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Quattro Montagne

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Le Quattro Montagne (cinese tradizionale: 四嶽; cinese semplificato: 四岳; pinyin: Sìyuè) è un termine interpretato in vari modi dalla mitologia cinese o dalla storia Cinese antica e indicherebbe - a seconda delle fonti - una persona, quattro persone o perfino quattro dei. Questa espressione appare principalmente nel mito della Grande Alluvione e nei relativi miti dell'Imperatore Yao (durante il regno del quale iniziò la Grande Alluvione), Gun, Shun (il successore dell'Imperatore Yao) e Yu il Grande (che riuscì finalmente a controllare le alluvioni durante il regno di Shun e che poi gli successe come imperatore).

L'esperto di mitologia Yang Lihui vede le Quattro Montagne come i quattro dei di quattro montagne, riferendosi alle vere montagne. K.C. Wu vede invece le Quattro montagne come una posizione di comando istituita dall'Imperatore Yao per "avere il controllo degli affari mondani dell'Impero", ma sottolinea il fatto che non si conosce la descrizione e le funzioni di tali posizioni di comando, nè si è certi che vi fossero realmente quattro persone che detenessero queste posizioni; tuttavia

Mythologist Yang Lihui sees Four Mountains as four gods of a set of four mountains, with Four Mountains referring to the actual mountains themselves.^[1] K. C. Wu sees Four Mountains as being a ministerial position established by Yao to "oversee the mundane affairs of the empire", but points out that a real description of the functions of this position is lacking, nor is it certain whether there were one or four persons holding this ministerial position; however, he goes on to say that the evidence suggests the existence of four of them, and that they were charged with keeping themselves knowledgeable about what was going on throughout Yao's domain and advising him upon request.^[2] The importance of Four Mountains can be seen in their key role in selecting Gun to be the first to be put in charge of controlling the flood, then, later, in nominating Shun to be Yao's co-emperor, and later successor.

Contents

[[[Four Mountains|hide]]] 

• 1Name
• 2Cosmology
• 3See also
• 4Notes
  • 4.1References
  • 4.2Bibliography

Name[edit]

The name "Four Mountains" in Chinese uses 四 (sì), the standard character/word for the number four, plus 嶽 (yuè), which refers to a great mountain, or the highest peak of a mountain — in contrast to the usual word for mountain, 山 (shān), which may also be used to refer to a mere foothill or other geological prominence.

Cosmology[edit]

Anthony Christie relates the figure of Four Mountains to the Chinese cosmological idea of a square earth, with each of the peaks representing one of the four cardinal directions which the ruler would tour, and at which he would perform various imperial rituals, upon taking possession of his realm. The person or person(s) of Four Mountains being afterwards present in court then symbolized the completion of the ruler's having taken possession of his entire realm.^[3]

See also[edit]

• Chinese mythology, a general article on Chinese mythology
• Sacred Mountains of China
• Kunlun Mountain (mythology)
• Xia dynasty

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

1. Jump up^ Yang, An & Turner 2005, p. 128.
2. Jump up^ Wu 1982, p. 68.
3. Jump up^ Christie 1968, p. 67.

Bibliography[edit]

K. C. Wu ((ZH) ) (21 Ottobre 1903 – 6 Giugno 1984) è stato uomo politico e storico cinese.

Vita

K.C. Wu nacque nella Cina centrale e crebbe a Beijing, dove il padre lavorava per l'esercito. Studiò presso la Nankai High School, insieme al compagno Zhou_Enlai, e successivamente alla Tsinghua University. Nel 1923 si laureò in economia presso il Grinnell College e nel 1926, conseguì il dottorato in scienze politiche presso l'Università di Princeton.

