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The Sacred Mountains of China

Map of Sacred Mountains of China
Map of the sacred mountains of China. Image licensed under GFDL.



There are nine sacred mountains in China, including five Taoist sacred mountains and four Buddhist sacred mountains, all of which are located in eastern China. Each mountain is spectacularly beautiful and contains at least one temple that is an important place of pilgrimage. So important are these mountains in Chinese religion that the very word for pilgrimage (cháoshèng) comes from the expression "paying respect to a holy mountain."

Five Great Mountains of Taoism

The Five Great Mountains (五岳; Wǔyuè) are arranged in the five cardinal directions (counting center as a direction) and appear roughly in a plus-sign formation on the map. According to Chinese mythology, the mountains are the limbs and the head of Pangu, creator and first being of the world. The head is Tai Shan, the eastern mountain, which is associated with the rising sun and therefore the most sacred of the five.

The five Taoist sacred mountains are as follows:

  1. East: Tai Shan (泰山/泰山, Leading Peaceful Mountain; a.k.a. 東嶽/东岳, Dōng Yuè, Eastern Great Mountain), Shandōng Province, 1,545 m
  2. West: Hua Shan (華山/华山, Splendid Mountain; a.k.a. 西嶽/西岳, Xī Yuè, Western Great Mountain), Shănxī Province, 1,997 m
  3. South: (Nan) Heng Shan (衡山/衡山, Balancing Mountain; a.k.a. 南嶽/南岳, Nán Yuè, Southern Great Mountain), Húnán Province, 1,290 m
  4. North: (Bei) Heng Shan (恆山/恒山, Permanent Mountain; a.k.a. 北嶽/北岳, Běi Yuè, Northern Great Mountain), Shanxī Province, 2,017 m
  5. Center: Song Shan (嵩山/嵩山, Lofty Mountain; a.k.a. 中嶽/中岳 Zhōng Yuè, Central Great Mountain), Hénán Province, 1,494 m

Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism

The Four Buddhist Sacred Mountains (四大佛教名山, Sìdà Fójiào Míngshān) in China are also associated with the cardinal points, although they do not correspond quite as neatly to the compass on a map. Each Buddhist sacred mountain is associated with a bodhisattva - an enlightened being who has postponed nirvana to help others gain enlightenment. The four mountains are:

  1. North: Wutai Shan (五臺山/五台山, Five Terrace (Plateau) Mountain), Shanxī, 3,058 m. Bodhisattva Manjushri.
  2. West: Emei Shan (峨眉山/峨眉山，Delicate Eyebrow Mountain), Sìchuān, 3,099 m. Bodhisattva Samantabhadra.
  3. South: Jiu Hua Shan (九華山/九华山, Nine Glories Mountain), Ānhuī, 1,341 m. Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha.
  4. East: Pu Tuo Shan (普陀山/普陀山, Potalaka (Potala) Mountain), Zhèjiāng, 284 m. Bodhisattva Kuan-Yin.

Article Sources

  1. Sacred Mountains of China - Wikipedia
  2. Sacred Mountains of China - SacredSites.com

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