Mount Song

Overview

About

Mount Song, the Central Sacred Mountain, lies north of Dengfeng in Henan and consists of Taishi Mountain (1,491.7 m) and Shaoshi Mountain (1,512 m). Its famous sights are Shaolin Temple, home of Shaolin kung fu, the Songyang Academy, one of China’s four great academies, and the Zhongyue Temple.

The “Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in ‘The Centre of Heaven and Earth’” comprise eight sites with eleven structures: the Taishi Que gate pillars and Zhongyue Temple, the Shaoshi Que, the Qimu Que, the Songyue Temple Pagoda, the Shaolin Temple complex (the main temple, the Chuzu Hermitage and the Pagoda Forest), Huishan Temple, Songyang Academy and the Observatory. Geologically, Mount Song exposes rocks from the Archean to the Cenozoic, with unconformities left by three mountain-building events, the Songyang, Zhongyue and Shaolin movements.

It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010 as part of “Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth””, as a cultural site. It is in the first batch of national parks of China (national scenic areas) named by the State Council in 1982.

Main sights

Shaolin Temple: at the northern foot of Mount Shaoshi, founded in 495 under the Northern Wei for the Indian monk Batuo; Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Chan, is said to have meditated facing the wall of a cave on Wuru Peak behind the temple. The Pagoda Forest west of the temple holds the tomb pagodas of its monks.

Zhongyue Temple: below Huanggai Peak at the southern foot of Mount Taishi, where the Central Peak was worshipped for centuries; most buildings are Qing restorations. South of the temple stands the Eastern Han Taishi Que.

Songyang Academy: at the southern foot of Mount Taishi, a famous academy of the Song dynasty where the brothers Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi taught; its ancient cypresses are said to have been named “General Cypresses” by Emperor Wu of Han.

Songyue Temple Pagoda: at the southern foot of Mount Taishi, built in the Zhengguang era of the Northern Wei; a twelve-sided, fifteen-storey brick pagoda, the oldest brick pagoda in China.

Sanhuangzhai on Mount Shaoshi: halfway up Mount Shaoshi, with a plank path along the cliffs and upright rock strata such as Shuce Cliff (“Book Cliff”) on the way.

Dengfeng Observatory, at Gaocheng: built in 1276 under Guo Shoujing and Wang Xun, the tower is 9.46 m high (12.62 m with the rooms on top), with a 31.19 m gnomon scale of 36 stone blocks to the north; the Shoushi calendar based on its measurements set the tropical year at 365 days 5 hours 49 minutes 20 seconds.

Songyang Academy began as Songyang Temple, a Buddhist monastery founded in 484 under the Northern Wei; it became a Taoist temple under the Sui and the academy in 1035.

Travel tips

Mount Shaoshi: the western part of Mount Song. From the Shaolin Temple area take the cable car or walk up; Shuce Cliff (“Book Cliff”) is on the way to Sanhuangzhai. Shaolin Temple and Mount Song share one ticket.

Mount Taishi area: Zhongyue Temple, Songyang Academy and the Songyue Temple Pagoda are all near Dengfeng and fit into one day. From near Songyang Academy a path climbs Junji Peak, most of a day there and back.

Observatory: the Yuan-dynasty observatory at Gaocheng, southeast of Dengfeng, can be seen on the way.

Season: spring and autumn are best; summer is hot and winter dry and cold.

Mount Song

In 1995 China Post issued “Mount Song”, four stamps: the old temple of the Central Sacred Mountain, Shaolin in clear snow, the Song Gate awaiting the moon, and Mount Song reclining.

The first stamp of the 1958 set S21 “Ancient Pagodas of China” shows the Songyue Temple pagoda at Dengfeng.

Stamps

In 2019 China Post issued 2019-16 “The Five Great Mountains”, five stamps: Morning Sun at Riguan Peak (Mount Tai), Clear Autumn on Mount Hua, Rain over Zhurong Peak (Mount Heng in Hunan), Snow on the Heng Frontier (Mount Heng in Shanxi) and The Rival Peaks of Taishi and Shaoshi (Mount Song).

Banknotes and coins

The gold and silver coins “World Heritage: the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in ‘The Centre of Heaven and Earth’”, issued by the People’s Bank of China in 2011, show the Observatory, the Taishi Gate Towers, the gate of Shaolin Temple, the Tianzhong Pavilion of Zhongyue Temple and the Songyue Pagoda.

Map

Photo credits: Mount Song: Siyuwj (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)

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