Wade–GilesromanizationWu-t'aiShan,PinyinWutaiShanmountainandmountainchaininnortheastShansiProvince,China.Themountainchainisamassifwithasouthwest–northeastaxis,separatedfromtheHengShan(mountains)tothenorthwestbythevalleyoftheHu-t'oHo(river),whichcurvesarounditssouthernflanktoflowintotheNorthChinaPlaininHopehProvince.Mt.Wu-t'aiisactuallyaclusterofflat-toppedpeaksfromwhichthemountaintakesitsname(FiveTerraces).Thehighestpeakis10,033ft(3,058m)abovesealevel.
Mt.Wu-t'aiisparticularlyfamousasoneofthegreatholyplacesofChineseBuddhism.Greatnumbersoftemples,includingsomeoftheoldestwoodenbuildingssurvivinginChina,arescatteredoverthemountain;thelargesttemples—suchastheHsien-t'ung,theTa-ta-yüan,andthePu-sa-ting-shen-jung-yüan—aregroupedaroundthetownofT'ai-huai-chen.
Mt.Wu-t'aiappearsfirsttohavebecomeaholymountaintotheTaoistadeptsofthelaterHandynasty(AD25–220)butcameintoprominenceinthe5thcenturyundertheNorthernWeidynasty(386–534/35)when,asCh'ing-liangShan,itbecameidentifiedasthedwellingplaceofMãnjuśrībodhisattva(aheavenlybeingwhovoluntarilypostponeshisBuddhahoodinordertoworkforworldlywelfareandunderstanding).ThecultofMãnjuśrīwasintensifiedundertheT'angdynasty(618–907).InearlyT'angtimesMountWu-t'aiwascloselyassociatedwiththepatriarchsoftheHua-yenBuddhistschool,becomingtheprincipalcentreoftheirteaching.DuringthisperioditattractedscholarsandpilgrimsnotonlyfromallpartsofChinabutalsofromJapan,whocontinuedtovisitandstudythereuntilthe12thcentury.
ManyoftheothermonasteriesintheregionwereattachedtoCh'anBuddhism,whichinthe9thcenturyfoundpatronageintheregionfromtheprovincialgovernorsoftheneighbouringareasofHopeh,whowereabletoprotectMountWu-t'aifromtheworstravagesofthegreatreligiouspersecutionthatoccurredfrom843to845.UnderMongolruleinthelate13thcentury,TibetanBuddhism(Lamaism)wasfirstintroducedtoMountWu-t'ai.DuringtheCh'ingdynasty(1644–1911/12),whentheTibetanBuddhistreligionwasanimportantelementinrelationsbetweentheChinesecourtandtheirMongolandTibetanvassalsandwhenthestategavelavishsupporttomonasteriesinhabitedbylamas(monks),MountWu-t'aiwasoneoftheprincipalmonasticcentres.
Fewofthepresentbuildingsareveryold,butthemainhalloftheHua-kuangSsu,datingfrom857,istheoldestsurvivingwoodenbuildinginChina.