Tiantai Mountain (also Tí Taî in the local language) is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in Tiantai County, Taizhou,

Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Its highest peak, Huading, reaches a height of . The mountain was made a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

on 1 August 1988. One of nine remaining wild populations of Seven-Son Flower ('' Heptacodium miconioides'') is located on mount Tiantai.

Legends

In the

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

of Traditional Chinese religion, the creator goddess

Nüwa Nüwa, also read Nügua, is a mother goddess, culture hero, and/or member of the Three Sovereigns of Chinese mythology. She is a goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. She is credited with creating humani ...

cut the legs off a giant sea turtle () and used them to prop up the sky after Gong Gong damaged Mount Buzhou, which had previously supported the heavens. A local myth holds that Tiantai was on the turtle's back before and Nüwa relocated it to its current position when she had to remove the turtle's legs.

Guoqing Temple

Guoqing Temple The Guoqing Temple (, "Monastery of National Purity") is a Buddhist temple on Mount Tiantai, in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Originally built in 598 CE during the Sui dynasty, and renovated during the reign of the Qing Yongzheng Emperor (r ...

on the mountain is the headquarters of

Tiantai Buddhism Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai () is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. Drawing from earlier Mahāyāna sources such as Madhyamaka, founded by Nāgārjuna, who is traditionally regarded as the fi ...

, and also a

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beau ...

. Tiantai, named for the mountain, is an East Asian Buddhist school of

Mahāyāna Buddhism Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main existing branches of Buddhism, the others being Thera ...

that developed in 6th-century China and focuses on the ''

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' (Sanskrit: ''Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram'', ''Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma'', zh, p=Fǎhuá jīng, l=Dharma Flower Sutra) is one of the most influential and venerated Buddhist Mahāyāna sūtras. ...

''. The most prominent teacher of that school,

Zhiyi Zhiyi (; 538–597 CE) also called Dashi Tiantai (天台大師) and Zhizhe (智者, "Wise One"), was a Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, Buddhist philosophy, philosopher, meditation teacher, and Exegesis, exegete. He is considered to be the foun ...

, was based at Guoqing Temple. Over many years it has been an important destination for pilgrims, especially from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The mountain was visited by Saichō in 805 CE, who went on to found the related

Japanese Buddhist Buddhism was first established in Japan in the 6th century CE. Most of the Japanese Buddhists belong to new schools of Buddhism which were established in the Kamakura period (1185－1333). During the Edo period (1603–1868), Buddhism was cont ...

school,

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

. A Korean offshoot, the Cheontae school, was also established during the 12th century.

Ji Gong Temple

The mountain has a famous temple to the Song-era Chinese Buddhist monk Ji Gong at the Cave of Auspicious Mists that was associated with early modern fuji or "spirit writing" movements.

Scenic Area

Tiantai Mountain was designated a scenic area in 1985, with an area of 105 km².UNEP-WCMC (2023)
Protected Area Profile for Tian Tai Shan
from the World Database on Protected Areas. Retrieved 3 December 2023.

Transport

* Tiantaishan railway station

References

Buddhist sites in China Mountains of Zhejiang National parks of China Qing dynasty architecture Sacred mountains of China Sui dynasty Tourist attractions in Zhejiang {{Zhejiang-geo-stub