Wudang Mountains武当山
- Type
- Daoist Sacred Mountains
- Location
- China · Hubei · Danjiangkou, Shiyan · Within Danjiangkou; its main peak, Tianzhu Peak, rises to 1,612 meters.
- Coordinates
- 32.4, 111.004 Map ↗
- School
- Wudang Xuanwu Lineage, Wudang Daoism, Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism, Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism, Sanfeng Lineage
- First built
- Reclusive cultivation during the Han and Wei; the Wulong Shrine (Five Dragons Shrine) was built during the Tang Zhenguan era · Major construction at Wudang took place from the tenth to the twenty-first year of the Yongle reign (1412–1423) of the Ming, giving rise to the pattern of ‘the Forbidden City built in the north, Wudang built in the south.’
- Heritage status
- UNESCO World Heritage Site: Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains (1994)Golden Hall, Wudang Mountains — Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (1961)Zixiao Palace: Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (1982)Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains: Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (1988/2001, merged)
Overview
Wudang Mountains, anciently called Mount Taihe, is the sacred site of Zhenwu (the Perfected Warrior, Xuandi), and is listed as the ninth of the Seventy-two Blessed Lands, the ‘Blessed Land of Mount Taihe.’ It had been a place of reclusive cultivation since the Han and Wei; the Wulong Shrine was built during the Zhenguan era of the Tang, and the mountain grew gradually more prominent through the Song and Yuan, with Zhang Shouqing and others greatly expanding its Daoist establishments during the Yuan. The Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di) of the Ming, having seized the throne through the ‘Jingnan Campaign,’ venerated Zhenwu as protector deity of the state; beginning in the tenth year of the Yongle reign (1412) he conscripted 300,000 soldiers and laborers who, over more than a decade, built nine palaces, eight abbeys, thirty-six hermitages and halls, and seventy-two cliff shrines, forming a vast complex stretching over seventy kilometers with the Golden Hall on Tianzhu Peak at its summit. In the Ming it was honored as the ‘Great Peak’ and ‘Mysterious Peak that Governs the World,’ ranking above the Five Sacred Peaks. Zhang Sanfeng transmitted his teachings at Wudang, and the Wudang school of internal martial arts and its internal-alchemy lineage have had far-reaching influence. Surviving structures include the Golden Summit and Taihe Palace, Zixiao Palace, Nanyan Palace, the ruins of Yuxu Palace, Yuzhen Palace, and Fuzhen Temple; in 1994 the Ancient Building Complex of Wudang Mountains was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Both Wudang Daoist music and Wudang martial arts are listed as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Highlights
- Golden Hall (Golden Summit)
- Zixiao Palace
- Nanyan Palace
- Fuzhen Temple, Taizi Slope
- Yuxu Palace
- Zhishi Xuanyue Archway
- Wudang Martial Arts