Mount Song (Songshan)嵩山
- Type
- Daoist Sacred Mountains
- Location
- China · Henan · Dengfeng, Zhengzhou · North of Dengfeng, comprising Mount Taishi and Mount Shaoshi; the main peak, Junji Peak, rises to 1,491.7 meters
- Coordinates
- 34.51, 113.04 Map ↗
- School
- Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism, Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism
- First built
- Pre-Qin sacrificial rites · Kou Qianzhi of Northern Wei cultivated the Dao on Mount Song and founded the "New Way of the Celestial Masters"; the "Shangdi Sizhen Grotto-Heaven" among the Lesser Grotto-Heavens
- Heritage status
- UNESCO World Heritage Site: Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Centre of Heaven and Earth" (2010)Zhongyue Temple: Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (2001)
Overview
Mount Song is the Central Peak, made up of Mount Taishi and Mount Shaoshi, situated at the "Center of Heaven and Earth," and a major site of imperial sacrifice and of both Buddhism and Daoism since antiquity. In Daoist history, Emperor Wu of Han is said to have climbed Mount Song amid shouts of "Long live the emperor" (shanhu wansui); Kou Qianzhi cultivated the Dao on Mount Song for thirty years in the Northern Wei, claiming a mandate conferred by the Supreme Venerable Sovereign Laojun, and reformed the Way of the Celestial Masters, founding the Northern Celestial Masters, which received the reverence of Emperor Taiwu. In the Tang, the master and disciple Pan Shizheng and Sima Chengzhen taught followers in Xiaoyao Valley on Mount Song, and Wu Zetian performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices there, changing the reign title to "Wansui Dengfeng" (Ten Thousand Years, Ascending the Peak). Mount Song is listed as the sixth of the Thirty-six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, the "Shangdi Sizhen Grotto-Heaven." At the foot of the mountain, Zhongyue Temple is a Daoist temple; within it, the Han-dynasty stone attendant figures and the Northern Wei Stele of the Numinous Temple of Songgao are especially precious. In 2010, the "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in 'The Center of Heaven and Earth'" (comprising eight sites including Zhongyue Temple, Shaolin Temple, the pagoda of Songyue Temple, and the Observatory) were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Highlights
- Zhongyue Temple
- Songyang Academy
- Chongfu Palace Site
- Xiaoyao Valley
- Junji Peak