Keywords: historical and cultural origins, spiritual needs, social conditions
"My road twists and turns, passing through a valley covered by branches and flowers, leading to a Buddhist retreat." Whenever we climb Wudang Mountain, Lushan Mountain and other famous mountains, we are always attracted by the long bells of temples on the mountains and intoxicated by the quiet atmosphere of body and mind; Whenever we turn to the history of China and look for the footprints of eminent monks and celebrities, we often hear their supernatural conversations in famous temples. These famous mountains are undoubtedly an important treasure house of tourism resources in China, and they can also be said to be cultural landscapes with China characteristics, which contain rich historical and cultural information and have aroused the interest of many scholars in past dynasties. How are these famous mountains formed? This paper will make some shallow analysis and discussion on the reasons for the formation of famous mountains from the perspective of geography and history.
1 humanistic psychology background
In China, the sky is worshipped as a tangible thing. According to ancient documents, the Xia Dynasty had already "punished heaven" and conquered all tribes. In Shang Dynasty, Heaven was called "Emperor". For a long period of history, from emperors to generals to ordinary people, the Heaven Emperor and God were regarded as the highest gods to worship. Another concrete form of sky worship is sun worship.
In primitive times, all ethnic groups in China had the idea and activities of worshipping the sun. For example, there are paintings in Yinshan rock paintings in Inner Mongolia showing people crossing their heads and bowing to the sun ring, and there are paintings in Huashan rock paintings in Guangxi showing people cheering to welcome the sun. In ancient records, we can also find the description of the emperor's sacrifice to the sun and the scale of the altar. For example, in Shangshu Yao, it is recorded that "Visiting Day" is in the east and "Farewell Day" is in the west, and "Book of Rites and Moon Order" says that "the day of beginning of spring will lead to the arrival of three officials and nine princes and doctors in the eastern suburbs".
Because the sun rises in the east and the light begins in the east, there is another content in the concept of the ancients: the worship of the east, which, when combined with the worship of mountains, forms the unique "worship of Dongshan" in China. For example, according to historical records, there are five mountains in Shun, and Mount Tai is the "Five Mountains". Shun "patrol for five years, and respect it." "Literature General Examination" records that "Dongyue, whose land is in the east and its land is in the north, between yin and ugliness, is the common place of all things, the place of friendship between yin and yang, and the ancestor of all things." Therefore, emperors of past dynasties must sacrifice Mount Tai before paying homage to the Five Mountains. There are several reasons for worshipping mountains: first, the peaks are tall and majestic, making it difficult for people to get close; Secondly, mountain forests provide people with abundant prey and other important articles for production and daily use, which is an important support for people's survival and development in ancient times and even in class society, thus leading people to give mountains the concept of gods.
China's concept of worshipping mountains has its unique and rich cultural connotation. In essence, the worship of the Five Mountains in ancient China is an extension of the activities of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth in the emperor's daily life in space and form. For example, "Historical Records Zen" says: "Zhou Guan said that winter will come, and the southern suburbs will worship the sky to welcome the long day; Summer has come, and there is only a place to worship. Everyone uses music and dance, and God can get it. The son of heaven worships the world's famous mountains and rivers, and the five mountains regard the three public, and the four blasphemies regard the princes. The princes offered sacrifices to famous mountains, rivers, four blasphemies, rivers, Huaihe River and economy. The emperor called Tang Ming and Biyong, and the princes called Pan Gong. " In daily life, emperors often built religious buildings such as Tang Ming and Biyong to worship heaven and earth, and climbed mountains to worship heaven and earth during large-scale itineraries. Historical Records records the activities of Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty in the meditation on Mount Tai. According to records, the worship activities of emperors in China all relied on mountains, showing their reverence for heaven and earth and power through various religious buildings and ritual activities. The concept of mountain worship here is the form and basis of this concept, and its essence is sky worship, land worship, national worship and the resulting political worship. In China, Emperor Tiandi often built religious buildings on mountains, directly linking primitive religions with famous mountains. For example, there are Li Hao Temple on Mount Tai, Tang Ming who issued a decree to worship ancestors, Jade Emperor Temple and Yuan Jun Temple who worship gods, which set a precedent for the later selection of holy places by Buddhism and Taoism temples in China and provided reference.
