Tanzhe Temple

Tanzhe Temple, with a history of more than 1700 years, is the oldest ancient temple in Beijing. It is known as the folk saying "first there is Tanzhe Temple, then there is Beijing city". The high mountains block the cold current coming from the northwest. Therefore, the climate here is warm and humid. The temple has towering ancient trees, numerous pagodas and towering temples. The whole temple building is cleverly arranged according to the terrain. It is dotted with green bamboo and famous flowers. During this period, the environment is extremely beautiful.

Tanzhe Temple

Tanzhe Temple is located at the foot of Tanzhe mountain in the southeast of Mentougou District, western Beijing, more than 30 kilometers away from the city center. The temple faces south with its back on Mount Everest. Tanzhe Temple covers an area of 2.5 hectares inside and 11.2 hectares outside the temple. In addition to the surrounding forests and mountain farms under the jurisdiction of Tanzhe Temple, the total area is more than 121 hectares.

Tanzhe Temple was built in the first year of Yongjia in the Western Jin Dynasty (A.D. 307). It was originally named "Jiafu Temple" and was given the name of "Xiuyun Temple" by Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. But because there is Longtan behind the temple and Zheshu trees on the mountain, it has always been called "Tanzhe Temple" among the people.

On December 18, 2014, Mentougou District of Beijing ordered the scenic spot to remove the illegal merit box.

On December 5, 2016, the National Tourism Administration announced that Tanzhe Temple was warned.

Historical evolution

Tanzhe Temple was built in 316, the fourth year of Jianxing of the Western Jin Dynasty. It is the earliest temple built after Buddhism was introduced into Beijing. It was founded on a small scale and was called Jiafu temple. At that time, Buddhism was not accepted by the people, so it developed slowly. After that, the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty "exterminated the Buddha" twice. Therefore, the Jiafu temple has not developed since it was built, and then gradually collapsed.

During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian and Tongtian in Tang Dynasty (696-697), monk Huayan, an eminent monk of Huayan sect of Buddhism, came to Tanzhe Temple to build a temple. Holding the Huayan Sutra as a pure occupation, Tanzhe Temple became the first temple in Youzhou, and Tanzhe Temple flourished.

In Huichang period of Tang Dynasty, Li Yan, Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty, believed in Taoism. At the instigation of Zhao Guizhen, a Taoist, and Li Deyu, a powerful official, Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty ordered the destruction of Buddhism in the whole country. Tanzhe Temple was abandoned.

In the late Tang Dynasty, the famous Zen monks came to Tanzhe Temple from the real Zen master to eradicate the wasteland and renovate the temple. Only when the master and his disciples preached the Dharma to thousands of people, the Tanzhe Temple became prosperous again. At that time, Tanzhe Temple was changed from Huayan sect to Zen sect.

In the Liao Dynasty, due to the prosperity of Legalism and the slow development of Zen in Youzhou, the incense of Tanzhe Temple declined.

In the Jin Dynasty, Zen had a great development in Zhongdu (today's Beijing). Several Zen masters appeared in Tanzhe Temple, which greatly improved the reputation of the temple. In 1141, wanyanyao, Emperor Xizong of Jin Dynasty, went to Tanzhe Temple to offer incense to Buddha, and allocated funds to renovate and expand Tanzhe Temple. This was the first emperor to offer incense to Tanzhe Temple, which made subsequent emperors follow suit. It played a great role in further improving the status of Tanzhe Temple and flourishing temple incense. Jinxizong changed the temple's name Longquan Temple into "dawanshou Temple", and allocated funds for the large-scale renovation and expansion of Tanzhe Temple, which created a precedent for the emperor to give the name of Tanzhe Temple and the imperial court to pay for the renovation of Tanzhe Temple.

During the reign of Jin Dading, crown prince Wan yanyungong, on behalf of his father Wan Yanyong, went to Tanzhe Temple to offer sacrifices to Buddha. Zen master Chongyu, the then Abbot monk, wrote a poem "from Xianzong to thank Tanzhe" to record the grand occasion at that time. Later, in 1194, it was carved into a stele and erected in the temple. Now, the stele is still embedded on the cliff of the terrace behind the longevity tower of King Kong. In the Jin Dynasty, tanzhesi Buddhism flourished, and its representative was the linjizong master Guanghui Tongli Chan Master Kaixing. Kaixing eventually grew up in the temple. After his death, he was respected as "Guanghui Tongli" Zen master by Buddhism.

