Mount Xianglu () is a mountain near

Shaoxing Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitant ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

, China. Its summit has an elevation of .

History

Its historic name was Mount Kuaiji (), formerly romanized as Mount K'uai-chi It was an important site for ancient China's Yue civilization and was legendarily connected with the

Xia dynasty The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradit ...

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures promine ...

, who was said to have convened a gathering of his nobles there and to have died at the spot during a hunting trip. The mountain continued to preserve the

Old Yue language The Old Yue language ( zh, c=古越語, p=''Gu Yueyu'') is an unknown unclassified language (or many different languages). It can refer to Yue, which was spoken in the realm of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period. It can also refer to the ...

even after its conquest by

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

in 222 BC. It gave its name to the Kuaiji Mountains to its south, as well as China's former

Kuaiji Commandery Kuaiji Commandery ( Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former commandery of China in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present- ...

and (by extension) historical names for Suzhou and

. It was also the site of the AD 353

Orchid Pavilion Gathering The Orchid Pavilion Gathering of 353 CE, also known as the Lanting Gathering, was a cultural and poetic event during the Jin dynasty (266–420) of the Six Dynasties era, in China. This event itself has a certain inherent and poetic interest in reg ...

which produced the ''

Lantingji Xu The ''Lantingji Xu'' () or ''Lanting Xu'' ("Orchid Pavilion Preface"), is a piece of Chinese calligraphy work generally considered to be written by the well-known calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303 – 361) from the Eastern Jin dynasty (317 – 420 ...

''. The present site of Yu's mausoleum to the north of the peak dates to the 6th century, but sacrifice in his honor has occurred in the area since at least the reign of

Shi Huangdi 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 Emperor ( ...

and it featured in Sima Qian's pilgrimage around the historical sites of China prior to his composition of the ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

''.

Notes

External links

* James M. Hargett's
: Guaiji? Guiji? Huiji? Kuaiji? Some Remarks on an Ancient Chinese Place-Name
(''Sino-Platonic Papers'' No. 234) Mountains of Zhejiang {{china-hist-stub

History

See also

Notes

External links