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Surrounded by rocky cliffs

and hills, with the meander-

ing stream flowing through,

Wuyi Mountain features a
This is a short piece I wrote after reading Bill Porter’s flanked by pines. He once said these trees could keep the
Road to Heaven. A mountain man sleeps on the rock with qi (meaning energy). very different image from
clouds as the pillow, makes friends with pine and cypress Unsurprisingly, the door to the hermitage was set on
trees, and dresses in a short brown tunic. Poor, but upright. the edge of the cliff. Some renovation materials were piled other mountains.
Taking cues from this, I made a stick of incense with cypress up nearby, as the shabby hut needed to be properly fixed up
wood, atractylodes and frankincense; it has a neutral aroma to make it habitable. Though I was quite worried about the
and is named “Hermit”. safety hazard of the pine sitting too close to the back of the
The other day, I sent the incense to my Guqing master’s bedroom. This place was no different from my
master Le Tong, who has shifted from a designer in Bei- imagination: earthen walls and wooden buildings staying on
jing, to a Wuyi Mountain man, and now to a dweller in lush mountains, with cloth curtains and great spring water
clouds with his life in peace. As my teacher and also for tea, and no access to electricity. We lit a fire to boil the
friend, he taught me the elegant techniques and tranquil water with a small red clay stove; a very ordinary one, but
mindset of playing the ancient instrument. On the wind- I found it very quaint. Master took out the Wuyi rock tea
ing mountain road, my husband drove well and fast, while which had been preserved for years with natural golden
I sat in the passenger seat tightly holding the handle and flowers, and quickly tightened the bag, saying it was precious.
Zongzi slept tight. When we arrived, the master came to The tea was for people to drink anyway, he added later. It
pick us up. The simple man walked down the loess slope was a rare tea to me, indeed.

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