Page 243 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols 236

‘Moon-mood’

Mountain

shan

In ancient China, mountains were special objects of veneration. Indeed, mountains played

the same sort of role in Chinese cosmology as the Emperor did in society: they ensured
cosmic order and permanence. The cult of the ‘Five Mountains’ (wu yue) has persisted
into modern times. From time immemorial these five mountains have been places of
sacrifice. They represent all five directions: Tai-shan is in Shan-dong in the East; Heng-
shan is in Hunan in the South; Song-shan is in Henan in the Centre; Hua-shan is in
Shanxi in the West; and, finally, Heng-shan is in Shanxi in the North. (Heng in the latter
word is written with a different character from that used for the Heng-shan in Hunan.)
All five are wooded, which is a rarity in China, and numerous Taoist temples crown their
summits. Along with these five mountains there are a few more which are sacred to
Buddhists, especially O-mi in the western province of Sichuan.
In ancient times, the West was seen as the realm of the mountains. In the mysterious
North-West towered the Kunlun, which we might well compare with the world-mountain
Sumeru of Indian legend: each had nine terraces. In the fabled Kunlun were palaces,
hanging gardens, springs from which the water of life flowed. Whoever succeeded in
climbing all the steps leading up to the Kunlun attained immortality. Indeed, the