From Mountains to Scenic and Historic Sites

Prof.Dr.-Ing.WANG Xiangrong

Chief Editor

The natural tectonic movements and the flow of water and wind have shaped China's diverse landscapes,making it a mountainous country.Over the centuries,the influence of Chinese life,culture,art and religion has made countless mountains into national or regional famous mountains.Every city has its own famous mountains on the outskirts of the city.Historically,they have been the important reference for the location of city construction,the heavenly sanctuary for monks to practice,the scenic spot for people to go on excursions and pray for blessings,the place for literati and painters to express their feelings and collect folk songs,and the ecological source of preserving regional flora and fauna resources.These famous mountains are the places where nature and humanities blend together,and they are the landscapes that best represent the natural characteristics and cultural values of China's territorial land.

The towering mountains are the place where heaven and earth meet,and in ancient times they were considered to be the link between human and immortals,mysterious,sublime and aweinspiring.Just as the Chinese character ＂xian＂ (immortal) is the combination of ＂ren＂ (human) and ＂shan＂ (mountain),legends say that most of the immortals live in mountains that are difficult for mortals to reach,which makes the mountains have more spirituality and power,as the saying goes ＂no matter how high the mountain is,its name will spread far and wide if there are immortals＂.

The Classic of Mountains and Seasdescribes more than 400 mountains in the five regions of the east,south,west,north and central China in the ancient times,as well as the forms and powers of the mountain gods associated with them,demonstrating the ancient people's worship and belief in mountains.China's earliest geographic workYugongdepicts the orientations and courses of the mountain ranges in ancient China.In the course of history,these legends and records have given humanistic meanings to many mountains.

It is because of the convenience of mountains for communicating with immortals and for meditation and contemplation that both Buddhism and Taoism have favored large,scenic mountains.Buddhist temples and Taoist temples are built in the mountains,covered in the lush forests and winding secluded valley,hidden in the peaks of the towering and misty mountainside,set in the dangerous peaks and jagged cliffs,or lying at the top of mountains where the sky and the earth are connected.These religious buildings,with the help of the mountain terrain,clever layout,and perfectly forming,become cultural landscapes in mountains and water.Ancient temples in the mountains even become the landscape symbol of famous mountains,bring the sacred meaning and mysterious color for the mountains.The power of faith also guides the monks and believers to continue building in the mountains,making the mountains become a heavenly paradise and immortal mountains,not only a holy place for spiritual practice,but also a place for people to worship and pray for blessings and solace of the soul.

Mountains are also the source of all things.＂There are mulberries in the south mountain,poplars in the north mountain… Chinese wolfberries in the south mountain,and plums in the north mountain＂,the earliest collection of Chinese poemsThe Book of Poetrycontains poems describing different plants in the mountains.The plants and animals in the mountains not only maintain the balance of the mountain ecosystem,but also provide many important living resources for the ancient people.Mountains are also the birthplace of rivers and lakes,and water is the source of life and agriculture.As a farming nation,since ancient times,the Chinese have gathered and guided springs,rivers and surface runoff from mountainous areas by constructing reservoirs and irrigation canals to irrigate vast plains,develop agriculture and build homes,closely linking mountains,water,fields,villages and cities on the land of China,and building an intimate relationship between mountains and rivers,production and life.

Mountains are not just material spaces,but also spiritual worlds.The lofty and sacred mountains symbolize the noble personality,as the saying goes,＂the mountains are high,and the scenery is good,although we cannot go there,our hearts aspire to them＂.Ancient people used ＂high mountains and long water＂ to symbolize people's high moral character,and ＂benevolent people enjoy the mountains＂ to compare people's moral depth.In Chinese culture,mountains are often endowed with many cultural meanings beyond nature.

Mountains are also an important source of inspiration for Chinese literature and art.Appreciation of mountains is imprinted in the cultural genes of the Chinese people.Literati and famous scholars love to travel to famous mountains to draw inspiration and obtain nutrients in nature.They left behind countless landscape poems and paintings,endowing mountains with poetic and romantic feelings.The landscape poems and paintings depicted the Chinese mountains as an earthly paradise originating from nature but different from it,attaching deep humanistic deposits to the mountains.

The rich connotation of mountains in Chinese culture makes Chinese people have a lingering attachment to them.Historically,abandoning oneself to nature and seclusion was the attitude of life that some of the literati flaunted,while roaring in high mountains and inditing poems along rivers and streams was the free life that the literati yearned for.The mountains are a fictitious land of peace and happiness,a symbol of serenity,elegance and freedom.The mountains carried the practice of the literati,and the practice of the literati reshaped the mountains,so that the mountains have become a humanized nature,which can be not only seen and reached,but also toured,inhabited,written,and painted.Mountains are the home of the Chinese people,a place of life,a place of recreation,a place of refuge,and a place of meditation.

Mountains have special significance in China.Those mountains,which are shaped by nature's ingenious workmanship and deeply impregnated by Chinese people's life,culture,art and religion,are all famous mountains in the country or region,which have been abluted over the years and accumulated continuously,becoming a natural and cultural heritage that is an organic combination of ＂naturalized human＂ and ＂humanized nature＂.Most of the famous mountains have evolved into a type of protected area with unique Chinese characteristics -scenic and historic sites.

Scenic and historic sites record the changes of nature,contain the genes of Chinese culture,and are an important carrier of the profound Chinese landscape culture.They belong not only to the past,but also to the present and the future.By recognizing the unique value of China's scenic and historic sites and harmonizing the relationship between the protection of natural landscapes and historical monuments and their public enjoyment,we will be able to perpetuate the scenic and historic sites that have been formed over a long period of time,and not only give full play to their comprehensive roles in ecology,tourism,scientific research,education,economy,and art,but also continue to carry forward the Chinese culture.