This essay examines the local development and expansion of area monasteries, focusing on the sacred Buddhist mountain of Wutai. The primary objective is to analyze the place of monasteries in mountain development as well as to uncover the ways in which official policies operated in a local context. As part of a frontier defense strategy against Mongolians, Mount Wutai was declared a forbidden area no later than Jingtai era. Although the law forbade such economic activities as logging, mining and cultivating in the region; it ruled out the possibility of taxation by the magistrates. Thus, these illegal activities continued untaxed; moreover, patron-client relations flourished, notably the monasteries at Wutai. Indeed, thanks to property and connections with both the military and princes, the monasteries in Wutai helped drive economic development in the area.
