Why did Mount Tai become the place of choice for emperors to enshrine Zen?

Fengzen is a ceremonial activity held by ancient Chinese emperors on Mount Tai to worship the gods of heaven and earth. "Feng" means making an altar of earth on Mount Tai, and offering sacrifices to the gods on the altar to repay God for their achievements; "Zen" "It is to sweep away a piece of pure land on the hills such as Liangfu, Sheshou and Yunyun in front of Mount Tai, and offer sacrifices to the earth gods on the pure land to repay the achievements of the later earth. "The Comprehensive Meanings of the Five Classics" says, "If someone changes his surname and becomes a king, he will bring peace to the world. He will be granted the title of Mount Tai, Zen Liangfu, and he will be the king by destiny. He will regulate all living beings, declare peace to heaven, and repay the merits of the gods." The emperor's ascent to Mount Tai is regarded as a symbol of the country's prosperity, and his identity as the "True Dragon Emperor" can also be confirmed by "Heaven and Earth". Therefore, as a cultural phenomenon unique to Mount Tai, Fengchan was essentially a political method used by feudal emperors to emphasize the divine right of kings in feudal society. Fengchan Taishan originated from the Dongyi people's worship of natural mountains and rivers during the primitive society. It is a primitive ceremony of worshiping heaven. Sima Qian quoted "Guanzi Fengchan" in "Historical Records·Fengchan Book" and said: "In ancient times, the ancestors of Fengshan Mountain and Zen Liang fathers had seventy-two families." Wang Chong, a philosopher of the Eastern Han Dynasty, recorded in "Lunheng·Shuxu": "For Wang Taiping, Kaifeng Taishan, there are two out of seventy people who can be seen on Mount Tai. "Sima Qian confirmed that there were twelve ancient emperors who had successively granted Zen to Mount Tai. They are: Wuhuai, Fuxi, Shennong, Yandi, and Huangdi. , Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, and Zhou Chengwang. In 2003, when archaeologists inspected the Yunting Mountain site located at the southern foot of Mount Tai and north of Majia Dawu Village in Dawenkou Town, they initially determined that Yunting Mountain was the place where the "Book of Feng Chan in Historical Records" records: "The Yellow Emperor sealed Mount Tai, "Zen Ting Ting." As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Fengchan Taishan had become a national ceremony that must be held by the wise emperors in the minds of Qilu alchemists. They believe that there are five most important mountains in the world, called the Five Sacred Mountains. Among them, Mount Tai is the highest and is the first of the Five Sacred Mountains. Mount Tai is the highest and is naturally closest to the sky. The new ruler must come to Mount Tai to hold a Zen ceremony in order to be recognized by the Emperor of Heaven and become the new monarch of the world. In order to find evidence for themselves, they also forged a set of legends about the three emperors and five emperors in ancient times, including Yao, Shun, and Yu. It should be said that this theory of Qi and Lu alchemists and Confucian scholars has been deeply rooted in the hearts of Qi and Lu in the north and south of Mount Tai, and has formed political consciousness. According to "Guanzi" records, after Duke Huan of Qi created the great cause of being the first hegemon in the Spring and Autumn Period through "the nine princes unite and conquer the world", he was ambitious and wanted to enshrine Mount Tai, but was stopped by Guan Zhong, a famous prime minister. Guan Zhong believed that in the past, when the emperor conferred the title of Zen, flounder appeared in the East Sea, biwings appeared in the West Sea, and auspicious objects could be seen everywhere; but now the phoenix has not come, the unicorn has not arrived, and the auspiciousness has not yet appeared, and it is not the best time to grant the Zen. Duke Huan of Qi had no choice but to follow Guan Zhong's advice and give up the title of Zen. It is said that Confucius also admitted that "more than seventy kings have granted the title of "Taishan Zenhu Liangfu", but he believed that no monarch since the Western Zhou Dynasty has such qualifications. After the Jisun family of the Lu State came to power, their ambitions grew. They also followed the example of ancient emperors and went to Mount Tai to worship heaven. As a result, they were greatly ridiculed by Confucius. Since the Qin Dynasty, feudal emperors of all dynasties have been very enthusiastic about Fengchan Taishan and attached great importance to it. Emperors such as the First Emperor of Qin, the Second Emperor of Qin, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, Emperor An of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty and other emperors enshrined Zen and worshiped Mount Tai. