33°56′00″N108°59′57″E / 33.9333316°N 108.9991571°E /33.9333316; 108.9991571
TheZhongnan Mountains (simplified Chinese:终南山;traditional Chinese:終南山;pinyin:Zhōngnánshān), sometimes called theTaiyi Mountains (Chinese:太乙山) orZhounan Mountains (Chinese:周南山), are a branch of theQin Mountains located inShaanxi Province, south ofXi'an, China that extend fromWugong County in the east of the province toLantian County. At 2,604 metres (8,543 ft), the range's highest point is the Cuihua Mountain. Other notable peaks and places in the Zhongnan mountains includeLou Guan Tai, (whereTaoist sageLaozi is said to have dwelt and conveyed theDao De Jing). Later this was also a place of dwelling for Nan Wutai (simplified Chinese:南五台;traditional Chinese:南五臺) andGuifeng (Chinese:圭峰).
The Zhongnan mountains have been a popular dwelling-place for Daoist hermits since at least theQin dynasty.Buddhist monks began living in the mountains after Buddhism's introduction intoChina fromIndia in the early first millennium AD. TheComplete Perfection Sect, one of the largest branches of modern Taoism, was founded in the Zhongnan mountains bySong dynasty TaoistWang Chongyang. Due to the mountains' close proximity to the ancient capital ofChang'an, officials who incurred the imperial court's wrath often fled to these mountains to escape punishment.
The Chinese folklorical deityZhong Kui is said to have grown up in those same mountains. Other than the name, the context of Zhong Kui being a protection deity related to Taoist belief can be connected with the creation of the complete perfection sect.
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