Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits

by Bill Porter, Steven Johnson (Photographer)

Bill Porter (Red Pine) trekked through China's remote Chungnan Mountains in search of hermits. Lessons of spiritual wisdom emerge from his interviews with more than twenty male and female hermits.

Genres: China, Buddhism, Nonfiction, Travel, Religion, Spirituality, Taoism

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1993

About the author

Bill Porter is an American author who translates under the pen-name Red Pine (Chinese: 赤松; pinyin: Chì Sōng). He is a translator and interpreter of Chinese texts, primarily Taoist and Buddhist, including poetry and Sūtras.

He also wrote books about Buddhist hermits(Road to Heaven) and his travels in China(Zen Baggage: A Pilgrimage to China; Yellow River Odyssey).

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great interviews on with Chinese hermits on Taoist and Buddhist practice and philosophy. Porter conveys the glad search for the remaining hermits and their remote temples and caves - this tradition hangs on, and there are more masters in the mountains than he'd thought. On the other hand, there's a sad note as the remaining hermits all tell him their tradition is a waning one. The Red Army destroyed most of mountain temples and monasteries that served as base camps for the isolated hermits. Some are being rebuild with state support now, but only to promote a tourist economy the hermits say is ruining their culture. The hermits are treated like zoo animals by the government, not the sages that once, as in the T'ang, influenced the course of dynasties. And rampant materialism and economic pressures don't incline young people to determine to follow the tao.

Many beautiful passages on the wonders of the Chungnan mountains. And I feel that a bit more sanity is spread over the world by the existence and spare, funny words of the brave hermits. Thanks Red Pine.

[Wt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't finish the book. The premise of the book is strange to begin with. "Are there hermits in China?" wonders Bill Porter. They discover to their delight that there are, and so, two Western men set out to encounter "hermits" in the Zhongnan mountains of China.

I mean, why shouldn't there be any hermits in China? Did he think the Communists killed them all or re-educated them all to be less anti-social? Did he think that there were no places in China that hermits could escape to that were untouched by Communists, Japanese, Kuomingtang-yuans, and other political irritants?

And why did he think that hermits would be glad to be found and disturbed by two Western blokes with naive notions of reclusion, asceticism and anti-socialism? And did he honestly believe that those they managed to waylay were actually hermits as in people who consciously refuse to talk to and socialize with others and prefer to keep to themselves? Please.

Like the first person he interviewed right, was the recently-retired head of the Daoist Order in China. I mean you know, the Daoist Order as in Organization, like Catholic Church? Like the Pope? Can you imagine the Pope as a hermit? No. But he begun with a pope-like person, or at least, a person who eventually later became like a pope-like person, as far as a person can be sort of like the shadow of the shadow of a pope in Communist controlled China. So much for hermit-ship.

Anyway, one must credit this book with the recent invasion of the Zhongnan Mountains by yuppie Chinese looking for a retreat-space. This book was a flop when it was published, but the later translation and publication of this book into Chinese became very popular with the newly-minted Chinese Middle Class. So thanks to Bill Porter, we now have more and more pseudo-hermits flooding the Zhongnan Mountains. Recently, a Daoist person posted admiring pictures on Facebook of one of these pseudo-hermits complete with handphone, glass-fronted hermitage, designer tea service, and all the paraphernalia of Chinese literary enjoyment. He was, of course, in his former city avatar a well-heeled professional who got sick of city life.

We can also credit Bill Porter with inspiring a new generation of Western hermit-seekers (or maybe I should say hermit-hunters). I encountered one of these on Facebook, he posted many posts of his hermit-hunting adventures in various mountain abodes in China, with the hopes of publishing them one day as a Porter-esque book. I unfriended him after reading a post of his that described him blatantly and unhesitatingly breaking into a hermit's locked hut, poking around the hermit's belongings to make an inventory of what a hermit possessed, reading his diary, and other such unbelievably rude, unethical and unlawful behavior. I mean, this is house-breaking and is a legal offense punishable by law. This person called himself a student of Chinese language and culture, but he obviously doesn't know jack about Chinese culture. Does he not know the famous story of Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage of the reclusive Zhuge Liang in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"? First and second visits, in winter, Zhuge Liang was out, so he politely left. Third visit in spring, Zhuge Liang was home but sleeping so Liu Bei, a descendent of royalty, awaited outside quietly, patiently and humbly until he awoke. THIS is Chinese culture.

