Mount Jizu is situated to the northwest of Binchuan County

Binchuan County

Binchuan County is a county in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture located in southern Yunnan Province, China.-External links:*...

 in Dali City, Yunnan Province. Mount Jizu is a famed holy mountain in Buddhism. Tianzhu Peak, rising some 3,240 metres above sea level is the main peak of Mount Jizu. The mountain is vegetated with dense forests and bamboo groves. With three mountain ranges to the front and one range to the rear, it appears like a cock's foot, hence its common name Mount Cock's Foot or Mt. Cock's Claw. Yet another name for this mountain is Nine Strata Cliffs.

Haicheng Ling et al. (2005: p. 40) relate the experience of Xu Xiake

Xu Xiake

Xu Xiake , born Xu Hongzu , courtesy name Zhenzhi , was a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming Dynasty known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility. He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively...

 (1586-1641):

"On the top of Tianzhu Peak, people can admire sun-rise in the east, sea of auspicious clouds in the south, the Cangshan Mountain and the Erhai Lake in the west, and the Yulong Snow Mountain in the north. Xu Xiake (1586-1641), a famous traveller and writer of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), marvelled that on the top of a single peak, people could see the "Four Scenes" - sun, lake, cloud and snow. "

Yulong Snow Mountain (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain).

Nomenclature, orthography and etymology

'Mount Jakang Chen' (alternate names: Riwo Jakang, Mount Jizu, Jizu Shan, Jizushan Mountain)

Tan Chung (1998: p. 136) states that:

"Among the legends of Yunnan, there is one recorded in the Gazetteer of Yunnan Province compiled during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). A "Cock's Foot Hill" (Jizushan) at Binchuan County in the province was obviously christened after the Sanskrit Kukkatapadagiri - the name of the hill only 50 kilometres away from the bodhi tree under which Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment."

Temples

In the time of the Shu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms

Three Kingdoms

The Three Kingdoms period was a period in Chinese history, part of an era of disunity called the "Six Dynasties" following immediately the loss of de facto power of the Han Dynasty rulers. In a strict academic sense it refers to the period between the foundation of the state of Wei in 220 and the...

, small nunneries were built , to be later expanded in the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

. Most of the temple construction was during the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 and Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. Temples of note are the: Xitang Temple, Shizhong Temple, Huayan Temple  and Jinding Temple (Golden Top) which had been relocated from Kunming. Later, many temples fell into ruins, and now, only Zhushengsi Temple, the gate tower of Jinding Temple and Lengyan Pagoda are maintained.

As Haicheng Ling et al. (2005: p. 40) hold:

"The first temple on Mount Jizu was built during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). Later, more temples were added in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, covering a long period from 960 to 1911. In the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), there were 42 big or small temples, 65 nunneries and more than 170 abodes for peace, with more than 5,000 monks and nuns. Existing temples on Mount Jizu are the Zunsheng Tower Temple, the Xitan Temple, the Zhusheng Temple, the Jiguang Temple, the Shizhong Temple and the Dajue Temple."

Zunsheng Tower Temple, Xitan Temple, the Zhusheng Temple, the Jiguang Temple, the Shizhong Temple and the Dajue Temple

Dajue Temple

The Dajue Temple is a Buddhist temple located in the Haidian District of western Beijing, China. It was founded in the 11th century, and the current temple dates to a reconstruction in the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty...

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Buddhism

Legend and folklore holds it that Mount Jizu was a bodhimandala of Mahakasyapa

Mahakasyapa

Mahākāśyapa or Kāśyapa was a brahman of Magadha, who became one of the principal disciples of Śākyamuni Buddha and who convened and directed the first council. Mahākāśyapa is one of the most revered of the Buddha's early disciples, foremost in ascetic practices...

, one of the foremost disciples of Shakyamuni.

Tantric Buddhism

Monica Esposito (1993: vol2., p.389-440; 1997: p.67-123) mentions the 'Longmen' (lóngmén) Tantric branch of Mount Jizu a regional example of the tradition that yielded the Longmen Grottoes

Longmen Grottoes

The Longmen Grottoes or Longmen Caves are one of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Housing tens of thousands of statues of Buddha and his disciples, they are located south of present day Luòyáng in Hénán province, Peoples Republic of China...

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The Upa-yoga tantra scriptures first appeared in 'Mount Jakang Chen' and the charnel ground of 'Cool Grove' . Cool Grove is also known as 'Śītavana' (Sanskrit).