History of Dashengci Temple

The Great Shengci Temple was built in the middle of the seventh century AD (Tianbao and Zhide years of the Tang Dynasty). It was built by Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji) of the Tang Dynasty who gave a plaque "Edict to Build the Great Shengci Temple". Suzong (Li Heng) of the later Tang Dynasty wrote "Dashengci Temple" to him personally, so it got its name. The eminent monk Xuanzang of the Tang Dynasty received ordination here. According to legend: Chengdu is a continent floating on the inland sea - "it takes one year to become a city, and two years to make Chengdu" (city means transaction; capital means gathering place). In order to prevent the city from drifting, ups and downs, and even floods, the ancients built this large complex of temples and lake courtyards - "Dasi Temple" - on the "feng shui treasure land" leading to the "eye of the sea" from Shu. As a temple that protects the prosperity and peace of Chengdu forever.

According to historical records: The original temple was expanded in the Tang Dynasty and became grand and spectacular. At that time, there were 96 courtyards and 8,524 buildings, pavilions, halls, towers, halls, halls, rooms, and corridors in the temple. It covers an area of ​​hundreds of hectares (including the current Dongfeng Cinema, Dongfeng Road, Fanshi Street, Dianjiangtai, Niuwang Temple and other areas). In particular, the temple had a prosperous history and had many monks (there is now a street called Monk Street at the right end of Beicang City Street. The street was named after a monk, which shows the influence of the temple at that time). The poet Zhang Bin of the late Tang Dynasty (a native of Qinghe, Haidian, Beijing, a Jinshi during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty, and served as a minister of catering and magistrate of Jintang County {Zhao Zhen}) once used the scenery of "Dasi Temple" to express his feelings and wrote a famous poem: " "In the summer, the veteran Lin Ting" said: "After a hundred battles, I love peace, and the Hou family gradually wants to be like a fairy home. A drizzle drizzles on the wall, and the wind returns to the water and the flowers suddenly fall. I put the windlass in the well to soak in wine, and the parrots report the fried tea after the flowers bloom." The picture of several people in Lingyan Pavilion, once facing the cold sand, outlines the pictures of fine grass on the wall, falling flowers on the water surface, soaking in wine and making tea, which shows the leisure and fun and beautiful scenery of "Daci Temple" at that time. According to the "Records of Scenic Spots in Sichuan" compiled by Cao Xuequan of the Ming Dynasty, in the Song and Ming Dynasties, the incense in Daci Temple was still very strong, and the nearby neighborhoods were also quite prosperous, and it was especially lively when there were temple fairs and festivals. In the first year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty (618), Tripitaka Master Xuanzang went from Chang'an to Chengdu and studied Buddhist scriptures with Master Baoxian, Daoji, Zhizhen and other masters. In the spring of the fifth year of Wude (622), Xuanzang received ordination at the Daci Temple in Chengdu and studied the law in the summer. During Xuanzang's four or five years in Chengdu, he mastered various sects and often lectured at Daci, Konghui and other temples. He was admired by the people of Shu. Xuanzang was not satisfied with this, so he took a boat trip through the Three Gorges, via Jingzhou to Chang'an, completing his feat of going to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

When it was at its peak in the Tang and Song Dynasties, Daci Temple occupied less than half of the east city of Chengdu. It was a famous tourist area in Chengdu at that time, and it became even more lively during

temple fairs. Business is booming near Daci Temple, and seasonal markets are formed in front of the temple, such as lantern market, flower market, silkworm market, medicine market, hemp market, Qibao market, etc. At the same time, night markets have also formed on both sides of Jieyu River. From the description of "Fangxing Shenglan" "Climbing the Yunjin Tower in front of Daci Temple to view the Jinjiang Night Market" and Tian Kuang's poem "Climbing the Daci Temple Pavilion to View the Night Market", it is explained that the night market near Daci Temple in the Song Dynasty was grand. The custom of night markets has been followed until modern times.

