Being the "pulse" of the world cultural heritage - Chronicle of lightning protection at the Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain

Hao Yongwei

(Hubei Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources)

Wudang Mountain, known as "Dayue" and "Xuanyue", is a famous Taoist mountain in my country. The majestic and fairyland-like natural scenery and colorful cultural landscape complement each other. It is known as the "No. 1 Fairy Mountain in the World". It is also a geological treasure house. It was listed as a national key cultural protection unit in the early years and was later included in the World Cultural Heritage List. It is a national treasure and a world-class heritage. I have been fortunate to have climbed to the summit countless times from 1956 to 2009, including conducting geological structure, mineral geology, seismic geology and archaeological geological surveys; "participating in political affairs" and seeking advice from friends from the cultural relics management department and Taoist circles; and hosting friends at home and abroad. Experts and scholars visited and exchanged; literary and artistic workers made friends with teachers and students of universities and middle schools; and various guests, relatives and friends accompanied them for purely tourist purposes. They climbed Wudang Mountain for different purposes and experienced the mountain scenery, green mountains in the distance, and the four seasons. Dust-free, every time I gain a lot, I feel the vastness of the world, the breadth and depth of Chinese culture, and the mysteries of earth science, which bring a lot of indelible fun. In order to meet the needs of local science popularization, my heart is full of excitement. There are no what-ifs here, only truth. The letter records the profound traces of the Wudang Mountain journey and leaves behind the details of life.

1. Go to Wudang Mountain to solve the problem

In October 1979, I had not been "corrected" at that time. I was just a member of the Comprehensive Research Group of the Fifth Geological Brigade of Hubei Province in Danjiangkou City. Member, undertake a scientific research project.

One afternoon, deputy captain Zhang Faxian opened the door of his office and told me that there was an urgent task and he asked me to go to Wudang Mountain with people from the province tomorrow to solve the problem. What tasks and problems? For a moment, "Monk Zhang Er was confused."

Later I saw people from the Provincial Department of Culture and the Danjiangkou City Cultural Bureau, and learned that the Central Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage were struck by lightning during the construction of the Golden Temple at Tianzhu Peak in Wudang Mountain, and they were afraid that the essence of Wudang Mountain—the Golden Palace—would be destroyed. Palace, specifically ordered the Provincial Department of Culture to organize an investigation team to go to the site to investigate, and take lightning protection facilities. To this end, according to the suggestions of lightning protection experts, a geological expert is invited to solve the cause of thunderstorms.

The relationship between cultural relics, ancient buildings and geology is a new issue for me, and I am afraid it is also a new topic that has not been covered by the geological community. Come and "signal the pulse" of the Wudang Mountains historic sites!

The captain asked me what difficulties and requirements I have. As an earth science worker, in order to understand the earth, I face thousands of difficulties. After field investigation and research, I can solve them one by one. This time, we obviously have no idea how to solve the lightning damage in Wudang Mountain, and we have to do it after on-site investigation. I hired an assistant who was a recent graduate, Wang Qinghua.

When we arrived at the mountain, we met Gao Hongda, Director of the Cultural Relics Department of the Provincial Department of Culture, Fu Zhong, Director of the Municipal Cultural Bureau, Hu Changfu, Director of the Yunyang Regional Museum, Li Shenghong, a lightning protection expert from the Hubei Industrial Architecture Design Institute, as well as the provincial An investigation team of nearly 20 people including Yu Hansheng, the former designer of the Wudang Mountain lightning rod at the museum and the Municipal Water and Electricity Company, and Liu Pengxuan, director of the Wudang Mountain Cultural Relics Management Institute, were led by Director Gao.

I arrived at Wudang Mountain on October 18th and spent the night at Zixiao Palace. The comrades from the Cultural Affairs Bureau prepared well for the trip, with sumptuous food and drinks, and frequent toasts. For me, a teetotaler, For a human being, encountering this situation is like sitting on pins and needles. We started climbing to the top in the early morning of the 19th and arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony on Tianzhu Peak at noon. There was a two-story wooden building to the west of the Sutra Collection Building in the Huangjing Hall. We were accommodated upstairs. Lunch was another invitation to drink, but I just declined by saying that I didn’t know how to drink and that I had to work in the afternoon.