2 spiritual needs
Most monasteries in China are located in mountainous areas with beautiful natural scenery and quiet. Mountains are the embodiment of beauty, which can be divided into "beauty of image, beauty of color, beauty of sound, beauty of line, beauty of movement, beauty of quietness and beauty of taste". This environment undoubtedly provides excellent material conditions for religious believers.
Mount Tai has been a famous mountain full of religious and political colors since ancient times, and its landscape beauty is famous at home and abroad. The beauty of Mount Tai lies in its majesty. Its main peak is 1.524m above sea level, and it has the potential to reach the sky and rise from the ground, which is unparalleled thousands of miles away. When you climb a mountain, you will feel that the world suddenly becomes within reach, making people feel lofty and ambitious. Confucius once said: The stone of Mount Tai is the hope of Lubang. Mount Tai is not only magnificent but also beautiful. Fan Cliff, for example, is steep and towering, shaped like a fan. The environment here is quiet, the scenery is beautiful and the spring water is clear all year round. Because of its height and vertical climate change, Mount Tai has a warm temperate zone at the foot and a middle temperate zone at the top. The mist on the mountain not only sets off that Mount Tai is higher than the sky, but also gives people all kinds of reverie of "paradise fairyland".
As one of the Buddhist centers in the early days when Buddhism was introduced into China, Lushan Mountain is famous for its beautiful natural scenery, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, clouds and peaks. Li Bai's famous work "Lushan Mountain sends Lu's royal virtual boat" fully depicts the beauty of Lushan Mountain. Lushan Mountain sees the south bucket, the clouds are as long as nine screens, and the reflection is deep in the blue lake. "。 The Golden Gate Bridge leads to two mountains, Liang Shi, where the Milky Way fell. Xianglufeng Waterfall is separated from it by a distance, and it is a heavy cliff towering into the sky. The morning glow is red in Cui Yun, and the birds fly and grow. I climbed to the top. I look around the world and arbitrage will never pay off. Yellow clouds have been blown away by the wind for hundreds of miles, and a snow peak is surrounded by a vortex with nine times the current. The fog in Lushan Mountain is called the wonder of the world. It is all over the mountains, with clouds and nothing. The mountains are floating on the clouds and people are swimming in the fog. Imagine living in such a fairyland on earth and practicing Tao. How can you not be physically and mentally happy, refreshed and refreshed? All my troubles are in blowing in the wind, and all my old grievances and fame and fortune have been thrown abroad. No wonder Hui Yuan monk "wanted to go to Luofu Mountain and Quyang, and saw the tranquility of Lufeng before going to Longquan Jingshe."
Ancient temple academies in China are often located in secluded places, that is, outside the realm of leisure. Surrounded by mountains, like a paradise, it gives people a sense of security, and it also makes people feel absorbed and cultivates their sentiments. Here the vegetation is lush, the microclimate is pleasant, and the secluded place is a good place to live and travel. In such an environment, it helps believers to get rid of the "world of mortals" and concentrate on their practice, so as to reach the highest realm of practice, such as the nirvana realm of Buddhism, that is, "the most comfortable realm of wisdom and happiness, eternal silence." Taoism pursues the natural environment more than Buddhism. Taoism takes advocating nature and returning to simplicity as its main purpose, and believes that there are immortals living in high mountains, so it is necessary to go up the mountain to collect medicine, refine alchemy and cultivate one's morality to become immortals. The famous mountains surrounded by white clouds are secluded and noisy, which is naturally an ideal environment for Taoist practice. Many famous mountains, such as Wudang Mountain and Qingcheng Mountain, were once sacred places of Taoism.
3. The spread of Buddhism promoted the formation of famous mountains.
Since Buddhism came into being in India, monks have always been respected and praised by monks and customs for "taking the road of Wan Li", visiting famous teachers and seeking famous places of interest. Since the Buddhism of "White Horse Tuojing" of Emperor Han Ming spread to the east, many eminent monks from India and the western regions have gone to China alone to translate and spread the scriptures. They devoted themselves to the cause of Buddhism, which greatly promoted the development of China's religious cause, and the activities of spreading Buddhism in famous mountains often expanded the influence of famous mountains among the people.
