Dengfeng
Encyclopedia
Dengfeng is a county-level city
in Zhengzhou
, Henan
province. In ancient times, it was known as Yangcheng .
Dengfeng has an area of 1220 square kilometers and a population of 630,000.
Dengfeng is located at the foot of the Mount Song
, one of the most sacred mountains in China. The city is one of the most renowned spiritual centres of China, home to various religious institutions and temples, such as the Taoist Zhongyue Temple, the Buddhist Shaolin Temple, as well as the Confucian Songyang Academy, hence its poetic expression derived from Chinese literature as the spiritual "centre of heaven and earth".
capital Yangcheng was built west of Gaocheng Township on the Yin River under the sacred Mount Song
.
The famous Shaolin Monastery, traditional origin of Zen
, is located in Dengfeng.
County-level city
A county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....
in Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou , is the capital and largest city of Henan province in north-central China. A prefecture-level city, it also serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational centre of the province, as well as a major transportation hub for Central China...
, Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...
province. In ancient times, it was known as Yangcheng .
Dengfeng has an area of 1220 square kilometers and a population of 630,000.
Dengfeng is located at the foot of the Mount Song
Mount Song
Mount Song, known in Chinese as Song Shan , is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism and is located in Henan province on the south bank of the Yellow River in China...
, one of the most sacred mountains in China. The city is one of the most renowned spiritual centres of China, home to various religious institutions and temples, such as the Taoist Zhongyue Temple, the Buddhist Shaolin Temple, as well as the Confucian Songyang Academy, hence its poetic expression derived from Chinese literature as the spiritual "centre of heaven and earth".
History
The first Xia DynastyXia Dynasty
The Xia Dynasty is the first dynasty in China to be described in ancient historical chronicles such as Bamboo Annals, Classic of History and Records of the Grand Historian. The Xia Dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors gave his throne to him...
capital Yangcheng was built west of Gaocheng Township on the Yin River under the sacred Mount Song
Mount Song
Mount Song, known in Chinese as Song Shan , is one of the Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism and is located in Henan province on the south bank of the Yellow River in China...
.
The famous Shaolin Monastery, traditional origin of Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
, is located in Dengfeng.
Education
The following are a list of prominent dengfeng kungfu schools.Sites
In 2010, UNESCO inscribed several of the most renowned sites across Dengfeng onto its World Heritage List under the title "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Centre of Heaven and Earth"." The World Heritage Site includes several historic gates, temples (including the renowned Shaolin Temple), a Confucian academy and the Gaocheng Observatory:- Gaocheng Astronomical ObservatoryGaocheng Astronomical ObservatoryGaocheng Astronomical Observatory, also known as the Dengfeng Observatory, is a World Heritage Site in Duke Zhou Gong's shrine, Gaocheng Town, near Dengfeng in Henan Province, China. This site has a long tradition of astronomical observations, from the time of the Western Zhou up to the early Yuan...
- Huishan Temple
- Qimu Que Gates
- Shaolin Monastery and its Pagoda ForestPagoda Forest at Shaolin TempleThe Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple refers to the 228 stone or brick pagodas built from 791 AD during the Tang Dynasty through the Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, and Qing Dynasty. The levels, or storeys, on the pagodas must be odd numbers and are based on the achievements of the...
- Shaoshi Que Gates
- Songyang Academy
- Songyue Temple PagodaSongyue PagodaThe Songyue Pagoda , constructed in 523 AD, is located at the Songyue Monastery on Mount Song, in Henan province, China. Built during the Northern Wei Dynasty, this pagoda is one of the few intact sixth-century pagodas in China and is also the earliest known Chinese brick pagoda...
- Taishi Que Gates
- Zhongyue Temple