Reprinted with permission from The Well-Connected Animal Social Networks and the Wondrous Complexity of Animal Societies by Lee Alan Dugatkin, published by the University of Chicago Press. © 2024 by Lee Alan Dugatkin. All rights reserved. The Huangshan mountains were named by Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong almost 13 centuries ago, in 747, the same year that legend has it the elixir of immortality was found somewhere among its dozens of imposing peaks. Soon hermits, poets, and artists came to Huangshan. Sixty-four temples, many for meditation, were built on the mountain…