Respect and sensitivity might be too much to ask of a Western hermit-hunter, but why is it that Chinese hermits have become, to unconscionable Western wanna-be writers, public property and non-persons who, unlike the rest of us, are not entitled to some basic PRIVACY? I mean, is a hermit not a HERMIT for goodness sake?????!!!!! LEAVE THEM ALONE!!!!!! If you want a spiritual experience, go to Church or something, or go for one of those New Age meet-ups (e.g. American Indian sweat-lodge led by white man - careful you don't sweat to death like those poor people did under the Great White Leadership of James Arthur Ray, or one of those ever-popular Yoga retreats in the Bahamas or wherever pretty beaches can be found, also led by white men (often with nubile white women) - careful you don't come back covered in tree-nuts (I meant Rudraksha, not coconuts you nut) and saying Namaste to everyone you meet, or one of those Tibetan retreats led by serial incarnates (some of whom are also now incarnated - surprise! - in the form of white men) - be careful you don't end up with permanent back-ache from prostrating and bowing....). These people will welcome you (and your money, so make sure you bring enough). Whereas hermits you know, just want to be left alone, and the last person they want to encounter is a penniless, intrusive, inquisitive fool without enough social sense to decipher or respect the clear signal of someone who chooses to live alone, and that too in the most remote and inaccessible of mountain abodes.

I mean, what does the beleaguered hermit have to do to get away from Bill Porter and his ilk plus their nosy readership? Fly to the moon? Jeez. And if you want to visit a socially-reclusive person who would actually welcome your visit, why not drop in on your Great-Aunt Helen or your poor ol' Grandma who is dying for lack of attention, and who hasn't seen you for ever so long? I think that would be more merit-worthy than disturbing the austere practices of mountain hermits surely, and just as likely to yield some home-spun gem of wisdom to help you along in your sad, confused, uninspired life? You can surely earn some merit points that will ease your road to heaven by visiting Grandma, whereas disturbing REAL hermits in their meditation will likely earn you a curse that could send you straight to hell. So take my advice, just take a bus and go see your grandma before its too late, and leave them hermits alone!

[Robert Rhodes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book changed my life when I read it back in 96 or 97 and I've re-read it many times. Since then, I've really come to enjoy Bill Porter's work, especially his many fine Chinese translations under the name Red Pine.

[Adrian Ashwah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked more conversations with the hermits, rather than detailed directions for tourists. The history is laid out incoherently half the time.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just an ok book. So much of the book gets bogged down in the author traveling around. I went here...up this mountain...there were these trees here....

I just skipped ahead to the encounters with the hermits. That was the best part.

[Flávio · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of travelogue than a book about hermits. But I have enjoyed it anyway, since it gave us a glimpse of a dying tradition. The short interviews with the hermits and their views on Buddhism and Taoism were the most interesting part. I wish there was more of it.

[Rolanda Crockpot · Rating 3 out of 5]

👍

[Mark Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good thoughts - and quotes - about Buddhism and Taoism. But the long sections of Porter and Johnson traveling around were hard to follow. The included map wasn’t very useful, and the long litany of Chinese names and places made my eyes glaze over. If I was already a student of Chinese history I would have recognized some of the names and places and had a framework for learning more. But I’m not, so that made this a poor first book on Chinese history.

[Peter Allum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing, but ultimately disappointing.

Bill Porter translates under the name "Red Pine" and, among other works, has produced a valuable translation of The Heart Sutra. Road to Heaven is a memoire, recounting his travels in China during 1989 to explore whether Taoist and Buddhist mountain hermits, much cited in historical accounts, still exist after a "century of revolution, war and oppression".

Initial discussions with contacts in Taiwan and with communist party functionaries and Buddhist leaders in China are discouraging. However, following hints and moving into more remote areas of the Chungnan Mountains, Porter succeeds in locating a scattering of hermits, adherents of Taoism, Zen, and Pure Land Buddhism. Porter uses his Chinese language skills to conduct interviews, extracts from which are quoted in Road to Heaven. He is only partially successful, however, in gaining insights into the religious and practical aspects of modern hermit life. In some cases, the hermits are difficult to understand because of their regional dialects, and in others, conversations are quite short (perhaps because hermits headed into the mountains to avoid just this sort of worldly contact - the "world of red dust" as they call it).

