Mt.Wudang

The Wudang mountain Range has an area of 800 square kilometers; the landscape has multi-characteristics of magnificence, precipitousness, spectacle, serenity, and elegance.

There are 72 high peaks in the area around which are scattered 36 famous sheer precipices and overhanging rocks, 24 ravines and 11 caverns. Other features of the mountain are a number of clear pools and grotesque rocks, fountains, platforms and wells, which attract many tourists.

With an elevation of 1312 meters, the highest peak Tianzhu(a great pillar propping the sky) rises above the other peaks, just like a huge sharp sword soaring straight through the sky. The surrounding peaks, steep and towering, are all crawling upon the foot of the golden summit.

Poets in the history wrote many poems eulogizing the magnificent scenery of the mountain. Some of the lines are as follows:

“Seventy-two peaks turn towards the highest summit,

Twenty-four streams flow along the mountain valleys”

“The wonderful scenery is unparalleled in the world,

The Taoist mountain is the first across the country”

Mt. Wudang is celebrated for its large scale of architectures. The first construction began in Tang Dynasty (618-907AD) and in Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271-1911AD) the construction and rebuilding never stopped. Mt. Wudang reached a period of full bloom in its construction work. There were altogether thirty-three architectural complexes, the floor space of which comes up to over one million square meters. After hundreds of years of great changes, there are still some buildings in existence whose floor space are about 50,000 square meters.

The layout of the building complexes was based on the legend of Zhenwu who trained and cultivated himself to attain immortality. The architectures were laid out in imitation of the imperil places, especially the Forbidden City in Beijing.

All the architectures constructed on the mountains exploited the advantage of the topography. The different scales of buildings, the spaces between constructions and ingenious layout show the great wisdom of the ancient Chinese architectures. The places and temples are located either on the top or on the mountain sides, either on the hanging rocks or hidden in a mountain glen, In a word, the layout of the architectures perfectly harmonized with the nature and visitors coming here seem to be in the mood to observe and learn the Taoists' life in the fairyland on earth. So Mt.Wudang bears a great fame for its grand architectures. In 1994 the ancient architectures complexes on Mt. Wudang was listed in the World Cultural Heritage.

The Taoist Culture of Mt. Wudang has extensive knowledge and profound scholarship and it is of long standing and well established. Since the East Han Dynasty (25-220 AD) there were some Taoists on the mountain who settled there to practice austerities. As time on, Mt. Wudang was gradually becoming a Taoist holy place in Central China. The Wudang sect of Taoist was praised and supported by the emperors of feudal dynasties of past ages. For instance, In Zhenguan's reign (627-647 AD) during the Tang Dynasty, there were successive years of drought in many parts of the country, and Yao Jian, the official in charge of the Junzhou administrative division, prayed to heaven for rain by order of the emperor. It was most opportune that a welcome heavenly rain came down in sheets all over the country. In order to express gratitude and pious worship to Heaven, Emperor Taizong ordered a Five-Dragon Temple to be built at the foot of Mt. Lingying.

From Song Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, emperors of the feudal Dynasties had the greatest esteem for the god of Zhenwu on Mt. Wudang, looking upon him as a god in their altars.

During the Yuan Dynasty Wudang Taoist church owned several thousand mu of land and over ten thousand people were working for the Taoism. The Taoist construction consisted of nine palaces, eight temples and other Taoist buildings scattered about 100 places. The Ming Dynasty saw a period of full bloom of Taoism.

In the tenth year in Yongle reign during the Ming Dynasty, Zhuli, the emperor ordered some officials to superintend and direct the construction of a large-scale architectural complex on Mt. Wudang. More than 200,000 builders were mobilizes and it took 13 years to finish the entire project which included nine palaces, eight temples and other Taoist buildings which were scattered at 33 places . There were 300 to 400 Taoist priests on the mountain and in some years the number of Taoist priests came up to 500 to 600.

Except the well-known ancient architecture, Mt. Wudang enjoys a high reputation for its cultural relics. In the history, especially in the Ming Dynasty, the feudal rulers and Taoist devotees all over the country, to show their piously worship to Zhenwu, the god of Taoism, provided funds for moulding thousands of statues of gods and making thousands of musical instruments made of gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, jade, pearl or stone, etc. the statues of gods and musical instruments made the palaces and temples in majestic splendour, which earned for Mt. Wudang a good name of “a world of gold and silver”.

Although most of the cultural relics are now scattered in various places, there are still over 7,000 pieces in registration on the mountain.

The cultural relics remained are of very high value of scientific research and art appreciation.

The Taoist music of Mt. Wudang has always enjoyed high fame and it is an important part of Taoist culture.

Since the construction of Five-Dragon Temple by Emperor Taizong in Tang Dynasty, Mt. Wudang has been an important place where imperial officials and ordinary people performed Taoist rites to pray for fortunes and averting misfortunes and disaster.

The specific Taoist music applied the strong points of court music and folk music to itself, which has a unique style of solemnity, mystery and flowing grace.

Wudang Kungfu has a long history and enjoys high reputation around the country. Zhang Sanfeng , a well-known Taoist priest in the last years of Yuan Dynasty and the first years of Ming Dynasty, was respectfully named as the founder of Wudang Kungfu. The martial arts masters through the ages have brought forth new ideas in the arts and enriched the skills of them, as a result of which Wudang Gongfu has become an eminent important sect of Chinese martial arts.

