There are countless famous mountains and rivers in China, but it is Mount Tai in Shandong that can be called "the first mountain in China". "Confucius climbed Dongshan, Lu Xiao and Taishan, and the world is small." When I climbed Mount Tai, I felt the world became smaller. It is not an exaggeration to call Mount Tai the first mountain. There is a stone tablet engraved with "the first mountain" in Daimiao, Taishan Mountain.
These three words were written by Mi Fei, a calligrapher in the Song Dynasty. They are vigorous and elegant, placed at the foot of Mount Tai, worthy of the name. However, it is said that the "First Mountain" in Mi Fei was not originally written for Mount Tai, but for the isolated mountain in Dong 'e Town, Pingyin County, Shandong Province. Gushan, also known as Shaodaishan, is located in Gucheng. The "First Mountain" monument under Mount Tai was pulled from the lonely mountain by later generations.
Interestingly, in addition to Mount Tai, there are at least a dozen famous mountains in China that also have stone tablets of the "First Mountain". Such as Songshan Mountain in Henan, Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi, Wudang Mountain in Hubei, Emei Mountain in Sichuan and Zhong Nanshan in Shaanxi. And these so-called "First Mountain" stone tablets were also written by Mi Fei and should be engraved by later generations.
The First Pass Under Heaven
There are at least 20 famous passes in the history of China, all of which are battlegrounds for ancient military strategists. Among them, Shanhaiguan, known as the "first pass in the world", is located in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province. Shanhaiguan, also known as Guan Yu, Guan Yu and Lu Linguan, is the starting point of the eastern end of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty, so it is also called the "dragon head" of the Great Wall in Wan Li. Zhu Yuanzhang first built a city gate and set up a guard here, and was named Shanhaiguan because of its proximity to mountains and seas.