In "Biographies of the Five Sovereigns" of The Historical Memoirs by Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty(206 B.C.-A.D.25), it is said that "King Shun was on an inspection tour in the remote south when he died in the wilds of Cangwu. He was buried on Mount Jiuyi to the south of the Yangtse River. This was Ling'Ling or the Ling Mausoleum". Since the mausoleum, or more correctly the memorial temple, was first built in the Xia Dynasty that lasted from the end of the twenty-second century B.C. to about the sixteenth century, B.C., the temple-mausoleum has been visited by many famous political and literary figures in Chinese history who came both to pay respects to the ancient sovereign of China and to gratify their own curiosity about history and their love for magnificent scenery.
Legend has it that King Shun had as his surname Yao. As recorded in historical literature when the ancient sovereign Yao was head of the tribal confederation, the chieftains unanimously agreed that Shun should be his successor. It is said that after a three-year probation Yao asked Shun to help him administer tribal affairs in the course of which Shun had proved himself equal to the task and lived up to the expectations of all. He went to various parts of the land on inspection tours on behalf of Yao and helped subdue four recalcitrant chiefs. After Yao died, Shun became head of the tribal confederation. He solicited the advise of various tribal chieftains, asking them to recommend to him talented leaders to help with administering the affairs of the land. On their recommendation, Yu, who had proved his ability in the course of flood control, became shun's aide and successor. In Chinese history, this is the practice known as shan'rang or voluntary abdication, which has always been spoken highly of by the historians.

In Chinese history, King Shun is a highly respected sovereign, a saintly ruler who dedicated his life to the people and died in the wilds away from home. When the well-known Ming Dynasty geographer Xu Xiake came to Mount Jiuyi on a field trip, he paid homage at the memorial temple of Shun. According to Xu, most ancient Chinese rulers would only go to famous mountains like Mount Tai, for sightseeing or on pilgrimage and would never go to a place like Cangwu which, in the eyes of people living in the Yellow River valley, was inhabited by savage tribes. King Shun was already far advanced in age. He would not have ventured to go to the land of savages from which other sovereigns had kept themselves away if he had not thought it his duty to go and civilize and convert the savages. It was a great pity that he should have died in the wilds in the course of performing his duties.

According to legend, after Yao made Shun his successor, he found the latter not just capable but of high integrity too. So he married both his daughters, named Ehuang and Nüying respectively, to Shun. After their marriage, the husband and wives lived amicably and happily together, although Shun was often away from home making inspection tours, fighting natural disasters or making new conquests in remote regions of the land. When on his inspection trip to Cangwu he had been absent from home for a long time, his two wives became very worried and went everywhere to try to find him. It is said that just when they had reached the summit of Jun'Shan or Monarch Hill in Dongting Lake in Hunan today news came that Shun had died in the wilds of Cangwu. So grieved were they that for seven days on end they cried incessantly. Finally, both of them threw themselves into Xiang River. Story has it that after they died they became Goddesses of Xiang River, known as the Spirits of Xiang or the Ladies of Xiang to the local inhabitants. It is said that while they were crying at the death of their husband, their tears speckled the bamboo stalks on Monarch Hill, turning them mottled. As described in the book entitled Notes on Nature, "(The two queens) shed tears, staining the bamboo. Without exception all bamboo stalks became mottled." This, some people said, was the origin of a special indigenous plant of Hunan known as mottled bamboo, also known as Xiang Ladies bamboo. In Mao Zedong's poem "Replay to a Friend", there are these lines:
White clouds are sailing above Mount Jiuyi;
Riding the wind, the Princesses descend the green hills.
Once they speckled the bamboos with their profuse tears,
Now they are robed in rose-red clouds.
This is an allusion to the story told above. As Ehuang and Nüying were daughters of King Yao, Mao Zedong referred to them as di'zi or the king's children. In China, there are quite a number of time-honoured legendary tales about how a loving wife went looking for her missing husband and sacrificed her own life. For instance, there is the story about Meng Jiangnu whose wailing cries before the Great Wall caused it to collapse to reveal the pit where her dead husband lay buried. In spirit this story is quite like that of the two queens. The only difference is that in one story it is an ordinary woman while in the other it is royalty. They nevertheless share the same human feelings.

