Preface to the Collection of Outstanding Records of Mount Heng

Mount Heng has many ancient records, yet most are lost and not passed down. The *Sui Dynasty Bibliography* includes the *Mount Heng Record* by a Song dynasty lay scholar. The *Taiping Imperial Encyclopedia* quotes Xu Lingqi's *Southern Peak Record*. The *Song Dynasty Art and Literature Records* contain Lu Hong's *Mount Heng Record* and Qian Jingyan's *Highlights of Mount Heng*. As these works are no longer seen, only the *Brief Record of Mount Heng* in one volume, written by Tang dynasty Taoist Li Zhongzhao, remains, included in the *Siku Quanshu*. Additionally, there are Peng Zan's *Mount Heng Chronicle* from the Ming dynasty and Zhao Ning's *Yuelu Chronicle* from our dynasty, both later works with fewer historical details. Thus, this edition of the *Collected Highlights of Mount Heng* in three volumes, compiled by Chen Tianfu during the Song Shaoxing period, is a Ming dynasty copy of a Song manuscript. Its structure is excellent, and the text is the most ancient. Checking Chao Gongwu's *Reading Records*, the book is mentioned without the author's name, and the *Song Dynasty Art and Literature Records* do not list it, likely an omission.

My friend Tang Taoshan, a magistrate who pursued learning in leisure, cherishes antiquity and simplicity. He proofread and had it carved for printing, completing it in a month—a truly delightful achievement. In the past, Xiang Ziqin traveled to the Five Sacred Mountains only after his children were married. I, from humble beginnings, served in Minister Bi's office, journeying from Mount Hua to Mount Song. As a capital official, I accompanied the imperial procession westward through Quyang, investigating old temples and sites at Mount Da Mao, the Northern Peak. When posted in eastern Lu, I prayed for snow at Mount Tai and stayed at the Sun-Viewing Peak. Counting the Five Sacred Mountains, I have visited four; only Mount Heng remains. Before attaining office, Mr. Taoshan, as a renowned scholar, traveled widely, studying at the foot of Mount Tai and compiling the *Mount Tai Overview* in thirty volumes, gathering ancient relics and inscriptions unseen by predecessors. Now serving in the southeast, he applies classical studies to governance, seeking records of Wu and writing on its waterways, publishing to preserve local culture. He especially values this book for documenting the famous mountains and sites of his homeland, urgently spreading it.

Taoshan and I are the same age, just reaching the age of understanding and with hair graying. In modest official posts, I wish to benefit the world but cannot always follow my will. Like waiting for children's marriages to travel famous mountains, I fear age may weaken my ability. Holding this volume daily, I explore its sights as a mental journey. Perhaps in a few years, I will retire and join Taoshan between the Xiao-Xiang rivers and Yunmeng marshes, gazing at Mount Heng's many faces to fulfill Xiang Ziqin's unrealized wish. Then, with Taoshan, we may consult maps, study antiquity, and supplement what this book omits—another grand endeavor.

Written on the first day of the sixth month, Jiaqing 6th year, by Sun Xingyan at the Five Pines Study in Jinling.