Zhengding Longxing Temple
June 16,
Get up early in the morning and have breakfast at the revolving restaurant on the top floor. The restaurant is beautiful and the menu is plentiful. In the past, our tourism only put visiting various scenic spots in the first place, and we were very sloppy about accommodation and food. Now that I am old, I turn to "living" and "food" in tourism as important as "travel". Slowly, leisure has become a major theme in tourism. This is the richness and variety of life.
The itinerary in the morning is to take a taxi to Zhengding and visit the Longxing Temple in Zhengding.
I went to Zhengding in 2009. At that time, I took a long-distance bus, and I remember that it took more than two hours on the road. Now I was traveling all the way, and soon came to Zhengding.
Longxing Temple, commonly known as the Great Buddha Temple, is a national key cultural relic protection unit, and some materials list it as one of the top ten famous temples in the country. However, many southerners know little about Longxing Temple, and perhaps have never heard of it.
Longxing Temple was built in the sixth year of Emperor Kaihuang (AD 586), and was originally named "Longzang Temple". In the Tang Dynasty, it was renamed "Longxing Temple". In the early Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin was stationed in Zhenzhou (later Zhengding). Seeing auspiciousness here, he issued an edict to build the Dabei Tower and expand the temple, thus forming the current scale. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, large-scale maintenance was also carried out. In the fifty-second year of Kangxi (1713 A.D.), "Longxing Temple" was renamed "Longxing Temple".
Compared with the time in 2009, a large square was built in front of Longxing Temple. At the north end of the square is the Tianwang Hall, the gate of Longxing Temple.
There are three single-hole stone bridges in front of the Temple of Heavenly Kings. There are small stone lions squatting on the pillars of the white stone railings of the stone bridge, which are very cute in different shapes. There is actually no running water under the bridge, maybe it's just a guard of honor. There is a so-called "nine bridges without flow" in Zhengding, and this is the third of them.
After crossing the stone bridge, there are four square stone pillar bases in a row. I don't know if they are the relics of the stone archway. After that is the Palace of Heavenly Kings.
The five rooms of Tianwang Hall are wide, with green glazed tiles on the top of the mountain. There are eight-character walls on both sides, and the walls are inlaid with green glazed reliefs. There are arched door openings on the red wall of Tianwang Hall, and there are two arched window openings on each side. The inscription "敇jian Longxing Temple" on the forehead is said to be the imperial pen of Emperor Kangxi. The plaque under the eaves reads "Tianwang Hall".
The Maitreya Buddha statue in the Hall of Heavenly Kings is a woodcarving of the Jin Dynasty. The statues of the four heavenly kings in the hall were destroyed in the 1960s, and what we see now are new ones. But other than that, the rest of the Buddha statues in the temple are all original. Because troops were stationed at that time, which played a protective role.
Passing through the Temple of Heavenly Kings, there is an open space. On the base of the platform is the ruins of the Hall of the Sixth Master of Dajue. Dajue Liushi Hall was first built in the Yuanfeng period of Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty. It was originally seven rooms wide. It is a pity that it was destroyed in the early years of the Republic of China due to disrepair.
The Great Enlightened One has a high level of enlightenment; the Six Masters are the Six Buddhas before Sakyamuni. In the past, there were seven Buddhas in the Hall of Six Masters, so it is commonly called "Seven Buddha Hall".
To the north of the site of the Six Masters Hall is the Mani Hall. The Mani Hall was built in the fourth year of Huangyou (1052) in the Northern Song Dynasty, and was rebuilt in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In 1977-1980, the restorative reconstruction of the falling frame was carried out. Mani Hall is a unique building in Longxing Temple, and it is also the most valuable ancient building in the temple. The word "Mani" is Sanskrit, which means jewel. The Buddhist scriptures say: "Put the Mani beads into muddy water, and the water will be clear." The Mani Hall is named after this.
There is a white stone incense burner in front of the main hall. The stone furnace is in the shape of a cup, and the furnace body is embossed with the statue of King Kong Hercules, which is vivid. Next week there is a relief of lotus petals, which is exquisitely conceived.
The main hall of the main hall has seven rooms, seven rooms deep, with double eaves resting on the top of the mountain, and green glazed tiles trimming the edges. There is a Baosha on each side, with single eaves resting on the mountain, and the mountain flowers face outward. Therefore, the plane of the hall is in the shape of a cross, with clear primary and secondary and rich in changes, and its shape is unique and rare. The main hall is majestic and majestic, the eaves on the ridge of the hall have smooth curves, and the corners of the eaves are flying like bird wings, with a beautiful shape.
The beams of this hall are high at both ends and low in the middle, and the upper ends of the pillars are gradually retracted, which is similar to the "building method" of the Song Dynasty. It is the only surviving example in the Song Dynasty architecture in our country. Mr. Liang Sicheng once visited here and included the photos in "World Architecture History".
The temple is dedicated to Sakyamuni and his disciples Kaye and Ananda, all of which are statues of the Song Dynasty. There is a couplet hanging on the left and right of the Buddha statue: "What is the reason for the illusion, but it is formed by thinking, and there is no going or going; the solemn image, just follow the heart, and it is enough to know that the color is empty."