Mount Jiuyi, also known as Mount Cangwu, is situated south of the county seat of today's Ningyuan in Hunan Province. The mountain, as described by one ancient scholar, "stands in the wilds of Cangwu, being the most beautiful in that region of several prefectures." There are nine picturesque peaks that look very much alike. In the Travel Notes of Xu Xiake, the author said, "Of these nine peaks, even the local inhabitants find it hard to say which is which. Hence the name Jiuyi or Nine Mysteries." Actually, the names of the nine peaks are, respectively, Shunyuan (after King Shun), Ehuang (after one of the queens), Guilin or Osmanthus Woods, Shilou or Rock Tower, Xiaoyi or Flute, Zhuming or Sunny, Shicheng or Stone City, Qilin or Willow Grove and Nüying (after the other queen). The temple-mausoleum is located at eh foot of Shunyuan Peak with the two peaks of Ehuang and Nüying attending upon it, one of either side.

Mount Jiuyi is famous for its glorious scenery. The ancient poet Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 B.C.) once celebrated the celestial beauty of Jiuyi in "Lady Xiang" in his Nine Poems for Singing:
The nine beautiful peaks of Jiuyi all smile their welcome,
Fairies there will be who come and visit in a glittering galaxy.
In the Han Dynasty, the famous calligrapher Cai Yong wrote about Jiuyi with deep feelings like this:
Ascending this towering mountain,
To deities I entrust my own soul.
Situated at the foot of the nine picturesque peaks, the temple-mausoleum, its dark red walls intensified by a clear blue sky, presents a look of great solemnity and serenity. Before the temple-mausoleum are sky-kissing trees of great antiquity, some of them so thick that it takes four big fellows to link their outstretched arms to encircle them. These ancient maples and cypresses can bear witness to the venerable history of this hallowed site.
People who come to pay homage to King Shun naturally will ask, when they arrive at the foot of Shunyuan Peak, why where is in sight only the Memorial Temple of Shun and not mausoleum. The same question was asked of the monks on Mount Jiuyi by Xu Xiake of Ming. When they were asked where was the mausoleum of King Shun became a deity and rose into heaven. There's no need for a mausoleum." Of course, the monks were most probably only improvising for the occasion and did not know anything themselves. It can however be inferred from history books that since Shun had died in the wilds he was buried there and then in a hurry. As this was in a remote region and all traces of his burial place were obliterated, the only thing people could do later was to build a temple in his memory, approximately where he was supposed to have been buried. Hence this architectural structure that doubles as temple and mausoleum.

The temple-mausoleum we see today was built in 1371 in the Ming Dynasty and renovated more than once in Qing. Although it looks quite dilapidated today, the main hall is still intact there. Here is seen a horizontal board inscribed with four big Chinese characters that stand for The Eternal Hall of Rest for King Shun along with thirty-four memorial tablets set up by the emperors of various dynasties. Behind the hall is a pavilion known as the Pavilion of Tablet Protection in which stands a granite tablet on which are inscribed these characters: Di'Shun'You'Yu'Shi'Zhi'Ling or the Mausoleum of King Shun of the Clan of You Yu.

According to ancient legends, King Shun is a divine ruler who influences men with his integrity, his benevolence and his sincerity. In the Tang Dynasty (A.D.618-907), a scholar named Zhang Wei had glorified King Shun with the following lines:
I have heard that King Shun is always deeply concerned about the weal and woe of others,
To him the lot of the ordinary people is everything and his own well-being never his concern.
According to folklore, after King Shun passes away, he becomes the god of Mount Jiuyi, continuing to give protection to his people.

Other places of historical and cultural interest in Hunan Province include: in the City of Changsha, the site of the former Yuelu Academy, Tian'Xin'Ge or Tower of the Heart of Heaven and the Memorial Temple of Nanyue on Mount Heng; in the City of Yueyang the Yueyang Tower; in Miluo County the Memorial Temple of Qu Yuan the ancient poet; and in Shaoshan the former home of Mao Zedong.