Mount Wutai, also known by its Chinese name Wutaishan and as Mount Qingliang, is a sacred Buddhist site at the headwaters of the Qingshui in Shanxi Province, China. Its central area is surrounded by a cluster of flat-topped peaks or mesas roughly corresponding to the cardinal directions. The north peak (Beitai Ding or Yedou Feng) is the highest (3,061 m or 10,043 ft from sea) and is also the highest point in North China.
Mount Wutai is one of the Four Sacred Mountains in Chinese Buddhism. Each of the mountains is viewed as the bodhimaṇḍa (道場; dàocháng) of one of the four great bodhisattvas. Wǔtái is the home of the Bodhisattva of wisdom, Mañjuśrī or "文殊" (Wénshū) in Chinese. Mañjuśrī has been associated with Mount Wutai since ancient times. Paul Williams writes:[2]
Apparently the association of Mañjuśrī with Wutai (Wu-t'ai) Shan in north China was known in classical times in India itself, identified by Chinese scholars with the mountain in the 'north-east' (when seen from India or Central Asia) referred to as the abode of Mañjuśrī in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. There are said to have been pilgrimages from India and other Asian countries to Wutai Shan by the seventh century.
Wutai was the first of the mountains to be identified and is often referred to as "first among the four great mountains".[citation needed] It was identified on the basis of a passage in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, which describes the abodes of many bodhisattvas. In this chapter, Mañjuśrī is said to reside on a "clear cold mountain" in the northeast. This served as charter for the mountain's identity and its alternate name "Clear Cool Mountain" (清涼山; Qīngliáng Shān).
The bodhisattva is believed to frequently appear on the mountain, taking the form of ordinary pilgrims, monks, or most often unusual five-colored clouds.
Reflecting regional rivalries between Buddhist centers, 9th-century Chan Buddhism master Linji Yixuan criticized the prominence of Wutai in Tang dynasty China. According to the posthumously compiled Línjì yǔlù, Linji Yixuan once said, “There‘s a bunch of students who seek Mañjuśrī on Mount Wutai. Wrong from the start! There‘s no Mañjuśrī on Mount Wutai.” His campaign was however not successful, and even after the Tang era Mount Wutai “continued to thrive as perhaps the single most famous Buddhist sacred site in China.”[3]
Mount Wutai is home to some of the oldest wooden buildings in China that have survived since the era of the Tang dynasty (618–907). This includes the main hall of Nanchan Temple and the East Hall of Foguang Temple, built in 782 and 857, respectively. They were discovered in 1937 and 1938 by a team of architectural historians including the prominent early 20th-century historian Liang Sicheng. The architectural designs of these buildings have since been studied by leading sinologists and experts in traditional Chinese architecture, such as Nancy Steinhardt. Steinhardt classified these buildings according to the hall types featured in the Yingzao Fashi Chinese building manual written in the 12th century.
In 2008, there were complaints from local residents that, in preparation for Mount Wutai's bid to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they were forced from their homes and relocated away from their livelihoods.[6][7]
In April 2020, it was selected into the "2020 World Famous Summer Mountains List".[10]
In April 2020, it was selected into the "2020 China's Famous Summer Mountains List".[10]
In September 2022, the planation surface of Mount Wutai was selected into the list of the most beautiful geological relics in Shanxi Province.[11]
Climate
Mount Wutai has a subarctic climate (Köppen climate classificationDwc). The average annual temperature in Haidian is 2.1 °C (35.8 °F). The average annual rainfall is 672.6 mm (26.48 in) with July as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 15.2 °C (59.4 °F), and lowest in January, at around −12.1 °C (10.2 °F).
Climate data for Mount Wutai (elevation 2,208 m (7,244 ft), 1998–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
^Tuttle, Gray (2006). 'Tibetan Buddhism at Ri bo rtse lnga/Wutai shan in Modern Times.' Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, no. 2 (August 2006): 1-35. Source: [1] (accessed: Monday, July 1, 2013)
^ abXu, Haiyuan; Hou, Shuisheng (2020-04-24). "2020年中外避暑名山排行榜（全榜单）-排行榜-中商情报网" [Ranking list of famous summer resorts at home and abroad in 2020 (full list) - Ranking list - China Business Intelligence Network]. top.askci.com. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
^Ma, Lu; Sang, Liyuan (2022-10-04). "山西20处最美地质遗迹公布" [The 20 most beautiful geological sites in Shanxi announced]. sx.people.com.cn. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
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