Master Dharma once stopped at Shaolin Temple in Songshan Mountain, Henan Province, and explained Buddhist scriptures and enlightenment on the wall of Shaoshi Mountain, thus making Songshan Mountain and Shaolin Temple famous all over the world. Another example is Samghadeva, Damodolo and Roche. Explained classics and interpretations in Lushan; An Shigao, An Xuan, Zhi Lou Jia Yi, Zhu Foshuo, Zhong Zhen, Bukong, etc. As the saying goes, "the mountain is not high, and the fairy is not famous." These masters live in famous mountains, attracting religious believers at home and abroad to learn to worship, so the famous mountains are famous far and near. After Sui and Tang Dynasties, Japanese sent monks to study in China. After returning to China, these monks actively spread Buddhist culture in China. For example, some famous Buddhist mountains in China were directly publicized in Sung Hoon's The Journey to the West and Wutai Mountain, which extended their religious influence abroad and undoubtedly expanded the religious influence of these famous mountains.
"A bowl of thousands of rice, lonely monks travel to Wan Li Road." Due to the unremitting efforts of Buddhism to participate in Taoist activities, four worship centers were formed in China at the end of the Tang Dynasty: First, Wutai Mountain-Manjusri Dojo; The second is the Puguangwang Temple in Sizhou-the holy land of the Sangha Great Sage; The third is Zhong Nanshan-the holy land of tertiary education; 4. Famen Temple in Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province-the holy land of Buddha bones. By the Southern Song Dynasty, there were already "Five Mountains and Ten Temples" as places for Zen believers to travel and worship. By the Ming Dynasty, the tradition of visiting four famous mountains had been formed and continued to this day.
The achievements of Buddhist monks in a famous mountain have made great contributions to the formation of famous religious mountains. Hui Yuan, a monk in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was able to give lectures at the age of 24, and he could also explain difficult scriptures. He built Tolin Temple in Lushan Mountain, taught and lectured carefully, and made contacts with civilian military commanders in troubled times with his piety, knowledge and wit. Even Yin Zhongkan, Wang Mi of Si Tuleideng and Wang Mo of the garrison "drank Mufengde and respected him far away". His virtue and profound knowledge make people admire him, which has played a positive role in maintaining a good environment for Buddhist activities in Lushan Mountain. Hui Yuan once asked for Sanskrit classics from the Western Regions and India. "The wonderful classics are beyond the onions, and Guanzhong wins, so those who come to Purple Stone are far away." Hui Yuan also devoted himself to compiling Buddhist scriptures, and wrote his own works, such as "On the Victory of Buddhism", so that Luo Shi, a famous western monk, sighed after seeing it: "It is wonderful that the border people have no scriptures, so that darkness and reason can be combined." Hui Yuan has lived in Lushan Mountain for 36 years, devoted himself to spreading the Dharma, and "fame spread far and wide", and made monks and nuns from all over the world come uninvited, as well as teachers and friends such as Hui 'an, and some scholars and celebrities who are proud of their talents. Thanks to the painstaking efforts of Hui Yuan and many monks, the number of Buddhists in Lushan Mountain has greatly increased, and their reputation has increased day by day, so that "foreign monks were called Taoist priests in the Han Dynasty. Every time I burn incense and worship Buddha, I pay tribute to the East and give my heart to Lu Yue. " Hui Yuan has almost become a symbol of Lushan Mountain. The Pure Land Sect he founded is one of the top ten sects of Buddhism in China, which is widely spread in South Korea and Japan. Since Hui Yuan, Lushan Mountain has become one of the three major Buddhist centers in China at that time, thus establishing its position among many Buddhist forests.
Undoubtedly, the formation of famous religious mountains is a process of historical accumulation and the result of the interaction of various material factors and human factors. Exploring the historical and cultural connotations of these famous religious mountains is of positive practical significance for the protection and development of these famous religious mountains. Of course, just as Su Shi looked at Lushan Mountain, "from the side of the ridge, it became a peak, and the distance was different." If we study from other angles, we can find more origins of the formation of religious mountains.
refer to
1 thank you. Symphony of landscape aesthetics between man and nature [M]. Beijing: Peking University Publishing House, 199 1.
2 common signs. Buddhism and tourism [J]. French sound, 1988(6)