Hanging Monk Rock

Just downstream from the Mengliang Stairway, and on the same side of the gorge, is a section of cliff face with the odd-shaped impression of a figure that looks as if it could almost have been chiseled into the rock. The odd-shaped, upside-down (hanging) figure looks uncannily like a monk hanging upside-down. It is the famous Hanging Monk Rock

Legend about Hanging Monk Rock

According to the legend, General Yang Jiye of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) was killed by a treacherous court official. His corpse was buried on the Glanceat Home Terrace on the top of Baiyan Mountain (Mountain White Salt). One of his loyal soldier Mengliang entered Qutang Gorge wanting to bring his skeleton back and bury it in his hometown. He cut holes and inserted wood every night and stopped his work before daybreak. However, his deed was discovered by a monk living in the Baidi (White Emperor) Temple opposite to the precipice Mengliang climbed. The monk crowed like a rooster during the night causing all the roosters in the White Emperor City area to crow. Mengliang mistakenly thought that daybreak was coming and stopped his work. Later, he discovered the monk's behavior and became angry. So, he hung the monk upside down on the cliff after killing him. For years, the monk became known as the Hanging Monk Rock.