Tai-shan

views updated May 11 2018

T'ai-shan. Sacred mountain in China. It is in Shantung province, and is therefore known as the ‘sacred mountain of the east’. Its god, T'ai-yüeh ta-ti, is the ruler of the earth, and inferior only to the Jade Emperor (Yü-huang). The mountain is ascended by about 7,000 steps, the Stairway to Heaven, lined by shrines and temples to other Taoist deities. It is one of the four sacred mountains (standing at the corners of China) which were visited by the emperors to mark out their territory.