Perhaps the people who went up the mountain were a little tired and had been drinking. It was not until three o'clock in the afternoon that many parties held a meeting to listen to the briefing by Liu Pengxuan, director of the Cultural Management Institute. At this time, we had a little understanding of the thunderstorm at the Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain. .

2. Thunderstorms and lightning damage at the Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain

Thunderstorms in Wudang Mountain are frequent. The thunderstorm activity season is from March 22 to September 25, and also occurs in January and December. The annual number of thunderstorm days is 30, with June to August being the most frequent months, accounting for 80% of thunderstorms throughout the year. The probability of thunderstorm days in each summer month is between 12% and 35%, with the highest probability in July, with an average of 11 days, followed by August.

Thunderstorms in Wudang Mountain are not only the two most scenic spots in Wudang Mountain, but also a lightning hazard. When the cumulus clouds that climb up the mountain slopes along the low valleys develop into cumulonimbus clouds, subtle physical effects polarize the electric field in the clouds. Negative charges are concentrated in the upper part of the clouds, and positive charges are concentrated in the middle and lower parts of the clouds. As a result, the clouds, the clouds, and the clouds are formed. The potential difference between the earth is extremely large. The air humidity increases before a thunderstorm. There are fine water droplets suspended in the clouds. The electrical conductivity is enhanced and they are easily broken down, causing lightning and thunder. The Golden Temple is located on the top of Tianzhu Peak, and with cumulonimbus clouds. The middle and lower parts are similar, so thunder and lightning occurs in the clouds and on the ground, and thousands of mountains and valleys are buried in the sea of ??clouds. Flashes of light appear everywhere, and thunder booms in the sky. The reverberation lasts for a long time, and it seems to be like "thunder on the flat ground." This is a great scenic spot. .

Cumulonimbus clouds cover the bronze and gold temple of Tianzhu Peak, with frequent lightning, glowing, rolling fireballs, and deafening thunder. Those who are brave are a feast for the eyes, forming spherical lightning and fire balls, running along the airflow, sometimes several Rolling and drifting in a string, single or multiple rows, when encountering the brick-and-mortar lottery and printing rooms on both sides of the Golden Palace, as well as the Parent Palace behind the Golden Palace, when the spherical fire ball encounters a wall, the forward travelers will pass through the wall and form a hole, and then move on their own. It disappeared, leaving a high-temperature molten state at the entrance of the cave. This phenomenon was not noticed by people.

The successors passed through the hole smoothly and continued to move forward before gradually disappearing in the air. This scenery is called "Thunder Fire Palace", which is another great scenic spot in Wudang Mountain. In the 1950s, when I was hiking before reaching Tianzhu Peak, I suddenly encountered a thunderstorm and poured rain. At this time, I could only see the "Thunder Fire Refining Hall" on the top of Tianzhu Peak in the distance, which was extremely spectacular and lasted only a few seconds. What an adventure.

In 1961, the State Council designated the Golden Temple on Tianzhu Peak of Wudang Mountain as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Provincial Department of Culture invited relevant experts to inspect the Golden Temple many times, and found that The surface of the ridge tiles has been burned by numerous lightning strikes at high temperatures, leaving tiny spots and pits. In 1962, it was struck by lightning and the northwest steps were damaged. Local experts were asked to install lightning rods for the first time. In 1976, the lightning rod wires were corroded and broken, causing many damage to the southeast corner of the stone platform of the Golden Palace and the surrounding ancillary buildings. In October 1978, the lightning protection device of the Golden Palace was overhauled by local experts, and two sets of grounding bodies were installed. From July to August 1979, the Golden Palace and its ancillary buildings were struck by lightning one after another, leaving marks on the southeast corner. For this reason, I was invited to participate in the investigation in October of that year.

