William J H Leonard
Huashan Locks Panorama
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Hua Shan (华山) is the westernmost of the five sacred Taoist mountains. Originally known as Xiyue (Western Mountain), it has a long history of religious significance. As early as the 2nd century BC, there was a Daoist temple known as the Shrine of the Western Peak located at its base. Daoists believed that in the mountain lives the god of the underworld. The temple at the foot of the mountain was often used for spirits mediums to contact the god and his underlings. Unlike Taishan, which became a popular place of pilgrimage, because of its inaccessibility to the summit, Huashan only received Imperial and local pilgrims, and was not well visited by pilgrims from the rest of China. Huashan was also an important place for immortality seekers, as many herbal Chinese medicines are grown and powerful drugs were reputed to be found there. Kou Qianzhi (365–448), the founder of the Northern Celestial Masters received revelations there, as did Chen Tuan (920–989), who spent the last part of his life in hermitage on the west peak. In the 1230s, all the temples on the mountain came under control of the Daoist Quanzhen School.
Legend dictates that Hua Shan gained it's five summits because a god split the mountain in two with a giant axe, to rescue his mother who had been trapped inside by an evil daemon.
Huashan Locks Panorama
Press "L" to view in Lightbox.
Hua Shan (华山) is the westernmost of the five sacred Taoist mountains. Originally known as Xiyue (Western Mountain), it has a long history of religious significance. As early as the 2nd century BC, there was a Daoist temple known as the Shrine of the Western Peak located at its base. Daoists believed that in the mountain lives the god of the underworld. The temple at the foot of the mountain was often used for spirits mediums to contact the god and his underlings. Unlike Taishan, which became a popular place of pilgrimage, because of its inaccessibility to the summit, Huashan only received Imperial and local pilgrims, and was not well visited by pilgrims from the rest of China. Huashan was also an important place for immortality seekers, as many herbal Chinese medicines are grown and powerful drugs were reputed to be found there. Kou Qianzhi (365–448), the founder of the Northern Celestial Masters received revelations there, as did Chen Tuan (920–989), who spent the last part of his life in hermitage on the west peak. In the 1230s, all the temples on the mountain came under control of the Daoist Quanzhen School.
Legend dictates that Hua Shan gained it's five summits because a god split the mountain in two with a giant axe, to rescue his mother who had been trapped inside by an evil daemon.