There are many places in China that almost everyone has heard of its name, but no one really knows where it is. For example, Buzhou Mountain, Kunlun Mountain, Lingshan Mountain, etc., but the most famous one is probably Penglai Mountain. You can say that you have never heard of the first three. Who dares to say that you haven't heard of Penglai Mountain?
You might say, Penglai, here is the Penglai Mountain in Youxi County, Fujian, and Penglai, a county-level city in Yantai, Shandong. Sorry, Big Mouth is not talking about these two places, but the fairy mountain of Penglai, which has been circulating for thousands of years! According to various historical records, it is said that this Penglai fairy mountain is overseas, so Fujian and Yantai are all names used by later generations to promote tourism, not the Penglai fairy mountain mentioned in the history books.
Historical books, the legendary Penglai Fairy Mountain
The earliest record of Penglai Fairy Mountain can be traced back to the ancient book "Shan Hai Jing". The "Shan Hai Jing · Hai Nei Bei Jing" stated that Penglai was at sea, but did not say which sea it was, let alone give it. Get precise coordinates. In the "Liezi·Tangwen" during the Warring States Period, there were five sacred mountains to the east of Bohai Sea, one of which was called Penglai. According to the traditional Chinese legend, there are three sacred mountains in the east of Bohai, namely Penglai, Abbot, and Yingzhou.
You see, the records in ancient books are not consistent with myths and legends. Who is right and who is wrong? In fact, if you put them together, you can come to the conclusion that Penglai should be on the east side of the Bohai Sea, and there is more than one Penglai fairy mountain there, there are several other fairy mountains (the specific ones are subject to discussion).
If this is the case, is it possible that Penglai Mountain is somewhere in the Korean Peninsula or Japan?
Where is Penglai Fairy Mountain?
In those days, Xu Fu helped Qin Shihuang go to Penglai Xianshan to seek the elixir of immortality. He went to the sea from Langyatai, Qingdao, and reached Japan all the way east. Combined with this matter, Penglai Xianshan is really likely to be somewhere in Japan. In fact, Japan once called Mount Fuji Penglai Mountain.
However, there is another saying that Penglai Xianshan refers to the current island of Taiwan. I don't know where to start. We first arrived in Taiwan during the Three Kingdoms period. At this time, the legend of Penglai Immortal Mountain has been circulating for hundreds of years. Besides, the geographical location of Taiwan does not conform to Bohaizhidong's statement. Therefore, it is unlikely that Taiwan will be the Penglai Fairy Mountain.
Myths about Penglai Fairy Mountain
Since it is a sacred mountain in myths and legends, there are many myths about Penglai Fairy Mountain. There is a legend: Any plant on Penglai Fairy Mountain is a treasure, and you can live forever if you eat it. After the unification of the six nations, Qin Shihuang longed to live forever. Once he was standing on the beach, looking out at the sea, when he suddenly saw a red light floating at the end of the sea and the sky, he asked the alchemist who was driving. The alchemist made a mystery about Fairy Island at that time. In fact, it's just a simple phenomenon of light refraction. Qin Shihuang didn't understand it, and the alchemist didn't understand it.
Qin Shihuang asked again, what is the name of that fairy island? The alchemist panicked, he didn't know the name, it was all made up by him. Just when the alchemist was anxious, he suddenly saw a "Penglai" grass floating on the water, so he wisely answered "Penglai Mountain" in a hurry.
This is of course just a story, because the name Penglai Mountain had already existed before Qin Shihuang, so the origin of the name Penglai Mountain could never have been taken by this alchemist.
There is also a legend that everyone may be more familiar with. Legend has it that the Eight Immortals went to Penglai Mountain to enjoy the peony blossoms. On the return journey, Tieguai Li suggested not to take a boat. Instead, everyone tried their own way to cross the sea. This was the later saying that "the eight immortals cross the sea and each show their magical powers."
Chinese and foreign anecdotes and secret history, century-old old photos, exploring mysterious and strange events | Big Mouth Kan History
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