The Hanbai Courtyard

The Hanbai Courtyard

The Hanbai Courtyard is located in the southeast corner of the Dai Temple at Mount Tai. Originally housing the Bingling Hall and ancient cypresses, it was formerly known as the Bingling Palace or the Eastern Palace, but is now called the Hanbai Courtyard. Current structures include the Bingling Gate, the Hanbai Pavilion, and the South Tea Pavilion. The Bingling Gate, originally named the Eastern Palace Gate, was rebuilt in 1956. It has three bays, with a width of 11.72 meters, a depth of 8.58 meters, and an overall height of 8.3 meters. It features a three-pillar, five-rafter beam structure (with double-step corridors), a five-purlin front-veranda style, a five-ridge flush gable roof, and bracket sets under the eaves. The capital bracket set consists of a single-dou with a two-riser lifting system supporting a chrysanthemum-head-style beam end, while the intermediate bracket set includes a single-dou with a two-riser lifting system intersecting a chrysanthemum head, adorned with ink-line large-dot-gold color painting. The upper part between the central pillars has a two-tiered horse-board, and the lower part is fitted with pillar-embracing frames, remaining panels, and two paneled doors. The side bays have straight lattice windows. The central bay is 3.56 meters wide, the side bays are 2.59 meters wide, and the eave pillars are equipped with stool railings underneath.

In the courtyard, there is an octagonal stone-railed pool built in 1961, from which visitors can admire the verdant shadows of the ancient cypresses, hence the name Yingcui Pool (Shadowing Green Pool). Surrounding the pool are five ancient cypresses, said to have been planted during Emperor Wu of Han’s eastern tour and enfeoffment. Now twisted and soaring, these trees are vigorous and lush, coiling like dragons. Though their bark is peeling and their hearts hollow, new branches continue to grow. Ancient people praised them as “Han Cypresses Defying the Cold,” one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Tai’an. Beneath the trees stands the "Hanbai Poetry Stele" inscribed by Zhang Penghe, the River Conservancy Commissioner during the Qing Kangxi era.

The northern part of the courtyard originally housed the Bingling Hall, dedicated to Bingling Wang, the Third Son of the God of Mount Tai. The hall was destroyed in 1929, and in 1959 the Han Stele Pavilion was built here. The pavilion stands atop a three-tiered platform, majestic and spacious, originally housing the "Han Hengfang Stele" and Han dynasty stone reliefs. In 1967, the Han steles were replaced with Mao Zedong poetry steles, and the pavilion was renamed the Hanbai Pavilion. From the pavilion, one can view the majestic presence of Mount Tai, take in the full panorama of Tai’an city, gaze at the Culaishan Mountain range like a screen, and enjoy the evening glow of sunset.

The southern part of the courtyard was originally the site where Northern Song scholars Sun Mingshu and Shi Jie lectured. In the early years of the Dading reign of the Jin Dynasty, the Shrine of the Two Lu Gentlemen was established here. In 1965, a teahouse was built.

The courtyard houses 90 stone tablets and steles, over 70 of which are embedded in pavilions, terraces, and the eastern wall. Notable examples include Zhang Heng’s "Four Meditations," Cao Zhi’s "Flying Dragon," Lu Ji’s "Ode to Mount Tai," Mi Fu’s "The First Mountain," Emperor Qianlong’s "Poem on Ascending Mount Tai," inscriptions such as “Ascend Mount Tai to Behold the Magnificence of the Motherland’s Mountains and Rivers,” poetry steles, Chen Yi’s poetry stele, as well as calligraphy works including Liu Haisu’s “Han Cypresses,” Shu Tong’s “Han Cypresses Defying the Cold,” and Sha Menghai’s “Clouds Surge Up from My Chest, Eyes Strain to Follow Homing Birds.”

Before entering the Hanbai Courtyard, the first thing you see is a massive stele at the gate. Erected during the Xuanhe era of the Northern Song Dynasty, this stele is named the "Song Xuanhe Record of the Reconstruction of the Taiyue Temple." It stands 9.25 meters tall. According to the inscription, the scale of the Dai Temple was largely established during the Northern Song period. On the back of the stele are four large characters inscribed by a person from the Ming Dynasty: “Wan Dai Zhan Yang” (Admired for Ten Thousand Generations). This stele is one of the two great steles of the Dai Temple (the other being the “Enfeoffment Title Stele”), and the stone turtle beneath it is enormous, carved from a single piece of stone.

This courtyard is the Hanbai Courtyard. The plaque hanging above the courtyard gate reads “Bingling Gate,” because this area was initially dedicated to the worship of Bingling Wang, the third son of the God of Mount Tai. Later, it was renamed the Hanbai Courtyard due to the five cypress trees planted personally by Emperor Wu of Han during his Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. These five ancient cypresses are over 2,100 years old.

Emperor Wu of Han reigned for 54 years and made seven Fengshan pilgrimages to Mount Tai, demonstrating his deep reverence for the mountain. Cypress trees were not native to Shandong before Emperor Wu introduced them here. Look at this particular tree — a twin-trunk linked arborvitae cypress, standing 11 meters tall and 4 meters in diameter. When Emperor Qianlong visited Mount Tai, he composed a poem upon seeing this tree, which included the line, “Will there ever be another quite like this?” More than 300 years have passed, yet the tree remains vigorous. Look at this stele — it depicts this very tree. It is Qianlong’s “Imperial Han Cypress Painting” stele. It is very rare to create a stele for a single tree, but aside from the Dai Temple, another famous example is the “Zigong’s Planted Cypress Painting” stele in the Confucius Forest in Qufu.

This courtyard houses 90 stone tablets and steles from various dynasties, including famous ones such as the large-character “Viewing the Sea” stele written in 1535 (the 14th year of the Ming Jiajing era) by Sichuan Governor Zhang Qin, the Song dynasty “First Mountain” stele inscribed by the “Stone Obsession” artist Mi Fu, as well as four new steles erected in 1984 bearing inscriptions from contemporary celebrities and master calligraphers. These include inscriptions such as “Ascend Mount Tai to Behold the Magnificence of the Motherland’s Mountains and Rivers,” Liu Haisu’s “Han Cypresses,” Shu Tong’s “Han Cypresses Defying the Cold,” and Sha Menghai’s “Clouds Surge Up from My Chest, Eyes Strain to Follow Homing Birds.”

Enjoy the distant view of Mount Tai from the Hanbai Pavilion. This pavilion, called the Hanbai Pavilion, is an ideal spot to rest, cool off, and gaze at Mount Tai. From this vantage point, the entire mountain is spread out before you.

Location of the Attraction

Eastern side of the Peitian Gate, Dai Temple, Taishan District, Tai’an City, Shandong Province