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the activity of worshiping Mount Tai gradually became less popular, and the feudal emperors changed the practice of worshiping Mount Tai to offering sacrifices. Emperor Qianlong was an "activist" in worshiping Mount Tai. He worshiped Mount Tai eleven times and climbed to the top of Dai Peak six times. Emperors of all dynasties established their supreme status and consolidated their feudal rule by enshrining Zen, worshiping, and offering sacrifices to Mount Tai. Mount Tai was gradually raised to an extremely sacred height. Among the activities of emperors in the past dynasties offering Zen to Mount Tai, the most famous ones are those of Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of Han. Qin Shihuang was the first feudal emperor to go to Mount Tai to worship. According to the "Historical Records: Book of Fengchan", in 219 BC, Qin Shihuang Yingzheng, who had just been emperor for three years, couldn't wait to start the campaign to seal Mount Tai in the east. He first went to Mount Yi (today's Zoucheng City, Shandong Province) and set up a stone to praise his merits. Then he came to the foot of Mount Tai and summoned more than 70 Confucian scholars and doctors from Qilu to discuss the specific ceremony of the Zen ceremony. As a result, the Confucian scholars and doctors had different opinions and discussed for a long time, but there was no result. In anger, the self-willed Qin Shihuang simply dismissed those pedantic Confucian scholars, and personally took the civil and military ministers to Mount Tai to enshrine Zen according to the ceremony he imagined. He first opened a mountain road, climbed to the top of Mount Taiyang, and carved stones to record his illustrious achievements.

The "Feng Li" was completed in the form of the Qin Dynasty's sacrifice to the Emperor of Heaven in Yong (the stone at this moment is the earliest carved stone in China. It is now on the west side in front of the terrace of the East Throne Hall of Dai Temple and is a national first-class cultural relic. It was originally divided into two parts, the first half It was engraved by Qin Shihuang, with 144 characters; the second half was engraved by Hu Hai, the second emperor of Qin, in 209 BC, with 78 characters, both of which were written by Li Si. There are only 10 remaining characters from the edict of Qin II. Also known as "Taishan Cross"); then go down the mountain, "Zen to Liang Fu" and complete the "Zen Ceremony". For fear of being laughed at by the Confucian scholars of Qi and Lu, the rituals and rituals of Fengchan Taishan were kept secret. In addition to Qin Shihuang's enshrining of Zen, several famous enshrining activities in history mainly include: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty granted Zen. In March of the first year of Yuanfeng (110 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty led his ministers to patrol eastward to Mount Tai, and sent people to erect stones on the top of Dai. After that, patrol the sea eastward. In April, he returned to Mount Tai and decided on the ceremony of enshrining Zen: he went to Liangfu Mountain to worship the "landlord" god; then he held an enshrinement ceremony and built an altar in the east at the foot of the mountain, nine feet high, with a jade ultimatum buried under it; After the sacrificial ceremony, Emperor Wu and his attendants carried the chariot to Mount Tai alone to perform the ennobling ceremony. The next day, under the shade of Dai, according to the etiquette of offering sacrifices to the Queen, he meditated on Mount Suran at the northeastern foot of Mount Tai. After the ceremony, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty accepted the congratulations from his ministers in Mingtang, and changed the name of Yuanding to