Porter also provides general commentary on his travels in China which, at that point, had been open to Western tourists for barely a decade. He is less interested in modern China, though, than the footsteps of historical figures. Thus, the accounts are scattered with references of this sort:

"On the east side of the temple grounds, we stopped again at a stone marker next to another boulder. This was one of the many graves of Hua T'uo, China's greatest medical genius, who died in A.D. 207 at the age of ninety-seven. For many years Hua lived in a cave on Huashan and collected herbs for which the mountain is still famous: special varieties of Solomon's Seal, ginseng, asarum, and acorus, to name a few. Among his accomplishments was the use of acupuncture and hemp-based anesthetics to perform surgery."

All very interesting, though the personages jump back and forward in time, depending on when Porter visits sites linked to their lives. This gives the Road to Heaven a sort of scattershot feel: lots of learning, but bewildering in its variety.

While Porter's project was valuable, it left one wanting to know much more about the daily life, motivations, and religious beliefs of this strange collection of mountain hermits.

A few noteworthy interview snippets:

Taoist Master Hsueh, T'ai-lai, 70 years old, asked about Taoism:
"You can learn the basics anywhere. There are books. As to learning the inner secrets, when your practice reaches a certain level, you'll meet a teacher. But you can't be in a hurry. You have to be prepared to devote your whole life to your practice. That is what is meant by religion. It's not a matter of spending money. You have to spend your life. Not many people are willing to do this. If you're ready to learn, you don't have to look for a teacher. A teacher will find you. Taoism is very deep. There's a great deal to learn, and you can't do it quickly. The Tao isn't something that can be put into words. You have to practice before you can understand. Lao-Tzu teaches us to be natural. You can't force things, including practice. Understanding is something that happens naturally. It's different for everyone. The main thing is to reduce your desires and quiet your mind. Practice takes a long time, and you have to stay healthy. If you have a lot of thoughts and desires, you won't live long enough to reach the end."

Hsu-tung, Pure Land Buddhist abbot, 68 years old, asked about the difference between Zen and Pure Land practices:
"In Zen, we keep asking who's chanting the name of the Buddha. All we think about is where the name of the Buddha is coming from. We keep asking, until we find out who we were before we were born. This is Zen. We sit with one mind. And if the mind runs off somewhere, we follow it wherever it goes, until the mind finally becomes quiet, until there's no Zen to Zen, no questions to question, until we reach the stage where we question without questioning and without questions we keep questioning. We keep questioning, until we finally find an answer, until delusions come to an end, until we can swallow the world, all its rivers and mountains, everything, but the world can't swallow us, until we can ride the tiger, but the tiger can't ride us, until we find out who we really are. This is Zen.
"In Pure Land practice, we just chant the name of the Buddha, nothing more. We chant with the mind. We chant without making a sound, and yet the sound is perfectly clear. And when we hear the sound, the chant begins again. It goes around and around. The chant doesn't stop, and the mind doesn't move. The sound arises, we hear the sound, but our mind doesn't move. And when our mind doesn't move, delusions disappear. And once they are gone, the one mind chants. The result is the same as Zen. Zen means no distinction. Actually, Pure Land practice includes Zen, and Zen practice includes Pure Land practice. If you don't practice both, you become one-sided."

Buddhist abbot Sheng-lin, seventy four, who said he was too dumb to practice Zen; he just chanted the name of the Buddha;
"Zen isn't suitable any more. To practice Zen you need deep roots. People with deep roots are rare. They didn't used to be. In the past, anyone could practice Zen. But not now. This isn't just my opinion. ... Nowadays, Pure Land practice is the only practice suitable for everyone. The difference is that Pure Land practice depends on the power of the Buddha. You don't need deep roots. Zen practice depends completely on yourself. It's much harder, especially now.
"In the past, there were many enlightened monks. But how many are enlightened now? None that I know of. Some monks might think that they are enlightened, but they're not. They mistake delusion for enlightenment."

[Joshua]

Two of my favorite things: Taoism and Hermits. What's not to like!

