Original Text
In Zhangqiu's Chaya Mountain, there was a stone cave resembling a well, several feet deep. On the northern wall of the cave was an opening, which could be seen by lying on the ground and craning one's neck. It happened that a few villagers, on the day of the Double Ninth Festival, were drinking by the cave's edge and discussed entering it to explore. Thus, three men, carrying lanterns, descended into the cave by a rope lowered down.
The cavern's height and breadth were akin to a great hall; after entering a few paces, it narrowed somewhat, and suddenly the end was reached. At the end, there was another hole, through which one could crawl. Illuminated by a lamp, all was pitch-black, its depth immeasurable. Two of the party grew fearful and retreated, while another seized the lamp, mocking them, and boldly squeezed his body through. Fortunately, the narrow passage was but the thickness of a wall; once through, it immediately became high and wide again, and so he stood up and pressed forward. The rocks of the cavern's ceiling jutted out in jagged peaks, seeming ready to fall. The walls on either side were piled high with layered stones, much like the carvings in a temple—all shapes of birds, beasts, men, and demons: birds as if in flight, beasts as if running, men as if sitting or standing, and demons with furious countenances, strange and grotesque, with the ugly far outnumbering the fair. A chill crept into the man's heart, and he felt afraid, but he was glad that the path was level, with few slopes. After slowly walking several hundred paces, he saw an open stone chamber on the western wall; to the left of its door stood a monstrous stone demon, facing him, with glaring eyes and a gaping mouth like a winnowing basket, its teeth and tongue hideous and fierce. Its left hand was clenched into a fist and rested on its waist, while its right hand spread its five fingers as if to seize him. The man's heart was filled with terror, and his hair stood on end. Gazing far off into the stone door, he saw some ashes from burnt offerings, and knowing that someone had been there before, his courage slightly revived, and he forced himself to enter. On the ground were placed some bowls and cups, thick with dust, yet they were clearly of modern make, not ancient. Beside them lay four pewter wine flasks; the man wished to take them, so he untied his sash, fastened it around the necks of the flasks, and hung them at his waist. Then, looking to the side, he saw a corpse lying in the western corner, its limbs spread out crosswise. The man was utterly horrified. Slowly examining it, he saw that the corpse wore pointed shoes, with plum blossom patterns still visible on the soles, and he knew it was a young woman. He knew not whence she came, nor when she had died. The colors of her clothes had all faded, indistinguishable between blue and red; her hair was tangled like silk in a basket, stuck to her skull; her eyes and nose were but two holes each, and her teeth, two rows of gleaming white, must have been her mouth. The man thought that atop her head there should be gold, silver, and jeweled ornaments, so he brought the lamp near her head, but it seemed as if a breath from her mouth blew at the flame; the lamp flickered unsteadily, its glow dimmed, and the shroud stirred as well. The man grew exceedingly afraid, his hands trembled, and the lamp was suddenly extinguished. Recalling the path he had come, he fled back in haste, not daring to touch the stone walls for fear of grasping a stone demon. His head struck a rock, and he fell, but immediately scrambled up; a cold, wet substance flowed over his face, and he knew it was blood, yet he felt no pain and dared not even groan. Panting heavily, he reached the cave's mouth and was about to crawl out, when it seemed someone seized his hair and pulled him back, and he fell into a dead faint.
The others sat at the mouth of the cave for a long time, suspecting that something had gone wrong within, and so they lowered two more men down with ropes. These two leaned into the cave and discovered that the first man's hair had become entangled among the rocks, with blood streaming from his head, and he had already fallen into a deathlike faint. Greatly alarmed and terrified, they dared not proceed further and sat there in dismay. Before long, two more men were lowered from above, among whom was one of bold courage, who finally ventured inside and dragged the man out. They laid him on the mountain, and after half a day he regained consciousness, recounting his ordeal in full detail. It was regrettable that they had not reached the very bottom of the cave, for had they done so, they would surely have found a more remarkable place. Later, the magistrate of Zhangqiu County heard of this affair and ordered the cave mouth to be sealed with clay, so that no one could enter again.
During the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh years of the Kangxi reign, the stone cliff south of Yangmu Valley collapsed, revealing a cave mouth. Peering inside, stalactites clustered thickly like bamboo shoots. Yet the cave was deep and perilous, and none dared enter. Suddenly a Daoist arrived, claiming to be a disciple of Zhongli, saying, "My master sent me ahead to cleanse this grotto." The villagers supplied him with a lantern, and the Daoist descended with it, but he fell upon the stone shoots, which pierced through his belly and killed him. Someone reported the matter to the district magistrate, who sealed the cave. This cave must have held wondrous sights; it is a pity that the Daoist died, leaving no word of what lay within.
Commentary
This piece is less a travelogue and more a prose essay of exploration.
The highlight of this exploration essay lies in its peril, and this piece fully capitalizes on that aspect. Before the expedition, there were "several people," with "three receiving lamps." Upon descending to the cave entrance, "two grew timid and retreated." At the expedition's conclusion, one explorer encountered danger within the cave, and after four others successively joined the rescue, only a single brave soul "finally advanced vigorously." The explorers in the Chaya Mountain Cave faced bizarre and eerie sights on all sides, with danger at every turn and each step fraught with terror. The author intertwines descriptions of the scenery with the explorers' inner thoughts, where the sublime beauty of the landscape coexists with the peril, and the danger mirrors the explorers' fear. The climax occurs when the explorer discovers a female corpse, moving from "glancing sideways" to "gradually scrutinizing," from "extreme terror" to "deep contemplation," until finally, after "bringing the fire near her head," it seemed as though "a breath of air extinguished the lamp, which flickered unsteadily, its flame turning a sickly yellow, while her garments stirred and rustled. Overcome with renewed fear, his hand trembled, and the lamp was suddenly snuffed out. Recalling the path, he fled in haste," thus ending the expedition. The exploration concludes in failure, leaving behind regret, yet it is precisely because of the "regret that he did not reach the very bottom" that boundless imagination is left for the reader.