There are two Bodhisattvas, Manjusri and Samantabhadra, on both sides of the Buddha statue, which are statues of the Ming Dynasty.
The five-color hanging mountain relief on the south wall of the back hall was remodeled in the 42nd year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (1563). Avalokitesvara sits upside down in the middle, wearing a crown on his head, draped wreaths on his shoulders, stepping on a lotus with his left foot, resting his legs on his right foot, wrapping his hands around his knees, and resting his left hand on his right wrist. His posture is dignified and elegant, full of human breath. This is a Guanyin that seems to have stepped down from the altar, which is completely different from the Guanyin in other temples. Mr. Liang Sicheng once took photos and sent them to Lu Xun. Mr. Lu Xun once praised him as the "God of Oriental Beauty" and always listed his photos on his desk. It is an extremely precious art treasure. Some sources call it "Oriental Venus", which is also very appropriate.
The inner wall of the eaves wall of the main hall, the Buddhist altar, and the fan wall are all painted with murals of Buddhist stories. The figures are vivid and the belts are smooth. They are masterpieces of art in the Ming Dynasty.
Among them, the mural on the inner wall of the eaves wall is "The Origin of the Shakyamuni", which depicts the entire process of the Buddha Sakyamuni from birth, monkhood, asceticism, enlightenment to Nirvana. The east and west fan walls are painted with "Western Scenic Spot" and "Oriental Pure Glass World". "Twenty-four heavens" are painted on the inner walls of the buildings on all sides. "Twelve Yuanjue Bodhisattvas" and "Eight Great Bodhisattvas" are painted on the inner walls of the east and west fan walls of the inner tank.
The buildings, statues, murals, and reliefs of the hanging mountain are all the treasures of the Mani Temple. It makes people appreciate it again and again, and can't bear to leave!
After leaving the Mani Hall, you can see the second entrance to the courtyard wall. There is a wooden archway in front of the courtyard wall. On the forehead of the gate with gold letters on a blue background, it says "Miaozhuangyanyu".
On the platforms on both sides of the courtyard wall, there are several ancient stone tablets.
This is a stone tablet erected in the 10th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. There is a line of characters engraved on the tablet: "From now on, you must go to the other side."
This is the "Monument of Master Zishamen Tongzhao bestowed by the banknote master of Longxing Temple" erected in the sixth year of Yuan Zhizheng.
This is the "Prince Guo's trip to Zhengding Longxing Temple Monument" in the 12th year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty. Prince Heshuoguo was a hereditary prince of the Qing Dynasty. Prince Guo during the Yongzheng period was Yinli, the seventeenth son of Kangxi.
Pass through the archway and come to the courtyard in front of the altar. There are two thousand-year-old locust trees in the courtyard in front of the altar. The ancient locust tree on the east side is vigorous and powerful, which is called "Longhuai"; the ancient locust tree on the west side is stretched and generous, called "Fenghuai". According to legend, these two trees were a pair of lovers in Zhengding City who were angry because of their parents' opposition. Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty Liu Xiu came to Zhengding and was deeply moved when he saw the connection between the two trees, so he named it Longfenghuai. Later generations also called it the husband and wife tree and the marriage tree. And it is customary that "if you circle the tree three times, you will be rewarded with good fortune".
I secretly thought: what is the relationship between a person's blessing and an ancient tree, whether it is determined by heaven or by human efforts? Besides, these two lovers can't even protect their own marriage, how can they try to protect others? If you want to talk about the allusion of "circling the tree three times", I know that it is "Duan Ge Xing" written by Cao Cao: "The moon and stars are sparse, and the black magpie flies south. If you circle the tree three times, what branch can you rely on?" Auspicious sign.
Looking back at the back of the wooden archway, I saw four big characters titled "Tongjin Baoraft" on the back of the archway.
The altar of precepts was built in the reign of Qianlong. It is square, with triple eaves and a pointed top, and 20 red lacquered court columns around it. The hall in the inner hall is built on the platform, with three rooms wide, with doors on each side, and a row of steps to enter the room. There is a horizontal plaque above the main entrance, inscribed "Golden Rope Road". Buddhism often compares the guidance leading to the path of liberation to a golden rope. Therefore, Li Bai wrote in the poem "Returning to the Mountain in Spring to Send Meng Haoran": "The golden rope opens the road to enlightenment, and the treasure raft travels the lost river." According to information, "The Golden Rope Jue Road" was originally written by Emperor Qianlong. But what you see now is probably a new addition later.
The bronze double-faced Buddha statue enshrined on the altar was cast in the sixth year of Ming Hongzhi (1493). The double-faced Buddha statue has a strange shape, which has never been seen before. Among the double-faced Buddhas, the one facing south is Amitabha Buddha, which is in charge of the Western world; the one facing the north is Medicine Buddha, which is in charge of the Eastern world.
The algae well above the bronze Buddha is also wonderful and worth seeing.
According to reports, at that time there were only three temples in the north that had the authority to grant precepts: Qingliang Temple in Wutai, Jietai Temple in Beijing and Longxing Temple in Zhengding. However, there are many different opinions on the evaluation of the three major platforms, and no one knows what is right or wrong. (to be continued)
