The origin of the name Huashan

Mondo Culture Updated on 2024-02-15

Huashan, known as "Xiyue" in ancient times and "Taihua Mountain" in ancient times, is one of the five mountains, located in Huayin City, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province, 120 kilometers east of Xi'an, the provincial capital. It is connected to the Qinling Mountains in the south and the Huangwei Mountains in the north, and has been said to be "the first mountain in the world of strange dangers" since ancient times.

Huashan is the holy place of the mainstream Quanzhen sect of Taoism in China, the "fourth cave heaven", and it is also a deity widely worshiped by Chinese people, that is, the god of Xiyue Huashan. There are a total of 72 semi-suspended hollow holes, more than 20 Taoist temples, among which Yuquan Temple, Dulong Temple, Dongdao Temple, Zhenyue Palace are listed as national key Taoist palaces, there are famous Taoist masters such as Chen Luan, Hao Datong, He Yuanxi, etc.

So, do you know the origin of the name "Huashan"?

The name of Huashan first appeared in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and "Yu Gong", that is, the name of "Huashan" in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

The Book of Water and Weishui Note" contains: "It is 5,000 feet high, cut into four directions, and looks at it from afar, and it is like a flower. "Ancient" flowers and "Hua" are universal, so "Huashan" is "Huashan". "White Tiger Tongyi" contains: "The West is Huashan, less yin and things, and all things are blooming, so it is called Huashan." ”

Huashan is called "Xiyue" and Dongyue Taishan, which was first seen in the book "Erya Shishan". The name Xiyue is said to be because King Ping moved eastward, and Huashan was in the west of the Eastern Zhou Kingdom, so it was called "Xiyue". The Qin Empire built the capital Xianyang, and the Western Han Empire built the capital Chang'an, both of which are in the west of Huashan, so Huashan is no longer called "Xiyue". Until the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Huashan resumed the name of "Xiyue" and continues to use it today.

Because Huashan is too dangerous, few people climbed it before the Tang Dynasty. The kings of the past dynasties sacrificed to Xiyue, and they all held a ceremony in the Xiyue Temple at the foot of the mountain. According to the Book of Shang, Huashan is "the place where Emperor Xuanyuan will gather immortals". According to the "Historical Records", the Yellow Emperor and Yu Shun both went to Huashan to hunt. According to records, King Qin Zhao ordered craftsmen to hook and climb Mount Hua with ladders.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was no road to the peak of Mount Hua. Until the Tang Dynasty, with the prosperity of Taoism, Taoists began to live in the mountains to build a view, and gradually dug a dangerous road along the valley on the northern slope, forming "a road from ancient Huashan".

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