The high mountain called Tai shan, or ‘Great mount,’ is situated near Tai-ngan fu in this province. This peak is mentioned in the _Shu King_ as that where Shun sacrificed to Heaven (B.C. 2254); it is accordingly celebrated for its historical as well as religious associations. It towers high above all other peaks in the range, as if keeping solitary watch over the country round-about, and is the great rendezvous of devotees; every sect has there its temples and idols, scattered up and down its sides, in which priests chant their prayers, and practise a thousand superstitions to attract pilgrims to their shrines. During the spring, the roads leading to the Tai shan are obstructed with long caravans of people coming to accomplish their vows, to supplicate the deities for health or riches, or to solicit the joys of heaven in exchange for the woes of earth. A French missionary mentions having met with pilgrims going to it, one party of whom consisted of old dames, who had with infinite fatigue and discomfort come from the south of Honan, about three hundred miles, to “remind their god of the long abstinence from flesh and fish they had observed during the course of their lives, and solicit, as a recompense, a happy transmigration for their souls.” The youngest of this party was 78, and the oldest 90 years.[42] Another traveller says that the pilgrims resort there during the spring, when there are fairs to attract them; high and low, official and commoner, men and women, old and young, all sorts gather to worship and traffic. A great temple lies outside the town, whose grounds furnish a large and secure area for the tents where the devotees amuse themselves, after they have finished their devotions. The road to the summit is about five miles, well paved and furnished with rest-houses, tea-stalls, and stairways for the convenience of the pilgrims, and shaded with cypresses. It is beset with beggars, men and women with all kinds of sores and diseases, crippled and injured, besieging travellers with cries and self-imposed sufferings, frequently lying across the path so as to be stepped upon. A vast number of them live on alms thus collected, and have scooped themselves holes in the side of the way, where they live; their numbers indicate the great crowds whose offerings support such a wretched throng on the hill. ~CITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SHANTUNG.~