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TRANSACTIONS
OF THE KOREA BRANCH OF
THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY VOL. XIII 1922 CONTENTS The
Diamond Mountains, Rev. J. S. Gale, D. D.
Part I Introduction (text below)
Keum-kang San (金剛山) or the Diamond Mountains, is the
famous region that
lies to the east of central Korea between the lines
of latitude, 38.35—38.40
and longtitude, 128.2—128.12. One Korean writer says, “From ancient
times kings have
wondered over it; priests of the Buddha have
extolled its beauties; great
scholars have sung its praises; artists have painted
its views, but none have
done it justice. It was the wonder of East Asia in
the past, now it is
gradually becoming a wonder of the world.” It has four names that correspond to
the four seasons.
In spring it is called Keum-kang, the Diamond
Mountains; in summer, Pong-nai (蓬萊), Fairyland; in autumn, P’oong-ak
(楓岳), Tinted
Leaves; and in winter, Kai-kol (皆骨) Bare Bones. Speaking of these various names, one
writer says: “From
the 4th Moon to the 5th, the azalias and
rhododendrons come out in quick
succession, and all the valleys are as though
coloured by an artist’s skill.
Flowers are seen on the faces of the time-worn eerie
rocks, while the sound of
bees and butterflies, and the calls of the birds
fill the air with music. “Though this is so on the lower level,
higher up you
will find snow still in the crevices of the rocks.
So it is called in
springtime the Diamond Mountains. “In summer, luxuriant leaves and
flowers fill every
valley, accompanied by cool shades and soft tints of
green. The water, rushing
through the narrow gorges, sings to one as on a
harp; while great rocks crowd
about like fallen fragments from the Milky Way.
Spray, like flakes of powdered
marble, is flung across the line of vision. This is
Summer “When rains come on, the waters rush
down and the
streams increase till the roar of them is heard as
though the hills were giving
way. Travel ceases, and all the world stops still,
while danger lurks on every
side. “In these summer months we call it
pong-nai, the world
of the fairy. “In autumn, the distant sky hangs high
overhead, and
all the peaks wear a look of sadness, while the
breeze rustles mournfully
through the fallen leaves. In every glade, colour
breaks forth as though done
by a dyer’s skill, the hills become a fabric of the
reds and greens of nature’s
soft embroidery. Anyone having sorrow or trouble of
heart will find relief at
this season in writing out his woes. Thus is it
called p’oong- ak, autumn
tints. “Following this comes the fierce,
relentless grip of
winter, a terror to all mankind, when its name is
changed to bare bones
mountain.” From an old Korean book I extract the
following: “The Ch’un-ma,
(天廉) hills of
Songdo are like young lords dressed in light armour
astride fast horses, that
wheel down upon you as the falling snow. “The Chi-ri (智異) hills of Chulla province, abundantly
satisfied, sit
like merchant princes, rolling in wealth, all the
treasures of the world at
their feet, gems and jewels. “The Ke-ryong (鷄龍) hills are bright and beautiful, like
Confucius and
his disciples in the hall of music, where An-ja
plays the harp, and Chung-ja
sings. “The Ka-ya (伽倻) hills, neat and comely, are like a
group of pretty
girls, fresh as springtime, out on the banks of the
river. “The Sam-gak (三角) hills stand up sharply defined like
Paik-i (伯夷) and Sook-je (叔齊) gathering herbs. “But Keum-kang finds no words to do it
justice.” Kwun keun (權近:), who was born in 1352 A. D. and died
in 1409,
nearly a hundred years before America was
discovered, wrote: “When I was young I learned how
everybody wished to
see the Diamond Mountains, and sighed over my own
failure to visit them. I
heard, too, that many people hang pictures of them
in their rooms and bow
before them. Such is the burning desire that would
peer into these mystic
glades. “I was born
in Korea, only a few hundred li from
these mountains,
and yet I have never seen them. Bit and bridle of
office and affairs of state
have so held me in that I have not had a chance, no
not once, to visit them,
and yet the pesistent desire has ever been in my
heart to make the journey. “In the autumn of the year pyung-ja (1396 A.D.), when I went as
envoy to China, and had many
opportunities to meet the Emperor, his majesty
suggested subjects for me to
write poems on, a score and more, and among them was
one “the Diamond Mountains.”