[Adalind · Rating 1 out of 5]

说这本书之前我要先深呼吸平复一下心情，个人看法：政治色彩、不知道是译者还是作者夹带私货非常明显。

不记得是从哪里薅来的书单了，但是我记得为了避免踩雷，我是特地去豆瓣搜了一下评分的：几个版本的评分都在7.9以上诶？应该不会踩雷吧？


于是我又看了一眼简介：美国人寻访中国隐士。


有意思，入！


现在我只想穿越回去摇醒自己：醒醒啊你，那是个美国人啊啊，你对美国人或者对外国人探访中国文化到底为什么会抱有期待啊？《鱼翅与花椒》写得好，但是不是每个老外都是拂霞啊啊啊，更何况这个作者先在台湾待了那么久，这个逼他真不行啊啊啊啊！


深呼吸，冷静。毕竟你都看完了。


为了避免被说我这个人带了有色眼镜评价，先高亮一下本书描述的年代：大陆89年开放陆台访亲通道，作者这一年进入中国大陆，所以他走访的中国是80年代末、90年代初，文革刚刚过去不久。


《序》写得还不错，作者说自己从小就喜欢孤独，方便正文引入隐士。

我总是被孤独吸引。当我还是个小男孩时，我就很喜欢独处。那并不是因为我不喜欢跟其他人在一起，而是因为我发现独处有如此多的快乐。有时候，我愿意躺在树下凝视着树枝，树枝之上的云彩，以及云彩之上的天空；注视着在天空、云彩和树枝间穿越飞翔的小鸟；看着树叶从树上飘落，落到我身边的草地上。我知道我们都是这个斑斓舞蹈的一部分。而有趣的是，只有当我们独处时，我们才会更清楚地意识到，我们与万物同在。

中国人一直很崇敬隐士，没有人曾经对此作出过解释，也没有人要求解释。隐士就那么存在着：在城墙外，在大山里，雪后飘着几缕孤独的炊烟。从有文字记载的时候起，中国就已经有了隐士。
前面那句话我莫名想起了寒食节的来源：介子推坚决不出山，被晋文公一把火将母子二人烧死。——我崇拜隐士，是因为他们宁死不屈的风骨，很多文人墨客也有这种精神，但是隐士在我心里总是略高一筹，大概是因为他们“遗弃”了社会，不再被外物负累，在深山老林里寻找独属自己的安宁，不求影响他人，只想管好自己。众人皆浊我独清的感觉。

还有句话叫做“大隐隐于市，小隐隐于山”、“结庐在人境，而无车马喧”。他们面对“世人熙熙攘攘，皆为碎银几两”，心中始终是平静无波的，就像是将你扔到了充满了诱惑的地方，但是有的人就是能静得下心来去看书一样（x，将心比心我做不到)。


因为作者自己也在修行，所以在他得知中国还有隐士的时候，非常激动，友人看得非常明白，告诉他：“但是当你遇到他们的时候，你认不出他们；除非他们愿意让你找到，否则你就找不到。”——本文的核心。但是这没能阻止作者想要探寻隐士的心情，于是他联系上了美国的摄影师朋友，两个人一起前往大陆寻找隐士。


这本书的精华差不多就集中在了第一章了。


后面是他寻访80年代末、90年代初的寺庙、道观的一些故事，跋山涉水，面对警察的“刁难”，与山中的修行者们对话。


我对这本书全部的不满可以说除了作者是个美国人，以及年代限制的原因在书中很隐晦地描写中国的政治环境是多么地恶劣、底层人民是多么的被欺压、即使差点误闯铀矿*(深呼吸，那是1989年诶！！！)、工厂且拍了照片但是被当作间谍是多么无礼、粗暴的一件事情、道士和尚们跟自己说话总是瞻前顾后非常谨慎（因为政治，怕以言获罪）、道士和尚们“抱怨不自由”：不能自己选徒弟啦，要接受协会指派（excuse me？1. 你正在采访的这几个哪个收徒不是自己选择的？2. 协会：没有哦，他们是自由的，我们实际是无法管理到每一个道观的，我们更像是所有道观、寺庙的一个外交发言人，实际是没什么实权的哦）、宗教引入政治（选票投票做管理者，美国也是这么干的吧？但是为什么你描述中国的就非得意味深长地夹杂一句“他们无一例外都选了xx”？这些“隐士”本身就不想管理，xx是有文凭、走过明路的主持而且乐意且自愿做管理，你为什么非要描述得像是政治阴谋一样？）之外，我对译者、审校、出版社也有“偏见”。


我不清楚原文的描述，但是中文版会把台湾下意识地描述为与中国“并行”的国家看待。例如我之前说作者在台湾时与友人的对话，他们不说大陆，只说台湾、中国。——你是2010年出版的诶？你不是2001年出版诶？？


