Baekdu Mountain ----------------------- Baekdu, Changbai, Paektu, or Baektu Mountain is an active volcano on the border between Korea and China. At 2,744 m (9,003 ft), it is the highest mountain of the Changbai and Baekdudaegan ranges. It is also the highest mountain on the Korean Peninsula and in northeastern China. A large crater lake, called Heaven Lake, is in the caldera atop the mountain. The modern names of the mountain in Chinese and Korean come from the Sushen or Proto-Jurchen language of the Manchu people. Its modern Manchu name is Golmin Šanggiyan Alin or White Mountain. Similarly, its Mongolian name is Ondor Tsagaan Aula, the Lofty White Mountain. In Chinese, the mountain itself is known as Chángbáishān ("Perpetually White Mountain") but the mountain and Heaven Lake taken together are known as Báitóushān ("Whitehead Mountain"). This later name, read in Korean and variously romanized, is the source of the Korean names Paektu San and Baekdu San. In English, various authors have used non-standard transliterations. The Baekdu Mountain has been worshipped by the surrounding peoples throughout history. Both the Koreans and Manchus consider it the place of their ancestral origin. Koreans consider Mount Baekdu as the place of their ancestral origin and as a sacred mountain, one of the three "spirited" mountains (Jirisan, Hallasan and Baekdusan; "san" means a mountain in Korean); the one contained in the legendary foundation of Korea. From the beginning of history through the Three Kingdoms period, to the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties, Koreans have spiritually depended upon the "divine" mountain. The mountain was considered sacred by Koreans throughout history. The legendary beginning of Korea's first kingdom, Gojoseon (2333 BC--108 BC), takes place here. Many subsequent kingdoms of Korea, such as Buyeo, Goguryeo, Balhae, Goryeo and Joseon, considered the mountain sacred and held worshipping rituals for the mountain. The Goryeo dynasty (935--1392) first called the mountain Baekdu, recording that the Jurchens across the Yalu River were made to live outside of Baekdu Mountain. The Joseon Dynasty (1392--1910) recorded volcanic eruptions in 1597, 1668, and 1702. The 15th century, King Sejong the Great strengthened the fortification along the Tumen and Yalu rivers, making the mountain a natural border with the northern peoples. Some Koreans claim that the entire region near Baekdu Mountain and the Tumen River belongs to Korea and part of it was illegally sold by Japanese colonialists to China through the Gando Convention. It was first recorded in the Chinese classic text Shan Hai Jing with the name Buxian Shan (the Mountain with God). It is also called Shanshan Daling (the Big Big Big Mountain) in the Canonical Book of the Eastern Han Dynasty. In the Second Canonical Book of the Tang Dynasty, it was called Taibai Shan (the Grand Old White Mountain). The current Chinese name Changbai Shan (perpetually white mountain) was first used in the Liao Dynasty (907--1125) and then the Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115--1234). The Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115--1234) bestowed the title "the King Who Makes the Nation Prosperous and Answers with Miracles", Xingguo Lingying Wang) on the mountain god in 1172 and it was promoted to "the Emperor Who Cleared the Sky with Tremendous Sagehood" (Kaitian Hongsheng Emperor) in 1193. According to Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, the Yalu and Tumen Rivers were set as the borders in the era of the founder of Joseon Dynasty, Taejo of Joseon (1335--1408). Because of the continuous entry of Korean people into Gando, a region in Manchuria that lay north of the Tumen Manchu and Korean officials surveyed the area and negotiated a border agreement in 1712. To mark the agreement, they built a monument describing the boundary at a watershed, near the south of the crater lake at the mountain peak. The interpretation of the inscription caused a territorial dispute from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, and is still disputed by academics today. Some South Korean groups argue that recent activities conducted on the Chinese side of the border, such as economic development, cultural festivals, infrastructure development, promotion of the tourism industry, attempts at registration as a World Heritage Site, and bids for a Winter Olympic Games, are an attempt to claim the mountain as Chinese territory. These groups object to China's use of Changbai Mountain, which has been used since the Liao Dynasty and the earlier Jin Dynasty (1115--1234). Some groups also regard the entire mountain as Korean territory. Both European maps and Chinese maps dating before the annexation of Baekdu Mountain and Gando show these areas to be under Korean Joseon Dynasty control. For more information, you can visit: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baekdu#China - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baekdudaegan

• published: 14 Feb 2014
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