I knew then how widely their report had gone abroad,
and that what I had heard
as a boy was more than true. I was so sorry I had
never seen them for myself,
but I made a resolve that if god blessed me with a
safe return, I would
assuredly go and see them, and thus pay the debt to
my long cherished desire.” Mr. Kwun wrote for the Ming emperor a
poem that runs
something like this: Like snow
they stand, ten thousand shafted peaks, whose clouds
awake and lotus buds break
forth. There is no record that Mr. Kwun ever
saw these hills,
or got beyond his dream of the Diamond Mountains. He
is the famous scholar
known as master Yang-ch’on (陽村) whose
collected works today are among the treasures of the
east He tells us in plainest terms how great
a hold these
enchanted hills had upon Korea’s world in the days
of Geoffrey Chaucer who was Mr.
Kwun’s contemporary—while people were travelling to
Canterbury in England, long
lines of pilgrims were also wending their way to
this ancient, religious haunt. As introductory to a closer view I
quote from a famous
scholar, Yi Whang (李滉). Born in
1501, and dying in 1570 A. D., he rose to be a
religious teacher of the first
order, and his tablet stands no 52 on the east side
of the master in the Temple
of Confucius. In his preface to a book on the Diamond
Mountains by
Hong Eung-kil (洪應吉) he
writes: “My
friend, Hong Eung-kil, a man of great learning, and
born with a special love of
nature, in the 4th Moon of this year (1553 A. D.)
along with two friends
decided to visit the Diamond Mountains, and other
immediate places of interest.
He returned more than satisfied, full of delight, in
fact, over his pilgrimage.
I regretted deeply that I had not shared it with
him, so, by way of
consolation, I asked to see his notes. On reading
them I realized more than
ever that these mountains are a wonder of the world. “Master
Hong knows well, not only how to enjoy nature, but
also how to record his
impression. “According
to him the Diamond Mountains are a matchless
creation. ‘Their peaks, and
points, and spurs, and horns, are massed together as
though the gods had
fashioned them and the angels trimmed them off; no
end is there to their
variety of form and colour, and one can never grasp
the extent of their mystic
meaning. He who first sees them, is dazed, for to
east, and west, he beholds a
bewildering vision impossible to describe.’ “Hong’s
book takes the reader little by little into the
advancing wonders; leads him
past this point and that, by the windings of the
streams, up, up to their
source; tells where the valleys widen and narrow
down, how they circle about;
brings him into the most difficult and secluded
places; faces him with every
kind of danger; rejoices over suprises; is lulled by
the vast quiet, and yet
never falls into any weariness of expression. Though
he loves the odd and
weird, yet he maintains his poise as he notes them
down. He ascends the giddy
heights and looks off upon the world beneath him; he
beholds the distant waters
of the sea and washes his hat-strings in its pearly
deeps. “Hong
never loses that sense of power that the first look
conveys, and his joy never
falters. His delight comes not so much from the
height of the mountains or the
depth of the sea, as from the beauty and comliness
of all combined. A most
delightful report he has given, that has refreshed
my soul. “Autumn
1553.” This was a long time ago, when we think
of its being
eleven years before Shakespeare was born. Here is another tribute to Mr. Hong’s
book on the
Diamond Mountains written by Korea’s most famous
saint, Yool-gok. in 1576.
Yool-eok (栗谷) is the
Confucius of Korea, first in letters, and first in
religion. His name is
revered as one of the great Sages of the East. He
tried Buddhism in his early
years, and went and lived for a time in the Diamond
Mountains; but he gave it up
later and became an ardent student of the Chinese
Classics. His tablet stands
No 52 on the west side of the Master in the
Confucian Temple. He says: “For
natural beauty, no land is superior to Korea, and in
Korea what can equal the
Diamond Mountains? Great numbers of the literati
have visited them and written
an account of their journey; but among them all my
friend Hong has most nearly
touched the heart of the matter. While his record is
detailed, it is never
wearisome; it is beautiful but never boastful. In it
he tells of the contour of
the mountains, the source and direction of the
streams; how this region
swallows down the clouds, and then vomits forth the
mist; how the woods
congregate, and the rocks roll their forms together.
