Mount Mian
Mount Mian, also known by its Chinese name Mianshan, is a mountain in the town of Mianshan in Jiexiu, Jinzhong, in central Shanxi Province in North China. Its official scenic area opened in the year 2000 and covers, with about 400 attractions grouped into 14 tourist areas.
Name
Mount Mian is supposedly named for the resemblance of its long, unbroken ridgeline to a piece of cotton. In ancient Chinese, however, mián did not refer to cotton but to silk floss. It was then used by extension for the ideas of "weak", "soft", and "downy", before coming to be used in modern Chinese as the usual word for cotton.Geography
Mount Mian is a branch of the Taihang Mountains south of the Fen River. Its official scenic area covers, with about 400 attractions grouped into 14 tourist areas. The chain's ridgeline stretches for over, with its highest peak reaching.The vegetation in the area has been a focus of study at Shanxi University. Geographical features of note include Buddha Embrace Rock, Tiesuo Ridge, Yinkong Cavity, and the Mosta Dome.
History
Mount Mian is usually credited as the place of the retreat where Jie Zhitui and his mother were burnt alive in a forest fire begun by his lord, Duke Wen of the state of Jin, in the 7thcenturyBC. Duke Wen's remorse prompted him to erect a temple in Jie's honor, with sacrifices funded by designated lands in nearby Mianshang. By the middle of the Han dynasty, people around Taiyuan Commandery were treating Jie as a tutelary deity and observing a taboo against lighting fires for five days around mid-winter. By the mid-2nd centuryAD, it was being observed for an entire month and causing hardship on the young and elderly to the point that Cao Cao and other leaders began attempting to ban Jie's Cold Food Festival altogether, despite its having moved by that point to Qingming in early spring. Commoners continued to ignore these provisions and to particularly revere a stand of blackened trees, one looking as though it were held in a man's arms, where various miracles were reported. A compromise under the Northern Wei was to restrict it to the area surrounding MountMian in 496 but its popularity was such that it continued to spread until it was observed by most of China under the Sui and transformed into the Tomb Sweeping Festival under the Tang and Song.Mount Mian has been an important Taoist site since the Spring and Autumn period of the Zhou. The first Buddhist temple was erected on the mountain under the Northern Wei and, by the early Tang, it had become large and powerful. During the collapse of the Sui and rise of the Tang, Li Shimin defeated Song Jingang in the Queshu Valley below MountMian, prompting the surrender of Yuchi Gong. During the Southern Song, Li Wugong and Li Shi fought Jin soldiers nearby. Under the Mongolian Yuan, Yunfeng and other temples on the mountain were repaired. At the end of the Ming, the military governor at Taiyuan retreated to MountMian to lead his ultimately unsuccessful defense of the area.
During World War II, Zhang Dehan and Li Zhimin led Communist guerrillas against Japanese and Nationalists in the area. The Japanese retaliated, damaging or destroying most of the temples in 1940.
The mountain has been used as a summer resort since imperial times. Since 1995, Yan Jiying, chairman of the Sanjia Coal and Chemical Company, has spent 600mRMB repairing the mountain and its temples. It was opened as a public scenic area in 2000. It remains among the most important Taoist sites in modern China. The second major Taoist rite to occur in mainland China after the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War—a Great Offering to the Entire Firmament Luótiān Dàjiào)—occurred at MountMian in 2001. MountMian was also one of the most important sites for the celebrations surrounding the anniversary of Lao-tze's birth in March 2003. The China National Tourism Administration named MountMian a AAAAA-rated tourist attraction in 2013. A study by researchers from Shanxi University the same year, however, found that the routes through the scenic area remained insufficiently interconnected with one another and should be further optimized to increase the resort's capacity.
Areas
Dragon Head Temple
This area includes over 20 sites, including the Dragon Head Temple and the Longmen Stone Arches. The Dragon Head Temple supposedly takes its name from a pair of dragons who appeared to Li Shimin during a visit to the mountain.Dragon Ridge Peak
The Dragon Ridge Peak area includes a statue of Jie Zhitui with his mother, a Tang barracks, and a park with stone inscriptions about public health. The ridge is named for its appearance, thought to resemble two intersecting dragons.Five Dragons' Traces
The Traces of the Five Dragons or Wulongchan are five gullies supposedly formed by the bodies of five dragons who visited MountMian to listen to a sermon by the Tang buddha Tian Zhichao. The Zhengguo Temple has 3 halls preserving the well-preserved remains of 12 other monks of the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. Other sites in the valleys are the Shangfang Academy, the Five-Dragon Pine, the Lingyin Terrace, and the Tongtian Yunqu.Guteng Valley
The Guteng or Ancient Vine Valley, also known as the Stream Gully, includes the path leading to the top of MountMian. It has abundant wildlife including pheasants and squirrels and various medicinal herbs, shrubbery, and wildflowers. It is particularly noted for its abundant and unusual vines, which entwine the valley's ancient trees and shade its medieval stone carvings.Lord Jie Ridge
The Lord Jie Ridge is the supposed site of Jie Zhitui's immolation by order of his close friend Duke Chong'er of Jin around 636BC. He came to be revered as a Taoist immortal, and his temple and tomb have been sites of pilgrimage since his death. In the 6th century AD, a charred grove of trees were also a major attraction, with some miracles recorded. The Lord Jie Shrine or Pavilion of the Divine Jie is the biggest grotto temple in China, with two ellipsoid columns supporting a cave 22 meters high, 40 meters wide, and 25 meters deep. Its altar faces a idol of Jie Zhitui, with smaller idols of his mother and Xie Zhang on each side. His legend is retold in dozens of reliefs on the cave's columns and walls.Cypress Ridge, also known as Baishu Ridge, covers a territory of about, covered with picturesque cyprus and including the tomb constructed for Jie Zhitui by Duke Chong'er of Jin. It is reached by a path including 2000 stone steps. Individually notable trees include the Qin Cypress, one of the largest in China; the Mother-and-Son Cypress, considered to represent Jie and his mother; and the Dragon-Shaped Cypress, whose roots extend down the cliffside. Yuan, Ming, and Qing tombs are also found scattered around the area.
The Stele Forest includes diverse forms of Chinese calligraphy by about 100 people, including the emperor Li Shimin, the generals Zhang Liang and Wei Zheng, and the scholars Guo Tai and He Zhizhang. Many inscriptions retell the legends surrounding the mountain, particularly the stories of Jie Zhuitui.