前面说隐士的起源可能比文字更早，提到了当时沟通天地的“萨满”，我查了些相关资料再结合我阅读过程中的不适，所谓的“萨满”其实想说的是“巫”吧？emmmm


最后，我对其中一位受访者关于对少林寺的说法蛮赞同的：


旅游已经把少林寺变成了一座养老院了，任何待在那里的人，都被认为对名闻利养比对佛法更感兴趣。

我还记得那些年少林寺方丈成为“网红”时闹出的丑闻，总体来说非常的不像是出家人了。


----

百度百科之铀：铀(Uranium)是原子序数为92的元素，其元素符号是U，是自然界中能够找到的最重元素。在自然界中存在三种同位素，均带有放射性，拥有非常长的半衰期（数十万年~45亿年）。此外还有12种人工同位素(226U~240U)。铀在1789年由马丁·海因里希·克拉普罗特（Martin Heinrich Klaproth）发现。铀化合物早期用于瓷器的着色，在核裂变现象被发现后用作为核燃料。

[Johann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read. Sure, the book reads almost like a travelogue or memoir, but even the descriptions of the parts of China he visits and the history associated with those places is really interesting. I loved learning about the mountains, temples, shrines, and hermits/monks/nuns along the way.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a straightforward account of the author's journeys through China in search of hermits living the ways of the Tao or Buddhism. I had difficulty engaging with a lot of the accounts, probably because the book is replete with references to Chinese political history, of which I know virtually nothing.

[Don Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting travelogue and snapshot of rural China at the time of its writing (late 80s), Red Pine finds hermits in the distant mountains, asks them about their lives and practice, and tries his best to skirt the nettlesome attentions of the security service. He blends in some ancient Chinese history as well.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars; interesting read after my first encounter with ‘stonehouse’ and ‘cold mountain’; hermits live in the wild, on the outskirts of civilization, and were valued for their contrarian views and unconventional insights, wisdom; one quote that makes this volume worth your attention;
“Name is the guest of reality, and I have no desire to be a guest.”

[Sean Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A departure from Bill Porter's famed translations, Road to Heaven follows Bill and Steven as they seek to answer the question of whether China's famed hermits still live among the mountains or have they have all been brushed away by progress and modernity? Part history, part travelogue, Road to Heaven is a fascinating journey through ancient China in the modern day.

[清 · Rating 5 out of 5]

很惊㤉，作者作为一个外国人对中国的历史地理了解得这么广博，对流传在中国的佛教道教研究得这么深入。这是作者寻访隐士的过程，也是一卷山水游记。字里行间流露出恬淡，时而又点缀些诙谐。对当时的中国人文环境也有客观的描述。推荐大家阅读。

[Arthur Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

If it’s humor, history, philosophy, mysticism, wisdom, cultural understanding, or the broadening of perspectives by understanding how some people lived and still live; get this book homie.

[Pang Pang · Rating 2 out of 5]

难怪苏道长不想理你

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful journey through the Chungnan mountains.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Chinese translated version. Honestly was able to learn a lot about my own people´s history, especially link of Taoism with early shamanism.
终南山：

• 今指西安南面的一座山峰，3000年前指河南三门峡黄河南岸向西沿着渭河直到甘肃省渭源县，远古指包括昆仑山脉一直到Karakoram
• 终南和昆仑同词源，意思是月亮山-不死-月亮盈亏-月亮女神住在昆仑山-中华萨满教源头

远古萨满教：
• 夏朝开朝皇帝禹编纂《山海经》，历代皇帝对它有所增益，是萨满教知识的的宝库，从远古口头流传下来：玉皇大帝，西王母
• 女娲是伏羲的妹妹和妻子，用水和泥造人，在骊山炼石补天。伏羲发明八卦，奠定《易经》基础。
• 夏朝皇帝启，乘双龙在昆仑山飞走
• 萨满教始于终南山以北的平原丘陵：性，酒，大麻
• 大麻由此传入中亚西亚和印度
• 5000BC仰韶文化，3000BC龙山文化
• 从夏朝开始，萨满教逐渐不适应国家宗教，通过直接出神经验来接近神灵，越过了官方的礼。萨满们选择到群山之中，成为隐士传统的开端
• 屈原也是萨满，加工楚地萨满哥《九哥》，成为楚辞的根源

