Yaowang Mountain
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Yaowang Mountain is 812 meters high and was named after Sunsimiao, 581-682, the famous physician in Tang Dynasty (618-907). Sun was called Yaowang (master of medicine or king of medicine), and the mountain was the place where he cut himself from the world and studied medicine for many years. Yaowang Mountain, originally named Wutai Mountain (wu means five and tai means terraces), is made up of five peaks, each having a terrace at the top. Therefore, the mountain looks like human being’s five fingers. To commemorate Sun Simiao, people began to build Buddhist temples in the mountain during Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589). Other temples were built during the following dynasties until Qing Dynasty (1616-1911). Therefore, the mountain is characterized by the temples and the abundant cultural relics. It is also a sacred place for all the medical people in China. There are four main tourist attractions in Yaowang Mountain: North Cave, Forest of Steles, Statues on Cliff Surfaces and the South Buddhist Convent. The first three tourist attractions are located on the mountain at the northern end of Tongyuan Bridge (located in the scenic spot), and the last one is situated on a peak in the south.
Tourist attractions：
North Cave: the cave, which looks an ancient castle located at the top of a peak, is the center of Yaowang Mountain. It is only possible to enter the cave after passing a natural gate. The cave is very high and spacious, where people should look up to watch the things inside. There are many ancient constructions in North Cave, with Yaowang Hall as the center. Yaowang Hall is 22 meters high, 57 meters long and 24 meters wide. The hall faces south. In front of the hall is a pair of iron masts, on which are a pair of couplet praising Sun’s high medical ethics and superb medical skills. At the center of the hall is a three-meter-high statue of Sun Simiao. The statue has white face and long beard and is in casual wear. Above the statue is a sculpture of pine trees and cranes (in traditional Chinese culture, pine trees and cranes are symbols of long and healthy life). In the side halls are the colored statues of ten prestigious doctors in ancient China whom Sun had respected much when he studied medicine, such as Bian Que [a medical expert of Warring States Period (475BC-221BC), Bian Que was the first man in the world to use pulse for diagnose. He was excellent in using acupuncture and moxibustion, boiled herbal prescriptions, and massage in internal medicine, external medicine, genecology, and pediatrics of all kinds of illnesses], Cang Gong [205BC-140BC, a famous physician in Western Han Dynasty], Zhang Zhongjing [150-219AD, the most famous of China’s ancient herbal doctors living in Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). Zhang’s remarkable medical skills include moxibustion, needling and using herbal medicine], Hua Tuo [110-207AD. Hua Tuo lived in Eastern Han Dynasty. Hua Tuo was the first of the Taoist physicians. He developed the use of anesthetics and he furthered the limited China’s knowledge of anatomy], and so on.
Forest of Steles in Yao Xian County: there are statues on cliff surfaces located 200 meters east of Yaowang Hall. They are the famous stone carving works in Weibei (north of Weihe River) Area in central Shaanxi. The 8 niches for statue of Buddha contain altogether 43 statues of Buddha. A stele that recorded the process of rebuilding of the hall says that people rebuilt the temple halls here and established some statues. With plump and tender muscle, the 1.8-meter-high standing statue of Kwan-yin (the mother Buddha) in one niche has a graceful carriage. The statue, which is of Sui Dynasty (581-618) style, makes a great work of art. There are two sitting statues, one carved in Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and the other in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). All of the other statues were made in Tang Dynasty (618-907). The statues are in the relief or the round. The highest statue is about three meters high while the shortest is less than 33 cm high. The statues are lifelike and are of fine carvings with graceful lines, clear muscles and amiable expressions. There are more than 150 pieces of steles, 30 of which have the inscriptions of the works of famous scholars, or emperors [e.g. a poem written by the Huizong (reign time:1101-1126), an emperor of Song Dynasty (960-1279)] in ancient China.
Statues on Cliff Surfaces: walking forward from the Forest of Steles, you can see two statues on cliff surfaces, both with pavilions and guardrails for protection. At the end of the path is a courtyard built against the hill to protect the statues carved on the cliff surfaces. It’s quite a wonder that the Buddha statues in the courtyard are well preserved, each being vivid and lifelike.
The South Buddhist Convent: the road from Tongyuan Bridge leads south, passes a theatre and is divided into two roads leading up to the South Convent along the mountain: one is a step road, and the other is a winding asphalt road. Those who walk should not hesitate to choose the first road. The convent is the place where Sun Simiao had stayed. Nowadays, with pavilions, terraces and towers, the place looks like a beautiful garden. Some cultural relics and medical herb samples are on exhibition in the halls.
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