Following the Heaven’s will, Hua bears the brightness of the sun and embraces peacefulness. She worked assiduously day and night, for the good of the country and the people. Every moment of her life she kept doing so, with a thoughtful and respectful heart. To look back in time and record her merit, this passage was written:
At a young age, Hua bears a free and wise mind, placing her feelings on a broad range of expressions. The Dao of painting, and the form of landscape, among which pure ink and water is the best. Comprehending the characteristics of nature, and achieving the merit of creation, A small painting close at hand, depicts the views of a thousand miles. East, west, south and north, all brought to your eyes. Spring, summer, autumn and winter, all under the solitary brush. Mountains and trees, are like the ode to it [the painting]. For landscapes, the one with a precipitous and tough environment is the best. If you express it with forms and shapes, then you will probably end up with tears. The reason for it, is the vicissitude of all beings, and the ultimate end of human beings. See its purpose, Taihang is the deepest. Among all the Daos, I only express my thoughts, and wrote this rhapsody. It writes:
What a tragedy, all beings are taken by it! The vegetation is flourishing and the white birds are returning, Mountain forests are clear and the sun sets over the hills, A thunderbolt from light and shadow, for the frost and for the river, The man on a long journey, travels across mountains and waters. Faraway from home, he embraces the blue sky. The phoenix sings as if in a deep valley, The crane dances without being confined in the long gorge! The beautiful girl had a rough and bitter life, The shortsighted man was fickle and cold-hearted! Hearing the news the magical Kunpeng stretched its wings, Willing to be the field on the ridge! King Wu of Zhou’s troops were delayed by the heavy rain, Distressed and sleepless he became. The wild goose is grieved, returning only by itself, The cold rain is lonely and quiet, hiding its voice. Looking towards the mountains, King Zhou of Shang’s troops missed their hometown, Hearing the cry of the deer they headed north. The heavy rain kept pouring, nonstop, Wail and cry throughout the night! The sounds resonate in the deep valley, getting stronger from within, Trapped and submerged without support. At such times of sorrow the lonely spring sings, Leaving our homes and country we headed towards the Taihang Mountains. Through the winding path up to the mighty peak with forests in the sky, Looking north to the smoke and clouds, lamenting the Pine Hills. The trees are desolate and the wind full of pain, Snow is falling heavily with a long deep sigh. Lost in the cold path and cry for the East Mountain. Emperor Guangwu had no idea that a thousand years had passed, The vast plain cannot explain that everything demands accumulated thinking. At first sight I understand your heart Longing for you I play my zither with deep thoughts Grass turns yellow after the autumn equinox Phoenix trees drops their leaves with morning dew The day is bright and the Feng (male phoenix) is singing The night is long and the Huang (female phoenix) is crying May the virtues and compassion of the beloved land Keep you healthy and blessed! The spirit of a true mountain is with a divine appearance The form of the grand vision is luxuriant The state of the clouds is hidden The mists of the four seasons are different Upon the birth of heaven and earth, Mountain saw their will but did nothing When the wind and the rain both came, Water understood the beginning and end of their forces but said nothing Drifting in the vast ocean I wish we will never encounter Cloudy or clear, from a distance you can tell The deep valley is spiritless and unfamiliar, Travel around the world without being heard of. Wandering in the vastness and be self content Traces of light and dark are hidden. The crane is soaring in the sky but where to stay? Distance is shown through the arrangement of trees, Depth of water is perceived through cascading streams. Riding on the freedom and ease of the immortals, I will travel around and dwell in the clouds! The grand mountain is the king of all beings The running creek is the water of ancient times! Wish the meteor be my messenger, Forget about the ephemeral and head towards chaos The sky is clear and boundless, covered with floating clouds, The earth is warm and the waves are rising The upright pine is the appearance of the mountain I’m worried how to take this thing from my heart? Wisteria vines curl up as the skin of the cloud Looking like a noble man reclining at ease The heart cannot be the slave of the body, Without support the body rides against the wind like an immortal! The shape of the mountain changes from time to time as one walks around step by step Mists in the mountains differ at dawn and dusk Drizzling rain in spring mountains is mesmerizing Fine trees in summer mountains are calm and soothing Falling leaves in autumn mountains are dreary and lonely Snow cover on winter mountains is cold and desolate Seeing green smoke rises from mountains and streams one thinks of traveling, Growing on the plain the fragrant grass wishes to shine! The four seasons change like the wheel of heaven and earth, The eight wildernesses remain still as the vast night travels down the grand river!
In the twelfth lunar month of the Xinchou year, the situation of the captives was unpredictable. I travelled to Linlü, Xiuwu, in the Taihang mountains, and found that the guard there had escaped. After that I went to Changsha and visited the Eight Views of Xiaoxiang, but none of them remained. The imperial court dismissed hundreds of officials. After that I went to Zhejiang and then Guangdong. In the beginning of the Guimao year, I went to Xiamen and then Chang’an. In such a big city, there was only one person outside the palace selling sugar water. I asked him why there was only him, he cried and said that during this pandemic, all his neighbors were infected and became ill.
Every city in China that I traveled to was like this, people were hardly seen and every family was in danger. I had no choice but to return to Taihang in Linlü. In Honggu Mountain, I observed heaven and earth alone, they all looked like weeping. The mountains had different expressions, and the water looked like joy and sorrow.
From that moment I realized that life is like mist and lightening, the world is like a dream within a dream within a dream. Only the landscape, poetry and literature are the foundation of all phenomena. The man with the highest level of moral cultivation is able to conform to the rules of nature and therefore forget about himself. The man with extraordinary level of self cultivation does not care about worldly success. The man with the greatest mind does not care about prestige or popularity. So I founded the Lotus dynasty. And the Temple of Hua was hidden in deep mountains, unknown to the world. Chaos has no eyes, but it is the spirit of the world. The way Hua rules her country is the beauty of chaos. Landscape and all beings, appeared from then on, and became all things in the world. On Hua’s stele, there is the map of the waters on earth, and the chart of stars in the sky, which are the fundamental elements of a country.