3. Life hangs in the Forbidden City

At the meeting, lightning protection expert Li Shenghong asked to find out the cause of lightning damage, that is, why lightning damage still occurs frequently even though lightning protection facilities have been installed. People are staring at me at the meeting, is that expectation? Is it suspicion? For two days, I rarely spoke, and I didn’t make a sound during the entire afternoon meeting. At this time, I had to say a few words: I will climb Tianzhu Peak tomorrow (20th) to conduct on-site investigation. At this time, the people at the Cultural Management Office were greatly surprised. Tianzhu Peak could not be climbed because it was too steep. I said: "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger's cubs." The problem must be discovered after investigation. After discussion, it was decided that only the walls of the Forbidden City (also called the Red City or the Imperial City) could be climbed. This city was named after the Golden Palace and was built in the 17th year of Yongle (1419) in the Ming Dynasty. The height of the city ranges from several meters to tens of meters. The base of the south gate wall is 2.4m thick, and the top is 1.26m thick. It is covered with two slope ridges, the middle and the high, to facilitate water flow. The perimeter of the middle ridge of the city wall is 344.43m. Surrounding the top of Tianzhu Peak, each piece of stone weighing a thousand kilograms is built in the form of mountain rock. It uses a 12.62% harvesting process to make the city wall tilt outward from the inside and tilt inward from the outside. From a distance, it looks like a halo surrounding the Golden Palace. , an amazing work of Ming Dynasty craftsmen. The city wall is attached to the rock wall, and there is a cliff outside the wall. There are few spaces inside the wall, where only one or two people can live. This shows that the construction was difficult and dangerous. On the morning of the 20th, when I crawled on the ridge of the city wall for a week, if If you accidentally fall down the cliff, you will be shattered to pieces. Facing the abyss, your life will be hanging in the Forbidden City. In order to obtain first-hand information, I traveled with my assistant and five or six people from the province and city. When I saw a geological fracture structure, I would try to go down to the city for careful observation. Sometimes because the wall was high, a rope would be hung down. The assistant asked him several times to go down and measure alone, but I still insisted on contacting the outcrop personally, making careful observations and instrument measurements, and writing down a lot of data. Although the Forbidden City only has a circumference of more than 340 meters, I crawled and observed until the afternoon when I completed the week's investigation. By this time, I could no longer straighten my back and was so tired that I was sweating all over. When I stopped, I felt the mountain breeze, which was so intense that it hit my bones. Cold air invades the body. On each side of the Forbidden City wall, there is a Tianmen imitation wood and stone building, which symbolizes the Heavenly Palace. The doors and windows are all carved from huge stones with extremely exquisite patterns. The whole city has east, west, south and north gates, but only the south gate is accessible. There are three gates side by side. The middle gate is the divine gate, which is used by gods such as Emperor Zhenwu. The east side is the "human gate". At that time, officials and common people could pass through, and the west side was the "Ghost Gate". Legend has it that only ghosts and demons were allowed to pass through, but it was never open. This time I climbed on the ridge of the Forbidden City. I must be extremely brave!

That afternoon, I climbed to the Golden Palace on the top of Tianzhu Peak with my assistant to continue the investigation. The stone platform and ancillary buildings of the Golden Palace were struck by lightning many times. Everything is absolutely consistent with the fracture structure we observed in the Forbidden City. At this time, most of the lightning damage problems have been solved in our mind. Next, we observed the previously installed lightning protection facilities, and observed the grounding conductor of the lightning rod from the golden dome to the Phoenix Pond, which is more than 200 meters long, as well as the conductor grounding point behind the mountain. I was busy until the sun went down. At night, I continued to sort out the information and straighten out the observations. My assistant helped me draw pictures to prepare for my speech at the meeting tomorrow.

Four. Three core issues

On the morning of October 21, Director Gao once again chaired the meeting. First, he asked me to speak and talk about the investigation results. All the attendees were sitting upright, with my assistant sitting next to me and Director Gao on the other side. There was silence at this time, and the participants opened their notebooks, holding pens in hand, ready to record.

I thought about it for a while and thought that what everyone urgently needs to hear is the conclusion of the investigation, so I talked about three core issues:

The first point is that in the 11th year of Dade in the Yuan Dynasty (1307) ) built the palace on the top of Tianzhu Peak until the larger-scale Golden Palace was built in the 16th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1418), it has been struck by lightning many times, and it will inevitably continue to be struck by lightning in the future.

The second point is that the Golden Palace will never be destroyed by lightning. There is no need to worry about it, but passive damage must be prevented.

The third point is, why should the grounding point of the lightning protection conductor be far away, when the best point is close at hand.

Before the words were spoken, there was already discussion at the venue: You can rest assured about the safety of the Golden Palace! Tianzhu Peak has been struck by lightning all the time but has not been recorded in history; where is the closest touchdown point? ..., asked me to elaborate.

