Mount Wutai Research Articles

Intention and Standing Image: Interpretation of the Aesthetic Intention of Arhat Portrait on Mount Wutai

Intention and Standing Image: Interpretation of the Aesthetic Intention of Arhat Portrait on Mount Wutai

Response of the Alpine Timberline to Residual Permafrost Degradation in Mount Wutai

In cold regions, there is a close relationship between vegetation and the underlying permafrost. While the vegetation protects the permafrost, the permafrost also provides the necessary water, nutrients, and physical support for the vegetation. As the most sensitive area of alpine vegetation to environmental changes, alpine timberlines respond rapidly to permafrost degradation. Based on the data from meteorological stations and remote sensing in Mount Wutai, the distribution and change in surface frost numbers under the influence of vegetation and alpine timberlines in Mount Wutai from 2001 to 2021 were produced. The results show that from 2001 to 2021, along with the continuous degradation of permafrost, the alpine timberline showed an upward followed by a slight downward trend. From 2000 to 2014, the alpine timberline consistently moved upward, with the melting of permafrost, which produces water playing a positive role. In 2014–2021, the permafrost near the timberline in the study area disappeared, and the upward trend in the alpine timberline was blocked, even downward in some areas. Analysis of the above phenomena shows that in the process of permafrost degradation, the functions of supporting and fixing roots as well as water storage for overlying forest vegetation by permafrost will be lost sequentially, which will have an impact on the growth of the vegetation and make the upward trend in NDVI in the growing season blocked. The process of permafrost degradation is beneficial to vegetation growth but is unfavorable at the end of the degradation period, which is reflected in the phenomenon of the alpine timberline rising and then falling.

The Neglected Dress—Re-Evaluating the Iconography of the “True Visage” (Zhenrong) Mañjuśrī

The development of the cult of Mount Wutai was a milestone event in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Crucial in that development was a novel depiction of Mañjuśrī, believed to be transmitting the deity’s “true visage” (zhenrong). While consensus suggests that the primary new aspect of that depiction is the ethnicity of the attendant for Mañjuśrī’s animal vehicle, it is puzzling that the true visage of a saintly figure is defined externally, by his attendant, rather than internally, within his own stylistic or iconographic configuration. This paper critically re-evaluates arguments and evidence surrounding this issue and argues that the image of the True Visage Mañjuśrī invented at Mount Wutai has specific iconographic features in his own representation. Uncovering the heretofore neglected iconographic specificities provides a more fine-grained understanding of how visual devices contributed to the cult of Mount Wutai, while also bringing renewed thinking about the notion of auspicious images and their replication.

Buddhist heritage landscape evolution of Mount Wutai: a path dependence approach

An adequate understanding about the evolutionary process, mechanism and influencing factors of cultural landscapes is crucial for their efficient preservation and sustainable development. The theoretical framework of self-reinforcing sequence in path dependence analysis appears applicable but has not yet been well explored as a tool for broader historical landscape analysis like the evolution of cultural landscapes that may last thousands of years. Within such a framework, an empirical case of Buddhist heritage landscape of Mount Wutai is used to account for the institutional genesis, reproduction and change associated with landscape evolution over time. The findings suggest the framework provides an essential toolkit to reveal the specific ways in which path dependence shapes the evolutionary trajectories of cultural landscapes and, based on that, to detect management options that steer development and change of cultural landscapes into a direction that aligns with desired outcomes.

Buddhist Pilgrimage at Mount Wutai: Architecture, Landscape, and Religious Heritage

Mount Wutai, China’s earliest Buddhist center, dating to the Han Dynasty’s first century (206 BCE–220 CE), boasts over a hundred monasteries, numerous monuments, and ruins, drawing global pilgrims and travelers. Over its long history, as the geographical focus of imperial support shifted, the ideological underpinnings for structuring the monastic habitation on Mount Wutai also underwent a transformation, consequently altering the pilgrimage paths, monasteries, and mountain gates. However, there remains a paucity of understanding regarding these changes. This paper aims to map out the representative dynamic pilgrimage routines influenced by geo-capital shifts and to reveal the changeable Buddhist ideology of monasticism on Mount Wutai. Through archival studies on ancient transcripts and maps, the interpretation selects the three most significant periods in the development of Buddhism in Mount Wutai: the Northern Wei (386–534 CE), the Sui Tang (581–907 CE), and the Qing Dynasty (1630–1912 CE). The article indicates that Mount Wutai’s monastic strategies have transformed significantly, progressing from free monasticism to the Mañjuśrī maṇḍala mode and ultimately adopting a predominant Tibetan Buddhist character. These changes were driven by shifting Buddhist ideologies and heritage, with pilgrimages and monastic construction responding to these shifts.