In order to atone for her father, Princess miaoyan, the daughter of Kublai Khan, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, became a monk in Tanzhe Temple. Later, she grew old in the temple. She knelt down and chanted scriptures in the Guanyin hall every day. After a long time, she ground two deep feet out of a brick in the hall. Today, Princess miaoyan's "brick worship" is still worshipped in the Guanyin Hall of Tanzhe Temple, which is a very precious historical relic of Tanzhe. Master miaoyan eventually grew up in the temple, and his tomb tower was in the lower courtyard in front of the temple. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor bo'erzhijin · tuohuan tiemu'er believed in Buddhism, especially for Tanzhe Temple, which was famous in the capital at that time. Emperor Yuan Shun once invited master Xuejian, the abbot of Tanzhe Temple, to enjoy a royal banquet, and his royal sister cooked in person, which was unprecedented in courtesy.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Yao Guangxiao, an important minister, was named daoyan. He was selected by Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of Ming Dynasty, to serve Zhu Di, the king of Yan. When Jianwen emperor cut off his vassal, Zhu Di, according to Yao Guangxiao's plan, set up an army to "Jingnan" and seized the throne, which was called Chengzu of Ming Dynasty. Following the emperor's throne, Zhu Di appointed Yao Guangxiao as Zuo Shanshi, the abbot of Qingshou temple. Later, he was granted the title of "Guangxiao", and still participated in military and political affairs. After his success, Yao Guangxiao quit his official post and went to Tanzhe Temple in the west of Beijing to practice in seclusion. Every day, he discussed Buddhism with his old friend, the abbot of Tanzhe Temple Wu chude Shi. During this period, Zhu Di, the founder of Ming Dynasty, visited him in Tanzhe Temple. It is said that Yao Guangxiao was the designer when the city was built. He got a lot of inspiration from the architecture and layout of Tanzhe Temple. Many parts of the city were built according to the appearance of Tanzhe Temple. The hall of Supreme Harmony was built after the main hall of Tanzhe Temple. It is the top of the hall with double eaves. The ceiling of the well head is painted with golden dragons and seals. The difference is that it is a little bigger. Later, Yao Guangxiao left Tanzhe Temple under the command of compiling Yongle Dadian, but his residence in Tanzhe Temple is still a site.

In the Ming Dynasty, since Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor and his concubines believed in Buddhism. The temple was renovated and expanded many times with the funds of the imperial court or eunuchs, which established the present situation of the temple.

Tanzhe Temple in Ming Dynasty became a window for foreign exchange at that time. Many foreigners came here to study Buddhism for a long time, and some even lived there. The most famous of them were wuchudeshi in Japan, diwadasi in East India and Liangong monk in West India.

In the 23rd year of Wanli, master Daguan was appointed abbot of Tanzhe Temple under the order of Emperor Zhu Yijun. During this period, the Empress Dowager CI Sheng Xuan Wen Ming Su, the mother of Emperor Wanli, funded the renovation of Tanzhe Temple on a large scale. Master Daguan was close to the imperial court and often went to the palace to preach Scriptures for the royal family, which further deepened the connection between Tanzhe Temple and the imperial court.

In the Ming Dynasty, Tanzhe Temple was renovated and expanded many times. During the reign of Xuande, "empress Xiaocheng first granted the deposit of the inner coins and built the temple", renovating and expanding the Tanzhe Temple. From February of the third year of Zhengtong to September of the second year, Tanzhe Temple was built again. With the support of the royal family, the temple was expanded and Buddhist statues were widely built. During this period, the Yingzong emperor "Zhaokao jietan" built a jietan in the temple at the order of the Yingzong emperor. The Yingzong emperor named it "Guangshan jietan". The king of yuejing Zhu Zhanyong also built a tall longevity tower in the temple. In the fourth year of Zhengtong, the Ming Yingzong "awarded five thousand volumes of the Tripitaka" to Tanzhe Temple.

In the tenth year of Hongzhi (1497), Dai Yi, the eunuch of Si Li, paid for food and work, and asked the emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty to allocate money to renovate and expand Tanzhe Temple again. From March of the second year of Zhengde (1507) to September of the next year, Tanzhe Temple was renovated for another year and a half. The "hall, veranda, hall and room were renewed, and more than 50 couplets were added to the monk's house", which once again expanded the scale of the temple. In the 22nd year of Wanli (1594), the Empress Dowager Xiaoding paid for the renovation of Tanzhe Temple, the addition of temples, and the construction of more than 80 houses such as Abbot's courtyard.

During the period of more than 200 years in Ming Dynasty, the Emperor gave the name of the temple several times, so the name of the temple was changed several times. In the first year of Tianshun, the emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty changed the name to Jiafu temple, but the people still call it Tanzhe Temple.

In 1686, Emperor Kangxi decreed that the abbot monk of Guangji temple in Fuchengmen, the famous master of Luzong, and Zhenhuan monk, who had been with him for many years, should be the abbot of Tanzhe Temple. In the autumn of that year, Emperor Kangxi came to Tanzhe Temple to offer incense to Buddha, and kept it for several days. He awarded ten volumes of Vajra Sutra, ten volumes of pharmacist Sutra, one Chenxiang mountain, one Shoushan Stone Guanyin and 18 Shoushan Stone Luohan to Tanzhe Temple.

In the 31st year of Kangxi, Emperor Kangxi personally allocated 10000 liang of Treasury silver to renovate Tanzhe Temple. Under the personal leadership of monk Zhenhuan, it took nearly two years from the autumn of the 31st year of Kangxi to the summer of the 33rd year of Kangxi to renovate more than 300 halls, which made the ancient temple take on a new look.

In the 36th year of Kangxi, Emperor Kangxi visited Tanzhe Temple on his second visit. He personally granted the temple the name of "Chijian Xiuyun Temple" and inscribed the temple forehead. Since then, Tanzhe Temple has become the largest royal temple in Beijing.

In the 37th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Kangxi personally inscribed plaques for the archway, and gave 12 barrels of Osmanthus fragrans and 8 bars of Longxu bamboo to Tanzhe Temple.

In the 38th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, Emperor Kangxi appointed lawyer Zhi an, a famous eminent monk of the law school, as the abbot of Tanzhe Temple, and gave Tanzhe Temple four gold-plated sword light kisses, which were installed on the top of the main hall.

Emperor Yongzheng, who lived in a simple and secluded life during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, also made a special trip to Tanzhe

Chinese PinYin : Tan Zhe Si