Mount Tai is the first of the five mountains in China. It was named Mount Dai in ancient times and also known as Dai Zong. Located in the middle of Shandong Province, within Tai'an City, it stands among the mountains in central Shandong, with the main peak Yuhuangding, 1532.7 meters above sea level. Mount Tai is one of the first national scenic spots in China and a natural art and history museum.
Physical Geography
Mount Tai was originally named Daishan and also named Daizong. Located between Jinan, Changqing, Feicheng and Tai'an. Its southern foot starts from Tai'an City and its northern foot ends at Jinan City, with an area of ??426 square kilometers. The main peak is located at Yuhuangding in Tai'an City, with an altitude of 1532.7 meters. The relative height difference is about 1,300 meters.
Geological origin speculation
Mount Tai was formed about 30 million years ago in the middle of the Cenozoic Era. The strata in the Taishan area are ancient, mainly composed of several ancient rocks such as migmatite, migmatite and various gneisses. They are about 2.4-2.5 billion years old and belong to the Archean rock type. Taishan Mountain in the western Shandong area (including) was once a huge subsidence zone or sea canal. The orogeny caused the rock folds in the subsidence zone to uplift into ancient continents, forming a huge mountain system. After 2 billion years of weathering and erosion, the terrain gradually became flat. About 600 million years ago, Mount Tai sank into the sea again. After about another 100 million years, the entire area was once again lifted into land, and ancient Mount Tai rose into a relatively low barren hill. In the late Mesozoic Era about 100 million years ago, due to the extrusion and subduction of the Pacific Plate to the Eurasian continental plate, the strata of Mount Tai were extensively folded and fractured under the influence of the Yanshan Movement. During frequent crustal movements, Mount Tai rose rapidly, nearly 30 million years ago in the middle of the Cenozoic, and the outline of Mount Tai today was basically formed.
Climate vegetation
Due to its height, Mount Tai’s climate also changes vertically, with the warm temperate zone at the bottom and the medium temperate zone at the top. There are clouds and fog on the mountain, and the average annual precipitation is 1132mm, while down the mountain it is only 750mm. The vegetation coverage rate of Mount Tai reaches 80%. Deciduous forest, broad-leaved coniferous mixed forest, coniferous forest, and alpine shrubs and grasses can be seen on the foothills in sequence. The vertical boundaries of the forest belt are clear and the vegetation landscape is different. There are 989 species of seed plants in 144 families, including 433 species of woody plants in 72 families, 556 species of herbaceous plants in 72 families, and 462 species of medicinal plants in 111 families.
Cultural Landscape
Sunrise on Mount Tai
[edit] Macroscopic Impact of Human History
Mount Tai is majestic and has beautiful scenery. In ancient Chinese myths and legends, after Pangu died, his head turned into Mount Tai. According to the "Anthology of Historical Records": "The sky is too high to be reached, so we set up a Zen statue on Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to it, hoping to be close to the gods." The ancients described it as "Mount Tai swallows Xihua, presses Nanheng, drives Song in the middle, and Yibei Heng. It is the leader of the Five Mountains." Ancient traditional culture believes that the east is the place where all things change and the first spring occurs. Therefore, Mount Tai is known as "the longest of the five mountains" and "the sole of the five mountains". Because of its majestic momentum, it is the first of the five mountains, so it is also known as "the most famous mountain in the world". The fossil remains of Xintai Man 50,000 years ago and the fossil remains of Yiyuan Man 400,000 years ago show the early human activities in this area. The Dawenkou Culture at the southern foot of Mount Tai and the Longshan Cultural Relics at the northern foot also reflect the activities of the early clan tribes in the Yellow River Basin. During the Warring States Period, the State of Qi built a Great Wall about 500 kilometers long along the Taishan Mountains to the Yellow Sea. The ruins still exist today. After entering the Qin and Han Dynasties, Mount Tai gradually became a symbol of political power.
For thousands of years, the natural landscape of Mount Tai has been integrated with factors such as emperors' enshrinement of Zen, poetry and prose, craftsmen's art, and scientific investigation to form the scenery of Mount Tai. The scenic area forms a radial distribution with the main peak as the center, three spaces (Taian City with Dai Temple as the center, the "Yincao Underworld" in Haoli Mountain in the southwest of the city, and the "Xianjie Tianfu" above Nantianmen) and an axis (connecting these three spaces). The landscape zone of the space is mainly the landscape pattern extending from the central axis of Dai Temple to the north of the Jade Emperor Peak. From the urban area of ??Tai'an at the foot of the mountain with an altitude of more than 150 meters, to the Zhongtian Gate with an altitude of 847 meters, the Nantian Gate with an altitude of 1,460 meters, and the Jade Emperor's Peak with an altitude of 1,545 meters, the layers rise one after another, forming a unique landscape of Mount Tai.
Fengchan Sacrifice
After thousands of years of cultural accumulation, there are many cultural landscapes on Mount Tai. Mount Tai is the center of Qilu culture and one of the important birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization.
According to the records of ancient Chinese dynasties, this mountain was often the place where emperors set up altars to offer sacrifices to pray for the peace of the country and the people, and held Zen ceremonies. According to legend, 72 chiefs came here to hunt and offer sacrifices in ancient times. Since the Qin Dynasty, 12 emperors in ancient China have come here to worship. The first person to hold a large-scale Zen ceremony here was Qin Shihuang, leaving behind the legend of the Five Doctor Pines; Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty climbed Mount Tai for the eighth time and exclaimed, "It's so high! It's so great! It's big! It's special! It's strong! It's awesome! It's terrifying. ! Confused!" Offering sacrifices to the Zen people in Mount Tai has become an extremely solemn and unparalleled ceremony in Chinese history. It is believed that any emperor who rises from the opposite sex or has great achievements will be given an auspicious "Fu Rui" by the gods, and he will be qualified to report success to Mount Tai and express his gratitude for the grace of being appointed. This has formed the tradition of the Taishan Ceremony in the past dynasties.
