Study on Mount Tai Tai Temple

Author: Liu Hui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: Mount Tai, the Eastern, is imbued with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and it manifests the brilliance of the human world. As early as the ancient times, it became a symbol of mountain worship in the East. The Records of the Grand Historian states that there were 72 emperors who performed the Fengshan ritual on Mount Tai before the Qin Dynasty, which can be understood as gatherings of numerous tribal chiefs and even emperors on Mount Tai. Initially, the Fengshan ritual was actually a special way for tribal groups to strengthen their connections and form larger, more closely-knit social groups through gatherings. As is well-known, ancient people had a totem consciousness, worshipping nature or natural phenomena, animals, or even people who mastered production or invention technologies. The mountain worship, solar worship, fire worship, and worship of Houji and Luban in history were actually signs of the ancestors' understanding and utilization of nature, marking the progress of human society. Starting from the Book of Documents, records of the tours of Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun to the Southern, Western, and Northern Mountains are found, or they may not be entirely consistent with what are now called the Southern, Western, and Northern Mountains. However, Mount Tai, known as the Eastern (Dai Zong), has always been clearly identified as Mount Tai since the time of Yao and Shun. This indicates the strong and enduring historical position of Mount Tai in Dongyi culture and even Huaxia culture. The natural and cultural heritage of Mount Tai is a resource. In recent years, in the development of Tai'an, we have deeply felt that the structural problems in the economic sector are not only related to current development but also to future development. The structural problems are primarily the relationships between the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, and secondly, the internal structures of each of these industries. Taking the tertiary industry alone, Mount Tai undoubtedly occupies an important position. As a historically and globally renowned mountain in China, it carries a heavy historical, cultural, and social reputation. Its entry into the tourism market will inevitably bring many conflicts into the public eye, which need to be carefully studied and properly addressed one by one. To integrate Mount Tai into the tourism market, it is first necessary to conduct research and surveys on Mount Tai. As is well-known, every concept or thing has its own extension and connotation. Regarding Mount Tai, people often use the Jade Emperor's Peak, known as "rising from the earth to the sky," "a pillar of the east," and "reaching beyond the heavens," to represent Mount Tai. In fact, Mount Tai is a mountain range, and its boundaries need to be defined. Its peaks, canyons, springs, waterfalls, strange rocks, and rare pines need to be surveyed. As a tourism resource, which should be protected, which can be developed, and in what ways and to what extent should development proceed—these all need to be studied. At the same time, Mount Tai is a historically renowned mountain, carrying various cultural forms such as politics, philosophy, literature, religion, and folklore. It is necessary to clarify these, understand their meanings, and sort out differing opinions with varying bases and interpretations. Second, one must use the correct perspective to distinguish truth from falsehood and extract the essence from the coarse. Third, one must combine traditional culture with modern tourism, striving for perfection. This requires both wisdom and patience. Two years ago, when developing the Tianwai Village Square, numerous expert seminars and feasibility studies were held before and during construction, with repeated discussions and refinements, leading to a relatively perfect resolution of the relationship between traditional culture and modern construction, engineering measures and natural scenery, and infrastructure and tourism functions, earning widespread praise. This shows that integrating Mount Tai into the tourism market is a systematic project that requires careful, meticulous, and patient effort. This step requires a comprehensive, detailed, and profound understanding and recognition of the natural and cultural aspects of Mount Tai. The Tai'an University Mount Tai Research Center has gathered scholars to conduct systematic and in-depth research on Mount Tai culture, Mount Tai tourism, Mount Tai figures, and other related issues, focusing on the particularity and universality, historical and contemporary aspects of the mountain culture of Mount Tai. This is highly necessary. This will have a positive impact on protecting the status and reputation of Mount Tai's dual heritage, promoting Mount Tai culture, improving people's spiritual civilization, expanding the connotation and extension of Mount Tai tourism, and driving the economic and social development of our city. Professor Tang Guiren is in charge of the work of the Mount Tai Research Center and serves as the chief editor of the Mount Tai Culture Research Series. At Professor Tang Guiren's invitation, I have written this preface, which serves as the introduction to the series.