5. The reaction of lightning damage to the blocking of the "Thunder Road"

I then talked about the basis for the first point: after investigation, Tianzhu Peak is an isolated peak, " "One Pillar Holding the Sky" is composed of the strata of the Wudang Mountains in the Proterozoic Era, about 11.2 billion years ago. At that time, it was a vast ocean. The rocks here have a shallow degree of metamorphism and are medium-acidic volcaniclastic sedimentary rock systems. It can be seen The basic structure of eruption, overflow, and sedimentation. The peak rock is sericite quartz schist. Its resistivity is 2×103Ω·m. The rock is almost horizontal, slightly tilted to the north, and is controlled in the north-northeast and nearly east-west directions. There are two sets of fractures, while Tianzhu Peak develops three sets of intersecting fissures parallel to them, showing ruptures. The fissure surfaces are very steep and straight, with general angles of 70° to 87°. They seem to be cutting a watermelon from the top down along Tianzhu Peak. There are four swords, namely Nantianmen - Dongtianmen (J1), Dianfang - Jindian (J2), Beitianmen - Printing room (J3), Parents' Hall - Beitianmen (J4), (J2), (J3), ( J4) Three fissures cut through the summit. The width of the crack is less than 1m, and the middle is filled with rock fragments or mixed humus soil, and contains water. J3 intersects with J4, J2, and J1 respectively to form an array of yoke intersections, just like multiple plate-shaped conductors inserted into the rock formation. There is an east-west fault at the foot of Tianzhu Peak. The fault plane dips north with an inclination angle of 42° to 55°. The hanging wall rises, lifting Tianzhu Peak high into the sky. The above-mentioned J1-J4 fissures are all low-order rupture surfaces of faults, which means they are related in origin. Under the fault plane there are small water bodies such as Phoenix Lake and Tianchi, which are said to accumulate water all year round.

Now that we have the basic geological structure of Tianzhu Peak, let’s talk about the building conditions on the top of the peak (Figure 3). The base of the top building complex is all dark green basic volcanic rock; the platform of the Golden Palace is made of Triassic bamboo leaf-shaped limestone to lay a high platform on it. There is an altar in front of the Golden Palace, which is also made of bamboo leaf-shaped limestone. They are all from In other places, there is no trace of bamboo leaf-shaped limestone in the Wudang Mountains. These stones were collected from all over the country during the Ming Dynasty's construction projects. Therefore, the bamboo leaf-shaped limestone was contributed from southern provinces. Between the platform base and the bedrock are giant stones of metamorphic basic volcanic rock, forming a huge and thick base. When the Golden Summit complex was completed, the original exposed rocks and cracked structural surfaces of the peak were completely covered.

Tianzhu Peak is the highest point soaring into the clouds here. It is a natural place for the area to receive thunderclouds and discharge them to the earth. The powerful current is quickly transmitted to the ground through several cracks. A popular saying is called " "Thunder channel" (i.e. discharge path). Since the emergence of the building complex, the cracks that occurred in the original quartz sericite schist (the smallest resistivity is 10630Ω·m) are filled with stones and soil, with a resistivity of 10-102Ω·m, and are overlying basic volcanic rocks. (resistivity of 102 ~ 105Ω·m), bamboo leaf-shaped limestone (resistivity of 6×102 ~ 6×103Ω·m), and on the top is a cast copper golden temple (resistivity of 10-1 ~ 10- 2Ω·m). After investigation, it was found that the upper end of the owl in the Golden Palace was burned by lightning and there were many black spots, as big as copper coins. At the same time, the bamboo leaf-shaped limestone in the southeast and northeast corners of the platform was cracked, and the gables, roof ridges, and tile heads of the houses were damaged in different ways. The damage was extensive, and many of the stone lotus pillars and hooks on the altar were also damaged. Wherever there was damage, there were cracks in the bedrock underneath. It should be said that the truth has come out.

The original "thunder channel" here is blocked (bamboo leaf-shaped limestone, basic volcanic rock, brick walls), in order to instantly discharge a strong current, when the crack in the thunder channel is blocked , only by breaking through the blocking objects and making it smooth and unobstructed. It is no secret why the Golden Temple has been struck by lightning since it was built. For example, after the stone fence of the Lotus Pillar carved from the Triassic bamboo leaf-shaped limestone was destroyed, because there was no original limestone to repair it, it had to be replaced with the basic volcanic rock that is most produced in the Wudang Mountains. This is a powerful illustration.