Endless views and prospects
he has recorded, with a most delightful pen. Nothing
more is left to be said.
Those who read his book have seen the myriad peaks
with their very own eyes,
for such descriptions as his, equal the beauty of
the hills themselves.
“We know
that all created things are under divine law, from
the sun and moon that are
above us, to the grass and herbage that are beneath
our feet. Even the chaff,
and refuse ends of life are all under the
appointment of the divine mind. By
means of these He would teach us His wills. But
though man sees them, he so
often remains unconscious of what they mean; in fact
he might just as well have
never seen them at all. “So often
when the literati visit the Diamond Mountains they see
them only with the fleshly eyes, forgetting that the
inner soul should see as
well.” The inner portion of the Diamond
Mountains centres about
two gorges Paik-ch’un (百川) and
Man-pok (萬福), Hundred
Streams, and Myriad Cascades. Paik-ch’un lies north
and south some ten li in
length, with Chang-an Monastery at
one end and Pyo-hoon at the other. As you enter the gateway going up
stream facing
northward you catch something the spirit of this
romantic world. The babbling
of the water, the soft murmur of the pines, the
calls of the birds, await you
at every turn. Your heart leaps for joy as you march
along this avenue of
knights and kings. What a world of wonders! A little later, pavilions and halls are
seen across
the stream through the foliage. This is the famous
temple of Chang-an-sa (長安寺). You cross a wooden bridge,
under which run the waters of the Myriad Cascade,
and enter its enclosure.
Chang-an took its rise in the days of
Pup-hung of
Silla, fourteen hundred years ago, antidating the
times of Mohammed. Let the
foreigner, with all his freshness of soul, meditate
a little ever these hoary
landmarks of the past. A stone used to stand in front of the
temple with an
inscription on it written by Yi-kok (李穀) (1298-1351 A- D.) father of Mok-eun (牧隱) Korea’s famous writer. He says: “When the
Emperor of the Mongols had been on the throne some
seven years, the palace
lady-in-waiting, Keui-si, became empress, and had
apartments assigned her in
the Heung-sung Palace. She was a Korean and her
promotion was due to the fact
that she had given birth to a son. “She said
to the eunuchs, ‘I am blessed from a former
existence with this high office, in
return for which I desire to pray to God for eternal
blessings on the Emperor
and Crown Prince. Without the help of the Buddha,
however, no such thing is
possible “She
sought far and wide on their behalf, and at last
hearing that the Chang-an
Temple in the Diamond Mountains was a place of
special prayer, she gave of her
own private means, in order to specially beautify it
and make it a place of
abiding worship .” This was in the 3rd year of Chi-jung
(1343 A. D.). The
following year she did the same and again the year
after. Five hundred priests,
who had their dress and food supplied, were
assembled for the service, and here
they prayed for blessings on the Imperial House of
China. There are three valleys, or rock
gorges, that are
conveniently reached from the temple of Chang-an-sa.
One is the valley of a
Hundred Streams, which runs from Chang-an to
Pyo-hoon.
Its general direction is north
and it takes about forty minutes to complete the
distance. The whole course is
a pilgrimage of delight with the peaks of Kwan-non,
Suk-ka, and Chi-jang,
appearing and disappearing. One marked point that invites to closer
inspection is
the Wailing Pool, Myung-yun-tam (鳴淵潭). We are told that two famous priests
were rivals
here once on a time in the matter of spiritual
power. As a result of a wager,
Keum-tong, one of them, had to give up his life and
die in the pool. His form
is seen to-day in the huge rock that lies prone on
its south side. We are told
also that his sons followed him and died as well. This happened about the year 1400 A.D.
