Page 764 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

72 2 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

HE), the most renowned piece of music composed in Xuanzong's reign. The
same ruler had him decapitated, but he reappeared in Sichuan. Luo captured
the dragon protector of the Yangzi River in a pit filled the river's water where
the creature appeared as a white fish.
The growth of the myths about Luo Gongyuan's supernatural powers
eventually culminated in the emergence of a cult that flourished north and
northwest of Chengdu (Sichuan) during the late ninth and early tenth cen-
turies. The natives thought of him as one of the Perfected and designated a
place as the site of his former dwelling. He purportedly cultivated the Dao
on a peak south of Mount Qingcheng (*Qingcheng shan, Sichuan), venerated
by Taoists as a holy mountain. Whenever wind and rain did not rise or fall at
the appropriate times or when fields lay uncultivated, he would always appear
as an old woman or a beggar. During one drought, while the villagers were
making their way to a temple to pray for rain, an old woman appeared and
told them to address their pleas to Luo the Perfected for he could do what
demons and spirits could not. The peasants burned incense at that very spot
and rain began falling immediately. Later they built a temple with a statue
there. Luo thus became the god of a local rain cult.
Charles D. BENN

m Giles L. 1948, II4-I7; Verellen 1987; Yiisa Noboru 1987
* TAOISM AND POPULAR RELIGION

Luofu shan

Luofu Mountains (Guangdong)

The Luofu Mountains are a chain of hills covered with forests, located for the
most part in the Boluo ~ Mft, district of Guangdong. The two peaks, Luo ~l
("Net," the highest at about 1250 m) and Fu if· ("Floating"), which give the
chain its name, and around which most temples are located, are about 80 km
east of Guangzhou (Canton), and near Huizhou !!J; JI'I. There are ancient myths
that describe Fu as a floating mountain that came from afar to join Luo.
Since at least the Han, the Luofu Mountains seem to have enjoyed the status
of the most holy mountain range in Guangdong and neighboring regions. They
were later considered to be one of the ten major Grotto-Heavens (*dongtian),
the only one located so far south. Many tales state that hermits reside there.
The most famous is *Ge Hong. much honored in later descriptions of the site