T'ai Shan

T'ai Shan East Asia
Literally, ‘grand mountain’, the most revered of the five sacred mountains of China, honoured alike by Confucians, Buddhists, and Taoists. Annual sacrifices were offered on its summit to Shang Ti by successive emperors each spring, and over the centuries it became the chief centre of pilgrimage. For Taoists, the deity of T'ai Shan is the greatest terrestrial power, and known as Sheng-ti, Holy Emperor. He controls destiny, appoints birth and death, and is lord of the Yellow Springs, the underworld.