Layout of Chenghuang Temple Palace
In the middle of the gate is the golden tablet of Ningbo Chenghuang Temple, which is 3m wide and1.7m high. Six gold-plated Chinese characters were written by Qian Han, a great calligrapher in modern times. During the "Cultural Revolution", the staff of Tianyi Pavilion quietly hid the plaque in the pavilion and covered it with Chinese characters to make it escape. The Chenghuang Temple was restored and the inscriptions were returned to their original owners. Because of its preciousness, the county temple construction team at that time submitted the third-line gold foil to the head office of the People's Bank of China for approval through complicated procedures, and invited a famous teacher to install it, so that this cultural relic was brand-new and radiant. There are a pair of huge stone lions in front of the Chenghuang Temple, which disappeared during the Cultural Revolution. 1983 When the Chenghuang Temple was rebuilt, with the help of the Municipal Cultural Protection Office, a pair of abandoned stone lions were found in the waste pile of the hacksaw factory outside the south gate. At present, the stone lions we see outside the gate are small and bony, but they are dazzling and elegant. The hacksaw factory was originally the site of "General Kang Temple", and the pair of lions were also considered as "famous families" with extraordinary qualifications. Although the left lion's forelimb is disabled, it is still strong, and there is still a large area of rust under the abdomen, giving people a sense of historical vicissitudes.
Many exquisite wood carvings, brick carvings and stone carvings are still preserved on the lintel and two side walls of the gate. There are two exquisite woodcarvings on the left and right gates, Yunlong and the Double Lion Play Beads. Yunlong has always been regarded as a exquisite woodcarving, but now it is covered by a plaque, showing only a corner. Brick carvings such as magpies and plum branches are on the brick walls on both sides, meaning "jubilant" and "butterflies love flowers", meaning wealth and good luck, and there are other works of flowers and birds, landscapes and figures. These brick carvings have smooth lines, exquisite carvings and different shapes, which are masterpieces left by predecessors. It's a pity that in recent years, the builders only seek form, but they are self-defeating, smearing the exquisite brick carvings with mortar beyond recognition, making it difficult to see the original quaint and exquisite style of the works.
On both sides of the left and right gates, there is a small stone tablet. On the right is the signboard that the county temple has been designated as the key cultural relics protection unit in Ningbo, with the inscription "Ningbo Revolutionary Committee, 198 1,12,5". On the left is the tablet of rebuilding the county temple: "The county temple was rebuilt in June of 1982, 1 1 year, and completed in June of 1983, 1 year. More than 26,000 workers have been invested, and * * * is 550,000 yuan. " The signature is "Ningbo Citizen District People's Government, 1985." Although these two stone tablets are not noticed, they are both important and worthy of attention. They witnessed and expressed the end of a period of history and the beginning of a new era.
Under the west wall of the gate, there is also a small granite stone tablet, the Song Jingfu Temple Site Monument, which was inscribed by Japanese friend Bo You Murakami. Murakami is a Japanese monk and scholar and a Japanese-Chinese friendship envoy. From 1979 to 2005, he visited China one hundred times and Ningbo as many as 60 times, doing a lot of practical things for Japan-China friendship and promoting many major cultural exchange activities. He has profound attainments in the study of Ningbo's history and culture, especially the Buddhist culture in eastern Zhejiang. According to its research, from Tang Dynasty to Song Dynasty, Ningbo has always been one of the most important channels for Japanese-Chinese communication. Especially after the Southern Song Dynasty moved its capital to Lin 'an, Ningbo became the only Japanese gateway to China. Song Jingfu Temple, built on the present site of Chenghuang Temple, was a must-see place for Japanese in Ningbo, which played a very important and special role in promoting Japanese-Chinese exchanges at that time.
There is an ancient monument in the east and west of the main entrance of the gate, which was built in the second year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty. The inscription was badly damaged and the words were unclear. In the east, there is a stone tablet named "Inscription of Ningbo City God Temple", which is the oldest and richest stone tablet in the City God Temple and was established by the 11th Orthodox Church of the Ming Dynasty. The inscription describes in detail the historical evolution of Ningbo City and the reasons for building the temple. It is an extremely precious cultural relic.
The entrance hall is a four-column and three-lane structure. The small roof is divided into north and south, south platform beam and north rolling shed. There is a herringbone slope top on the platform beam, and there is a beautiful Haitang porch top on the roll shed, which is red in the south and green in the north, and curved in the north and south, which is very beautiful. This form is called "Yuanyang making" in ancient buildings. On one side is an ordinary roof. Through this combination of mandarin ducks, it looks unpredictable, beautiful and lifelike in the air. The replacement of the platform beam in the entrance hall is more deeply carved and extremely rendered. Although it is only a small hall and a small space, the ancestors cleverly conceived and meticulously worked, which shows the superb architectural technical level and the spirit of Excellence of the ancestors at that time.
After three centuries, the gate of Chenghuang Temple ushered in spring, summer, autumn and winter, watching the vicissitudes of time and observing the times. Today, it not only opens our lives, but also records the rich history of Ningbo for us.
Zhaobi is a big wall standing outside the gate of Ningbo City God Temple. This wall is called the shadow wall in the north and the "dawn wall" in ancient times, so there used to be a saying that "disaster starts from dawn wall". The zhaobi of Chenghuang Temple is a unique architectural form influenced by Feng Shui consciousness. Its function is to shield the eyes from the wind, ward off evil spirits, set off the atmosphere and increase the momentum of the house. It reflects the ancient folk psychology of praying for good luck, avoiding evil and seeking peace.
