Wudang Shan
| Wudang Mountains 武当山 |
||
|---|---|---|
 Tianzhu Summit Temple, 2003 |
||
| Highest peak | Tiānzhù ( 1612 m ) | |
| location | Hubei ( PR China ) | |
|
||
| Coordinates | 32 ° 24 ' N , 111 ° 0' E | |
| surface | 400 km² | |
 Xuandi Hall on Mount Wudang, 2009 |
||
The Wudang Mountains , in Chinese called Wǔdāng Shān ( Chinese 武當山 / 武当山 , W.-G. Wu Tang Shan ) - also known under the name Tàihé Shān ( 太和 山 , T'ai Ho Shan - "Mountain of the highest Harmony, Mountain of Great Peace ") or Xuán Yuè ( 玄 岳 -" Mountain of Mysteries ") - are a mountain region in the northwest of the Chinese province of Hubei , near the city of Shiyan .
The area covers about 400 km² and consists of 72 peaks, the highest with 1612 m is the Tiānzhù Fēng ( 天柱峰 - "summit of the heavenly pillars "). Furthermore, the landscape captivates with 36 bizarre rocks and 24 valleys.
With its numerous buildings, temples, palaces, monasteries, bridges, gates, caves and hermitages, Wudang Shan is a famous holy place of the Daoist religion and an attraction for pilgrims from all over the world.
Wudang Daoism
Wudang Shan has a long Daoist tradition. It is said that as early as the Jin Dynasty (265–420) the first scholars withdrew here as hermits. According to legend, the Daoist priest Chen Tuan ( Chen Xiyi ) from the epoch of the Five Dynasties (907-960) and the early Song Dynasty lived on the Jiushi rock for more than 20 years , where he refrained from eating and refined the Qi ( Bi Gu Shi Qi ).
During the reign of Emperor Zhengzong (998-1022) the temples on Wudang Shan were administered by the " School of Orthodox Unity " and the other sects active there were absorbed into it. Approx. 200 years later, the " School of Perfect Reality " took over . During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), the " Dragon Gate School " gradually gained acceptance .
A student of Chen Tuan, Huo Long, called Zhenren ( 真人 , zhēnrén - "true man, perfect man"), is said to have been the teacher of the legendary hero figure Zhang Sanfeng , who lived on Wudang Shan at the beginning of the Ming dynasty. Zhang is considered to be the founder of Wudang Daoism. This is based on the idea of the “school of perfect reality”, but places the so-called zhenwu ( 真 武 , zhēnwǔ - “true warrior, perfect warrior”) at the center of worship . This is probably why Zhang Sanfeng and Wudang Shan are named as the origin of the internal martial arts . The Wudang Daoists still practice a variety of traditional fighting techniques and methods of self-cultivation.
Temples and monasteries
During the Tang dynasty , the construction of numerous Taoist temples and monasteries began, which were further expanded in the course of the following Song and Yuan dynasties.
The Yongle Emperor (1360–1424), born as Zhu Di , had a large-scale development of the Wudang Shan carried out under the direction of the Duke of Longpin, Zhang Xin . With the help of 200,000 soldiers and craftsmen, over 100 palaces , temples , monasteries , guest houses and additional bridges, pavilions and the 70 km long path from the foot of the mountains to the summit of Tianzhu were built. The complex there resembles a forbidden city with a surrounding fortress wall.
At that time, the most magnificent temples in all of China could be admired on Wudang Shan . It was called "the holiest mountain under heaven". After more than 500 years, many of the buildings have fallen into disrepair and destroyed. Only six palaces ( Zixiao Gong , Taizipo , Jindian , Nanyan , Yuzhen and Yuxu ), the two temples Fuzhen and Yuanhe , and the Mozhen - fountains and Xuanyue - Gate have been preserved from that time today and be carefully restored .
The Zixiao Gong ( 紫霄宮 / 紫霄宫 - "Purple Cloud Palace") is the largest of the preserved structures. The temple was built in 1413. It rises in four levels on the mountainside. In the Longhu Temple there are sculptures of the two divine generals, the Blue Dragon and the White Tiger . The figure of the "Heavenly Official" rises in the next higher Shifang Temple . Zixiaodian , the main hall of the Zixiao Gong, surrounds the copper and gold framed statue of the “perfect warrior”, who is depicted as a boy, a middle-aged and an old man. On the top level is the Fumu Temple , where the parents of the "perfect warrior" are venerated.
The center point and one of the main tourist attractions is the "Golden Hall" ( 金殿 , Jīndiàn ) on the highest point of Tianzhu. This temple with its surrounding figures, incense burners and offering tables with a total weight of 90 tons were manufactured in Beijing and then transported up the mountain. The completely gold-plated temple is made of copper and measures 5.8 meters in width and 4.2 meters in depth with a height of 5.5 meters. Inside is the 1.8 meter high and 10 ton heavy statue of the "Great Perfect Warrior King Zhenwu "; his feet, the symbol of the Wudang Shan, of a snake enwound turtle .