隐士：
• 伯夷和叔齐兄弟（1100BC）听说周朝创建者叛君，没安葬父亲就起兵，隐居首阳山，喝鹿奶吃薇菜，终饿死
• 尧禅让于舜，舜也是隐士
• 张良是韩国人，在秦统一中国后，隐居山中，老人赐其吕尚的《太公兵法》。终帮助刘邦建立汉朝。
• 商山四皓隐居到终南山南面的商山，以避暴秦的招募，终辅佐汉高祖太子
• 诸葛亮隐居荆州，三顾茅庐，成为中国最伟大的谋略家
• 陶渊明，梁鸿，韩康，王维
道教：
• 道最初指月相，最早的道教徒是拜月的萨满：太阳是永恒不变的，在变化的世界里，月亮掌握着所有的秘密
• 皇帝与广成子会面，请教长生不死秘诀，记录在《庄子》中。皇帝是道教创始人，中国文化创始人。
• 2600BC黄帝传位于白帝，以及尧舜禹都浏览过华山
• 王重阳：受吕洞宾，汉钟离传授，在活死人墓修行，在成吉思汗诏书下12世纪创立全真派（在炼金，气功，禅定之外，创立道观制度）。重阳宫是中国历史上最大的宗教建筑，容纳一万道士道姑
• 茅濛：0AD于华山修炼到长生不死，骑在龙背上消失在云间。其后人在江苏茅山上建立道观。
• 太初时，混沌化成阴阳，又化成老阴，老阳，少阴，少阳，从中产生生命。盘古是第一个，开天辟地一万八千年。死后头化作东岳，胳膊化作南岳北岳，腹部化作中岳，脚化作西岳。西岳华山像一朵花，华人源于此。
• 李白
• 鬼谷：学生苏秦和张仪提出连横合纵，本人是道家，法家祖师
• 孙思邈：药王，《千金要方》
• 八仙：汉钟离，曹国舅，张果老，韩湘子，吕洞宾，何仙姑，蓝采和，铁拐李
• 《黄帝阴符经》《皇经》《心印经》

中国佛教：
• 八大宗派：三论宗，唯识宗，律宗，净土宗，华严宗，密宗，禅宗，天台宗
• 净土宗：最有影响力。不靠自力，相信阿弥陀佛的力量，方法：持念阿弥陀佛圣号，观想极乐世界，发愿往生到

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book by all means, but not what I was expecting. This is essentially a piece of travel writing set in a mountainous region of China, where hermits were known to live, in the early 1990s - a decade after China somewhat re-embraced religion and shortly after the Tiananmen Square massacre. While fascinating in its own right, with a lot of interesting cultural and historical details about an incredibly important time in Chinese history, the interviews with actual hermits are a small part of the book and never really go into much detail.

If you're looking for wisdom and an insight into traditional Chinese religious life, you'll only find a few tantalising glimpses of each in here and might do better to look elsewhere. If you're interested in a piece of travel writing that casts a microscope on a dying aspect of Chinese culture during a particularly interesting portion of its history when, some might say, its last real practitioners (those who began their practice before the communist takeover of China) were on their last legs and facing an uncertain future for their religions, then give it a try.

[Arminion · Rating 2 out of 5]

God, what a boring book! It seems that Porter was much more interested in describing in detail every rock, tree and bush he came across his travels than the hermits themselves. Even when he finally meets them, he just asks them the same couple of questions (getting mostly the same answers) and then he moves on. In a way this reminded me of Matthiesen's Snow Leopard where the author for the most of the book marvels at the landscapes instead of focusing on the people.
I struggle to understand Porter's motivation to seek these hermits. Isn't the whole point of being a hermit so that you DON'T want to be found? Why did he think this people would welcome a nosy Westerner in their lives? Was his motivation academical or personal? Porter never says whether he is a Taoist, Buddhist or something else although at a certain point he does meditate. So why did he seek them out? None of these hermits give any revelatory words of wisdom so what was the point?
For the book's credit, I think this would work very well as a documentary. As a written document however, not so much.

[Wise_owl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a travelogue in a way. A description of one man's quest, in the late 80's and early 90's, to encounter Chinese 'Hermits'. China has a long religious hermit tradition, of people, principally but not exclusively monks, who would go into the mountains for solitude and to seek 'The Way'. Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian Scholarly exiles, all historically left their mark on China and there is a long-standing tradition of respect for the Hermit.

