词条 | Tai, Mount |
释义 | Tai, Mount mountain, China Chinese (Pinyin) Tai Shan or (Wade-Giles romanization) T'ai Shan ![]() Historically important in the cult of official state rituals, Mount Tai was the site of two of the most spectacular of all the ceremonies of the traditional Chinese empire. One of them, called feng, was held on top of Mount Tai and consisted of offerings to heaven; the other, called chan, was held on a lower hill and made offerings to earth. These ceremonies are often referred to together as fengchan (worship of heaven and earth) and were believed to ensure a dynasty's fortunes. They were carried out at rare intervals—during the Xi (Western) Han (Han dynasty) dynasty (206 BC–AD 25) in 110, 106, 102, and 98 BC; during the Dong (Eastern) Han dynasty (AD 25–220) in AD 56; and by emperors of the Tang (Tang dynasty) dynasty (618–907) in 666 and again in 725. Mount Tai was not only the site of imposing state ceremonies. It was also home to powerful spirits for whom rituals were performed in spring for a good harvest and in autumn to give thanks for a harvest completed. Since Mount Tai was the chief ceremonial centre for eastern China, rites were also performed to seek protection from floods and earthquakes. Mount Tai became associated with a wide range of beliefs that were derived from folk religion and connected with Daoism, a philosophy integral to Chinese life and thought for more than 2,000 years. It was considered to be the centre of the yang (yinyang) (male) principle, the source of life, and from the Dong Han period onward it was believed that the spirits of Mount Tai determined all human destiny and that after death the souls of people returned to Mount Tai for judgment. The name of the most important spirit, originally Taishan Fujun (“Lord of Mount Tai”), was, with the emergence of organized Daoism, changed to Taiyue Dadi (“Grand Emperor of Mount Tai”). In Ming times (1368–1644) the centre of the popular cult was transferred from the spirit himself to his daughter, Taishan Niangniang (“The Lady of Mount Tai”)—also called Bixia Yunjun (“Goddess of the Colourful Clouds”)—whose cult had begun to grow from about 1000 and who became a northern Daoist equivalent to the Buddhist Guanyin (Kuan-yin) or to Avalokitesvara (Avalokiteśvara) (bodhisattva of mercy), whose cult was powerful in central and southern China. ![]() |
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