Ji Xin Temple

Jixin temple, an ancient building of Ming Dynasty, is located in Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province, China. It is a key cultural relic protection unit at the provincial level. Ji Xin, the city god of Tianshui, was a general of the Han Dynasty, who fought against Qin with Liu Bang. He pretended to be Liu Bang when Xingyang city was in danger. He pretended to surrender to Western Chu and was captured. Xiang Yu saw Jixin's loyalty and intended to surrender, but Jixin refused. Finally, Xiang Yu was executed by fire, and later generations set up a temple to worship him. It is now the Tianshui cultural center.

Ji Xin Temple

Jixin temple is also called Town God's Temple, located at the crossroads of Tianshui City North Street. Jixin's birthday is not known. According to the calculation of the third year of the Han Dynasty when he died, he should be a figure from the late Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty. Probably because all the glory of Jixin is fixed in the moment when he sacrificed his life for righteousness, there are several different views about his ancestral home since ancient times. For example, Xichong in Sichuan, Hongtong in Shanxi, and Gansu on the right of Longshan, people still believe that Jixin is Tianshui people. Such understanding is mainly due to the ancient trees and mural paintings in Tianshui Town God's Temple, which is the Jixin temple, but also because the people in Tianshui have long believed that Ji Xin was originally a Cheng Ji people, that is, Tianshui people. Whether it's Xichong in Sichuan, Hongtong in Shanxi or Tianshui in Gansu, if people still have some disputes about Jixin's ancestral home, they have very similar views about Jixin's glory in life. That is, on the eve of the birth of the Han Dynasty, when Liu Bang, the king of the Han Dynasty, was trapped in Xingyang for a long time by Xiang Yu, the overlord of the Western Chu Dynasty, Jixin showed superhuman courage and generous determination to die.

Historical records

The story about Jixin mainly comes from the historical records of Xiang Yu. In the third year of the Han Dynasty, that is, 204 BC, the Chu Han war has entered its third year. In May of this year, Liu Bang, who was besieged by Xiang Yu in Xingyang City, ran out of food and grass. At this time, it was suggested that people fake King Liu Bang of the Han Dynasty to go out of the city to cheat surrender, while the real king of the Han Dynasty came to recruit the golden cicada to get rid of the shell and slip away from the side door. At such a critical moment in history, the documentary letter, which looks like Liu Bang, the king of Han Dynasty, came out. When the historical records recorded this period of history, they wrote: the general of the Han Dynasty wrote that the king of the Han Dynasty said, "it's urgent. Please take advantage of Chu for the king, and the king can come out." So Jixin first let out the wind that "the food in the city is exhausted, and the king of the Han Dynasty comes down". Then he pretended to be the king of the Han Dynasty and went out of the east gate of Xingyang at night to the Chu army camp. At the same time, Liu Bang, the king of the Han Dynasty, fled to Chenggao with dozens of riders from the west gate of the city.

brief introduction

After more than two thousand years, it's hard to imagine Xiang Yu's joy when he saw the Han King's soldiers coming out of the country. But the next scene is obvious, that is, when he is full of joy waiting for the Han King Liu Bang to crawl under his feet, there is a hearty laughter from the chariot of the Han King Liu Bang. Jixin laughs because he knows that he has completed a mission. But the same smile made Xiang Yu's pride solidify on his face in an instant, and then he became angry because of anger and shame, and became angry because of anger. As a result, Xiang Yu's fire killed the fake king of Han Dynasty, just like a big fire had burned the palace. At the same time, it also left a real letter in people's hearts forever. Because when Ji Xin went to the Chu army camp, although he didn't sing "the wind is rustling and the water is cold", his heart was holding the belief that "when the strong men go, they will never return.". Therefore, Xiang Yu's fire can only bring Jixin back to life, just like the phoenix of nirvana.

Some people say that a person's life is very long, but there are only a few important steps. In fact, the same is true of history. Sometimes its trend is just due to some very accidental factors. The four hundred year foundation of the Han Dynasty can't be attributed to Jixin alone. But if Jixin didn't come forward, it would be a question mark whether China's history of the last two thousand years would be rewritten. Looking at Jixin in this way, we can see his true loyalty and the value of his martyrdom. The ancients said that death is heavier or lighter than Mount Tai. Jixin is obviously the former, because at the end of his life, he used the flame of his personality to light up the dark eve of the Han Dynasty. In a sense, he is actually a martyr. Perhaps because of this, Liu Bang, who later ascended the throne of emperor, made him a "loyal Marquis"

Tianshui was first built in the Yuan Dynasty in Town God's Temple, and became a county in Cheng county. It was converted to Town God's Temple in the early Ming Dynasty. Later, it was rebuilt in successive dynasties, forming a scale of 21 halls with three gates and four entrances. After the founding of new China, Jixin temple, as a library, mass art museum and cultural center, was once the main public cultural place in Tianshui. In 2004, during the maintenance of the main hall of Tianshui, a group of precious frescoes of the Ming Dynasty were found on the Western walls of the main hall in Town God's Temple. The murals, which show the scene of the City God's tour, cover an area of about 25 square meters. According to the words "Zhang Deng, March 3, the fifth year of the Apocalypse", this group of murals should be the cultural relics of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, it has once again proved the long history of Tianshui Town God's Temple, which is Jixin temple.

"When Chu forced Xingyang, he was inspired by his strong ambition and founded the Red Emperor four hundred years ago; the God created a place for the protection of his hometown, and for thousands of years he benefitted the people.". This is a famous couplet carved on the memorial archway of Jixin ancestral hall. The couplet was written by Dong Pingzhang of Qing Dynasty and copied by general Deng Baoshan. In just 28 words, Jixin's life and death were highly summarized. Perhaps it is because people respect the heroic deeds of Ji Xin's heroic spirit that people respect him as the God of one side and worship at times. There are only these mottled but clear plaque in Town God's Temple of Tianshui. These plaques, temples and ancient and famous trees in the courtyard set off each other, proving the long history of the ancient city of Tianshui. At the same time, the word "loyal" is forever engraved in the character of the people in Tianshui.

Address: Minzhu East Road, Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province

Longitude: 105.725799

Latitude: 34.58073

Ticket information: Free

Chinese PinYin : Ji Xin Ci