Mount Xianglu () is a mountain near
Shaoxing,
Zhejiang, China. Its summit has an elevation of .
History
Its historic name was Mount Kuaiji (),
formerly romanized as Mount K'uai-chi It was an important site for
ancient China
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
's
Yue civilization and was legendarily connected with the
Xia dynasty's
Yu the Great, who was said to have convened a gathering of his nobles there and to have died at the spot during a hunting trip. The mountain continued to preserve the
Old Yue language even after its conquest by
Qin in 222 BC. It gave its name to the
Kuaiji Mountains The Kuaiji Mountains ( or ''Guìjī Shān''), formerly romanized as the K'uai-chi Mountains, are a long mountain range in China's Zhejiang province. They are named for Mount Kuaiji (also ''Kuàijī Shān'' in Chinese), the peak just southeast of S ...
to its south, as well as
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
's former
Kuaiji Commandery and (by extension) historical names for
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
and
Shaoxing. It was also the site of the AD 353
Orchid Pavilion Gathering which produced the ''
Lantingji Xu''.
The present site of
Yu's mausoleum to the north of the peak dates to the 6th century, but
sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
in his honor has occurred in the area since at least the reign of
Shi Huangdi and it featured in
Sima Qian
Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...
's pilgrimage around the historical sites of China prior to his composition of the ''
Records of the Grand Historian''.
See also
*
Kuaiji Mountains The Kuaiji Mountains ( or ''Guìjī Shān''), formerly romanized as the K'uai-chi Mountains, are a long mountain range in China's Zhejiang province. They are named for Mount Kuaiji (also ''Kuàijī Shān'' in Chinese), the peak just southeast of S ...
Notes
External links
* James M. Hargett's
: Guaiji? Guiji? Huiji? Kuaiji? Some Remarks on an Ancient Chinese Place-Name (''Sino-Platonic Papers'' No. 234)
Mountains of Zhejiang
{{china-hist-stub