Wudang Shan and the martial arts
According to Chinese tradition and legend, the Taoist monasteries of the Wudang Mountains are the place of origin of the "internal martial arts" ( 內 家 拳 / 内 家 拳 , Nèijiāquán ), such as Taijiquan , Baguazhang and Xingyiquan , the "external martial arts" ( 外家 拳 , Wàijiāquán ) of Shaolin Kung Fu and other styles. Whether the internal martial arts actually originate from the Wudang Mountains historically is a matter of dispute.
According to a legend, the Daoist monk Zhang Sanfeng is said to have observed the fight between a snake and a crane in the Wudang Mountains , where the snake kept avoiding the crane until it had to give up exhausted. From this he is said to have developed the principles of "soft" fighting with inner strength.
The "Wudang Wushu " from Shiyan, Hubei Province was inscribed on the list of the intangible cultural heritage of the People's Republic of China (No. 290).
Today, there are numerous Taoist schools and masters of internal martial arts in and around Wudang City. The most famous masters include Zhong Yunlong ( 三豐 派 / 三丰 派 , Sānfēng Pài - Sanfeng School), Yang Qunli ( 龍 門派 / 龙 门派 , Lóngmén Pài - Longmen School) and You Xuande ( 玄武 派 , Xuánwǔ Pài - Xuanwu School), who does not live in Wudang Shan. They have produced a number of master students and strive to spread the Wudang martial arts in China, Taiwan and other Asian and European countries.
In Germany, the Wudang style first became known through Tian Liyang , a master student of You Xuande, who explains the Taoist principles of inner martial arts and living in the television film “The Master of Wudang Shan”. There are now several Wudang masters and different schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland that teach the Wudang style in various forms.
Popular culture
The Wudang style is thematized in numerous Eastern . Outside China , especially in the west , there is the famous Oscar-winning film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ( Tiger & Dragon ) from 2000, in which the protagonist and film hero Lǐ Mùbái ( 李慕白 ) embodies a martial arts master from the Wudang Mountains.
Web links
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Daoinfo.org - Mt. Wudang (English)
- A History of Wudang Immortals (English)
Heritage: Great Wall of China (1987) | Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing ( Forbidden City ) and Shenyang (1987) | Mogao Grottoes (1987) | Qin Shihuangdis Mausoleum (1987) | Peking man's site in Zhoukoudian (1987) | Summer Residence and Eight Outer Temples near Chengde (1994) | Confucius Temple, Cemetery and Residence of the Kong Family in Qufu (1994) | Daoist shrines in the mountains of Wudang (1994) | Potala Palace (1994), Jokhang Temple (2000) and Norbulingka Palace (2001) | Lu Shan National Park (1996) | Lijiang Old Town (1997) | Old City of Pingyao (1997) | Classical Gardens of Suzhou (1997) | Yiheyuan Summer Palace (1998) | Temple of Heaven with imperial sacrificial altar in Beijing (1998) | Rock sculptures by Also (1999) | Mount Qingcheng Mountains and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System (2000) | Xidi and Hongcun Villages (2000) | Longmen Grottoes (2000) | Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2000) | Yungang Grottoes (2001) | Capitals and Tombs of the Ancient Kingdom of Koguryo (2004) | Historic Center of Macau (2005) | Yinxu (2006) | Diaolou towers and villages in Kaiping (2007) | Tulou loam buildings in Fujian (2008) | Wutai Shan (2009) | Historical Monuments of Dengfeng (2010) | Cultural Landscape West Lake near Hangzhou (2011) | Xanadu Site (2012) | Hani rice terraces in Yunnan (2013) | Silk Roads: The Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor Road Network (2014) | Kaiserkanal (2014) | Tusi sites (2015) | Petroglyphs at Huashan and the Zuo Jiang River (2016) | Kulangsu: a Historic International Settlement (2017) | Liangzhu City Archaeological Ruins (2019)
Natural heritage: Jiuzhaigou Valley Landscape Park (1992) | Lime sinter terrace landscape Huanglong (1992) | Wulingyuan Landscape Park (1992) | Protection zones of the three parallel rivers of Yunnan (2003) | Sichuan Panda Nature Reserve (2006) | Karst landscapes in southern China (2007, 2014) | Sanqing Shan National Park (2008) | Danxia Shan at Shaoguan (2010) | Chengjiang Fossil Site (2012) | Tian Shan Mountains in Xinjiang (2013) | Shennongjia Forest Area (2016) | Qinghai Hoh Xil (2017) | Migratory bird sanctuaries along the coast of the Yellow Sea - Gulf of Bohai (Phase I) (2019)
Cultural / Natural Heritage: Tai Shan Mountain Region (1987) | Huang Shan Mountains (1990) | Mountain landscape of Emei Shan and Leshan Big Buddha (1996) | Wuyi Mountains (1999) | Fanjingshan (2018)