and, ever
since, the pool has continued its mournful note of
wailing for the dead. The surroundings are quite impressive,
a vision of
rocks and trees, with the little temple of An-yang
glimpsed through leafy
bowers. One catches his first. impressions of the
nature of the Diamond
Mountains by a walk through this valley. Farther on, and nearer Pyo-hoon-sa (表訓寺), is Sam-bool-am, the Three
Buddha Rock, an ancient landmark chiselled out by
Nan-ong (嬾翁) a priest of the
14th century. He
was a disciple of the Indian teacher, Chi-kong (指空) and the master of Moo-hak (無學), who had to do with the setting
up of Yi dynasty in 1392 and the founding of Seoul. Fifty three little Buddhas are carved
on the back of
the rock, the same fifty-three that have to do with
Yoo-jum-sa and that belong
in tradition to far pre-Buddhistic days. Passing a number of budo, or relic pagodas, and memorial
stones that mark the site of
the temple Paik-wha-am (白華海), the
visitor reachs Pyo-hoon-sa. A short distance south of the Wailing
Pool, there is a
gorge, on the right-hand side of the valley, that
leads directly east to Yung-wun-am
(雪源庵). It is a
good two hours journey up this rattling canyon.
Twenty-two times the road
crosses the stream jumping from rock to rock, before
it reaches the lonely
little house of prayer that sits under the shadow of
Chi-jang (地藏), Guardian
of Hell. On the way is
the Mirror Rock (明鏡臺) that
stands by the bank of the Pool of the Yellow Shades.
In the Book of Hell, Myung-boo
Sa-sin-nok we read, “Beyond
the Fragrant Sea is the Iron Hill and beneath the
hill the great kingdom of Yum-na
(Hades). Here ten kings bear rule, each carrying a
bright mirror, in which he
reads each man’s destiny, his length of days, his
sins, his errors, and judges
accordingly. In the time of Silla, a man called
Suk-pong was arrested
wrongfully and taken to hell. The mirror, however,
reflected his innocence, and
so he was sent back and restored to life among men.
Later, on his way through
the world, he came to this place in the Diamond
Mountains, and beholding the
rock, its shape reminded him of the mirrors he had
seen in the hands of the Ten
kings of Hades and so he named it Myung-kyung-tai (明鏡臺) or Mirror Rock.” Near Mirror Rock stands an old wall,
one of the
ancient landmarks of Silla. Tradition says that when
the King, in 918 A. D.,
unable to withstand the increasing power of Koryu, (高魔) bowed submission, the Crown
Prince, after a fiery protest which his father
heeded not, wept, spoke his
farewell and withdrew to this secluded gorge where
he took up his hermit abode
and remained till the day of his death. Passing up the valley of the Hundred
Streams, we
return to Pyo-hoon Temple that stands at the
entrance of the Myriad Cascade
Valley. It was built by a priest named
Eui-myung in the days
of Moon-moo (文武) of Silla
(661-681 A.D.) and is one of the four largest
temples of the Diamond Mountains.
Though the buildings are extensive and were repaired
daring the Yi Dynasty they
wear a somewhat neglected look to-day. Behind Pyo-hoon, about half an hour’s
walk up the hill
is Chung-yang-sa (正陽寺), Temple
of the Noontide. It stands on the main ridge of the
Diamond Mountains and from
it can be seen all the highest peaks round about. In
the middle of the court is
a stone lantern that was set up over 800 years ago,
a symbol still of the Light
of Asia. A hexagonal hall at the rear, erected in
honour of the Great
Physician, Yak-sa (藥師), has
pictures in it said to have been painted by the
famous artist O Toja (吳道子) of the Tangs though the truth of
this may be questioned. In front of the temple is the Heul-sung
Noo(歇惺樓) Pavilion of Rest,
where the
whole circle of the hills is in view. This is indeed
the fairy’s outlook. When
the king of Koryu came here a thousand years ago
(918 A.D.) the Buddha Tam-moo
appeared to him. His light illuminated the place so
that the king called it
Pang-kwang-tai (放光臺) Shining
Pavilion. To the east of Pyo-hoon Temple is a
hill called Ch’ung-
hak Pong (靑鶴峯) Blue
Crane Peak, that guards the entrance to Man-pok
Valley. It has a peculiar
history. King Moon-moo of Silla, it seems, commanded
Master Pyo-hoon to build
this temple. The day the pillars and cross-beams
were set, a blue crane came
down from the adjoining peak and danced with
delight. Later, on occasions of
special rejoicing, cranes were seen to gather on
this fairy summit as though deeply
interested in what they saw. Passing Blue Crane Peak we enter the
Man-pok Valley,
that runs from Pyo-hoon to Mahayun. Here rocks and
walls confront the passer in
a most bewildering way. Coloured lights add their
share to this vale of wonder.
