Mount Longhu (Dragon and Tiger Mountain)龙虎山
- Type
- Daoist Sacred Mountains
- Location
- China · Jiangxi · Guixi, Yingtan · About 20 km southwest of Yingtan, on both banks of the Luxi River.
- Coordinates
- 28.114, 116.997 Map ↗
- School
- Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism, Way of the Celestial Masters (Tianshi Dao)
- First built
- Eastern Han (tradition holds that Zhang Daoling refined the elixir here) · From the late Tang and Five Dynasties onward, successive generations of Celestial Masters made their home here; imperial enfeoffments under the Song and Yuan established Mount Longhu as the ancestral seat of Zhengyi Daoism.
- Heritage status
- UNESCO World Heritage Site (Natural): China Danxia (2010)Ancient Building Complex of Mount Longhu, Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (2013)UNESCO Global Geopark (2007)
Overview
Mount Longhu is the ancestral seat of Zhengyi Daoism (the Way of the Celestial Masters). According to tradition, Zhang Daoling refined the Nine-Heaven Divine Elixir here during the Eastern Han, and ‘when the elixir was complete, a dragon and a tiger appeared,’ giving the mountain its name. According to Daoist tradition, the Fourth Celestial Master, Zhang Sheng, moved back to Mount Longhu from Hanzhong, and the Celestial Masters have resided here from generation to generation ever since. From the Tang and Song onward Mount Longhu was venerated by the imperial court; in the Yuan, Zhang Zongyan was enfeoffed as ‘Celestial Master of the Han Succession’ and given charge of Daoism throughout the Jiangnan region, establishing Zhengyi Daoism as such. In the Ming the Celestial Master's mansion was called the ‘Mansion of the Great Perfected’ and rivaled a princely residence in scale. The mountain contains the Mansion of the Celestial Masters, Shangqing Palace (Great Shangqing Palace), Zhengyi Temple, and the tombs of the Celestial Masters, while the Danxia landform along the Luxi River and the cliff tombs of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods are also well known. The Longhu Mountain Museum of Daoist Culture is likewise located here. In 2010 Mount Longhu was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the ‘China Danxia’ natural heritage site.
Highlights
- Mansion of the Celestial Masters
- Ruins of the Great Shangqing Palace
- Zhengyi Temple
- Cliff Tombs of Xianshui Rock
- Danxia Landform of the Luxi River