Analysis of fire risk and fire prevention of architectural heritage: A case study of mount wutai in China

As precious historical and cultural heritages in China, ancient architecture belongs to non-renewable resources. However, in recent years, fires in ancient buildings occurred from time to time, causing irreparable losses to Chinas precious historical and cultural heritage. In order to explore the existing problems of fire safety in ancient buildings and better prevent fire accidents, this paper starts with an introduction of the structural characteristics of ancient buildings in China, and then, on the premise of combining the characteristics of geographical culture, architectural structure, and materials of Wutai Mountain temple group, the paper also analyzes the fire risk of ancient buildings. According to the practical work experience in fire protection of Mount Wutai, feasible and reasonable fire protection measures of ancient buildings are put forward, including the enhancement of fire resistance of building materials, the related equipment and system, and the safety management, so as to minimize the fire risk and fire loss and achieve the purpose of protecting gorgeous ancient building civilization.

Tracking the Drivers of the Tourism Ecological Footprint in Mount Wutai, China, Based on the STIRPAT Model

Tracking the Drivers of the Tourism Ecological Footprint in Mount Wutai, China, Based on the STIRPAT Model

Warming Stimulated Soil Respiration in a Subalpine Meadow in North China

In order to explore the response of soil respiration in grassland to global warming, we carried out a warming experiment with open top chambers (OTCs) in the subalpine meadow, Mount Wutai in north China. Our results showed in the subalpine meadow across 2 500-2 700 m above the sea level (ASL), with OTCs, soil respiration increased by 2.00 μmol·m-2·s-1 as soil temperature increased by 1.25 ℃ on average. Warming decreased soil moisture over the experiment periods except in October 2019 when snow melted in OTCs. Warming effect on soil respiration peaked at 178.31% in October 2019. In control and warming treatment, based on exponential regression equations, soil temperature alone accounted for 85.3% and 61.2% of soil respiration variation, respectively. In control treatment soil moisture alone explained 23.2% of soil respiration variation based on the power regression equation while in warming treatment they were not significantly correlated with each other. The response of soil respiration to warming relied on altitudes as well as the time of the year, but was not inhibited by soil moisture, labile carbon pool, and available nitrogen. We concluded soil temperature was the main factor influencing soil respiration, and global warming would stimulate soil respiration in the subalpine meadows of Mount Wutai in the future. Our analysis provided new data on characteristics and mechanisms of the response of soil respiration to warming, and helped to further understand the relationship between carbon cycle and climate change.

“This is The Very Place!”: Shi Daoxuan 釋道宣 (c. 596–667) and The Creation of Buddhist Sacred Sites in China

Abstract Scholars such as John Strong and James Robson have laid firm foundations for the study of the development of Buddhist sacred geography, highlighting the role of relics, stupas and the importance of pre-Buddhist sites of religious significance. Their work has inspired this paper which examines extracts from three texts produced by the monk Shi Daoxuan between 650 and 667 ce: the Shijia fangzhi 釋迦方志 (A Geography of the Śākyas, 650 ce), the Ji Shenzhou Sanbao gantong lu 集神州三寶感通錄 (Collected Records of Stimulus and Responses to the Triple Gem in the Divine Continent, 664) and the Lüxiang gantong zhuan 律相感通傳 (Account of the Stimuli and Responses Related to the Vinaya, 667). Concentrating on two places, the Zhongnan Mountains and Mount Wutai, these materials provide a rare opportunity to examine the role one man played in the promotion of these sites over few decades. This paper argues that Daoxuan was among the first to promote the idea of Mañjuśrī being present in China, initially in the Zhongnan, and only latterly on Wutai, and that Daoxuan was influenced by the picture of Indian Buddhist sacred geography provided by the accounts of Xuanzang’s travels in his consolidation and development of a similar geography for China. Daoxuan utilised Buddhist and non-Buddhist writings, and eyewitness testimony from the human realm and beyond, in his efforts to promote these two places. A close reading of these extracts can provide insight into the factors which stimulate the creation of sacred sites, and the methods and processes through which they develop and evolve.