So the quest to find hermits in the modern day, after the ravages of the Cultural revolution, is an interesting one. It has a very journalistic tone, and the author's views on various subjects are pretty apparent, but it's an excellent read over-all. A fascinating one at that. For my part it was interesting in that the area he explored was an area of China I lived in for a year.

Anyone interested either in book on religious practice, or on books examining interesting people would really enjoy this book.

[Jan van Leent · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the Cultural Revolution in China, no one believed that Chinese hermits still lived in the Chungnan mountains – the traditional place of hermits.

Bill Porter described in “Road to Heaven – Encounters with Chinese Hermits” his journey in 1989 to the Chungnan mountains, where he have met dozens of monks and nuns, who have continued to lead a solitary life in contemplation and faith.

Next to a report of the journey, this book includes to some extend an excellent study of the history, the sociology and the religious faith of these hermits; but above all, the encounters with the contemporary monks and nuns are impressive.

One example:

The author asked a female Buddhist hermit in contemporary China to the core of Buddhist life in calligraphy on paper. She puts the paper aside. A few months later, the author received four words per post:

“Benevolence, Compassion, Joy and Detachment”.

Her calligraphy is strong and clear as her soul.

Highly recommended.

[Jan van Leent · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the Cultural Revolution in China, no one believed that Chinese hermits still lived in the Chungnan mountains – the traditional place of hermits.

Bill Porter described in “Road to Heaven – Encounters with Chinese Hermits” his journey in 1989 to the Chungnan mountains, where he have met dozens of monks and nuns, who have continued to lead a solitary life in contemplation and faith.

Next to a report of the journey, this book includes to some extend an excellent study of the history, the sociology and the religious faith of these hermits; but above all, the encounters with the contemporary monks and nuns are impressive.

One example:

The author asked a female Buddhist hermit in contemporary China to the core of Buddhist life in calligraphy on paper. She puts the paper aside. A few months later, the author received four words per post:

“Benevolence, Compassion, Joy and Detachment”.

Her calligraphy is strong and clear as her soul.

Highly recommended.

[Cecil Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this travelogue of Porter's in central China from 1989, which is actually set during the time of the Tiananmen Square protests but to which only a brief passing reference is made.
As Porter finds along the way, there are not many hermits left in the Chungnan Mountains, many of whom were ejected during the Cultural Revolution and their huts and temples destroyed or taken over for other purposes.
At the same time, Porter discovers that the government at that time is allowing many Buddhist and Taoist temples and sites to be renovated for tourism purposes.
His encounters with the hermits he finds are interesting and told in a brief, interview-style fashion, to convey their disdain for the "red dust" of this everyday world.
Porter's breezy writing style doesn't get in the way of his descriptions of his travels, allowing the readers imagination to fill in the spaces between the words.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought or hoped that I would. There were definitely moments, though. The last chapter stood out as one I found most interesting. Overall, I had hoped there would be more of the actual interviews with the hermits, but the book was dominated by descriptions of his travels and little bits of history for which I had trouble finding context. Also frustrating was the romanization of the Chinese names. I’m very familiar with pinyin and Wade-Giles, but he used Wade-Giles without the apostrophe making it difficult to know how to pronounce many places and names. Overall, glad I read it, but wouldn’t go back to it and I’m in no hurry to read anything else from this author.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book, and curiously, perhaps by design, reads as if it were written yesterday, though it has been thirty odd years since the events chronicled in it took place. I read it, and though I found some of the Chinese name pronunciations difficult, I learned alot about Chinese culture and the influence of Taoism, Buddhism and local Shamanic traditions have had on China's history. It is a book that will be reread, for there are some great interviews from which teachings can be gleaned. It is a real contribution to any one interested in Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese history, but especially in the cultivation of a spiritual path.

[Dennison Berwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember my elation the first time I read this book and my amazement that there could still be hermits living in mountainous areas of China even after the Cultural Revolution when so much of the country's spiritual heritage was destroyed. Bill Porter's book is all the more powerful and convincing because he approached the hermits with humility and respect and does not treat them as curiosities from an alien world. A fascinating and thoroughly worthwhile adventure for anyone interest in this subject.

For more reviews, essays and stories, please visit my website:
Serendipities of a Writer's life www.dennisonberwick.info