"Birthplace of Shangqing Taoism, where celestial beings dictated scripture to human hands"
Mt. Mao Shan
Jintan District, Jiangsu, China
Maoshan in Jiangsu Province holds the distinction of being the First Blessed Land and Eighth Cave Heaven in Taoist sacred geography — the highest classifications in the system of ranked sacred space. This modest mountain near Nanjing is where the Shangqing revelations were received in the fourth century, when celestial beings transmitted scripture through spirit-writing, and where Tao Hongjing systematized those visions into one of the most influential schools of Taoist thought.
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Quick Facts
Location
Jintan District, Jiangsu, China
Coordinates
31.7845, 119.3188
Last Updated
Mar 29, 2026
Learn More
Maoshan's sacred identity rests on two foundations: the Three Mao Brothers who achieved immortality here during the Western Han Dynasty, and the Shangqing revelations received by Yang Xi in 364 CE, which Tao Hongjing later systematized into one of Taoism's most influential schools.
Origin Story
The mountain's name comes from three brothers who chose its slopes for their Taoist cultivation during the Western Han Dynasty. Mao Ying, Mao Gu, and Mao Zhong practiced the arts of transformation and ascended to heaven, becoming the Lords of the Three Mao — divine patrons of the mountain that bears their name.
Five centuries later, in 364 CE, a Taoist named Yang Xi began receiving visitations from celestial perfected beings. Over several years, these spirits transmitted scripture through spirit-writing — Yang Xi's hand guided by celestial intelligence to produce texts of meditation, visualization, and cosmological description. These Shangqing revelations represented a new direction in Taoism, emphasizing individual inner cultivation over communal ritual.
In 492 CE, Tao Hongjing retired to Maoshan and devoted decades to organizing and authenticating Yang Xi's received texts. His work established the Shangqing school as a formal institutional tradition and created a model for Taoist textual authority that influenced all subsequent schools.
Key Figures
The Three Mao Brothers (Mao Ying, Mao Gu, Mao Zhong)
Western Han Dynasty Taoist practitioners who achieved immortality on the mountain and became its divine patrons. The mountain is named for them.
Yang Xi
Taoist who received the Shangqing revelations at Maoshan from 364 to 370 CE through spirit-writing sessions with celestial perfected beings. His received texts became the foundation of the Shangqing school.
Tao Hongjing (456-536 CE)
Scholar-practitioner who retired to Maoshan in 492 CE and systematized the Shangqing revelations into a coherent school of Taoist thought. His Declarations of the Perfected is both a spiritual and scholarly masterwork.
Spiritual Lineage
The religious lineage flows from the Three Mao Brothers through Yang Xi's revelations and Tao Hongjing's systematization to the institutional Shangqing school, which became one of the most influential currents in Taoist history. During the Song Dynasty, the school was absorbed into Zhengyi Taoism, but Maoshan retained its distinct identity. The present-day community at the mountain maintains continuity with this tradition.
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