Maoshan Taoism: A Millennium-Old Mystery in the Clouds

Among the peaks of Jurong, Jiangsu, Maoshan Mountain looms like an indigo barrier hidden deep in the mist. This sacred mountain, revered by Taoism as the “Eighth Grotto-Heaven,” has been shrouded in an ineffable mystery since the Western Han Dynasty—legend says the Three Maoshan Immortals attained enlightenment here through alchemy, leaving behind the Taoist code of “Jintan Huayang.”​

At dawn, the Celestial Master’s Mansion is always filled with a blend of cinnabar and mugwort. When elderly Taoists paint talismans on yellow hemp paper with pine soot ink, their fingertips often hover three inches above the paper, as if guided by an invisible force. Those serpentine runes, 扭曲如灵蛇的符文，must be completed in the alchemy chamber under the direct moonlight of midnight. Hidden within their strokes are secret words like “Thunder Order” and “Divine Decree,” said to rouse the spirits of mountains and rivers.​

The magic here coexists with nature. During the “Stepping the Stars” ritual on the third day of the third lunar month, Taoists circumambulate in the pattern of the Big Dipper; where their robes brush the ground, new green shoots sprout from dry grass. The “peace talismans” made on the Double Ninth Festival are soaked in a mixture of morning dew and cinnabar, then blessed by thirteen rings of the Three Pure Bells to complete their spiritual consecration.​

Most astonishing is the legend of “fetching objects from afar.” The Republican-era Records of Maoshan tells of a pilgrim who lost her silver bracelet—after a Taoist burned a talisman and pointed to the incense burner in the hall, the bracelet miraculously popped out of the ashes. Today, pilgrims still witness such scenes: when Taoists toss talismans into fire, glowing specks rise from the ashes like fallen stars.​

Incense curls perpetually at the Nine Heavens Blessing Palace atop the mountain, while copper bells at the eaves tinkle without wind. Locals say it is the founding immortals counting the sincere souls who enter. As dusk creeps over the ruins of the alchemy platform, one might grasp the truth: Maoshan’s mystery lies not in magic itself, but in humanity’s reverence for the order of heaven and earth.​