By the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, Daci Temple gradually became deserted. According to later generations' research and speculation, there may be two reasons for the decline: First, it was affected by the wars and plagues in the late Ming Dynasty, especially when Zhang Xianzhong "suppressed Sichuan", he wantonly destroyed Chengdu's urban construction and economy (Chengdu was so desolate that it left the city Less than ten miles away, you can see the situation of jackals, tigers and leopards); the second is based on the internal struggle of Zen Buddhism. For example, at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Xuetongzui, a giant in the Buddhist world, came out of the "Zhaojue Temple" in the northern suburbs of Chengdu, and a group of famous disciples and famous monks around him, which caused the authority and reputation of the "Daci Temple" to decline. Historically, the most distinctive and influential cultural relics of "Dasi Temple" are famous paintings and bronze Buddhas.

After the expansion in the Tang Dynasty, the temple became grand and spectacular. At that time, there were 96 courtyards in the temple, and 8524 buildings, pavilions, halls, towers, halls, halls, rooms, and corridors. There were various Tathagatas on the walls. There are 1,215 Buddha statues, 262 statues of heavenly kings, bright kings, and great gods and generals, and 114 transformed images of Buddhist scriptures. All the portraits are "one-of-a-kind works of art" and are an extremely precious treasure house of art. Su Shi of the Song Dynasty praised it as "the most exquisite in the world". Li Zhichun of the Song Dynasty said in his "Painting Notes of the Great Sage Ci Temple": "No one in the world can compare with the greatness of the Tang Dynasty painters as the Great Sage Ci Temple." According to expert evaluation: all the paintings in the temple are "unique works of their time" and are extremely precious and rare works of art. treasure house. According to historical records such as Huang Xiufu's "Yizhou Famous Paintings" and Fan Chengda's "Chengdu Ancient Temples Famous Notes" of the Song Dynasty: there are 1,215 various Tathagata Buddha statues on the walls of the temple, 262 statues of heavenly kings, Ming kings, and great gods and generals, and Buddhist scriptures. 114 pictures. Su Shi of the Song Dynasty once praised it as "the most exquisite in the world". Li Zhichun of the Song Dynasty said in his "Painting Notes on the Great Sage Ci Temple": "No one in the world can compare with the prosperity of the Great Sage Ci Temple among the Tang painters."

In particular, the "Arhat Crossing the Sea" depicting the famous monk Dede (Guan Xiu) in Sichuan during the Five Dynasties (painted in the seventh volume of the first volume of "Collection of Chinese Famous Paintings" collected by Pingping Pavilion (published by Shanghai Youzheng Book Company in 1934)) is the most famous. Di Pingzi, the original collector, has an inscription on the left side of the original painting: "On this original silk, a monk came and wrote the following inscription: Monk Guanxiu of Shu came to Lulingga and crossed the sea in the Tang Dynasty. The picture is hidden in the Luohan Pavilion in the Sixth Patriarch Courtyard of Dashengci Temple in Chengdu. . In the next five hundred years, my disciples will visit again and pay homage to this.” It is said that there were hundreds of bronze Buddhas and stone Buddhas in the temple. They were all destroyed by wars and chaos. Among them, there are two most famous ones: one was destroyed in 1927; the other was preserved until after liberation. This Buddha is made entirely of copper. More than two feet high, the statue is solemn and surrounded by glass cabinets. There is an interesting myth and legend circulating about this bronze Buddha: During the hot summer season, people often come here to cool off. It is said that in the dead of night, the sound of the sea water at the feet of the bronze Buddha can sometimes be heard. The purpose of shaping the bronze Buddha is to use it to suppress the "sea eye" mouth under its feet. On the back of the bronze Buddha are engraved "Yongzhen Shuyan Made by Li Bing" with seven characters bigger than a fist. The characters are in Qin seal script (therefore, judging from the production and Qin seal script of this Buddha statue, some people suspect that it was not made in the Qin Dynasty, but was most likely cast in the Ming and Qing Dynasties). On both sides of the front of the glass niche, there were still hanging couplets written by Yan Kai (a native of Huayang, a famous calligrapher in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, and many famous places and historic sites in Sichuan had his inscriptions):

" A foothold to suppress the sound of the tide, to prevent the rising tide of the sea; to support the world with a hand, to respond to the strong and indestructible body."

It is a pity that this Buddha was eventually destroyed in 1958 during the "Great Leap Forward" era. (According to an eyewitness, Mr. Feng Shuimu, vice president of the Municipal Poetry Association, who witnessed the worker smashing it with a sledgehammer, the base of the bronze Buddha was one meter high, and the copper skin alone was about two inches thick. The head could not be smashed. Solid red copper. )