Cha'an Temple

Cha'an temple is a famous scenic spot in the suburb of Jiangmen. It is located at the foot of Wuma Guicao mountain in WAIHAI Town, Jianghai District, about 10 kilometers away from the urban area. It is a good place with beautiful scenery. You can enjoy lotus in midsummer.

Cha'an Temple

Cha'an temple is a famous scenic spot in the suburb of Jiangmen. It is located at the foot of Wuma Guicao mountain in WAIHAI Town, Jianghai District, about 10 kilometers away from the urban area. It is a good place with beautiful scenery.

brief introduction

It is said that when the Tang Dynasty astronomer monk and his Zen master traveled around Lingnan, they came here to observe the sky and draw star maps. They built a small stove and lived here. They grew tea and lived in a thatched cottage. They grew tea and lived in a thatched cottage. The thatched cottage was called "tea nunnery".

In 1983, the people's Government of Jiangmen City opened up the cha'an temple and built it into a large-scale "cha'an Park". In front of the gate of the park, there is a huge rock of nearly ten tons, with a archway of "cha'an Park" engraved on the front.

Zhang Sui (682-727 A.D.) was a great astronomer in ancient China. He was as famous as his ancestors, Zhang Heng and Li Shizhen. All his life, he devoted himself to the study of astronomy and geography and traveled all over the country. In the early years of emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, he went to Xinhui county and loved Wuma Guicao mountain. He set up a Maoan at the foot of the mountain and stayed there. At night, he observed the sky, drew star maps and made in-depth research on astronomy, geography and meteorology.

The people in the vicinity of cha'an respect the knowledge and conduct of the eminent monks. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a Jinshi named Chen Wude in the open sea. He admired the reputation and merits of a group of eminent monks. He proposed to build a brick and tile temple as a permanent memorial. The temple was named after the "tea nunnery" where a group of eminent monks lived. From then on, "cha'an Temple" got its name and spread now.

Not far in front of cha'an temple stands an antique archway with the four characters "Xiaozhu Mingdong" engraved on it. It turns out that "Zhuming cave" is a famous scenic spot in Luofu Mountain. People think that this place is beautiful compared with "Zhuming cave" in Luofu Mountain, and has its own quiet and elegant characteristics, so it is called "little Zhuming cave". The back of the archway is engraved with two big characters "Buddha realm". When visitors come here, they suddenly feel that they have entered the Buddhist realm with a quiet heart.

There is a well not far from the "xiaozhumingdong" archway. Beside the well stands a stone tablet engraved with the words "the first spring of Longxi". This is the famous "well without leaves". It is said that this well was dug by a group of eminent monks. The diameter of the well is more than one foot, and the depth of the well is more than five feet. The spring water is clear and sweet. Making tea with this water is mellow and delicious, with unique flavor. There is another unique feature of this well: even though the leaves are slowly distributed around the well, there is no fallen leaf in the well, so it is called "leafless well".

Historical allusions

When I came to cha'an temple, it was the time for lotus to open up. Lotus leaves were in full bloom, giving off a refreshing fragrance. Inside the temple, there are many trees. Deep in the shade, there is a memorial archway called "Xiaozhu Mingdong". Behind the memorial archway is a two entrance courtyard temple built in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. The word "cha'an" is engraved in the middle of the lintel. Huineng, the sixth ancestor, is worshipped in the temple. On the left side of the temple, there is a life size standing statue of monk Yixing.

According to Chen Changsheng, the head of Waihai street cultural station, cha'an Temple worships Huineng, the sixth ancestor of the Chinese people. "Zhuming cave is the place where the sixth ancestor passed away. Cha'an temple is called" little Zhuming cave ", which means that the aura here is comparable to that of Zhuming cave." "An" and "an" in the head of the word "Cao" are interchangeable and refer to a small hut. The "an" in "Cha an" here means a small hut. The history of cha'an temple can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty.

According to reports, in the early years of emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, when the monks passed Xinhui, they fell in love with Wuma Guicao mountain, so they set up a Maoan temple at the foot of the mountain to stay and watch the stars. In the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Wude, an overseas scholar, proposed to build a brick and tile temple as a permanent memorial because he admired the reputation and merits of a group of eminent monks. He took the name of "cha'an" as his small residence. From then on, the "cha'an Temple" got its name and has been handed down to the present day.

Cha'an temple is also called "liuzu Temple"

Cha'an temple was originally built to commemorate Yixing Zen master of Tang Dynasty, but the temple also worships the sixth patriarch of Zen Buddhism. What's the reason? It is said that when the Zen Buddhism spread to Hongren, the fifth patriarch of Buddhism, Hongren wanted to pass on the mantle to the next generation, so he called his disciples together and ordered them to use their experience of learning Zen to judge which disciple could pass on the mantle.

The eldest disciple, Shen Xiu, was determined to get it. He replied in a loud voice: "the body is like a bodhi tree, and the heart is like a mirror platform. Wipe it frequently, so as not to stain the dust." As soon as the sutra was recited, it immediately won the praise of many disciples. At that time, Hongren just smiles and doesn't say yes or no. Huineng, a Dianzuo disciple who usually works in the Xiangji kitchen, also recites: "Bodhi has no tree, and the mirror is not a platform; there is nothing, where is the dust." Zen Buddhism stresses "nothingness" and "emptiness", and stresses "becoming Buddha by seeing one's nature". Therefore, Huineng was finally appreciated by Hongren and regarded as an ideal successor. However, in view of the great power of Shenxiu party at that time, Hongren had to secretly pass the mantle to Huineng and told him to run away overnight. It is said that when Huineng escaped the pursuit of Shenxiu, he remembered the five ancestors' explanation of "stop when you are pregnant, and hide when you meet", so he traveled to Jielu of cha'an Temple (Xinhui at that time) to practice. Therefore, after the completion of cha'an temple, there is also a statue of Huineng, the sixth patriarch. Therefore, cha'an temple is also called "sixth patriarch Temple".

