Mituo Temple in Xigou Village
Mituo Temple, an ancient stone complex with a history of more than 1,6 years, is a precious cultural relic of Wei and Jin Dynasties in northern China, located in the depths of Wuyun Mountain at the junction of Yushe and Qixian at the western foot of Taihang Mountain.
Mituo Temple was built in the Shile period in the 16th century AD. At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, Schleswig-Holstein fought against government troops in Taihang and Luliang areas. In the fourth year of Jianxing (AD 316), Schleswig and Liu Kun, the secretariat of the Western Jin Dynasty, fought in Mianshan and Wuyunshan, causing numerous casualties. Schleswig regretted the soldiers and set up an altar to cross over. In the third year of Jianping (A.D. 332), Shile, the emperor of the post-Zhao Dynasty, built the Mituo Temple in Mianshan, and built the Mituo Temple in Yushe, his hometown where he had fought fiercely with officers and men, which was rebuilt many times in previous dynasties.
The existing remains of Mituo Temple were rebuilt in the 43rd year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (174), five years earlier than the construction of Yuanmingyuan. Covers an area of 42 square meters. The layout is quadrangle-style, the main hall is three rooms wide, the stone arch-shaped building is four rooms wide, and the stone pillars and Liang Shi are mixed. The main hall in the backyard has survived for thousands of years, and it still stands upright. The other halls have fallen, but there are many cultural relics above the ruins. In addition to the stone inscriptions in Batong which record the rise and fall of monasteries and the spread of Buddhism from the east to the south, the exquisitely carved animal heads, door squats and pillars all have extremely high cultural relics value, especially the two bluestone turtles with a square meter and a weight of more than 1, kilograms are amazing to ward off evil spirits. The stone tablet on the turtle's back has gone, but the slot in which the tablet was inserted is still vivid and huge, with a length of one meter and a depth of nearly one foot. This giant exorcism is carved from a whole piece of bluestone, which is vivid and dynamic. The appearance of tortoise-shaped exorcism also indicates that Mituo Temple was founded around the Eastern Han Dynasty, where turtles were often used to ward off evil spirits. It was dominated by its name, shaped like a turtle, and was one of the "nine sons of dragons". It still holds its head high and wants to run towards the green hills.