CONSTRUCTION AND TRANSFORMATION OF TAYUAN TEMPLE IN MOUNT WUTAI

This article takes the Tayuan Temple in Mount Wutai as an example to analyze the construction and its transformation. The process that the Tibetan-style pagoda was first established with the application of the Tibetan Buddhist Living Buddha and the assistance of the emperor, then the Chinese-style temple was erected surrounding the pagoda, and finally the facility for the emperor's stay was built is the feature of the temple. The influence of both Tibetan Buddhism and Emperor Power can be seen in this temple.

Degradation‐induced microbiome alterations may aggravate soil nutrient loss in subalpine meadows

AbstractGrassland degradation has become a serious environmental problem worldwide. However, the link between grassland degradation and soil functional microorganisms remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of subalpine meadow degradation on the taxonomic and functional communities of the soil microbiome on Mount Wutai on the eastern margin of the Loess Plateau, China, using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. The results showed that vegetation degradation decreased most soil nutrients (e.g., soil organic carbon [SOC, −48.9%], total nitrogen [TN, −15.2%] and carbon [TC, −38.3%]), leading to significant changes in the taxonomic (r = 0.892, p < 0.001) and functional compositions (r = 0.972, p < 0.001) of the microbial communities (explaining 66.6% and 64.5% of the variance, respectively). The structural equation model (SEM) showed that variations in the soil nutrient status and plant parameters caused by degradation resulted in changes in the microbial community structure and function. The variations in the plant and microbial communities during degradation altered carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling separately or interactively. Among the C degradation‐related genes, the relative abundances of cellulose degradation, sugar utilization and chitin degradation genes in moderately degraded (MD) and heavily degraded (HD) meadows were significantly higher than those in nondegraded (ND) meadows (p < 0.05). The abundance of denitrification genes (nirK, nirS, norB and norC) and nitrification genes (pmoA/amoA, pmoB/amoB, pmoC/amoC and hao) was higher in all degraded meadows, which increased the risk of soil N loss. Our findings revealed the negative feedback of microbes due to subalpine meadow degradation, during which metabolically active microbes tended to accelerate soil nutrient loss.

Analysis of Public Big Data Management under Text Analysis

Based on text analysis, public big data management is studied. The public data management of Mount Wutai tourism network travel notes is discussed. The positive, neutral, and negative effects of the naive Bayesian classification model and decision tree classification model on the tourism sentiment attitude of Mount Wutai are compared. The relationship between tourism resources, tourism facilities, tourism services, tourism environment, and tourism sentiment and attitude of Wutai Mountain is analyzed. The results show that the true positive rate, true negative rate, and F-measure of the Bayesian decision tree classifier to classify positive text are 86.64%, 81.27%, and 84.62%, respectively. The true positive rate for neutral text is 82.05%, the true negative rate is 78.89%, and the F-measure is 77.11%. The true positive rate for negative text is 83.67%, the true negative rate is 98.29%, and the F-measure is 82.83%. The Bayesian decision tree classifier can evaluate positive and negative texts better than neutral texts. The true positive rate of the C4.5 decision tree classifier for positive text is 91.44%, the true negative rate is 86.57%, and the F-measure is 89.45%. The true positive rate for neutral text is 90.17%, the true negative rate is 83.28%, and the F-measure is 84.06%. The true positive rate for negative text is 91.84%, the true negative rate is 99.05%, and the F-measure is 90.91%. The decision tree classifier has a better evaluation effect on positive and negative texts than on neutral texts. The ROC curve of the evaluation effect of the two classifiers shows that the evaluation effect of the two classifiers has a better evaluation effect on positive text than that of the neutral and negative texts, and the evaluation effect of the C4.5 decision tree classifier is better than that of the Bayesian classifier. The promotion degree of tourism resources and facilities in forwarding online travel notes is obviously higher, and there is a high correlation between tourism resources and facilities and forward online travel notes. In negative online travel notes, the promotion degree of tourism service and tourism environment is high, and the correlation between tourism service and tourism environment and negative online travel notes is high. In summary, improving the quality of tourism services and the tourism environment of Mount Wutai scenic spots can better enhance the recognition and satisfaction of tourists with Mount Wutai tourism.

