The History and Culture of Kaiyuan Temple in Xingtai
brief introduction
Kaiyuan Temple, also known as Dongda Temple, is located in the middle of xing zhou North Road in Xingtai City. Built in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty (7 13-74 1), it is one of the cradles of Buddhist Cao Dongzong. It has a history of more than 1300 years, and it is still a well-preserved famous temple in the Tang Dynasty. There is a big screen wall in front of the original temple, on which there are rolling dragon flowers and colored sulfur glass bricks. Feilong is vigorous and graceful, and rushes out of the screen for several inches, which is lifelike and quite eager to fly. Exquisite and vivid sculptures and superb workmanship are rare in the north. According to historical records, whenever the abbot gives a lecture, "thousands of monks" come to listen. "Ten miles away, you can hear the monks swishing the scriptures and banging the bell." Kaiyuan Temple has experienced many vicissitudes, but its majestic posture still exists. 1982 was listed as a provincial key cultural relics protection unit by Hebei province. In the late 1990s, it was rebuilt by Xingtai people. In 2006, it was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. Immediately, Xingtai City decided to restore Kaiyuan Temple again and build a park covering an area of more than 200 mu to help Xingtai declare its national history.
Second, introduce the history [regional location] of Xingtai City, Hebei Province. Xingtai City is located in the south of Hebei Province, at the eastern foot of the southern section of Taihang Mountain and at the western edge of North China Plain.
Located at 36 degrees north latitude. 50`~37。
47', east longitude 1 13. 52`~ 1 15。
49', bordering Shandong Province in the east, Taihang Mountain and Shanxi Province in the west, Handan City in the south, Shijiazhuang City and Hengshui City in the north and northeast respectively. The longest point from east to west is about185km, and the widest point from north to south is about 80km, with a total area of12486km2.
The city * * * is 0/06km away from the provincial capital Shijiazhuang/KLOC-and 396km away from the capital Beijing. [Establishment and Evolution] Xingtai has a long history, and Gong Yu is the territory of Jizhou.
The same ancestors moved their capital to the capital city of Xing. 1 1 century BC, Zhou Chengwang named the fourth son of Duke Zhou as Xing Guogong, established and ruled Xing Guo.
The Spring and Autumn Period is the territory of Jin State. During the Warring States period, it was the capital, and this area belonged to Zhao. Because "born in lead, it was named", Xing said it started here.
In 372 BC, Zhao Chenghou was transformed into a new capital. After Qin unified the six countries, it abolished feudalism and set up a county, which belonged to Handan County (Julu County). At the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Xiang Yu seized the land of Zhao, and "established himself as the King of Changshan, trusted the capital and changed his title to".
The Eastern Han Dynasty belonged to Wei County, and the Three Kingdoms belonged to Guangping County and Shilu County. At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, after the construction, Zhao was the item, the county was the item, and Xing belonged to it.
In the sixteenth year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty, Xingzhou set up a county. In the first year of Tang Tianbao, Julu County was changed, and Xingzhou was restored in the second year of Zhide.
In the first year of Song Xuanhe, Xingzhou was changed to Xinfu and Jin Fu to Xingzhou. Three years after the reunification of Yuan Dynasty, Shunde Prefecture was changed to Xingzhou, and Xingzhou was Jin Fu.
In the third year of Yuan Dynasty, Xingzhou was changed to Shunde House, and in the second year of Yuan Dynasty, Shunde Road was changed. In the first year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, Shunde Road was changed to Shunde House, which was made in Qing Dynasty.
In the early Republic of China, he abandoned the government and went out of the county, belonging to Zhili. 19 14 set Daming Road, which belongs to the jurisdiction.
1928 Zhili province was changed to Hebei province, and the road was abandoned. All counties are in the province. 1936, the 15th administrative supervision department was established in Xing.
1937 "July 7th Incident", and 15 10, the Japanese army invaded Xingtai and set up Jinan Road instead of Shunde Road. At the same time, China * * * launched the Anti-Japanese National Salvation Movement, went deep behind enemy lines in North China, and established the Anti-Japanese Home in the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region, which was under the jurisdiction of Jinan Administrative Office and Taihang Administrative Office in the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan Border Region.