Wudang Gongfu is also called Neijia gongfu, a kind of which are “being flexible in order to overcome toughness” and “ being motionless in order to overcome quick movements” People do exercises in Wudang gongfu in the purpose of building up good physiques and prolonging life. There has been a saying that in North China Shaolin gongfu is held in esteem and in South China Wudang gongfu is respected and revered” Now Wudang gongfu has been spread for and wide in the country and abroad, and more and more people are doing exercises in Wudang gongfu to improve the physique and to stave off an illness.

The main scenic attractions on Mt. Wudang are as follows:

Xuanyue Archway

The four big Chinese Characters written by emperor Jiajing on the horizontal tablet of the archway reads “Zhi shi XuanYue ”meaning “lofty mount ruling the world”. The archway was built in the 31st year of Jiajing reign (1552AD) in the Ming Dynasty and it is 12 meters high and 12.8 meters wide. It is a four-pillar stone building with three entrances and five overlapping roofs.

Yuxu Palace

The palace was built in the eleventh year of Yongle reign in Ming Dynasty. (1413 AD) and was rebuilt in 1512 AD. Having 22200 bays of floor space, the architectural complex was the largest among the Taoist constructions on Mt. Wudang. Unfortunately Yuxu Palace was brought to ruins by a chaotic war in 1745. However, there still are some structures survived including the four pavilions housing stone tablets each of which is on a fabulous tortoise whose weight is over several hundred tons.

The Needle-Grinding Well

This place has another name “Chunyang palace” which was built in the Yongle reign of Ming Dynasty (1402-1425). The existing constructions were built in the 2nd year of Xianfeng reign (1852) of the Qing Dynasty and repaired in 1984. The temple has a floor space of 1700 square meters with 50 bays of flat house.

The Prince Hillside

The Prince Hillside is also called Fuzhen Temple (Revelation Temple), which was first built, in the 10th year of Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty. The temples here were rebuilt three times in 1662, 1685 and 1691 respectively. The constructions of nowadays are kept as they were, which is one of the large architectural complexes on the mountain.

Nanyan Palace

The Taoist legend says that Zhenwu flew up to Heaven from nayan after become an immortal. Nayan is the most beautiful spot among the 36 rock cliffs. It was rebuilt in the 13th year Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (1413AD) , and there were palaces, pavilions and Taoist houses which have over 150 bays of structures. In the 31st year in Jiajing Reign of the Ming Dynasty an extension was carried out and the constructions came up to 460 bays. Today only a stone palace, the Southern heaven gate, a pavilion housing a stone tablet and the “Two Rites” Palace are survived.

Qiongtai Temple (The Marble Tower Temple) the temple is located 10km southeast to the foot of Tianzhu Peak, but the straight-line distance between is only 1350 meters. The complex is composed of the upper temple, the middle temple and the lower temple. In the Yuan Dynasty it was named “ Qiongtai palace” and in the Ming and Qing Dynasties the complex was extended. There were 24 Taoist courtyards with hundreds of bays of structures. In 1856 the constructions were ruined in a war. Now some temples have been renovated and cable-car station has been built here.

Zixiao Palace (The Purple Firmament Palace) The Palace was built in the 11th year in the Yongle Reign of the Ming Dynasty (1413AD) .In the early years after the construction had been finished, there were palaces, veranda wings, dining halls and pavilions, which have 860 bays. The main palace was conferred a title by the emperor of “Taiyuan Zixiao Palace” which means literally “the palace of Origin of the Purple Heaven “ The mountain behind the palace is named Zhanqi, literally meaning a fluttering flag in the breeze, that is, the shape of the mountain looks like an unfolded flag, Beyond the valley stand several mountain peaks, such as Zhaobi peak, Santai Peak, Wulao Peak, Lazhu Peak, Luomao peak, and Xianglu Peak. On the right is the Thunder God Cave and on the left are the Pool of Traces of Yu, the reputed founder of the Xia Dynasty, and Baozhu Peak. The mountain glen here shapes like a huge throne and Emperor Yongle in the Ming Dynasty bestowed a title of “A Place of Perfect Fortune in the Purple Heaven” on the palace.

The Golden Palace

The Golden Palace is one of the first national monuments promulgated by the State Council. It is located at the top of Tianzhu Peak, which is 1312 meters above the sea level. The palace was built in the 14th year of Yongle reign in the Ming Dynasty; the palace is 5.54 meters high, 4.4 meters long and 3.15 meters wide. The palace is cast with copper and coated with gold and it is a rare art treasure in the world.

The Five-dragon palace

The Five-dragon Palace was first built in Zhengguan reign of the Tang Dynasty (627-649 AD) at the foot of Lingying Mountain Peak. In 1412 the complex was extended and many constructions were added, such as the Imperial Hall, the Gate of the Palace, the Veranda Wings, the Jade Statue Hall, The Parents Hall, the hall of Revelation of holy Spirit, the Hall of the Founder of Taoism and Sacristy. Until the reign of Jiajing In Ming Dynasty, there were 850 bays of construction. In 1930 the palace was destroyed in a fire, however, many remains and relics can be seen there.