Once upon a time, on a ditch on the north side of a bald mountain, there lived a young man named Ali who hunted for a living.
One day, Ali went to the northern slope of the mountain to hunt. Suddenly, he saw a tiger with dangling eyes at the bottom of the mountain, chasing two flower-picking girls. Ali hurriedly ran down from the hillside, jumped to the tiger's back, hand up knife down, only to hear the "click" sound, the tiger's head was cut down on the ground, down the hillside rolled down. The two girls were saved.
When he was just about to go back to the north hillside to hunt, and see from the sky down a white-bearded old man holding a dragon's head walking stick, the old man laughed while tugging on the arms of the two girls to the south hillside to pull. Ali is a good boy to see justice, he saw these two girls just out of the tiger's mouth, and was molested by this bad old man, the heart of a burst of anger.
He shouted: "Stop!" Then he rushed to the front of the bad old man, grabbed his dragon head walking stick, and ruthlessly hit the old man's forehead. That old man screamed in pain, let go of those two girls, and then saw that his forehead had a big lump. He threw up his sleeves and flew off into the air, and in a flash, he was gone.
Not long after, the sunny sky rang with thunder, that thunder from far and near, getting louder and louder, only to see that the two flower-picking girls were so scared that they were trembling all over the place, they said anxiously, "This is bad, this is bad!"
Ali asked curiously, "What's going on?"
The two girls said: We are originally the fairy in the Palace of Heaven, heard that the island of Taiwan is a beautiful scenery, so we secretly came here. I do not want to, met the evil tiger, thanks to you saved our lives. But, because of the beauty of this place, we missed the time to go back.
The Jade Emperor sent the old star down to arrest us and take us back to the Palace of Heaven to punish us. We were afraid of the Jade Emperor's criminal law and were reluctant to go back to the Heavenly Palace. While the old life-star was pulling us, you ran over and fought him off. He told the Jade Emperor about this, and the Jade Emperor was so enraged that he ordered the God of Thunder to burn all the living creatures in the area with thunder fire.
Ali was shocked to hear the two of them say this, not realizing that he had brought great disaster to the living beings in the area instead of doing good, and said anxiously, "Isn't there any way to save the living beings in this area?"
The two fairies said, "Yes, there is, but only if there is someone who is willing to sacrifice his own life and run to the top of that bald mountain in the south to divert the thunder fire so that it cannot spread, in order to save the living beings in this area. A brother, you should hurry and hide in a safe place, and the two of us will go to the top of the bald mountain to draw off the thunder fire."
Ali shook his head and said, "No, I struck the old lifer, I caused the trouble, how can I let you guys go? It is better for me to go and draw the thunder fire!" So saying, he took up the dragon-headed walking-stick and hastened toward the bald mountain to the south. Not long afterward, he ascended the item of the bald mountain.
He threw back his head and shouted toward the sky, "Oh Thor! The old birthday boy was struck by me, Ali; the two nymphs were set free by me, Ali; the trouble was caused by me, Ali; all this was caused by me, and had nothing to do with others. Strike at me, Ali, with that thunder and fire of yours!"
Then the God of Thunder came right over Bald Mountain. He lifted up the thunder drill and the flash hammer, and with a loud boom, a heavy thunderclap smashed Ali's body to pieces, and the thunder fire burned up on Bald Mountain. The God of Thunder saw the fire, turned to the Palace of Heaven to deliver. Because this mountain is bare, there are no trees and flowers, the thunder fire has not yet burned halfway up the mountain, it extinguished itself.
While Ali was killed by the thunder and fire, soon after his death, a patch of trees grew up on the hills of this bare mountain. People said that these trees were made of Ali's skin, flesh and hair, which had been shattered by the thunder and fire.
And the sacred tree? It was said to be the dragon head walking stick that the old lifer had turned into. The two nymphs, y touched by the sight, said, "Brother Ali died for the two of us and for the group, and after his death, his skin, flesh and hair were turned into trees for the benefit of the people. The two of us will turn into flowers and plants, so that we can be companions to Brother Ali and also benefit the people."
From then on, this bare mountain with nothing on it had trees and flowers, and the mountains were filled with lush trees and fragrant flowers. The people renamed the mountain Alishan in honor of this good descendant who gave up his life for others.
Expanded Information:
Alishan, located 75 kilometers to the east of Chiayi City, Taiwan Province, is situated at an elevation of 2,216 meters above sea level at the coordinates of 23 degrees and 31 minutes north latitude and 120 degrees and 48 minutes east longitude, and is close to Taiwan's tallest peak, Mount Yushan, to the east. Due to the mild climate of the mountainous region, it remains refreshingly pleasant in the height of summer, and with its lush forests, it is the most ideal summer resort in all of Taiwan, and is a famous scenic tourist area in Taiwan Province.
The Alishan and Yushan mountain ranges, adjacent to Yushan Park, have an average temperature of 10.6 degrees Celsius, with an average of 14.3 degrees in summer and 6.4 degrees in winter. The Alishan Forest Recreation Area is bordered on the west by the Jia Nan Plain, on the north by Yunlin and Nantou counties, and on the south by Kaohsiung and Tainan counties, totaling up to 1,400 hectares.
Alishan is known for its five wonders, namely, the hiking railroad, the forest, the sea of clouds, the sunrise and the sunset. Sunrise, sea of clouds, railroad, forest and sunset are collectively known as the five wonders of Alishan, which are not only Taiwan's most representative landscapes, but also its reputation has spread far and wide at home and abroad.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Alishan