Panoramic view of Mount Hua

Panoramic view of Mount Hua
Rubbing of stele after a painting and inscription by Jia Xuan (1662–1722)
Stele after 1700, Rubbing 20th century
Ink on paper
2000.84.1

On first glance, this stele rubbing seems intended to map pilgrimage routes at Mount Hua, one of the five sacred mountains of Chinese Daoism. Its many labels identify famous sights and locales, such as Iron Ox Plateau and Cave for an Audience with the Primordial. A network of paths, dotted with tiny chain handrails, invite viewers to plan their own vertiginous ascent. The inscription at the upper left, however, speaks to a more complex function for the image. We read that when the Qing-dynasty official Jia Xuan ascended Mount Hua’s southern peak for rainmaking sacrifices, he found the view blocked by wild shrubs. Clearing them, Jia Xuan reveled in the expansive sight. A mountain recluse invited him to produce this panoramic image so that all would know the sacred mountain in its many aspects. A portable token of that encounter, this rubbing is thus both map and sacred icon, informational guide and record of cultivated vision. (Mapping Mobility: Chinese Objects from the University Art Gallery Collection)