Reflection on Mt. Tai as Sacred Mountain

Based upon my field trips to Mt. Tai located in Shandong Province, China, I attempt to reflect on Mt. Tai as a sacred mountain as it appears today. Any visitor to Mt. Tai cannot fail to notice that this sacred mountain is becoming a site for tourism, and commercialization has been going on. Yet, there are still sincere devotees visiting and climbing this mountain, being mingled with many “secular” tourists. Historically archaeological drawings from the patrilineal society show that there was religious adoration of the sacred mountain in conjunction with sun worship. There was also a notion of the sacred mountain as a location where souls of the dead entered into the otherworld. Considering the long religious history of this sacred mountain, it is necessary to avoid making any hasty criticism about “secularization” of this sacred mountain by criticizing ones own romantic idealization of past visitors to this mountain. In addition, under the apparent “tourism” and “commercialization,” there are still deep and sincere religious devotions to and worships of the sacred mountain deities. It is absolutely necessary to examine and understand this religious aspect seen on Mt. Tai, while analyzing tourism on and commercialization of this mountain.