The Backbone of China
29
Aril 2007
Mt Hua (华山), at 2154.9
m, it is the tallest of the Five
Great Mountains
Traditional Chinese
culture views all things in the universe as
inter-connected, and in Feng shui theory, there is a
comparison between the physical formation of
Earth and a human body. It refers to
mountains as the spines, rivers the blood
veins, soil the skin and plants the hair.
Following this
notion, China is a tall and bony guy since mountains and plateaus cover about 65
percent of its total land area, with seven of
the world’s twelve top high peaks (higher
than 8000 metres) located in the country. As
China's hillish terrains are mainly
concentrated in the northwest with fertile
watering land in the southeast, this lofty
and skinny fella exposes his face and soft
belly to the sun, which from the feng shui
point of view, is an ideal geo-composition.
Normally when Chinese
mension China’s natural landscape, they
often refer to it as “Three Eminent Hills
and Five Great Moutains” (三山五岳).
It is believed that
the Three Hills Five Mountains are where the
immortals reside, and Chinese sovereigns made
it a routine to pay tribute to the higher
beings dwelling on the high grounds of the
Five Mountains who act as the in-house
guardians of the nation.
While the Three Hills are said
located somewhere in the East Sea with their
exact geo-positions never positively
determined, the Five Mountains in the five
key directions of the country are viewed as
five pillars popping up the sky. They
represent the Five Agents respectively, and
are described as each having a distinctive
personality: in the east Mt Mighty (泰山Wood) sits majesty, in the
west Mt Lotus (华山Metal) erects tall
and upright, behind them in the north Mt
Eternity (恒山Water) keeps pacing
leisurely, and before them in the south Mt
Balance (衡山Fire) is on the verge
of taking off from the ground, while right in
the middle, Mt Lofty (嵩山Earth) lies down
meditating. (嵩山如卧, 泰山如坐，华山如立，恒山如行，衡山如飞.)
Three
Eminent Hills:
- Hill
Penglai (蓬莱)
- Hill
Yingzhou (瀛州)
- Hill
Fangzhang (方丈)
Five Great Mountains:
- Mt.
Tai (泰山 Mt
Mighty), east (东岳), Wood
- Mt.
Heng (衡山 Mt
Balance), south (南岳), Fire
- Mt.
Hua (华山 Mt
Lotus), west (西岳), Metal
- Mt.
Heng (恒山 Mt
Eternity), north (北岳), Water
- Mt.
Song (嵩山 Mt
Lofty), middle (中岳), Earth
Four
Major Sacred Buddhist Mountain (四大佛山). :
- Mt.
Potuo (普陀山)：Zhejiang Province
(浙江),
bodhisattva patron Guanyin (观音菩萨)
- Mt.
Jiuhua (九华山)：Anhui Province (安徽), bodhisattva
patron Dizang (地藏菩萨)
- Mt.
Wutai (五台山)：Shanxi Province (山西)
bodhisattvapatron Wenzhu (文殊菩萨)
- Mt.
Emei (峨眉山)：Sichuan Province
(四川),
bodhisattva patron Poxian (普贤菩萨)
Four
Major Sacred Daoist Mountains (四大道教名山):
- Mt.
Wudang (武当山): Hubei
Province (湖北),
- Mt.
Dragon and Tiger (龙虎山):
Jiangxi Province (江西),
- Mt.Green
Town (青城山):
Sichuan Province (四川),
- Mt.
Reaching Clouds (齐云山): Anhui
Province (安徽)
Chinese State Bureau
of Surveying and Mapping and the Ministry of
Construction recently released the new
measurement results of the nineteen
well-known mountains using the latest
technologies.
- Mt.
Emei (峨眉山) 3079.3
m, Sichuan Province (四川)
- Mt
Wutai (五台山) 3061.1
m, Shanxi Province (山西)
- Mt
Hua (华山) 2154.9
m，Shananxi
Province (陕西)
- Mt.
Heng (恒山 Mt.
Eternity) 2016.1 m，Shanxi Province (山西)
- Mt
Huang (黄山) 1864.8米, AnhuiProvince (安徽)
- Mt.
Sanqing (三清山) 1819.9
m，Sichuan
Province (四川)
- Mt.
Wudang (武当山) 1612.1
m，Hubei
Province (湖北)
- Mt.
Jinggang (井冈山) 1597.6
m, JiangxiProvince (江西)
- Mt
Tai (泰山) 1532.7
m，Shandong
Province (山东)
- Mt.
Song (嵩山) 1491.7
m，Henan
Province (河南)
- Mt.
Lu (庐山) 1473.4
m，Jiangxi
Province (江西)
- Mt.
Jiuhua (九华山Mt.)
1344.4 m，Anhui
Province (安徽)
- Mr
Heng (衡山 Mt.
Balance) 1300.2 m，Hunan Province (湖南)
- Mt.
Qingcheng (青城山) 1260.0
m，Sichuan
Province (四川)
- Mt.
Lao (崂山) 1132.7
m，Shandong
Province (山东)
- Mt.
Yandang (雁荡山) 1108.0
m，Zhejiang
Province (浙江)
- Mt.
Yuntai (云台山) 624.4
m，Henan
Province (河南)
- Mt.
Puto (普陀山) 286.3
m，Zhejiang
Province (浙江)
- Mt.
Long Hu (龙虎山) 247.4
m，Jiangxi
Province (江西)
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