During the Spring Festival in 2009, the author and his children climbed to the Golden Summit again. They saw that the stone platform of the Golden Palace and the stone carved lotus pillars and railings of the altar were damaged and broken by lightning earlier. During repairs in recent years, they have all been updated or repaired with the same Triassic red bamboo-leaf limestone. The stone components that have not been damaged by lightning but have been weathered and denuded have still remained intact after years of vicissitudes. The old and new components can be seen at a glance through time and space, and the secrets can be understood from them.

Why are buildings often struck by lightning but not recorded in history? Wudang Mountain enshrines Emperor Zhenwu of Taoism and was revered by Emperor Yongle at that time. No official would have the courage to report the damage caused by lightning to the emperor, so there are only sayings like "thunder on the ground" and "thunder and fire refining the palace", which means The peaceful scene in the world conceals the reality of thunder damage here. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties, they could only build a temple inside the Lei Cave on the Diezi Peak rock wall to worship Deng Tianjun, the God of Thunder, and ask him to bless the safety of Wudang Mountain.

6. Don’t take it lightly

Answer the second question: The Golden Palace is an all-metal building made of copper. The guards on both sides of Emperor Zhenwu and the bronze cases in the palace are all made of copper. A good conductor, it has withstood lightning strikes since it was built in the 16th year of Yongle (1418). It is still intact nearly 600 years ago and is a national treasure. There is no need to worry about the safety of the Golden Palace, but we cannot take it lightly.

The ingenuity of the ancients cannot be underestimated. They may have set up secret lightning protection facilities in the Golden Palace. Although they were preserved for a while, they eventually lost their conductive function due to age, such as the iron and copper grounding conductors being severely corroded. Just speculation.

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, three brick-and-tile structures were built on the top of the Golden Palace: the Parent Palace, the printing room and the signing room (also known as the dressing room). There were no lightning protection facilities. This caused the environment of the Golden Summit Greatly improved, it may be more likely to cause lightning damage. In fact, these three buildings were repeatedly damaged by lightning.

Why is it necessary to prevent the Golden Palace from suffering passive damage? Although the Golden Temple will not be directly destroyed by lightning, it should be noted that there are many spots left on the owl kiss on the top of the Golden Temple after being burned by lightning. It is impossible to verify whether these damages occurred before or after the installation of lightning rods, because in the past, it was not possible to climb up this Observe from the top of the sacred temple. No matter what, the Golden Palace has been damaged. If the lightning protection measures are not effective, it is possible that the owl will be burned at high temperature or partially melted under extremely large current. If there is ball lightning, some parts of the Golden Palace may be melted and pierced. This is one of the reasons. Also; if the fortification is not proper, the platform foundation and the basic volcanic rock base may be smashed to pieces, causing the Golden Temple to tilt, collapse, and be damaged. This is the second possibility.

7. Why avoid the near and stay far away

Answer the third question. The lightning rod has been installed originally, but the grounding wire is too long. According to the resistance law: the resistance r of a wire with a uniform cross-section at a certain temperature can be expressed as

r=ρl/s

In the formula: l is the length of the wire; s is the cross section of the wire; ρ is the resistivity.

It can be seen that the resistance of the wire depends on its length, cross-sectional area and material properties. If the wire is long, the resistivity is greater and the conductive ability of the wire is smaller. The resistance of the original 200 to 300 meters long wire increased, which was not conducive to conduction of electricity, so another path had to be found. In the process, the gables and tile heads of houses with brick and wood structures were damaged. At the same time, it is necessary to break through the blocking objects on the original "thunder path".

The solution is also very simple: take advantage of the situation and directly insert the grounding wire into several cracks in Tianzhu Peak to communicate. The wire is extremely short, only more than 10 meters, to achieve the purpose of diversion and discharge.

Before I end my speech, I also talked about the "Thunder Fire Temple", where a ball of lightning and fire drifted in the air and made a hissing sound, which was regarded as a vortex-shaped high-temperature plasma in the air. It rotates at high speed, drifts with the airflow, and breaks through obstacles when it encounters them. At this time, the fireball is extinguished, forming a so-called side strike thunderburst.

