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Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

author:National Geographic Chinese Network
Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?
Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Songshan Shaolin Temple Tallinn

There are five famous mountains in traditional Chinese culture,

East Yue Taishan, South Yue Heng Mountain,

West Yue Hua Mountain, North Yue Heng Mountain.

And today's protagonist, Zhongyue -

Song Mountain, which stands in the "heavens and the earth".

※This article is the essence of the Chinese edition of China Geography of National Geographic, selected from the October 2010 issue

Author: Zhu Jun, Qu Lian

Photo: Chen Xinyu

Regarding the title of "heaven and earth", Songshan has been recognized by the world. As early as the 34th World Heritage Conference held in Brazil, the "Historic Building Complex in Dengfeng Heaven and Earth" was officially listed as a World Cultural Heritage.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Shaomuro Mountain is an important part of Song Mountain, and the Thirty-Six Peaks are green and the scenery is beautiful.

And people travel to the Song Mountains Twelve Questions the third two room road

Fan Zhongyun

Tai Mu He Sen shrugged, and Shao Mu wanted to fly.

Relative to the clouds, it is like a fairy dream.

Why spoil this trip, sing the praises of the gods.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Located at the southern foot of The Song Mountains, the Songyue Temple Pagoda was originally built in the fourth year of the Northern Wei Dynasty (523 AD) and is the earliest brick pagoda in China. The tower is 37.05 meters high, planed dodecagonal, the tower body is made of green brick and yellow mud, and the heart chamber of the tower is empty, from bottom to top. The tower body is stacked with 15 layers of eaves, which are divided layer by layer, so that the shape and contour of the tower show a light and beautiful parabola shape. The ancient pagoda has both artistic and technical value, and is a treasure in ancient Chinese architecture.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Built in the early Yuan Dynasty, Dengfeng Observatory is the oldest surviving astronomical observation building in China. The brick platform is 9.46 meters high, and the north wall is built with a groove that runs straight up and down, and the bottom of the groove is connected to a 31.19 meter long stone gui. Shi Gui, also known as the "measuring scale", is an observation device invented by the ancient Chinese to measure the length of the sun's shadow.

So, what is "in the heavens and the earth",

Why is "among the heavens and the earth" in the Song Mountains?

The answer lies in a Zhou Gong Temple in the southern foothills of Song Mountain, north of the town of Gongcheng in Dengfeng County. Legend has it that this is where the famous politician Zhou Gongdan observed the "earth" in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

The observation deck is made of bluestone, divided into two parts: the pedestal and the stone pillar, and the height is 3.91 meters. According to the Zhou Li, Zhou used the "Tugui method" to measure the shadow of the sun and thus found the middle of the earth. Zheng Xuan, a university scholar who later annotated the Zhou Li in the Han Dynasty, was also convinced of this.

However, in fact, not only from the perspective of today's people, the "Tugui method" lacks scientific basis, as early as the Tang Dynasty, astronomers have realized that the use of the "Tugui method" to seek land is not feasible. Nangong Shu, who was serving as the Taishi Supervisor at the time, was sent to present-day Henan Province to perform astronomical geodetic surveys. The actual measurement results in various places prove that the records of the Zhou Li and Zheng Xuan's annotations are insufficient. However, Nangong said that what he proved was only the fallacy of the "Tugui Law", and he did not doubt that the "heaven and earth" were located on Mount Song -- this can be proved by the fact that he presided over the construction of the "Zhou Gong Observatory".

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

The Zhou Gong Observation Deck located in the Zhou Gong Temple in the morning light after the rain - the "Jing" character here passes the "shadow", referring to the shadow of the sun, which was specially built in the Tang Dynasty Taishi Jiannan Gong to commemorate the Zhou Gong.

As recorded in the Zhou Li, "in the middle of the earth" is:

Where the heavens and the earth are together, and where the four hours are intertwined,

Where the wind and rain will be, the place of yin and yang will also be.

However, a hundred things are in Fu'an, and it is to build a kingdom.