Responses of Soil Fungal Communities to Subalpine Meadow Degradation in Mount Wutai

Grassland degradation has become a worldwide ecological problem. Although soil microorganisms, as the main participants in the process of grassland degradation, play a key role in maintaining ecosystem function and improving soil productivity, little is known about the changes in microbial communities caused by grassland degradation and their relationship with soil properties and plant communities. In this study, we used Illumina MiSeq sequencing to analyze the soil fungal communities of subalpine meadow soil at four different degradation stages[i.e., non-degraded (ND), lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD), and heavily degraded (HD)] on Mount Wutai. The results showed that Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Zygomycota were the dominant phyla of soil fungi in the subalpine meadow, regardless of degradation stage. LEfSe showed that the subalpine meadows with different degradation degrees were enriched with different biomarkers. Compared with ND, MD and HD were enriched with more pathogenic fungi. Moreover, HD apparently decreased the richness and Shannon indexes of soil fungal communities compared with those of ND. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and similarity analysis (ANOSIM) indicated that the compositions and structures of fungal communities were significantly different among meadows with different degradation degrees (P<0.05). Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that soil water content, total nitrogen, plant richness, and ammonium nitrogen were significantly correlated with the compositions and structures of fungal communities (P<0.05). There were significant correlations between α diversity and β diversity between plant and fungal communities (P<0.05), indicating strong coupling. The results of our study provide a theoretical basis for further research on the changes in soil fungal communities and their driving mechanism in different degradation stages of subalpine meadows.

THE TRANSNATIONAL CULT OF MOUNT WUTAI: HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES. Edited by SusanAndrews, JinhuaChen, and GuangKuan. Studies on East Asian Religions, 2. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2021. Pp. xiv + 471. Hardback, $146.00.

Religious Studies ReviewVolume 47, Issue 2 p. 248-248 Short Reviews Of Recent Publications: East Asia THE TRANSNATIONAL CULT OF MOUNT WUTAI: HISTORICAL AND COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES. Edited by Susan Andrews, Jinhua Chen, and Guang Kuan. Studies on East Asian Religions, 2. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2021. Pp. xiv + 471. Hardback, $146.00. First published: 08 August 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/rsr.15196Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Volume47, Issue2June 2021Pages 248-248 RelatedInformation

Mount Wutai: Visions of a Sacred Buddhist Mountain by Wen-shing Chou

Mount Wutai: Visions of a Sacred Buddhist Mountain by Wen-shing Chou

Discuss the practical significance of the construction of Mount Wutai Studies under the background of COVID-19 broke out

At the end of 2019, the COVID-19 broke out in the whole China. The epidemic had various transmission routes and strong infectiousness, which seriously affected the social operation. For a period of time, amid the general trend of slowing production and calling for the closing of doors, all kinds of religious gatherings were seriously affected. At the beginning of 2020, China's economy was boosted and epidemic prevention and control became normal. The special studies on the Buddhist culture of Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province, China, the Mount Wutai Studies, in religious practice, disease treatment, ecological construction, religious governance and other aspects are consistent with epidemic prevention, contributing disciplinary wisdom to COVID-19 prevention and control, and has the practical significance of improving the effectiveness of anti-epidemic and promoting the development of local people's livelihood.

Lihong Liu. Review of "Mount Wutai: Visions of a Sacred Buddhist Mountain" by Wen-shing Chou.

Lihong Liu. Review of "Mount Wutai: Visions of a Sacred Buddhist Mountain" by Wen-shing Chou.