Carriera e vita personale

Dopo il ritorno in Cina nel 1926, Wu iniziò la propria carriera nell'ambito governativo, prima come

After returning to China in 1926, Wu began a career in government service, first as a tax collector in Hankow (today part of Wuhan) for Hsia Tou-yin, a local warlord. In 1931, he married Edith Huang, daughter of Gene T. Huang. They eventually had four children: Eileen Wu, Edith Wu, H.K. Wu and Sherman_Wu. In 1932, he became mayor of Hankow. When the Yangtze River appeared ready to flood in 1936, Wu oversaw the construction of a huge dike system which saved the city.

With the fall of Hankow to Japanese forces in October 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Wu and his family fled to Chungking. In 1939, Chiang_Kai-Shek appointed him as mayor of Chungking, a position he held until 1942. He served as vice minister of Foreign Affairs from 1943-1945, interacting with Zhou_Enlai as part of the united front against the Japanese. After the end of World War II in 1945, K.C. Wu became mayor of Shanghai, serving in that role until the Chinese Communists conquered the city in 1949. While mayor of Shanghai, Wu met the Chicago Tribune's Robert McCormick and his wife Maryland. As the situation in Shanghai became less stable, Wu sent his two daughters to live with the McCormicks in Illinois.

Activities after leaving Mainland China

Following the relocation of the Nationalist government to Taipei, Wu served as Governor of Taiwan from 1949 to 1953. Wu attempted to bring a greater degree of self-governance to the Taiwanese people, allowing for the election of certain local officials by popular vote. Wu also brought critics of Chen Yi into the government, and attempted to cut back on police brutality. Wu was opposed by many conservative members of the Nationalist government, including Chiang_Ching-kuo and Chen Cheng. His liberal democratic ideas and critical moment of invasion of Communists do not go hand to hand

Wu's conflict with the younger Chiang worsened. Wu submitted his resignation to the elder Chiang but it was rejected. In April 1952, an alleged assassination targeting Wu was suspected. In April 1953, he (successfully) resigned from his position as governor and on 24 May 1953 he hastily left Taiwan on a "lecture tour". Wu's family left for the United States, except one son who was not permitted to leave by the Chiangs. In 1954, a wave of accusations appeared in Taiwan alleging Wu's corruption. At the same time, the Chiangs moved to dismiss Wu's associates from government. Following his son's departure from Taiwan, Wu began to speak out against what he saw were serious problems with the Kuomintang government. That same year, Wu wrote an article in Look magazine entitled "Your Money is Building a Police State in Taiwan". The war of words between Wu and Chiang's regime escalated further, including a resolution against him by the ROC's National Assembly. Later in 1954, a war of words also erupted between Wu and Hu_Shih, who was also in the United States at the time.

At that time, the United States was attempting to forge an alliance with the Taiwan Central Government in order to secure a strong military chain to keep communism at bay. Thus, the idea of fighting the police state was low on the United States agenda. Following a lack of American response to his writings, K.C. Wu lived in the United States where he served as professor of Chinese history at Armstrong_Atlantic_State_University in Savannah, Georgia. During his time in the United States, he wrote various works, including a detailed analysis on Chinese culture in the context of mythology and early history in his book The Chinese Heritage.

Wu is remembered mainly for his vital role in the formation of a liberal modern Taiwan and his anti-communist beliefs typical of a member of Kuomintang, but he is also remembered for his brave anti-Kuomintang rhetoric and turbulent disagreements with the more Russian-styled Chiang Ching-kuo.

References

• http://www.faculty.armstrong.edu/FDawardR.htm
• http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,1101500807,00.html
• The Chinese Heritage by K. C. Wu; 1988, Random House Value Publishing, ISBN 0-517-54475-X.
• "Your Money is Building a Police State in Taiwan" by K.C. Wu; Look, June 29, 1954.
• The Voice of Asia by James_A._Michener; 1951, Random House, ISBN 0-394-45077-9.
• Mechanics and Methods of Communism lecture by Dr K.C. Wu, 17 March 1955, Waelderhaus, Kohler,_Wisconsin; The Sheboygan Press, March 17, 1955, p 13
• Fires of the Dragon by David E. Kaplan; 2002, Scribner, ISBN 0-7432-4538-5.