Under the Five Milk Peaks of Shaomu Mountain, the Shaolin Temple is known as "the ancestral court of Zen Buddhism, the first brake in the world". Tallinn is the burial place where the monks of the temple have been buried for generations, and after the death of the monks, the bones or ashes are buried in the underground palace, and the tomb tower is built on it to show merit. This is the largest and largest surviving group of pagodas in China, preserving more than 240 monk tomb towers from the Tang Dynasty to the modern era.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Located under the Five Milk Peaks of Shaomuro Mountain in Song Mountain, chuzu nunnery, with three streams and ancient trees, is a scenic spot in the mountain, and was built by the Song people to commemorate the wall of the first zu Dharma. It is the surviving Northern Song Dynasty building in northern China that is most consistent with the norms of "Building the French Style", and is equally famous as the main hall of Ningbo Baoguo Temple, which can be called the southern and northern double bi of The Northern Song Dynasty architecture in China.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Built in the seventh year of the Song Dynasty (1125 AD), the main hall has been repaired several times, but its main components and features such as the proportion of the bucket arch, the structure of the beam frame and the stone foot guard of the stone pillar and the wall still maintain the appearance of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

The two mountain walls in the Chuzu Nunnery hall are painted with portraits of the ancestors of the 35th generation after Bodhidharma, and each of the four golden pillars is carved with a god king, some holding a pestle, some with a sword, some holding a whip, majestic divine martial arts, simple and vigorous, which is a rare fine product in the Northern Song Dynasty stone carvings.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?
Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

On the inner wall of the gable on the east side of the Chuzu'an Hall, the stone surface of the foot guard is embossed with the image of the Arhat crossing the sea, which was very popular in the Northern Song Dynasty. There are exquisite reliefs around the eaves, inner pillars, inner and outer shoulder stones and Buddhist platforms in the temple, all of which were carved during the construction of the temple, with the waves as the background, the sword technique is clumsy and vigorous, the artistic conception is far-reaching, and the artistic value is extremely high.

(Slide below, the inner wall of the gable on the east side of the Chuzu-an Main Hall crosses the sea arhat)

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?
Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Built in the fifth year of Tang Tianbao (746 AD), the Jingzang Zen Master Pagoda is the tomb pagoda of Jingzang Zen Master, a disciple of Liuzu Huineng. The ancient pagoda is located on the west side of Thehuishan Temple at the southern foot of Mount Taimuro, with a single-storey heavy eaves pavilion; except for the stone carvings of the pagoda, the base and body of the pagoda are made of green bricks. It is the earliest surviving octagonal brick pagoda in China, an outstanding work in the single-storey pagoda of the Tang Dynasty.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

After the Han Dynasty, Zhongyue Temple became the ancestral temple of the state to worship the god Zhongyue Mountain

Majestic in the Central Plains,

Songshan has witnessed the changes of the years.

The Yellow Emperor Dayu often swims at its top,

Xia Shang Zhou established a state under it.

Empress Wu Cao personally ascended the peak to hold a zen ceremony.

※ Among the five mountains, Wu Zetian has a special love for Song mountain, she respects Song Mountain as "Shen Yue", and the location of "Mountaineering Feng Zen" was also moved to Song Mountain, which is also the origin of the name of "Dengfeng". Her ascension to the position of Songshan was not a whim, but out of the foresight of the empress dowager—she needed "Providence" to deify herself.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

The two most important gods of Songshan are women, QiMu and Shaojie, and Qimu Que commemorates Dayu's wife Tu Shanshi. According to legend, Da Yu Zhishui passed through the door of the house three times and did not enter, tu shan clan turned into a boulder, and the stone broke into life.

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Han Dynasty Keju on the flat sculpture of Qimu Que: a woman with a high bun on her head, her feet jumping up and playing football, accompanied by musicians playing drums. Keju is a type of football in ancient China. In the Han Dynasty, there was a lot of musical accompaniment when playing football, which was expressed as a form of ball dance.

(Slide the picture below to see the details of the Kaimu Que flat sculpture)

Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?
Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?
Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?
Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

Shaomuro Que commemorates Dayu's concubine Shaoyi

Taimuro Que was built by Lü Chang of Yangcheng in the fifth year of the han Dynasty (118), and was originally a Shinto que in front of the Taimuro Mountain Temple in the Han Dynasty. The Han Que is simple in shape, which not only has the typical appearance of han Dynasty stone architecture, but also integrates the techniques of wooden architecture in details such as roofs. Its portrait carving technique is written in line shape, conveying the gods in shape, rough and clumsy, romantic atmosphere, and is a model of ancient Chinese sacrificial and ceremonial architecture. Taimuro Que, Shaomu Que, Qimu Que, and called the "Three Ques of the Han Dynasty".

"Song Gao Wei Yue, Junji in the sky"

- "The Book of Poetry and Daya"

"Heaven and earth" has never been a simple astronomical concept, but it is also rich in philosophical, historical and political implications. Originating from people's thoughts and consciousnesses, and from the creation of history, it is an important humanistic and geographical outlook of ancient Chinese.

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Why is Songshan the "C position on earth"?

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