60 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o 



Several temples are situated in the Yellow Dragon Gorge, the most 

 important being the three temples at the head of the canyon called 

 respectively the Lower, the Middle, and the Upper Yellow Dragon 

 Temples. In the upper temple is the Yellow Dragon God himself, 

 called Huang Long Tsen Ren, or Yellow Dragon True Man. He is 

 not a real dragon, but an old man with a long white beard, and with 

 bright yellow clothing resembling in color the yellow rock of the 

 stream bed. He is the chief god or ruler of the district. Outside the 

 temple and in front of it is a large stone altar where the aborigines 

 worship, using cedar twigs as incense. The Chinese do not use this 

 altar, but worship inside the temples. 



The official who was overseeing the temples when I visited them in 

 1924 said that the first temple was built in the time of Tao Kuang, 

 who ruled China from 1821 to 1850. I was unable to get any informa- 

 tion about the origin of the worship of the Yellow Dragon God at 

 this place. The existence of the stone altar used only by the aborigines 

 suggests the question, did the aborigines first worship the Yellow 

 Dragon God here on an altar under a clear sky, and the Chinese come 

 later, build temples, and unite with the aborigines in the worship of 

 the Yellow Dragon God? 



Now Chinese and aborigines alike worship at these temples. Streams 

 of pilgrims are constantly coming and going and there is a great 

 annual festival attended by thousands, and which lasts for three days. 

 The Yellow Dragon Gorge, with its temples, its sacred places, and its 

 deities, now holds as large a place in the religious life of the Songpan 

 district as Mt. Omei does in central Szechuan. It is a place of many 

 natural wonders that has become a holy of holies. 



6. SACRED MOUNTAINS 



From very early times the emperor of China has visited the four 

 great sacred mountains in the four districts, and on their summits 

 performed the official worship of heaven. Mountains have been 

 the natural elevations on which the cult of heaven was performed. 



Mt. Omei is a sacred mountain in Szechuan that is famous among 

 both Chinese and foreigners. There are three smaller sacred moun- 

 tains, and possibly others. One is south of Suifu near the Yunnan 

 border. It is called Gien Feng Shan, or Sharp Wind Mountain. This 

 has long been a sacred place. It stands out higher than the surround- 

 ing mountains, and is pointed. Because it is higher than the neighbor- 

 ing peaks, it is apt to be windy. Hence its name, sharp or pointed 

 windy mountain. Formerly the Taoists were in possession, and had 