Yuanfeng. He cut off the two counties of Ying and Bo in front of Mount Tai to worship Mount Tai, and named them Fenggao County. In the winter of the fourth year of Yuanfeng (107 BC), Emperor Wu visited the south. The following year (the fifth year of Yuanfeng, 106 BC), the spring moon returned to Mount Tai, and he was granted Zen status in April. In the first month of the third year of Taichu (102 BC), Emperor Wu patrolled the sea eastward. In April, he went to Mount Tai to hold the third Zen ceremony. In March of the third year of Tianhan (98 BC), Emperor Wu went to Mount Tai to hold the fourth Zen ceremony. In March of the fourth year of Taishi (93 BC), Emperor Wu went to Mount Tai to hold the fifth Zen ceremony. In March of the fourth year of Zhenghe (89 BC), Emperor Wu returned from Juding to Mount Tai and held the sixth Zen ceremony. On February 12, the 32nd year of Emperor Guangwu's reign in the Han Dynasty (AD 56), Emperor Guangwu led his ministers to Fenggao, sent more than 1,500 servants to repair the mountain road, and more than 3,000 cavalrymen to build a fort on the Dengfeng platform. stone. The fasting begins on the 15th, and on the 22nd, burnt wood is burned in the southeast at the foot of Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven. After the ceremony, he took a chariot to climb the mountain. After arriving at Daiding, he rested for a while and then changed his clothes and performed the ceremony. On the 25th, he visited Liangfu Mountain and changed his reign name to Jianwu Zhongyuan. In October of the second year of Linde's enfeoffment by Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (665), Emperor Gaozong led hundreds of civil and military officials, retinues, and ceremonial guards, and Empress Wu led the concubines inside and outside the country. The chariots and carriages of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty stretched for hundreds of miles. They were accompanied by Turks, Khotan, Persia, Tianzhu, Envoys and chiefs of Japan, Silla, Baekje, Goryeo and other countries. In December, people gathered at the foot of Mount Tai and sent people to build a round mound-shaped sacrificial altar four miles south of the mountain. It was decorated with five-color earth and was named "Sacrificial Altar." , named "Dengfeng Altar"; built an octagonal square altar on Sheshou Mountain, named "Jiangchan Altar". In February of the following year, Gaozong first worshiped heaven at the "Fengsi Altar" at the foot of the mountain; the next day, he climbed to the top of Dai and Feng Yuce was at the "Dengfeng Altar"; on the third day, he went to the "Jiangchan Altar" on Sheshou Mountain to worship the earth gods. After the first offering of gifts was completed, Empress Wu ascended the altar to offer the next gift. After the ceremony, he accepted the congratulations from the officials at the pilgrimage altar, and issued an edict to erect three steles: "Dengfeng", "Jiangchan" and "Pilgrimage". , the Zen altar was renamed "Jingyuntai", it was changed to Qianfeng in the Yuan Dynasty, and Fenggao County was renamed Qianfeng County. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty enshrined him in Zen. In October of the 13th year of Kaiyuan (725), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty led hundreds of officials, nobles and foreign envoys to the east to Mount Tai to enshrine him in Zen. The ceremony of enshrining Zen follows the four systems of Qianfeng. After being enshrined in Zen, he conferred the title of "King of Tianqi" on the God of Mount Tai, with the rank of San Gong. Xuanzong personally wrote the "Inscription on Mount Tai" and placed it on the Grand View Peak on Daiding Mountain. He also ordered Zhongshu Ling Zhang Shuo to write the "Ode to the Sacrifice Altar". ", Shi Zhongyuan Qian Yao wrote "Ode to the Society's First Altar", and Su Ting, the Minister of Rites, wrote "Ode to the Hajj Altar", all of which are based on Shi Jide. It can be seen from the above that the Fengzen activity was a political method used by feudal emperors to consolidate imperial power, unify their thoughts, and whitewash peace. The Fengzen culture that has lasted for thousands of years is also the most distinctive part of Chinese political culture and is worthy of our continued In-depth research

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