In September 1998, the British magazine "New Scientist" published a paper by Spanish physicist Ranada, pointing out that ball lightning appears as a ball of fire because horizontal magnetic fields and vertical magnetic field lines are formed during the lightning process. The circles are intertwined to form a magnetic network. When the network takes on a spherical shape, the luminous plasma will be "captured" by this network to form ball lightning. Since the horizontal and vertical magnetic field lines are bound to each other, the magnetic field line network and the plasma within it are not easy to expand. The fireball seen in Wudang Mountain does not expand and become larger, but only disappears, because the fireball only lasts for 10 to 15 seconds. According to Lao Dao, the fireball he saw seemed to have no temperature, but tests proved that the local temperature along the direction of the magnetic field lines exceeded 16,000 degrees Celsius. Therefore, when the fireball hit the brick wall, it disappeared due to high-temperature melting and erosion. When the plasma of the fireball begins to cool, electrons begin to be bound by atoms. The internal resistance of the plasma becomes larger, the current becomes weaker, and the surrounding magnetic field also collapses. Finally, the fireball disappears. This is a scientific explanation.

I just found the reason. As for the lightning protection settings, Li Shenghong of the Industrial Architecture Design Institute took care of it. The meeting required me to write a "Geological Survey Briefing on Tianzhu Peak Thunder and Lightning Activity Area in Wudang Mountain, Hubei". I printed and copied it on November 6 of that year and submitted it to the Provincial Department of Culture, the Cultural Relics Bureau of the Central Ministry of Culture, the Provincial Museum, the County Cultural Bureau, and the Industrial Buildings respectively. The design institute, Danjiangkou City Hydropower Company, Wudang Mountain Cultural Management Office and other units submitted submissions, and the design institute used them as a basis to design the lightning protection settings. Then, with immediate approval from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, new lightning protection net facilities were installed on the Golden Palace in early 1980. Since then, the Golden Palace at the top of Tianzhu Peak has been peaceful and peaceful.

8. Test of a Severe Thunderstorm

Until about 18:30 on May 31, 1987, the Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain was covered with dark clouds, thick fog, heavy rain, and strong winds. , big hail came together, around 7:40, there was a thunder, the lights went out, and the wires caught fire. At 8:05, the rain passed and the sky cleared. The losses were heavy: the 520-year-old welcoming pine tree was destroyed, and the nine-step iron chain used to climb to the top was broken in five places. Four of the 12 bricks in the Forbidden City were struck, and many doors and windows of houses were damaged. A fire also broke out and four people were injured, among other lightning-related injuries. From June 6 to June 10 of that year, a joint investigation team of 16 people from 11 units including the prefectural and municipal public security bureaus and the cultural bureau wrote an investigation report on "the cause of the lightning strike: According to the test results, the Golden Palace of Jinding and the signed house were The printing room basically suffered no damage, mainly because the lightning protection net installed in 1980 played a role. The ground resistance was measured to be 2.6Ω, which met the design requirements (within 20Ω). The ground grid was intact. After inspection, there were no lightning protection facilities in the areas affected by lightning.” . This passage is the most positive evaluation of our investigation conclusion in October 1979 and the lightning protection measures designed based on it in 1980. There are three reasons why large-scale lightning damage occurs: metal objects (channel steel, round steel, steel bars, iron chains) placed at the disposal, lighting and communication lines are connected indiscriminately, which is inconsistent with the "Installation Regulations for Electrical Appliances in Ancient Buildings". In the past, there were many grounding wires. It is cut off everywhere and exposed on the ground. It may be hung on trees or rocks to induce lightning strikes.

After I submitted the geological survey report to the relevant parties on November 6, 1979, and used it as a basis for designing lightning protection measures, from the summer of 1980 onwards, which was a period of frequent thunderstorms, I paid attention to the Wudang Mountains every time. Is there any information about lightning strikes? Every summer, I am always on tenterhooks. If something goes wrong, I will become a sinner for eternity and will be infamy for eternity. Three years later, the Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain is safe and sound. I am very pleased that I have contributed to the protection of the cultural heritage of the motherland. I was transferred to work in Wuhan in the spring of 1985, but when I read in the Hubei Daily in June 1987 that Wudang Mountain had once again encountered a larger-scale lightning damage, I immediately assessed the situation and wrote a letter to the Danjiangkou CPPCC (I He was a member of the Standing Committee there for several terms) and expressed two views: First, I still insist that my investigation report in October 1979 is correct; second, it is rumored that in order to develop tourism resources, the relevant parties will restore the Golden Summit. The "Thunder Fire Refining Hall" and "Thunder on the Flat Ground" landscapes are designed to attract more tourists and pilgrims to worship. We should be cautious about this matter and not do it rashly. This means dismantling all lightning protection facilities. I said that if you are willing to bear the losses caused by lightning damage that may occur every year, you should come and see its "Thunder Fire Temple" landscape and the consequences of "thunder damage".