Chen Shaobai made cha'an temple a famous scenic spot in Jiangmen

On the left side of the main hall of cha'an Temple (liuzu Temple), there is a path leading to the back mountain. About 200 meters along the path, there is a mountain tomb made of granite. The tombstone is engraved with the KMT's blue sky and white sun Party emblem, with the words "Tomb of Mr. Chen Shaobai, title of Linsen" and other words. Next to it is the name plate of Jiangmen cultural relics protection unit. Who is Chen Shaobai? There is a Kuomintang Party emblem on his tombstone? Lin Sen, President of the government of the Republic of China, wrote a tombstone for him? Is his tomb still listed as a cultural relic under municipal protection? It turns out that Chen Shaobai was one of the three assistants and comrades of Dr. Sun Yat sen in his early revolutionary career. Together with you lie and Yang Heling, he was also known as the "four bandits". He was also one of the founders of the Xingzhong Association and the alliance. He was praised by Yu Youren as "three friends of Zhongshan and one man from abroad". He has served as director of foreign affairs of the Guangdong governor's office, adviser to the president's office, supervisor of the Bank of the Republic of China, manager of Siyi shipping company, adviser to the Hong Kong Bureau for Industry and commerce, etc.

Sun Yat Sen visited cha'an Temple twice

On November 24, 1894, Sun Yat Sen founded China's first bourgeois democratic party, the Xingzhong society, in Honolulu. On February 21 of the next year, he designated the "qianhenghang shop" opened by Chen Shaobai in Hong Kong as the general organ of the Xingzhong society. During this period, Sun Yat Sen heard Chen Shaobai say: monk Huizhen, the abbot of Waihai cha'an temple, was a subordinate of Hong Xiuquan of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, he cut his hair to become a monk in Nanhua temple. Later, he became the abbot of cha'an Temple according to the sixth patriarch's Sutra. He still secretly used the chance of monks' fate to contact the party, spy on the court information, and carry out anti Qing activities. After hearing this, Sun Yat Sen felt that it would be very helpful for the revolution if he could join the Xingzhong Association. So he had his first trip to cha'an temple. One day in late February 1895, Sun Yat Sen walked from Jiangmen to Waihai cha'an temple on Chen Shaobai's way to meet monk Huizhen. Sun Yat Sen's first trip to cha'an temple was a complete success. From then on, cha'an became a stronghold of Xingzhong society. On February 18, 1908, Sun Yat Sen visited cha'an temple for the second time. The reason for this visit is that monk Huizhen reported that he had won Chen Yixi from Xinning (Taishan) and asked Sun Yat Sen to have an interview with him. Chen Yixi is an overseas Chinese in the United States. He has a certain influence overseas. He took the route of saving the nation through industry. If he wanted to join the association, it would help the current revolution and future construction. Sun Yat Sen decided to meet him. Sun Yat Sen's second visit to cha'an temple was originally scheduled for the 15th day of the first lunar month. Considering that this day is the Lantern Festival, there must be a lot of people offering incense. For fear of insecurity, it was changed to the 17th day of the first lunar month. On that day, after Sun Yat Sen and his party arrived at cha'an temple, monk Huizhen arranged to have tea and rest in the guest room, and sent the young monk to watch on the mountain road. Not long after he was seated, the sentry monk suddenly found a group of clean soldiers, thirty or forty in number, down the mountain. After learning the news, Sun Yat Sen and his party immediately took emergency measures. Under the protection of the guard and the guide, they walked up a path in the thick forest and deep bamboo in the back mountain of cha'an temple, went around to the river, and prepared to retreat by water if necessary. Later, after inquiry, it was found that it was a false alarm. It turned out that it was just a group of women's families who came to pay homage and the Qing soldiers who defended them. Later, Sun Yat Sen successfully received Chen Yixi again. In this way, cha'an temple, a Buddhist temple, has twice left Sun Yat Sen's figure, which has been recorded in history.

Interesting stories and Adventures of scholars:

In 1995, at the age of 21, Huang Jinxiang, a scholar of poetry and prose, lived in cha'an temple for a year. During that time, he left several poems. It is said that one night in early July of that year, Huang Jinxiang, who had been sleeping in cha'an temple, had a dream that an old man in white, who was from e'guan Museum, came up to him from the hillside. After meeting, they bowed to each other like old friends who had not seen each other for a long time, so they sat on the floor and talked about wine. The old man poured wine and chatted with Huang Jinxiang, who was not good at drinking. But when he got together, he wanted to say goodbye in a moment, and then he went to the bottom of the slope. He had no choice but to ask and know that it was immortal Li Bai... Then Huang Jinxiang was awakened by the situation in his dream. He couldn't recover for a long time. He couldn't understand his adventures with the exiled immortal. Every night, he was even more restless.

Chinese PinYin : Cha An Si