1945 On September 24th, Xingtai was liberated and Xingtai City was established. 1 August, 9491day, the people of North China * * * established and restored the organizational system of Hebei Province, abolished the Jinan Department and the Taihang Administrative Office, and set up the Xingtai Commissioner's Office to administer Xingtai, Shahe, Lincheng, Neiqiu, Weixian, Nangong, Renxian, Longyao, Baixiang and Ningjin counties, and Xingtai was evacuated from Xingtai Town.
Qinghe County 1952 was placed in Xingtai area, and Xingzhen 1953 was upgraded to Xingtai City. 1958 Xingtai area was abolished and Ningjin and Xinhe were incorporated into Shijiazhuang area.
Other counties merged into Handan area. 196 1 Xingtai area resettlement.
1964, linxi county was subordinate to Xingtai district, and its jurisdiction was 1 city and 17 county. 1984, Xingtai city was upgraded to a provincial city, and the double-sided and three-knife area was placed under Xingtai area. 1986, Xingtai county is under the jurisdiction of Xingtai city.
1986 and 1987, Nangong and Shahe were successively restructured into county-level cities. 1993, with the approval of the State Council, Xingtai area was cancelled, cities merged, and county workers were placed under the jurisdiction of Xingtai city.
So far, Xingtai City has jurisdiction over 2 districts, 15 counties and 2 county-level cities.
Third, the historical origin of yingtan Village In ancient times, Xingtai's strategic position was extremely important, and it has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. The occupation of Taihang can include Sanjin, leap into secluded Hebei, lead troops to Qilu, and win the Central Plains.
Regarding Huang Chao, there are many legends and historical relics in Taihang Mountain area, such as Huang Chao Rock, Zhu Wenping, Liu Xueyu, Tianmingguan and Hejiaping, all of which are related to Huang Chao. For example, Zoumachao Village in the east of heshun county, Shanxi Province, was named after Huang Chao cavalry passing through here; Another example is Maping Village Circle, which is named after Huang Chao's passing horses in this circle; Another example is Nantianchi Village, named after Huang Chao drinking horses here. Huang Chao Rock Ancient Architecture Complex, located under the rocks on the mountainside of Xingtai Grand Canyon, is a historical relic of Huang Chao Uprising. Unfortunately 1972, the local township middle school built a school building and removed the wood used as the door and window material. Legends related to the Huang Chao Uprising, such as Huang Chao's flag-offering, directing the stage, two ghosts stealing oil and Huang Chao Daoling, are widely circulated in the local area.
According to historical research, Xingtai was originally the territory of Zhu Wen Department of Huang Chao. Zhu Wen was born in Dangshan, Songzhou (now Dangshan County, Anhui Province). In 877 AD, that is, in the fourth year of Tang Ganfu, Zhu Wen and his brother Zhu Cun joined the Huang Chao Uprising Army, which was reused by Huang Chao, and was named as the pioneer of Southeast Camp and the same state defense envoy. He is responsible for defending the eastern front. After Huang Chao captured Chang 'an, Huang Chao proclaimed himself emperor and he was promoted to Prime Minister. Because he repeatedly defeated Wang Chongrong for our army in the river and asked for reinforcements, Huang Chao did not agree. In September, 882, Zhu Wen betrayed Huang Chao, led the army to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, and was named General Sha Jinwuwei. He was recruited as the deputy ambassador of China Bank in Chonghe Camp and was named Quan Zhong. In 883 AD, he was appointed as our ambassador in Yiwu (governing Bianzhou, now Kaifeng City, Henan Province), and together with Li Keyong and others, he suppressed the Huang Chao Uprising, and was promoted to proofread Si Tuleideng, who was in charge of the flat chapter affairs together with Zhongshumen.
After the failure of the Huang Chao Uprising, only a thousand people fled to the Grand Canyon in the western mountainous area of Xingtai and camped in Yanzhai, Huang Chao, waiting for another uprising. Huang Chao, Huang Ye, Huang Pei and their wives were later killed by their nephew Lin Yan. On the way to report the results, Lu Yutang soldiers killed Lin Yan, and the Huang Chao Uprising declared the final failure. It can be seen that Huang Chao's actions in Taihang Mountain are based on historical facts. It is in line with historical facts to camp in yingtan village. These legends add rich culture and legendary mystery to yingtan Village.
