Yuan Jiang-At Mount Li Escaping the Heat

Mount Li () is a mountain located in the northeast of

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), ...

, China. The mountain is part of the

Qinling The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west mountain range in southern Shaanxi Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the drainage basins of the Yangtze and Yellow ...

mountain range and rises to a height of 1302 metres above sea level. It is one of the eight scenic spots of the Guanzhong Plain and popularly said to "shine like a beacon in the evening sunlight".

History

Some ancient tales say that the literal Chinese name "Black Steed Mountain" stems from its resemblance to a horse whilst others that the name arose during the

Shang The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...

and Zhou Dynasties because the "Black Steed Tribe", lived in this area. Another legend cites the mountain as the place from where the Mount Li goddess

Lishan Laomu Líshān Lǎomǔ () is the goddess of Mount Li in Chinese religion. She is a popular female immortal in the Taoist pantheon, and a high-ranking one according to some late sources. Her origins are said to derive from Nü Wa, the legendary creat ...

and

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. As creator of mankind, she molded humans individually by hand with yellow clay. In the Huaina ...

, creator of mankind, repaired the wall of heaven. The two goddesses have long been worshipped on the same mountain. In 771 BCE,

King You of Zhou King You of Zhou (; 795–771 BC), personal name Ji Gongsheng, was the twelfth king of the Chinese Zhou dynasty and the last of Western Zhou Dynasty. He reigned from 781 to 771 BC. History In 780 BC, a major earthquake hit Guanzhong. A sooths ...

was slain at its foothills alongside his loyal vassal Huan of Zheng. This marked the collapse of the mighty Western Zhou dynasty and began a very long age of endless conflict that devastated the Central Plains. At the foot of the mountain is the necropolis of the first Emperor

Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...

, comprising his mausoleum and the

Terracotta Army The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor ...

. Geographer Li Daoyuan, recorded in ''

Shui Jing Zhu The ''Commentary on the Water Classic'' (), or ''Commentaries on the Water Classic'', commonly known as ''Shui Jing Zhu'', is a work on the Chinese geography in ancient times, describing the traditional understanding of its waterways and ancient ...

'' that Mount Li was a favoured location due to its auspicious geology: "famed for its jade mines, its northern side was rich in gold, and its southern side rich in beautiful jade; the first emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, therefore chose to be buried there".Shui Jing Zhu Chapter 19
《水經注•渭水》Original text: 秦始皇大興厚葬，營建塚壙於驪戎之山，一名藍田，其陰多金，其陽多美玉，始皇貪其美名，因而葬焉。 Huaqing Pool, a

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

hot spring complex, stands at the foot of Mount Li.

Republic of China era

In 1936,

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

(KMT) leader

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

arrived in Shaanxi Province and stayed at Huaqingchi. His ostensible mission was to eradicate the local

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

and warlords but instead he was kidnapped whilst hiding in a crevice on Li Mountain in what became known as the

Xi'an Incident The Xi'an Incident, previously romanized as the Sian Incident, was a political crisis that took place in Xi'an, Shaanxi in 1936. Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Nationalist government of China, was detained by his subordinate generals Chang ...

. After the incident, the KMT government built the simple "Minzu Fuxing Pavilion" () at the foot of the crevice in commemoration. The building was reconstructed using steel and concrete in 1946 with the relevant funds subscribed by students of the

Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

. It was renamed the "Zhengqi Pavilion" () with inscriptions in the building eulogizing Chiang authored by senior KMT officers.

People's Republic of China era

After the 1949 Communist victory, the pavilion was for a time called the "Seizing Chiang Pavilion" (), finally adopting its current name of "Bingjian Pavilion" (兵谏亭; literally "stern advice backed by force") in 1986. Both terms refer to the

. Today, Li Mountain National Forest Park is a national level protected site and an AAAA rated tourist attraction classified as a cultural, and historic monument.

References

''This article is based on a translation o
骊山
in Chinese Wikipedia'' ''; Information copied from English Wikipedia about the death of Youwang, in

Battle of Mount Li {{unreferenced, date=August 2016 The Battle of Mount Li ''( Li Shan)'' was a decisive clash that occurred in Ancient China in 771 BC near the twin cities of Haojing and Fengjing, often referred to together as Fenghao. The battle was fought between ...

'' {{authority control Lishan National parks of China History of Shaanxi Tourist attractions in Shaanxi AAAA-rated tourist attractions