In the autumn of the tenth year of Taiyuan, the hermit Meng Songyan of Xunyang received a letter from the monk Huiguan, inviting him to go south to Luling to discuss Taoism. He took the Paulownia Qin "Kutan" and hired fisherman Gu Shiyi as his guide to travel south along the Ganjiang River on a bamboo raft. Passing by Poyang Lake, he witnessed the stormy waves of the Navy's drill; at the ruins of Tengwang Pavilion in Yuzhang County, he encountered powerful obstacles; in Luling Mountain, he debated Buddhist principles with Huiguan, and the music of the piano resonated with the chanting of Buddhist chants. The three of them continued their journey to Dayuling, and encountered early snowfall on the ancient Meiguan Road. The strings of their pianos suddenly broke, and Hui Guan said this was a sign that "an old friend is coming." He changed his way back by land and was attacked by refugees at the foot of Jinggang Mountain. Only then did he realize the suffering of people in troubled times. Returning to Xunyang during the winter solstice, Meng Songyan wrote down what he had seen and heard in "Ten Odes of the South Gorge", while Gu Shiyi decided to go on a long voyage with the caravan.