The CPPCC quickly replied to me and sent me the joint investigation report on June 11, 1987, titled "Report on the Lightning Strike on the Golden Summit of Wudang Mountain", which is the content mentioned above. .

9. Is it "superfluous"?

One day around 1987, Liu Shimin of the Institute of Geological Research told me that there was an article in the "Changjiang Daily" (the official newspaper of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee) , discussed the installation of lightning protection facilities in Wudang Mountain, and believed that it was superfluous. The reason is that the Golden Palace is made of copper, which itself is a good lightning protection device and conductor.

When I read this, I could only laugh it off. The author of this article knew that the Golden Temple made of copper was indeed a good conductor, but he knew one thing but not the other: the houses with brick and wood structures attached to the Golden Dome and the Golden Temple platform, altar and stone railings were often damaged by lightning. No matter how many times it has been repaired. Of course, this gentleman may not have accidentally encountered lightning damage and damage. Moreover, after the installation of lightning protection devices, the lightning damage at Golden Summit was reduced to the point that it has not occurred for several years. Another large-scale lightning damage occurred in June 1987. People who don't know the truth may say that it was caused by existing lightning protection devices. Then I can't explain it even if I have ten mouths. Fortunately, there is a local special investigation report that has made a scientific conclusion.

The friend asked me to write an article to refute, but I said no!

10. Close contact with the "national treasure"

October 1979 in Wudang When working on the mountain, only the Wudang Mountain Cultural Relics Management Office was in charge, and the Taoist Association had not yet restored the management rights of the Taoist Temple.

When we stayed at Taihe Palace in Wudang Mountain, we climbed to the top to watch the sunrise in the morning and watched the starry sky at night. For the sake of convenience, Director Liu of the Cultural Management Office also gave me the key to open the Nantian Gate when we climbed to the top. After lunch, while everyone else was taking a lunch break, my assistant and I easily went to the top to continue our investigation.

It is said that on a clear day you can see Xiangfan City and the nearby Laohekou City, but it was cloudy on those days. Even though the weather was sunny after climbing to the top several times, we were unable to see the two places mentioned above. But this time at night, I saw the firelight of the two cities to the east reflecting red in the sky, and the sky above Shiyan City in the northwest corner also glowed with the same light.

We had a full view of the interior furnishings of the Golden Palace. The components of the Golden Palace were cast in Beijing and transported by canals up the Yangtze River and Han River through Nanjing to Wudang Mountain for assembly. The Golden Palace is 4.4m wide, 3.15m deep, There are 12 upright columns on all sides, with stacked brackets, beams and double-warped brackets and single-warped brackets respectively supporting the upper and lower eaves, forming a double-eaves verandah-style roof. The two ends of the main ridge are cast with dragon kisses facing each other; the vertical ridge is rounded and the wing angles are stretched. It is decorated with immortals, dragons, winds, lions, seahorses, pegasus and other spiritual birds and auspicious animals, arranged in order. The four walls are filled with four partitions between the pillars. There are two cast doors in the middle of the hall. Their shafts are embedded in the hinges and can be opened and closed, but they only make a slight friction sound. The fringe lines on the forehead are interlaced with gold-painted patterns, and the craftsmanship is extremely fine; the top of the hall is made of a flat chess ceiling (a square ceiling is tightly embedded), and the cast lines are engraved with flowing cloud patterns, and the lines are smooth. There is a gilt copper bead hanging on the caisson well in the hall. It is said that this bead can calm the mountain wind, so it is called "Wind Shelter Bead". The Golden Palace is airtight and the air inside the palace cannot form convection. The mountain wind roars outside the palace, but the flame of the magic lamp inside the palace does not move at all. Snowflakes drifted into the palace and were blocked out. The Golden Palace is a national treasure. According to the on-site inspection by Mr. Yang Tingbao, a famous Chinese architectural master, several people were asked to hold up the ceiling at the same time without moving at all. This shows the precision of the inlay craftsmanship, which is amazing. The floor inside the hall is paved with purple-red bamboo leaf-shaped limestone. Among the statues in the temple, the person sitting in the middle is Emperor Zhenwu. He has bare feet, fine hair, bright eyes, and a tall and heroic appearance. The jade girl on the right is gazing at the treasures, she is gentle and quiet, restrained and respectful, and her skirt is elegant; the jade boy on the left is holding a book, elegant and solemn; two warriors holding swords are arranged on both sides, with sword eyebrows and phoenix eyes, brave and majestic. Under the copper incense table is placed a Xuanwu statue, which is a combination of a turtle and a snake. The glans head is raised, and the snake stretches out its body to communicate with the turtle in space. A gilt-bronze plaque hangs high above the back wall, with the four words "Golden Light Miaoxiang" written in the handwriting of Emperor Kangxi, the sage ancestor of the Qing Dynasty. On the eaves outside the hall hangs a gilt gold plaque on the edge of a coiled dragon bucket, with the word "Golden Palace" written on it.

