Dai Temple

The Dai Temple, also known as Dongyue Temple is a Daoist Chinese temple in Tai'an, Shandong province, China, with extant structures dating back to the 11th century. It is a place of worship for Chinese deities and dedicated to Dongyue Dadi, the supreme deity of Mount Tai. The temple is located at the foot of the mountain.

History

The Dai Temple was originally built during the Han dynasty, and was a site where imperial sacrifices were conducted, starting with Emperor Wu of Han in 110 BC. The Feng Shan sacrifices were discontinued by AD 1008 when the temple was reconstructed and greatly extended during the Song dynasty. A settlement around the temple grew into a proper city over time due to many pilgrims visiting the site. An originally rammed earth wall was built around the town and temple in 1162. However, this wall was reconstructed in stone between 1511–1523 during the Ming dynasty, and completed fully with a total length of 4 km in 1553.

External sources

*