Sacred Mountains of China
They are associated with the supreme God of Heaven and the five main cosmic deities of traditional Chinese religion.
The group associated with Buddhism is referred to as the Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism (四大佛教名山; Sì dà fójiào míngshān), and the group associated with Taoism is referred to as the Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism (四大道教名山; Sì dà dàojiào míngshān).
The sacred mountains have all been important destinations for pilgrimage, the Chinese term for pilgrimage (朝圣; 朝聖; cháoshèng) being a shortened version of an expression which means "paying respect to a holy mountain" (朝拜圣山; 朝拜聖山; cháobài shèng shān).
With every new dynasty, the new emperor hurried to the Five Great Mountains in order to lay claim to his newly acquired domains.
According to Chinese mythology, the Five Great Mountains originated from the body of Pangu (盘古; 盤古; Pángǔ), the first being and the creator of the world.
[6][7] In ancient times mountains were places of authority and fear, ruled by dark forces and faithfully worshipped.
One reason for such worship was the value of the mountains to human existence as a spring of welfare and fertility, as the birthplace of rivers, as a place where herbs and medicinal plants grew and as a source of materials to build houses and tools.
As early as the fourth century, the Taoists presented the high priests with the 180 precepts of Lord Lao for how to live a good and honest life.
Respect for nature has been a key component of Taoism from the very outset and, in its own right, explains why the Five Great Mountains are considered sacred.
In addition, Taoists consider mountains as a means of communication between heaven and earth and as the place where immortality can be found.
While it was customary of the ethnic Han emperors to order rites to be performed regularly to honour the Five Great Mountains, the location of the original Mount Heng meant that for much of the eras of fragmentation, the region was either under non-Han rulers or a contested area.
In 1586, Emperor Wanli opted a compromise by re-designating the Xuanwu Mountain as Mount Heng, but ordered the relevant rites to continue to be performed in the historic Beiyue Temple.
"High and Lofty Mountain" (峨嵋山), Sichuan, 3,099 m (10,167 ft) The patron bodhisattva of Emei is Samantabhadra, known in Chinese as Puxian (普贤菩萨).
Chan Buddhism developed the Five Mountains and Ten Temples System (五山十刹, wushan shicha) during the late Southern Song (1127–1279).
28°06′48.999″N 116°57′29.998″E / 28.11361083°N 116.95833278°E / 28.11361083; 116.95833278 It is famous for being one of the birthplaces of Taoism and particularly important to the Zhengyi Dao, with many Taoist temples built upon the mountainside.
In ancient Chinese history, Mount Qingcheng area was famous for being for "The most secluded place in China".