Assessment of the Health Effects of Heavy Metals Pollution of Agricultural Soils in the Iron Ore Mining Area of the Northern Piedmont of Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province, China

We have measured the concentrations of toxic elements (Cd, Pb, As, and Hg) in 29 samples from agricultural soils in an iron ore mining area in the northern piedmont of Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province, China. The aim was to evaluate the potential health risks to local inhabitants based on the health risk assessment model derived from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The results show that the concentrations of the four heavy metals exceed their background values, especially in the case of Hg. The pollution level of the four heavy metals can be ordered as follows: Hg &gt; Cd &gt; Pb &gt; As. The spatial distribution of the concentrations of the four heavy metals was uneven: pollution levels were lowest in the basin of the E River, and centered on the E River there was an increasing trend towards the Yukou River in the west and the Yangyan River in the east. In terms of the degree of pollution, this trend can be summarized as: Qingyang River &gt; Yangyan River &gt; Yukou River &gt; E River. The main form of ingestion of the metals was via mouth and nose, and the risk to children is higher than for adults. Iron ore mining was the main cause of the increased concentrations of As and Cd, which represent a cancer risk for humans.

A visit of Christian missionaries at Mount Wutai: Mongol Buddhism from a cross-cultural perspective

ABSTRACT James Gilmour (1842–1891) was a Scottish missionary of London Missionary Society who carried out his mission assiduously among Mongols and Han-Chinese north of the Great Wall from 1870 until 1891. He was among the most well-known missionaries of his time, in part because of the exoticism of Mongolia, but also because he failed to convert even one Mongol during his lifetime. Thwarting his missionary ambition was precisely Mongolian Buddhism that Mongols followed ardently and which Gilmour persistently sought to understand. In 1872, Gilmour and his fellow missionary John Edkins travelled to Mount Wutai, the most sacred place for Mongol Buddhists. This article draws on the essay that Gilmour wrote after this journey, titled ‘Wu T’ai Shan.’ The essay contains his detailed observations of pilgrims, lamas and monasteries at Mount Wutai, and his reflection on Mongol Buddhism in general. Overall, Gilmour is critical, if not condemnatory towards Mongol Buddhism, especially towards lamas. This judgement, as we will see, though reflective of certain historical facts, is cloaked with his prejudices as a Christian missionary. Gilmour’s writing is a rare account of the historic moment when Christianity met Mongol Buddhism, which is all the more valuable considering the lack of similar records in the Chinese and Mongol language.

Where Linji Chan and the Huayan jing meet: on the Huayan jing in the essential points of the Linji [Chan] lineage

ABSTRACT Juefan Huihong’s 覺範惠洪 (1071–1128) Linji zongzhi shows that eminent statesmen and contemporary Chan monastics during the twelfth century in China interpreted the core teaching strategies of several Linji Chan patriarchs – especially Linji Yixuan 臨濟義玄 (d. 866) and Fenyang Shanzhao 汾陽善昭 (980–1024) – through the Buddhāvataṃsaka-sūtra (Huayan jing 華嚴經, T nos. 278–279), and with special consideration for Mañjuśrī and ṛṣi (seera) in the Gaṇḍavyūha (Ru fajie pin 入法界品) chapter, Bhīṣmôttaranirghoṣa 毗目仙人. Huihong was certainly influenced by the writings of the highly admired ‘Two Shuis’ – Changshui Zixuan 長水子璿 (964–1038) and Jinshui Jingyuan 晉水淨源 (1011–1088) – and by his close confidant, Zhang Shangying 張商英 (1043–1122), who visited Mount Wutai circa 1088 and recorded his journey in Xu Qingliang zhuan 續清涼傳 (Further Record of Mt. ‘Chill Clarity,’ T. 2100). In this article I reconsider the central role the Huayan jing and the cult of Mañjuśrī play in the core teachings of the Linji Chan lineage with particular attention to how current Song dynasty, rather than late Tang (618–907) era, readings and uses of the Huayan jing underscore the enduring significance of this seminal Mahāyāna Buddhist scripture and Mount Wutai as a sacred space in the history of Chinese Chan Buddhism.