Four. The story and origin of Kaiyuan Temple: 1,000 words Kaiyuan Temple has a history of 1300 years. It is one of the four famous temples in China, along with Baima Temple in Luoyang, Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou and Guangji Temple in Beijing.
Legend: More than a thousand years ago, an old man with white hair and beard went to the home of the rich man Huang Shougong and asked him to build a temple in his mulberry garden. Huang Shougong wanted to refuse and deliberately made things difficult for the old man, saying, "If my mulberry tree can bear white lotus in three days, I will donate land to build a temple." Never thought that the next day, his mulberry garden was full of white lotus. This miracle stunned him, knowing that this was a promise made by the Buddha himself and he could not go back on his word, so he donated land to build this temple.
The main hall "Daxiong Hall" is said to have Ziyun floating around the ground when it was built, so it is also called Ziyun Hall. Because there are 86 large stone pillars in the whole hall, it is also called Baizhu Hall. These stone pillars include Begonia flower-shaped columns, columns, square columns, shuttle columns (thinner up and down, slightly thicker in the middle like weaving shuttles), dragon columns and so on. , are extremely precious architectural monuments. In particular, the pair of 16 angular diabase columns between the verandah behind the temple are carved with 24 stories and flower patterns of Krishna, an ancient Hindu god who spread in ancient India and Ceylon, which is a historical witness to Quanzhou's prosperous overseas transportation and friendly cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The giant plaque hanging under the eaves of the main hall reads "Sanglian Dharma Realm" in four big characters in Weibei style (the writing of the word "Dharma" is really unknown), which proves the story of "Sangkai Anbaili" (mentioned at the beginning of this article). Now, on the west side of Baizhutang, there is also a thousand-year-old mulberry tree that is said to have opened in Bai Lianhua, and it is called "Mulberry Monument". The old mulberry trees surrounded by the fence look like three mulberry trees with the same root, like three dragons, bared their teeth in three directions, east, west, north and south, flourishing and full of vitality.
There is a big stone field in front of Daxiong Hall, which is the place where officials and people worship in ancient and modern times. The incense is extremely strong here. Although the Buddha statue in the Hall of the Great Hero was covered up by repairs, many good men and women still worship incense devoutly. Especially because today is the birthday of the goddess Guanyin, pilgrims are unprecedented, pilgrims are in an endless stream, and the smell of smoke lingers over the stone court. In the middle of the front of Shi Ting, there is a luxurious incense burner with exquisite workmanship, which is more than 2 meters long and more than 2 meters high. Eight panlong pillars support the big roof, just like the roof of a palace. Four little dragons stand at the four corners, and the dragon balls are carved on the ridge. The incense burner is engraved with the words "Buddha Hall of Buddha Sakyamuni in 255 1 year" and "Dakaiyuan Temple". There are four big banyan trees on both sides of Shi Ting. Their roots and crowns are intertwined on the ground, showing their long history. According to records, the youngest is over 200 years old and the oldest is over 800 years old. There are more than ten small incense burners, ancient buildings and small pagodas of different shapes in the Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties on both sides of Shiting. On both sides of the incense burner are two square stone pagodas built by Liu Sanniang in Nanxiang, Quanzhou in the 15th year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1 145), on which are engraved the story that Prince Sahammer gave his life to feed the tiger.
The Mana Ring altar behind the main hall was built on the second step of the central axis. The existing building is a four-eaved octagonal structure rebuilt in the fifth year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (AD 1666). The tour guide paid special attention to the 24 "flying musicians" carved in each pillar and workshop around the altar. They are all treasures of architectural art, with different postures and lifelike.
Behind the altar is the Dharma Hall, which was built in the Yuan Dynasty and is now a two-story pavilion with cement imitation wood structure built in the Republic of China. Downstairs is now a place for monks to recite scriptures and worship Buddha, and upstairs is a collection of various versions of scriptures.
Kaiyuan Temple is most famous for its twin towers, Zhenguo Tower in the east and Renshou Tower in the west. They are all five-layer hexagons with a height of more than 40 meters. It is said that they are the tallest stone pagodas in China. On both sides of the door niche of each floor of the tower, there are reliefs such as samurai, heavenly king, king kong and arhat. The twin towers that survived the storm are still standing. It is a unique symbol and symbol of the ancient city of Quanzhou and a treasure of ancient stone buildings in China.