All through the chasm, that cuts a way clear to
Pi-ro-bong (毘盧峯), rocks are piled upon each other
in wildest confusion. The streams roar through its
depths, skid across the
smooth worn surfaces and break up into every variety
of feathery foam. Hence it
is called the Valley of a Myriad Falls, Green
Dragon, Black Dragon, Spray Fall, Pearl Fall, Fire
Dragon, Green Lotus, Turtle
Pool, Fairy Basin. etc. At the entrance of the valley there is
an inscription
written by Yang Sa-un (楊士彥) on the
floor of the rocks: Pong-nai p’oong-ak
wun-wha tong-ch’un (蓬察楓岳元和洞天) AMONG THE
DIAMOND MOUNTAINS THIS IS THE WORLD OF THE FAIRY. Yang’s dates were 1517 to 1584, so it
was evidently
written when Shakespeare was alive. The characters
are said to be wonderful
examples of the master-penman’s craft. Po-tuk temple (普德庵) sits like a swallow’s nest on the
face of the
overhanging wall of rock. A brass pillar supports it
to its clinging hold.
Beneath the temple is a cave with an accompanying
Buddha. A very old temple it
is that has looked down for centuries upon the world
at its feet. Although this is the ordinary way to
Mahayun there is
still another road for anyone who loves the dangers
of the almost inccessible,
north of Pyo-hoon, leading over the giddy heights to
eastward. Ma-ha-yun (摩訶衍) is situated far back in the central
valley of the
Diamond Mountains. An awesome silence, except for
the echoes of the passing
stream, fills its world. Before it, the hills,
Paik-oon, Hyul-mang, Moo-gal
stand like a screen. This is indeed the centre of
the world of the Buddha. In
the autumn season it is a region of enchanting
colour. The way from Mahayun to Yoo-jum-sa (榆岾寺) which is
said to be ten miles distant, leads up Man-pok
Valley and past the great statue
of the Buddha, Myo-kil-sang (妙吉祥). This
giant image was carved out of the rock-face by
Nanong, 500 years ago. With an
expression of eternal silence it sits by the
roadway, to give its priestly
blessing to all who pass. Crossing the hill in front, four
thousand feet and
more above the sea, the traveller suddenly finds
himself in the Outer Region.
From this point on a varied pathway down-wards
brings him in three hours to
Yoo-jum-sa. A fairy tale clings to this temple一a tale that, in spite of its
absurdity, has outlasted a thousand years. Fifty
three little
Buddhas are said to have set sail from the Punjab,
down the Indus, on a long
journey to the region of the Diamond Mountains. How they came in a stone boat over all
the distance is
a question that troubles not the ancient world of
Korea. No-ch’oon (盧春), the magistrate, learning of their
arrival, hastened
to meet them, but they were gone. He hurried along
the trail of their departure
till he suddenly met an angel who pointed him to the
peaks that beckoned him up
the hill. Then a dog led his way for a time, then a
deer, till finally he found
himself at the top where all the little Indian
Buddhas were sitting in the
trees. Here he built a temple and called it
Yoo-jum-sa. This was 4 A. D., or 64
years before Buddhism reached China. Let us not
trouble to cross-question the
story too closely. It will appear again in later
accounts in its proper place.
Suffice it to say that it is one on which the
stately halls of Yoo-jum rest,
and that is ample proof for all the ancient East. This will serve as a general
introduction to the
Diamond Mountains. It leaves out Sin-ke-sa (神溪寺) that will be taken up later.
Sin-ke-sa is really in
another world. All of the Inner Region, and the
outer as far as Yoojum-sa, is
2,000 feet up in the air where the immortals live.
Sin-ke-sa is down on the
sea-level, next door to the common abodes of men.
Its hills and rock-canyons,
however, are infinitely grander than those of the
Inner Region but they lack
the whisper of the genii that makes the Diamond
Mountains what they are. From this point on we give an account
of a trip made
by the writer to this famous resort in the autumn of
1917 and, following that,
an extract from trips made in former ages by noted
scholars of Korea. |