Mount Tai was regarded by the ancients as a paradise "directly connected to the throne of the emperor". From the beginning of Qin Shihuang to the Qing Dynasty, 13 generations of emperors visited Mount Tai to worship or offer sacrifices in person, and 24 generations of emperors sent officials to worship 72 Second-rate. Mount Tai is the symbol of the Chinese nation, the epitome of oriental culture, the place where the idea of ??"harmony between man and nature" rests, and the home of the Chinese nation's spirit, so it is called the "first of the five mountains".
The actual altitude of Mount Tai is not very high. It ranks third among the Five Mountains, behind Mount Heng and Mount Hua. It cannot compare with many mountains in the country. So why can it become the "first of the five mountains" that is so illustrious in ancient and modern times? Let’s talk about it together. Details 01
Sima Qian once said: "Everyone is destined to die, and it may be heavier than Mount Tai, or lighter than a feather." The "Mount Tai" here refers to Mount Tai in what is now Tai'an City, Shandong Province. The Mount Tai area has become an important birthplace of Eastern culture as early as ancient times, and Mount Tai has become the earliest famous mountain in China and the first of the five mountains in the pre-Qin era. 02
Mount Tai rises in the east of the North China Plain and towers over the Qilu Plain. It faces the vast sea in the east, the long-running Yellow River in the west, the waters of Wen, Si and Huai, and the plains and hills in the south. The relative height difference is 1,300 meters, forming a strong contrast, so it looks very tall visually; it has a sense of music and the majestic grandeur of "seeing all the small mountains at a glance"; the mountain range stretches for more than 100 kilometers and covers 426 square kilometers, and its broad foundation creates stability. The large and concentrated form creates a sense of heaviness, which has the majesty of "holding the balance without shaking". The so-called "stable as Mount Tai" and "heavy as Mount Tai" are exactly the reflection of its natural characteristics in people's physiology and psychology. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was said that Pangu (the god who created the world in ancient times and gave birth to all things) had Dongyue on his head after his death, Nanyue on his left arm, Beiyue on his right arm, and Xiyue on his feet. The head of Pangu's corpse faced the east and turned into Dongyue, so Mount Tai became of course the first of the five mountains. This is obviously a mythological story created based on the >, > doctrine, and reflects the historical background of Mount Tai's dominance over the five mountains. 03
The east is where the sun rises. The ancients believed that it was the place where all things change and the first spring occurs. Therefore, the East has become the source of life, a symbol of hope and good luck. The ancient ancestors often regarded the majestic and strange Dongyue as a god, and worshiped the mountain god as an object to pray for good weather. Therefore, Mount Tai in the east, this giant towering into the sky, became "the birthplace of all things." The "auspicious mountain" and "house of the gods". The "Son of Heaven" who was appointed emperor by fate regarded Mount Tai as a symbol of national unity and power. In order to repay the favor of the Emperor of Heaven for his "ordination", he must also go to Mount Tai to enshrine the gods and offer sacrifices. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, King Xiangtu of Shang built the Eastern Capital at the foot of Mount Tai, and the Emperor of Zhou built Qilu with Mount Tai as the boundary. Legend has it that before the Qin and Han Dynasties, 72 generations of kings went to Mount Tai to enshrine themselves as gods. Ancient emperors such as Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Han An of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Zetian, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, etc. successively came to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices and carve stones to commemorate their merits. Emperors of the past dynasties relied on the power of Mount Tai to consolidate their rule, raising Mount Tai's sacred status to an unprecedented level. 04
Cultural celebrities from past dynasties have come to Mount Tai to write poems and essays, leaving behind countless poems and essays engraved on stone. Poems such as Confucius's "Qiu Ling Song", Sima Xiangru's "Book of Fengchan", Cao Zhi's "Flying Dragon", Li Bai's "Taishan Ode", Du Fu's "Wang Yue" and other poems have become famous works handed down from generation to generation in China; The Song Dynasty murals in Kuang Hall and the Song Dynasty painted Arhat statues in Lingyan Temple are rare treasures; the stone carvings and tablets in Mount Tai are the culmination of Chinese calligraphy art, with all kinds of real cursive, official and seal scripts, and the completion of Yan, Liu, Ou, and Zhao schools. An exhibition hall of calligraphy and stone carving art through the ages. Mount Tai is extremely rich in cultural heritage, with 97 existing ancient ruins and 22 ancient building complexes, providing important physical data for the study of ancient Chinese architectural history. Therefore, Mount Tai is well deserved to be called the first of the five mountains.