020-11-12

Taohua Peak is located southwest of Lushan, near the southern dock of Xihai, in the southern part of Sima Village, Zhelin Town. The mountain stands over 900 meters high, and nestled among its slopes is an ancient temple. Here, the green hills are lush and verdant, cliffs rise steeply, and crystal-clear springs flow gently—creating a breathtakingly beautiful landscape that has long been renowned far and wide. There once lived a young laborer named Huang Jing, who could no longer endure the oppression and tyranny of his wealthy master. He fled to this desolate, sparsely populated place, where he began clearing land, opening paths, and cultivating fields. With his hardworking hands, he gradually built a home for himself and his family. One day, while out on an excursion, the Peach Blossom Fairy happened upon a young and handsome man in the mortal world—a man known for his diligence and simplicity—and she fell deeply in love with him. Secretly, without her mother’s knowledge, she descended to earth and married Huang Jing. As time passed, the Empress Mother noticed that the Peach Blossom Fairy was missing from the Heavenly Palace. She summoned all the palace maids and demanded they reveal the truth. Reluctantly, the maids had no choice but to tell the whole story. Enraged, the Empress Mother sent heavenly soldiers and generals to capture the Fairy. But the Peach Blossom Fairy refused to return to the palace and engaged the heavenly troops in fierce combat. After several rounds of fighting, she suddenly transformed herself into a towering mountain, hiding herself within its depths. Filled with fury, the Empress Mother ordered Lei Gong—the God of Thunder—to split open the mountain. Despite his best efforts, Lei Gong could do nothing to break through it. On the sheer cliffs, traces left by Lei Gong’s thunderbolts remain even today, and no vegetation has ever grown there since.

One year, during the season when peach blossoms were in full bloom, a woodcutter went up the mountain to chop firewood. As he walked along, he noticed two immortals playing chess in the mountains. Stopping to watch their game for quite some time, one of the immortals suddenly reminded the woodcutter: “You’ve been here for more than a day already. According to the saying ‘Seven days in the mountains are equivalent to thousands of years in the mortal world,’ you’ve actually been here for over a thousand years—so you’d better hurry back home.” The woodcutter replied, “After such a long interval of over a thousand years, I’ve lost all sense of direction. I don’t know where my home is anymore, and after so many generations have passed, I don’t even recognize any of my relatives.” The immortal said, “Don’t worry. I’ll pick a single peach blossom and let it float down the stream. Wherever that peach blossom drifts to, that will be your home.” Following the immortal’s advice, the woodcutter eventually found his way back to his ancestral home. Later, when his descendants examined their family genealogy, they indeed discovered records confirming his existence. Several years later, the woodcutter passed away. His descendants inherited the spiritual energy of the Peach Blossom Fairy, and their lineage quickly flourished. Each member of the family was intelligent, well-educated, and deeply cultured, producing generation after generation of talented individuals. Many of them went on to serve as officials in the imperial court; among them, the highest-ranking official during the Song Dynasty was named Sima. The local magistrate at the time even named this place Sima Village. Later, to honor the memory of the Peach Blossom Fairy, people began calling this mountain Peach Blossom Mountain, and its peak became known as Peach Blossom Peak. Today, people still have a traditional saying about observing the mountain to predict rain: “When Peach Blossom Peak wears a cap (is covered by clouds), heavy rain is sure to come.”

Keywords:

The origin of Sima

The Legend of Jiyu Mountain and Houzi Rock

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