The Sacred Taishan mountain

Taishan Mountain, life and death in Chinese culture, according to the work of Edouard Chavannes

 Mountains are, in China, divinities. They are considered as nature powers who act in a conscious way and who can, therefore, be made favourable by sacrifices and touched by prayers; but these deities are of various importance: some are small local geniuses whose authority is exercised only on a small territory; others are majestic sovereigns who hold immense regions under their dependence. The most famous are five (1); they are: the Song Gao or Central Peak, the Taishan or Eastern Peak, the Hengshan or Southern Peak, the Huahan or Western Peak, the Hengshan or Northern Peak. Among these five mountains themselves, there is one that is even more famous than the other four; it is the Taishan or Eastern Peak (pp 3)

Folklore also teaches us that the mountains are the habitat of characters endowed with marvellous faculties; ╓6 fairies or gnomes have their frolics there. In China, under the influence of Taoism, these geniuses of the mountains were conceived as men freed from all the obstacles that weigh down and shelter our existence; they are the immortals, the blessed to whom one who feeds on marvellous jade utensils and who drink ambrosia  can go, as the inscriptions on three mirrors from the time of the Han say (pp. 6).

But the mountain is not only the place where the celestial gods and the immortals appear; it is itself a divinity.

The general attributions of a mountain deity are of two kinds: on the one hand, in fact, it weighs by its mass on the whole surrounding territory and is like the principle of stability; it is the regulator which prevents the ground from becoming agitated and the rivers from overflowing; it puts obstacles in the way of earthquakes and floods. On the other hand, the clouds accumulate around the mountain top which seems to produce them and which deserves the Homeric epithet of «assembler of clouds» (pp. 8).

Many prayers from the Ming period show us that the Taishan is indeed invoked by virtue of these two kinds of attributions. In the spring, it is implored to promote the growth of grain; in the autumn, thanksgiving is offered to thank it for the harvest it has protected. It is asked to help men by its invisible and powerful action which distributes rain and good weather in the right proportions and allows the nourishing plants to reach maturity. In case of drought, it is quite natural to turn to it, because «to see that the rain comes to the ploughman in good time is the secret task for which it is responsible»; so when the rains are late, the ears of corn in the fields wither and the peasants begin to fear famine, the sovereign of mankind has recourse to the majestic Peak, who can and must put an end to this misfortune (pp. 8).

Similarly, in the event of an earthquake or flood, prayers appropriate to the circumstances remind the Taishan of his functions as ruler of an entire region and invite it to restore order (pp 9).

Taishan is the Peak of the East; in this capacity it presides over the East, that is to say, the origin of all life. Like the sun, so all existence begins on the eastern side. The yang principle, which makes the sap in the green plants spring forth, is concentrated on the Eastern Peak, from which emanates its invigorating fragrance (pp. 12).

At the same time as the Taishan carries in its side all future existences, it is, by a rather logical consequence, the receptacle where the lives that have come to an end go. From the first two centuries of our era, it was a widespread belief in China that when men died, their souls returned to the Taishan. In popular literature, there are a whole series of anecdotes that inform us about these kinds of Champs Elysées where the dead continue to speak and act as if they were alive; official positions are sought there, recommendations to influential people are very useful; it is another underground China that flourishes under the sacred mountain (pp. 13).

Since the Taishan gives rise to births and collects the dead, it has been concluded that it presides over the greater or lesser duration of human existence; it unites in itself the attributions of the three Fates, giving life, maintaining it and finally interrupting it. Around the year 100 A.D., a certain Hiu Siun, feeling seriously ill, went to the Taishan to ask to live. A poet of the third century A.D. wrote with melancholy: «My life is on its decline; the Eastern Peak has given me an appointment” (pp. 13).

The cult of the Taishan because this divinity presides over the souls of the dead. This is why in China one finds representations of the torments of the underworld in two kinds of Taoist temples, one being those of the god of the city (Chenghuang miao), the others being those of the Taishan (Dongyue miao). This again explains why, in these two kinds of temples, one often sees, suspended above one of the doors or against a wall, some enormous abacus; the presence of this calculating machine means that the divinity of the place has the mission of counting human actions and balancing good and evil (pp 16).

