Mount Tai Culture

With a long history and its significant role in varying era, Mount Tai enjoys profound cultures. Widely known for its special ceremonies and sacrifices, Mount Tai has been visited by many poets and literary scholars who have traveled there to gain inspiration. There are grandiose temples, many stone inscriptions and stone tablets with the mountain playing an important role in the development of both Buddhism and Taoism.

Cultural Deposits

East is considered as the source of life, a symbol of hope and good luck. And ancient Chinese ancients tend to think the majestic and peculiar Dongyue as a great spirit, and take the gods of mountain who could bring good weather for the crops as objects to worship. Thus, Mount Tai which is situated in became the "auspicious mountain" and "home of the spirits" that breed everything. Emperor with the destiny "son of heaven" saw Mount Tai as the symbol of national unity and power. So that special ceremonies and sacrifices could be seen here. A total of 72 emperors were recorded as visiting it.

The special ceremonies held by emperors and its own majestic spectacular grandeur of the scenery have attracted loads of cultural celebrities here, such as Confucius, Sima Xiangru, Caozhi, Libai, Dufu, etc. so that thousands of stone inscriptions were left. Wall paintings and colored Sculptures of Arhats of Song Dynasty respectively in Tiankuang Palace and Linggyan Temple are rare and valuable works. Stone carving and stone carving of Mount Tai are the the collection of great Chinese calligraphy art, with all kinds of handwriting schools and styles.

Mount taishan is of rich cultural heritages. There are 97 existing ancient sites and 22 ancient building groups now, provide important materials for the ancient Chinese architectural history research.

Religion

Religious worship of Mount Tai has a tradition dating back 3,000 years, from the time of the Shang to the Qing Dynasty. Over time, this worship evolved into an official imperial rite and Mount Tai became one of the principal places where the emperor would pay homage to heaven (on the summit) and earth (at the foot of the mountain) in the Feng and Shan sacrifices respectively. The two sacrifices are often referred to together as the Fengshan sacrifices. Carving of an inscription as part of the sacrifices marked the attainment of the "great peace".

Buddhism was spread there in the middle of the 4th century. Later in 351, the eminent monk Langong first to reach Mount Tai built Langgong Temple and Lingyan Temple. In Wei Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties period, the larger temples like Jade Emperor Temple, Shenbao Temple, and Puzhao Temple were established. Then, more and more temples appeared there.

Deities Associated to Mount Tai

As a place blessed with various grandeur, Mount Tai is a powerful for people so that there are lots of deities associated to it, such as the Great Deity of Mount Tai who is regarded as the supreme god of Mount Tai, Bixia Yuanjun, literally the "Goddess of the Blue Dawn”, who is the daughter or the consort of the Great Deity of Mount Tai, Yanguang Nainai who is is venerated as goddess of eyesight, Songzi Niangniang who is thought to be a Taoist fertility goddess, and Shi Gandang that is a spirit sent down from Mount Tai by Bixia Yuanjun to protect ordinary people from evil spirits.