Mount Wutai is one of the
Four Sacred Mountains in
Chinese Buddhism. Each of the mountains is viewed as the
bodhimaṇḍa () of one of the four great
bodhisattvas. Wǔtái is the home of the
Bodhisattva of wisdom,
Mañjuśrī or "" () in Chinese. Mañjuśrī has been associated with Mount Wutai since ancient times. Paul Williams writes: Wutai was the first of the mountains to be identified and is often referred to as "first among the four great mountains". It was identified on the basis of a passage in the
Avataṃsaka Sūtra, which describes the abodes of many bodhisattvas. In this chapter, Mañjuśrī is said to reside on a "clear cold mountain" in the northeast. This served as charter for the mountain's identity and its alternate name "Clear Cool Mountain" (). The bodhisattva is believed to frequently appear on the mountain, taking the form of ordinary pilgrims, monks, or most often unusual five-colored clouds. Reflecting regional rivalries between Buddhist centers, 9th-century
Chan Buddhism master
Linji Yixuan criticized the prominence of Wutai in
Tang dynasty China. According to the posthumously compiled
Línjì yǔlù, Linji Yixuan once said, "There‘s a bunch of students who seek Mañjuśrī on Mount Wutai. Wrong from the start! There‘s no Mañjuśrī on Mount Wutai." His campaign was however not successful, and even after the Tang era Mount Wutai "continued to thrive as perhaps the single most famous Buddhist sacred site in China." Mount Wutai has an enduring relationship with
Tibetan Buddhism. It was historically sacred to
Taoist pilgrims on the
Silk Road in the
10th century as well. Mount Wutai is home to some of the
oldest wooden buildings in China that have survived since the era of the
Tang dynasty (618–907). This includes the main hall of
Nanchan Temple and the East Hall of
Foguang Temple, built in 782 and 857, respectively. They were discovered in 1937 and 1938 by a team of architectural historians including the prominent early 20th-century historian
Liang Sicheng. The architectural designs of these buildings have since been studied by leading
sinologists and experts in traditional Chinese architecture, such as Nancy Steinhardt. Steinhardt classified these buildings according to the hall types featured in the
Yingzao Fashi Chinese building manual written in the 12th century. In 2008, there were complaints from local residents that, in preparation for Mount Wutai's bid to become a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, they were forced from their homes and relocated away from their livelihoods. ==Major temples==