Mount Kongtong崆峒山
- Type
- Daoist Sacred Mountains
- Location
- China · Gansu · Pingliang · 12 km west of Kongtong District, Pingliang; its main peak, Mazong Shan, rises to 2,123 m
- Coordinates
- 35.54, 106.52 Map ↗
- School
- Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism
- First built
- Pre-Qin legend (the Yellow Emperor seeking the Dao from Guangchengzi) · Shrines were built in the Qin and Han; Daoist temples flourished in the Tang and Song; large-scale construction in the Ming formed the complex of 'Eight Terraces, Nine Palaces, Twelve Cloisters and Forty-two Sites'; known as 'the foremost mountain of the west'
- Heritage status
- Ancient Architectural Complex of Mount Kongtong: Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (2013)National Scenic Area (1994)
Overview
Mount Kongtong is a famous mountain in eastern Gansu; tradition holds that the Yellow Emperor ascended it in the west to ask about the Dao from Guang Chengzi (as recorded in the 'Zaiyou' chapter of the Zhuangzi), and Daoism accordingly honors it as 'the foremost mountain of Daoism under Heaven' and 'the foremost mountain of the west,' visited by both the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han. Daoist temples grew up here from the Tang and Song onward, and the Han princely family of Pingliang undertook large-scale construction in the Ming, forming a complex of Eight Terraces, Nine Palaces, Twelve Cloisters, and Forty-two Sites, including the Huangcheng (Imperial City), Leisheng Peak, the Central Terrace, and the Southern Terrace, where Buddhism and Daoism coexist and Quanzhen priests preside. Surviving structures include the Huangcheng (with its Hall of Zhenwu, Ming-dynasty), the Daoist architectural complex on Leisheng Peak, the Laojun Tower, and the Wendao Palace at the mountain's foot, most dating from the Ming and Qing; the Ming-dynasty timber-frame Hall of Zhenwu and its bronze image in the Huangcheng are especially important. Mount Kongtong is a National Scenic Area and National Geopark, and its ancient architectural complex was designated a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2013. Kongtong martial arts also trace their origins to Daoism.
Highlights
- Hall of Zhenwu in the Huangcheng
- Leisheng Peak
- Wendao Palace
- Laojun Tower
- Legend of the Yellow Emperor asking about the Dao