The zhaobi of Ningbo Chenghuang Temple is very distinctive, with a width of18m and a height of 9m, which is almost equal to the overall building width of the temple. It is the largest existing ancient zhaobi in Ningbo (such as the zhaobi of Jushilin and the zhaobi of Qinzhi Temple). There are a circle of arch walls on the left and right sides of the zhaobi, which are closely connected with the temple and become a unique street view on Xianxue Street, which is also very rare in China. It is said that in 1958, when Shi Hui, the great director, filmed the film "Night Sailing in a Foggy Sea" based on the sunken ship of "Democracy III", there were two important scenic spots in Ningbo, one was Lingqiao, and the other was Zhaobi and Arch Wall in front of the City God Temple. In the old days, the stage of the Town God Temple was the center of the folk activities of the Town God Temple, and various troupes competed to perform on the stage. In the performances, some are purely literary activities, some are performed in various traditional festivals according to old customs, and more are performed by troupes invited by festivals held by industrial and commercial guilds. Without ticket sales, anyone can go in and watch it casually to expand the influence of the industry. Whenever there is a performance, the temple is decorated with lanterns, gongs and drums, and it is very lively. In the early years of the Republic of China, a Peking Opera team named "Four Happiness" was invited from Tianjin to perform the joint drama "Hongbiyuan" at the Chenghuang Temple. On the first day of the opening ceremony, the audience filled the stage of Chenghuang Temple. That night, Ma Zi, the martial king of the Red Chamber, and Jackie Chan, the one-horned dragon, played the leading role and the villain role respectively. The two men had a big fight on the stage, which was wonderful. The audience kept cheering in unison and couldn't help but stand on tiptoe and rush to the stage to watch the excitement. Finally, an iron incense burner weighing more than 1000 kg was turned upside down. This incident was later cited as a joke of Yongcheng people after dinner.
The stage of the Town God Temple is extraordinary, and it is the most dazzling place in the whole Town God Temple. The stage is located at the top of the mountain, with only one roof. Although it is only 40 square meters, it is beautifully structured and embossed with gold, which is a unique traditional craft in Ningbo. The most striking thing is a circular vault at the top of the stage, which is called "algae well", and Ningbo people commonly call it "chicken cage top". It is always made up of 988 banana-shaped inclined arch trees, spliced with hollowed-out flower plates, gradually spiraling upward layer by layer, and finally assembled on a bronze mirror with a diameter of 50 cm. The whole structure of caisson does not need a nail, and it is all connected by tenons, which makes people marvel at its conception and technology. In addition, the structure and form of the circular dome and the square mesa skillfully show the realm of a round place and a quiet world. Exquisite algae wells can expand the space above the stage. Actors need three-dimensional space to perform on the stage in order to complete beautiful movements. If Beijing Opera is performed, the 3-meter-high somersault won't get in the way. Secondly, it has an acoustic effect. Because there was no modern audio equipment in the old days, the audience who were a little far away from the stage could not hear the sound on the stage. With caisson, when the actors sing high and low on the stage, the dome and caisson will naturally form a * * * sound effect to amplify the actor's voice, and the audience will suddenly have a lingering enjoyment when watching the performance, which makes people clap their hands and exclaim.
This stage has attracted many experts in cultural relics, culture and fine arts. 1955, when Deng Bai, a famous arts and crafts educator and professor of China Academy of Fine Arts, visited the Chenghuang Temple, he also praised the stage algae wells as "wonderful works". In 1950s, China published a picture album introducing the ancient architectural art in China. The photos of this stage of Ningbo Chenghuang Temple are clearly included in it. According to relevant records, the stage of Ningbo Chenghuang Temple was built by Xu, a famous craftsman in Ningbo in the tenth year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty. Chenghuang Temple is a gathering place for people inside and outside the city, and it is also very mobile, so the government or non-governmental organizations often use this public place to publicize and spread information. For some temporary announcements, write them on paper and post them in a conspicuous place in the temple; For things that people need to know for a long time, the content is engraved on stone tablets, thus gradually forming a stone tablet culture in temples. In the old days, there were more than 30 stone tablets in the Town God Temple in Ningbo, which not only recorded the rise and fall history of the Town God Temple itself, but also recorded Ningbo's economic and social development, local conditions and customs, and had certain research value. For example, the inscription of Ningbo City God Temple was engraved in the 11th year of the Ming Dynasty, which recorded the establishment and evolution of Ningbo City God Temple before the Ming Dynasty. It is the archives of the Town God Temple in Ningbo, and it is also the propaganda word of the Town God Temple, which has played a certain role in people's understanding of the Town God Temple and belief in the God of the Town God. Some stone tablets are propaganda of local laws and regulations, such as a stone tablet carved in Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty, which records the establishment and implementation of the pension fund for boat people. At that time, there was a "Tongshun Wupeng Shipping Bureau" on the north bank of Ningbo, and there were only over 60 ships under the jurisdiction of this bureau. When boat people are transported to various places, people often die because of slipping or capsizing. After such a tragic accident, the families of boat people often have no money to bury the dead. Therefore, the shipowners of various ships negotiate and formulate the articles of association of compassionate rescue, and announce them to all parties concerned for compliance. This is probably the earliest social security mechanism in Ningbo history.