| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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 Interactive map of Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains | |
| Location | Hubei, China |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, vi |
| Reference | 705 |
| Inscription | 1994 (18thSession) |
| Coordinates | 32°24′03″N111°00′14″E / 32.400833°N 111.003889°E /32.400833; 111.003889 |
  Wudang Mountains Location of Wudang Mountains in China | |
| Wudang Mountains | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.svg) "Wudang Mountains" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 武當山 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 武当山 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheWudang Mountains (simplified Chinese:武当山;traditional Chinese:武當山;pinyin:Wǔdāng Shān) are a mountain range in the northwestern part ofHubei,China. They are home to a famous complex ofTaoist temples andmonasteries associated with the Lord of the North,Xuantian Shangdi. The Wudang Mountains are renowned for the practice oftai chi andTaoism as the Taoist counterpart to theShaolin Monastery,[1] which is affiliated withChan Buddhism. The Wudang Mountains are one of the "Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism" in China, an important destination for Taoist pilgrimages. The monasteries such as the Wudang Garden[1] were made aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site in 1994 because of their religious significance and architectural achievement.[2]
On Chinese maps, the name "Wudangshan" (Chinese:武当山) is applied both to the entire mountain range (which runs east-west along the southern edge of theHan River, crossing several county-level divisions of Shiyan), and to the group of peaks located within Wudangshansubdistrict ofDanjiangkou, Shiyan. It is the latter specific area which is known as a Taoist center.[3]
Modern maps show the elevation of the highest of thepeaks in the Wudang Shan "proper" as 1612 meters;[3][4] however, the entire Wudangshan range has somewhat higher elevations elsewhere.[3]
Some consider the Wudang Mountains to be a "branch" of theDaba Mountains range,[4] which is a major mountain system in western Hubei,Shaanxi,Chongqing andSichuan.
For centuries, the mountains of Wudang have been known as an important center ofTaoism, especially famous for its Taoist versions of martial arts ortai chi.[5]
The first sacred site—the Five Dragons Temple—was constructed at the behest ofEmperor Taizong of Tang.[2] Further structures were added during theSong andYuan dynasties, while the largest complex on the mountain was built during theMing dynasty (14th–17th centuries) as theYongle Emperor claimed to enjoy the protection of the godBeidi orXuantian Shangdi.[2] During the Ming Dynasty, 9 palaces, 9 monasteries, 36 nunneries and 72 temples were located at the site.[2] Temples regularly had to be rebuilt, and not all survived; the oldest existing structures are theGolden Hall and the Ancient Bronze Shrine, made in 1307.[2] Other noted structures include Nanyang Palace (built in 1285–1310 and extended in 1312), the stone-walled Forbidden City of the Taihe Palace at the peak (built in 1419), and thePurple Cloud Temple (built in 1119–1126, rebuilt in 1413 and extended in 1803–1820).[2][6] Today, 53 ancient buildings still survive.[2]
On January 19, 2003, the 600-year-old Yuzhengong Palace at the Wudang Mountains burned down after accidentally being set on fire by an employee of a martial arts school.[7] A fire broke out in the hall, reducing the three rooms that covered 200 square meters to ashes. A gold-plated statue ofZhang Sanfeng, which was usually housed in Yuzhengong, was moved to another building just before the fire, and so escaped destruction in the inferno.[5]
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| Chinese martial arts (Wushu) |
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Historical locations |
At the first national martial arts tournament organized by theCentral Guoshu Institute in 1928, participants were separated into practitioners ofShaolin and Wudang styles. Styles considered to belong to the latter group—calledWudangquan—are those with a strong element of Taoistneidan exercises. Typical examples of Wudangquan aretai chi,xingyiquan,Bajiquan andbaguazhang. According to legend, tai chi was created by the Taoist hermit sageZhang Sanfeng, who lived in the Wudang mountains.[8]
Wudangquan has been partly reformed to fit the PRC sport and health promotion program. The third biannual TraditionalWushu Festival was held in the Wudang Mountains from October 28 to November 2, 2008.[9]
Media related toWudang Mountains at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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