All parts of the palace are made of copper, gilded, and assembled with mortise and tenon joints. The joints are precise and there is no trace of casting. Although it has been eroded by severe cold, heat, wind, rain, and lightning for more than 500 years, it is still brilliant today. These allow us to watch and touch them carefully, which is really an excellent opportunity. Due to the warm reception of the comrades of the Cultural Management Office, I asked them for advice and gained a lot of knowledge and insights. It really feels like "five days of climbing a mountain is better than ten years of reading".

11. Enjoy the wonders of the Golden Summit

The wonders of the Golden Summit are generally said to be:

"Tianzhu Xiaoqing": At dawn, the top of the peak is illuminated by sunlight It shines brightly with golden light.

"Thunder and Fire Refining Palace": As mentioned before, here is a legend. Around the Golden Palace, there are thrilling thunder and lightning fireballs rolling. According to legend, the Emperor of Heaven was afraid that believers offering incense would stain the Golden Summit; If someone with evil intentions steals the treasures from the Golden Palace, they call the Thunder God Master to come and wash the Golden Palace to keep it clean, make the treasures in the palace stronger, and also warn those who have evil intentions.

"The Patriarch Sweats": Emperor Zhenwu enshrined in the Golden Palace is honored as the Patriarch. Every time before it rains, the humidity in the temple is high, and crystal water drops gather at the altar.

"Seahorse spitting fog": There is a seahorse statue on the wing ridge of the Golden Palace. Because it is hollow and exposed to the sun, if the temperature drops and it rains, the hot air is discharged from the seahorse's mouth and atomizes when it encounters cold air. Sometimes the wind If you blow it past the seahorse's mouth, it will make a sound, which is likened to the roar of a seahorse. The seahorse is the celestial horse, which is what is called "the celestial horse travels in the sky".

“The moon knocks on the door of the mountain”: Looking at the moon hanging in the sky from a door in the Golden Summit in the distance, it seems that the moon is knocking on the door in the dead of night. The fragrant cool breeze is refreshing, and you suddenly feel relieved from all the troubles in the world.

"Wudang Sunrise": Looking to the east, thousands of rays of rays slowly emerge from the colorful clouds in the shape of a hook, then jump like a semicircle, then rapidly change into a semicircle, then into a large round basin, from fiery red to It turns golden red, rising slowly, dazzling and radiant, and the earth is suddenly full of life.

Except for the "Thunder Fire Refining Palace" which was seen in person in the 1950s, the above scenic spots were all seen one by one on Wudang Mountain in 1979. There are also the famous "Reflection of the Golden Palace" and "Shallow Sea Rushing Tide" (referring to the sea of ??clouds) that I didn't get to see, but I was lucky enough to see them one after another when I climbed Wudang Mountain.

12. Postscript

Wang Qinghua, the assistant who climbed to the summit to investigate, is from Hubei and quickly became familiar with the people in the investigation team. After I made my first speech during the survey, Wang Qinghua heard many people report that Hao Gong was a man of few words, thought a lot, could lead without making a single statement, and became a blockbuster. Another expert who was traveling with him was very knowledgeable and talked endlessly. After listening, I said to Wang Qinghua: People's personalities and majors are different. When we engage in geology, we must conduct on-site investigations and research before we have the right to speak. It is a criterion for our geological work.

The rock resistivity listed in this article was tested and provided by He Guangyue of the Geophysical Prospecting Team of the Fifth Brigade.

The main results of this article have been included in the new edition of "Wudang Mountain Chronicles" (published by Xinhua Publishing House in 1994).