Forging the Sacred: The Rise and Reimaging of Mount Jizu 雞足山 in Ming-Qing Buddhist Geography

Mount Jizu (雞足山) in Yunnan rose to prominence within China's Buddhist sacred landscape during the Ming-Qing dynasties, challenging traditional narratives by achieving national significance in a remarkably short timeframe. This study reveals that its sacralization was not static but dynamic, shaped by local agency, imperial state-building, late-Ming Buddhist revival, and transnational influences. Unlike earlier scholarship focused on regional or secular frameworks, this research expands the analytical scope to include religious dimensions and situates Mount Jizu within broader national and transnational contexts. By analyzing structural, institutional, and agential dynamics across multiple levels, it demonstrates how competing claims to spiritual authority and cultural identity were negotiated, redefining the mountain's symbolic meaning over time.

Zhang, D. (2025). Forging the Sacred: The Rise and Reimaging of Mount Jizu 雞足山 in Ming-Qing Buddhist Geography. Religions, 16(7), 851. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16070851