Where is "Beiyue Hengshan Mountain"? Why has its reputation in Wuyue been so low? Zhongyue Songshan, Xiyue Huashan, Nanyue Hengshan, Dongyue Taishan and Beiyue Hengshan are collectively called "Five Mountains".

The mountains in the world are revered by the five mountains. In ancient China, the status of the Five Mountains has always been highly respected.

However, among these five mountains, one mountain has always had a low sense of existence, so low that it is often ignored.

It is "Hengshan Mountain in Beiyue".

The popularity of Mount Hengshan can't be compared with Mount Tai and Huashan, nor can it be compared with the famous mountains other than Huangshan and Lushan. Many people don't even know where it is. If Mr. Jin Yong hadn't written a "Hengshan School" in the legendary swordsman, some people might have never heard of it.

Since "Hengshan" ranks among the five mountains, why is the sense of existence and popularity so low?

First, the geographical location is controversial.

The first reason why Hengshan's reputation is relatively low is that its geographical location is controversial.

Why do you say that? Because in the history of China, there used to be two "Northern Hengshan Mountains". One Hengshan Mountain is in Hebei Province and the other is in Shanxi Province.

Two "Beiyue"

Mount Hengshan in Shanxi Province is what we usually call "Mount Hengshan in Beiyue" today. It is located between Hunyuan and Shuozhou in Datong City, Shanxi Province, and is located in the northern plateau of Shanxi Province. This is a 200 km long mountain range.

Hengshan mountain range in northern Shanxi

But this "Hengshan" was established as "Beiyue" in the late Ming Dynasty. Before that, Beiyue refers to another "Hengshan Mountain" in the west of Hebei Province, namely damao mountain in Fuping County, Baoding, Hebei Province.

Damaoshan, known as Hengshan and Changshan in ancient times. From the pre-Qin dynasty to the Ming dynasty, it has always occupied the name of "Beiyue" and at the same time assumed the responsibility of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth. This is recorded in many historical materials. For example, in Meng Qian Bi Tan written by Shen Kuo in the Northern Song Dynasty, he once said, "Mount Hengshan in Beiyue is now called Damaoshan."

Hebei Hengshan (damao mountain)

Why are there two "Mount Heng" in the world? In fact, this is related to the relocation of the capital in the Ming Dynasty.

During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the capital moved from Nanjing to Beijing. Damao mountain used to be in the north of Beijing, but now it is in the south of Beijing. Since it is Beiyue, it is somewhat unreasonable to run to the south of Beijing.

Geographical location of two "Hengshan Mountains"

Therefore, the Ming court changed Beiyue to Hunyuan, Shanxi, northwest of Beijing. Since then, "Hengshan Mountain in Beiyue" has moved to a new home, from damao mountain in Fuping County, Hebei Province to Hengshan Mountain in Hunyuan, Shanxi Province today.

It is precisely because of this "move of Beiyue" that many people are confused about the geographical location of Hengshan Mountain, which greatly reduces its sense of existence.

Second, the land of the extreme north.

There is another reason why Hengshan has a low sense of existence, that is, its location is too north.

Many people may wonder, since it is "Beiyue", it is of course located in the north. What's the problem?

The problem is that the location of Hengshan Mountain is too north, which has exceeded the core scope of the cultural coverage of the Central Plains.

Throughout the history of China for thousands of years, there are only four unified longevity dynasties: Han, Tang, Ming and Qing, and more often, the north is occupied by grassland nomads. For example, Northern Wei established by Xianbei, Liao established by Qidan, Jin established by Jurchen, Yuan established by Mongolia and so on.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Hengshan Mountain was located at the junction of Song and Liao Dynasties.

That is to say, for most of China's history, Mount Hengshan in Beiyue was either under the jurisdiction of nomadic people or at the forefront of the war. In this case, it is difficult for Guhengshan to be favored and visited by literati, and it is also difficult to accumulate the necessary humanistic atmosphere for the next famous mountains and rivers.

Geographical location of Wuyue Mountain

On the other hand, Huashan is located near Chang 'an, Songshan is located on the bank of Luoyang, and Taishan stands on the Shandong Plain. Even Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue, Hunan Province is famous all over the world because of the reputation of Yan Hui Peak in Hengyang and the popularity of Yuelu Academy. These four mountains are basically in the core area of ancient Confucian culture. Since ancient times, celebrities have been communicating and chanting. In contrast, Hengshan's position in Beiyue is indeed marginalized, so its reputation is relatively low.

Third, the Hengshan Mountains.

Compared with the other four mountains, Mount Hengshan in Beiyue has another feature: it is essentially a mountain range, not a mountain peak.

As can be seen from the topographic map, Mount Hengshan in Beiyue starts from Huiyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province and ends in Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province. This is a mountain range of more than 200 kilometers. Its main peak is Tianfengling, Hunyuan, with an altitude of 20 16m. Originally, this altitude was relatively high among the five mountains (second only to 2 160m in Huashan). However, there are many peaks in the whole Hengshan Mountain range, only 8 of which are above 2400 meters above sea level, and countless peaks above 2000m meters above sea level.

Against the backdrop of these high peaks, the height of the main peak of Mount Hengshan cannot be particularly prominent.

Mount Hengshan is strewn at random and the mountains are undulating, like a winding dragon crawling in the north of Shanxi. I have to say, its momentum is really magnificent. However, because it is a mountain, not a peak in the traditional sense, it is difficult to feel that "once you climb to the top of the mountain and peek, you will see that all other mountains appear as dwarfs under the sky." When standing among the peaks.

In this respect, Mount Hengshan is somewhat dwarfed by Mount Taishan and Mount Songshan, which are located in the plain. Not because Mount Heng is not high, but because of the surrounding terrain and environment.

Fourth, it is homophonic with "Hengshan"

Finally, people's impression of Mount Hengshan is not deep enough, which is related to the same pronunciation of Mount Hengshan in Nanyue.

Because of pronunciation, many people often can't tell the difference between "Hengshan" and "Hengshan" and often confuse them. Therefore, the existence of Hengshan Mountain is not strong, and there are also some objective reasons.

However, although Hengshan's reputation among the five mountains is relatively low, it is still a dazzling star among the famous mountains and rivers in China.

It is located in the far north, unique, known as the "pillar of mankind in the north"; Defending the northern part of Taiyuan Basin, it has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. The hanging temple on the mountain has a history of 1500 years, and the pavilion built between cliffs has become a miracle in the history of world architecture. It is also one of the important birthplaces of Taoism and has become the ancestral temple of Quanzhen religion.

Due to various geographical and cultural reasons, Hengshan has always had a low sense of existence. Although it ranks among the five mountains, it has always been ignored by people. However, this can't hide its unique elegant temperament of Zhong Ling, and its unyielding and detached position in Saibei. Maybe we should change our previous views, take a walk in Hengshan, have a look, re-examine and read it.