Historical texts tell us at various times and at great length about the famous feng and shan ceremonies that were performed at the top and bottom of the Taishan. The feng sacrifice was for Heaven; the shan sacrifice was for Earth. It is important to determine precisely what these rites were (pp. 16).

Imagen shi zhao via Flick.

Chavannes, Edouard. Le T’ai Chan. Essai de monographie d’un culte chinoise. Ernest Leroux. Paris. 1910.

More posts on Chinese culture

Cold Steel – A Sniper’s War
Cold Steel – A Sniper’s War

Cold Steel - A Sniper's War If in the West war films are a genre in their own right, in China they are an even more important genre, and that is because there is always an interest on the part of the official media to remember the two great war events that gave rise...

A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop
A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop

A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop Directed by Zhang Yimou: 2009. 85. Min. A Woman and a Gun and a Chinese Noodle House is a quite singular work within Zhang Yimou's filmography. His light-hearted style starts from the first scenes, in which we see the protagonist with...

Jiayuguan Pass – the Great Wall on the Silk Road
Jiayuguan Pass – the Great Wall on the Silk Road

Jiayuguan Pass - the Great Wall on the Silk Road Jiayuguan Pass or Jiayu Pass, as guan means pass in Chinese is one of the most remarkable monuments on the Silk Road and one of its most popular sights. Built at the end of the Great Wall, showing the desolation of the...

Springtime in a Small Town: The best film in China’s history
Springtime in a Small Town: The best film in China’s history

Springtime in a Small Town: The best film in China's history All the rankings made in recent years, place a film, unknown to the general public, as the best film in China. It is called "Springtime in a Small Town" and was directed by Fei Mu in 1948. I had been wanting...

The Character and Function of Music in Chinese Culture
The Character and Function of Music in Chinese Culture

The Character and Function of Music in Chinese Culture In 1946 Bliss Wiant finished his Doctoral dissertation . The subject was “The character and function of Music in Chinese culture.” Some of his reflections are so interesting that I share with readers here some...

History of Dunhuang, crossroads of cultures on the Silk Road
History of Dunhuang, crossroads of cultures on the Silk Road

History of Dunhuang, crossroads of cultures on the Silk Road Dunhuang is one of the most fascinating cities on the Silk Road, although it now appears to be asleep, in the sleep that the improvement of communications in recent centuries has brought to the great...

More posts on China ethnic groups

The Interpretation of the Dreams among the Hani
The Interpretation of the Dreams among the Hani

The Interpretation of the Dreams among the Hani As a general rule dream interpretation in China has followed a symbolic line, attributing to the memories of experiences lived during the dream a value related, sometimes not so clearly in a first analysis, to the values...

Temple to the Mother of the Dragon of the Bai
Temple to the Mother of the Dragon of the Bai

Temple to the Mother of the Dragon of the Bai Everyone who visits the ancient city of Dali goes to see the famous Three Pagodas, as it is one of the most famous monuments of the city and all of Yunnan, but very few know that right in the village next door,  just 100...

Unconventional languages used by the Jinuo
Unconventional languages used by the Jinuo

Unconventional languages used by the Jinuo Not having a writing system, the Jino developed several systems of signs that covered communication in different situations: from the wooden gates in the mountain paths that warn of danger, to the daliu to expel demons, the...

Ritual prostrations of Tibetan pilgrims
Ritual prostrations of Tibetan pilgrims

Ritual prostrations of Tibetan pilgrims The end of the path of any pilgrimage is a temple or mountain considered the abode of the gods. Reaching it is the culmination of the journey. At that moment the pilgrims, in spiritual bliss, pay homage to the gods in two ways:...

Mask of the Protector Palden Lhamo
Mask of the Protector Palden Lhamo

Mask of the Protector Palden Lhamo Palden Lhamo is one of the main protector deities of Tibetan Buddhism. Among her many roles, she is the special protector of the city of Lhasa, the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism, and the Dalai Lamas of Tibet. She was invited to...

«Dujie» (Initiation Rite) Masks of the Yao people
«Dujie» (Initiation Rite) Masks of the Yao people

"Dujie" (Initiation Rite) Masks of the Yao people                 Popular among the Yao people in Wenshan and Honghe Prefectures, the Dujie masks are used for the ceremonies of the boys' rites of passage. The ceremony, performed for boys that are about fourteen years...

Pin It on Pinterest