MountJiuhuaisoneofthefoursacredmountainsofChineseBuddhism.ItislocatedinQingyangCountyinAnhuiprovinceandisfamousforitsrichlandscapeandancienttemples.
Manyofthemountain’sshrinesandtemplesarededicatedtoKsitigarbha(knowninChineseasDìzàng,TraditionalChinese:地藏),whoisabodhisattvaandprotectorofsoulsinhellaccordingtoMahayanaBuddhisttradition.PiousBuddhistsoftencometothispopularattractioninAnhuitoclimbtoGreaterTiantaipeak,whichisregardedasJiuhuashan’smostimportantpeak,althoughitisnotthetallest.
HistoryofJiuhuaMountain
JiuhuMountain,knownasaBuddhistwonderlandandfamousforitslargenumberoftemplesandbeautifulscenery,hasbeenaresplendentpearlofChineseculturalheritage.
JiuhuaMountainwasformedinthelateCenozoicEra,andBuddhismbeganintheNorthernandSouthernDynasties(420-589)atthemountain.Accordingtohistoricalrecords,amonknamedFuhubuiltFuhuConventin503;MonkTanhaopractisedBuddhismherein713;During713-755,JinQiaojue,aKoreanaristocrat,cametoJiuhuaMountainandlivedinastonecaveatDongyaPeak.Hishardpracticemovedthelocalpeople,andtheycontributedmoneytobuildatempleforhim.In781thelocalofficialZhangYanpresentedamemorialtotheemperorforthehorizontalinscribedboard"Huacheng".UponJinQiaojue’snirvana,itwassaidthatthemountainroared,birdsandmonkeyscried,andtheearthgaveoutfireandlight.Hisbodykeptlivelythreeyearslater,sohewasrespectedastheEarthBuddha,wrappedwithearthandhasbeenpreservedtopresent.RoushenPagodawasbuilttoreverehim,andthusJiuhuaMountainhasbecometheplacewhereEarthBuddhistritesareperformed.
ThehistoryofBuddhismatJiuhuaMountaincanbedividedintofiveperiods:foundedinthemiddleofTangDynasty;decayedfromthelateTangDynastytotheFiveDynasties;slowlydevelopedintheSongandYuanDynasties;andgreatlydevelopedintheMingandQingDynasties.IntheMingDynasty,theemperorsgrantedmoneytorebuildHuachengTempleforthreetimesandtwoemperorsbestowedinscriptions.Thenumberoftemplesandnunnerieswasoverahundred,andmanymonksandnunscame.ItwaslistedasoneofthefourfamousBuddhistmountains,besidesWutaiMountain,EmeiMountain,andPutuoMountain.