Taishan Mountain
Since
ancient times Taishan Mountain has been hailed as the "most sublime of
the five mountains". Apart from its impressive height and ancient culture,
the reason is probably that men have deliberately deified it. Historical
records show that a total of 72 emperors of bygone dynasties, from the
first Qin Emperor Shihuang onward, have made sacrifices to Taishan Mountain.
It lies in the civilized land of the ancient states of Qi and Lu, with
the Yellow River on the north and the sea on the east. A famous saying
goes, "Scaling Taishan Mountain makes one feel superior to the whole world",
as it creates a feeling of regal dignity and imperial majesty. Many romantic
scholars of old considered it a great treat to express their sentiments
on top of Taishan Mounain.
Men today take an even greater interest in climbing Taishan Mountain.
Taishan Mountain is approximately 20 li in height from the base to the
Jade Emperor Peak. 6,700 steps lead up to a spot where hills overlap and
where you find beautiful waterfalls and oddly shaped pines and cypresses.
The scenery changes with each step. Yet even more elevating is the Shi
Ba Pan, or 18 Curves, consisting of 1,580 steps. It looks just like a
ladder shooting up to the heaven.
Rain or shine all year round mountaineers carrying heavy loads of food
and household items slung from the ends of shoulder poles, work their
way, step by step, up the mountain, wearing flat the soles of their shoes
on the rugged rocks while the stone steps shine from their sweat. It is
they who have developed this remote and wild mountain and made it habitable
for human beings.
To see the sunrise, People climb to the summit at first light. When darkness
recedes and day breaks, a ball of fire appears over the horizon. One mountain
after another catches the sun's beams, until every thing comes alive.
The people sing and dance and cheer, bathed in the glorious sun and embraced
in the bosom of nature.
Also among
the climbers are old people and children. Taishan Mountain is 2.5 billion
years old. Here the old can recapture their youth while the children can
steel themselves against the weather and the exertion involved in climbing.
Somewhere near the Shi Ba Pan there is an inscription carved on the face
of a precipice, "The Spirit of China", by which, I think, is meant the
pioneering spirit of the Chinese people forging ahead and scaling the
heights of modernization.