Dream of the Tiger Spring

Tiger Spring

Tiger Spring is located at the foot of Daci Hill southwest of the West Lake. It is clean and tranquil, with hills on all sides.

Legend has it that during the 14th year of the reign of Yuanhe of the Tang Dynasty(819AD), Huanzhong, a high-ranking monk, settled here and suffered from the shortage of water. In a dream one night, a god told him that two tigers would come to his aid. When he got up the next morning, he saw two tigers digging a hole until water bubbled out of the ground, and hence the name of the spring.

In fact the Tiger Spring comes from the sandstone and quartzite in the ground. It is cool and sweet and is honored as the third best spring in China. ” Dragon Well tea and Tiger spring” is known as the two unique things around the West Lake.

The Northern Song Dynasty writer Su Dongpo wrote a poem entitled “Touring Ancestral Pagoda Temple”, two lines of which read:
“The Taoist priest stints no spring water,
And lends me a bowl to drink to my heart’s content.”

The Qing Dynasty scholar Mao Qiling also had this to praise:
” It is where the wild tiger ran idle in those days,
Leaving behind clear water for offspring to enjoy.”

One of the well-known personages associated with the temple is Li Shutong(1880-1942), a famous educationist in arts. He became monk Hongyi and came to live here in 1918. Monk Hongyi Pagoda was built at the back of the hill.

A number of ancient buildings still stands here, such as the Arhat Hall, the bell tower, the tiger spring cliff, Li Shutong Memorial Hall, Hall of Monk Ji Gong, the statue of dreaming of the spring and a tea house.

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Author: Amoytrip---Free China Travel Guide--Dream of the Tiger Spring
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