"Feng" means gathering earth on the top of Mount Tai to build a round altar to worship the Emperor of Heaven, increasing the height of Mount Tai to show merit to the heaven; "Zen" means accumulating earth on the hills below the mountain to build a square altar to worship the Earth God. Increase the thickness of the earth to repay the blessings and kindness. The round platform and the square altar represent the round sky and the square place. If an emperor ascends Mount Tai, it will be regarded as a sign of peace in the world and prosperity of the country. And the emperor himself became a veritable true dragon emperor. Therefore, Ban Gu, a historian of the Han Dynasty, said in "Baihu Tongfeng Zen Chapter": "If a king of the opposite sex rises, he will be promoted to Mount Tai. What is the meaning of the report? When he first received the order, the system should be in accordance with the sky, and the world will be peaceful. If the king is successful, he will be granted the title of Zen. Taiping. So where is Mount Tai? The beginning of all things, the place of explanation."
Religious influence
Zengfu Temple Buddhism was introduced to Mount Tai in the mid-4th century AD. In 351 AD, the eminent monk Langgong first went to Daiyin, Mount Tai, to establish Langgong Temple and Lingyan Temple. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the larger temples in Taishan included Gushan Yuhuang Temple, Shenbao Temple, Puzhao Temple, etc. The famous Taishan Jingshi Valley is where the Buddhist classic "Diamond Sutra" was carved by the Northern Qi people. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, Lingyan Temple was extremely prosperous. Li Jifu, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, called Lingyan Temple in Taishan one of the "four wonders" in the world.
Taoism: According to legend, during the Warring States Period, alchemists lived in seclusion in Daiyin Cave; after the Qin and Han Dynasties, there were many Ci temples, among which the Queen Mother Pool (Qunwang Temple), Laojun Hall, and Doumu Palace (Longquan Temple) have been preserved to this day. ), Bixia Temple, Houshiwu Temple, Yuanshi Tianzun Temple, etc. Among them, Queen Mother Pond is the earliest, founded before 220 AD; Bixia Temple has the greatest influence.
Literati and Mogu
The stone carvings on Mount Tai. For thousands of years, the natural landscape of Mount Tai has been integrated into cultural factors such as emperors' zens, religious myths, artistic conceptions of calligraphy and painting, poetry renderings, and craftsman art, forming a Huge Taishan aesthetic culture. Celebrities such as Confucius and Du Fu once visited this mountain and left poems. Confucius' famous saying is "climbing Mount Tai and minimizing the world"; Du Fu's poem "Looking at the Mountain"; Yao Nai's prose "Climbing Mount Tai" and so on.
Taishan Stone Carvings
Emperors of all dynasties went to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, Confucians taught, preached, and received scriptures, and cultural celebrities climbed the scenic spots, leaving behind a dazzling array of inscriptions, cliffs, and couplets. , and the cliff carvings of Mount Tai are also among the most famous mountains. There are more than 1,800 stone carvings in Mount Tai, including more than 800 stone tablets and more than 1,000 cliff carvings. They are generally distributed as follows: 157 in Dai Temple, 215 in Dailu, 576 in Dongshan Mountain Road, 258 in Daiding, more than 80 in Daixi, and There are 44 Yin temples, more than 400 Lingyan temples, and more than 100 Shentong temples. The stone carvings mainly include five categories: memorials of emperors of all dynasties, records of temple establishment and reconstruction, tomb inscriptions on stone scriptures, Songdai poems, scene mentions and couplets. Most of them are natural stone carvings.
In 1987, it was announced as a world cultural and natural heritage by UNESCO. It is one of the few dual heritages in the world.
Tourist Attractions
Dai Temple Remote Pavilion, Zhengyang Gate, Tang Huaiyuan, East Throne, Qin Taishan Carving Stone, Tong Pavilion, Dai Miao Square, Han Cypress, Tiankuang Hall, Dazhong Bridge, Temple of the Five Sages, Sanyang Temple, Tomb of Feng Yuxiang, Puzhao Temple, Hushan Park, Queen Mother Pond, Sandie Waterfall, Zuixin Stone, Duisong Mountain, Zhongtian Gate, Confucius's Landing Site, Wangren Pine, Doumu Palace, Wangxian Tower, Wudafu Pine, Shibapan, Hutian Pavilion, Sheshen Cliff, No. 1 Mountain in the World, Baiyun Cave, Elephant Trunk Peak, Wordless Monument, Song Mo Cliff, Zhangren Peak, Yueguan Peak, Immortal Bridge, Five Sacred Mountains, Confucius Temple, Tianjie, Jade Emperor Peak, Bixia Temple, Nantianmen, Gongbei Stone, Tang Moya, Beitianmen, Big/Little Tianzhu Peak, Wangtianmen, Yao Guanding, Sisters Pine, Yuanjun Temple , Sanzhe Waterfall, Tianzhu Waterfall, Yuquan Temple, Houshiwu, Qingtong Stream, Zhulin Temple, Wuji Temple, Tiansheng Village, Changshou Bridge, Bailong Pond, Aolai Peak, Fan Cliff, Black Dragon Pond, Colorful Stone Creek, Diaoyutai, Haiyan, Yuanjun Temple, Taohuayu.
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