In this blogpost, Student Research Assistant, Sisi Li, continues her examination of two Chinese coins from the University of Regina Collection at the MacKenzie Art Gallery. Both coins were bequeathed to the University on Norman MacKenzie’s death in 1936. Read part I here.
This is a Chinese coin made of bronze (Fig. 1). Coins of this type have been a common currency in China since the Han Dynasty. Its image depicts the Daoist Diagrams of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Mountains 五嶽真形圖 (Fig. 2).
This originates from a special image of collapsed mountains which was drawn by ancient Chinese Taoists, designed at the end of the Han Dynasty. The image represents five sacred mountains in China: Tai Mountain; Hua Mountain; Song Mountain; Heng Mountain; and Huo/Heng Mountain.
Some believe that the Five Sacred Mountains originated from the Chinese thought of the Five Elements and the worship of mountain gods. The Five Sacred Mountains represent metal, wood, water, fire, and earth respectively. The phrase “Five Sacred Mountains” comes from a book Zhou Li周礼, “Sacrifice to the country, the five gods, and the Five Sacred Mountains with blood.”[1]
Tai Mountain means “wood”. Tai Mountain is huge, like a giant sitting upright, giving the feeling of majesty and solemnity.
Hua Mountain means “gold”. The shape of Hua Mountain is steep, and its peaks are like sharp knives.
Heng Mountain means “fire”. Heng Mountain looks like a bird’s wing, and gives a sense of elegance and beauty.
Huo Mountain means “water” and has towering peaks and deep valleys.
Song Mountain means “earth” and looks like a reclining person.
The theory of the five elements corresponds to the legend of the God who founded Taoism, Taishang Daojun. He placed the five mountains to guard the land according to the principle that the five elements mutually reinforce and restrain each other, so that the Chinese emperor and his people could live peacefully and happily on their land.
Others say that the Five Sacred Mountains are represent the “four kinds of creatures” and the God of earth. Tai Mountain represents the cyan dragon, Hua Mountain the white tiger, Heng Mountain the red bird, Huo Mountain the Xuanwu (black turtle and snake), and Song Mountain represents the earth god.
Due to the exquisite design and the connotation of Chinese Taoist culture, this kind of coin with the Daoist Diagrams of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Mountains has important collection value.
[1] Zhou Li 周礼, (according to legend) was written by Zhou Gong周公. The whole book was finalized in the Warring States Period. The phrase “Five Sacred Mountains” appears in the chapter “Chunguan·Da Zongbo春官·大宗伯” in Zhou Li.