Houtu Temple

Houtu Temple

Houtu temple is a deity widely believed in by Chinese people and the God of land. Houtu temple is located 40 kilometers southwest of Wanrong County, Shanxi Province, in the north of miaojian village on the Bank of the Yellow River. It is the oldest temple in China to offer sacrifices to Houtu (earth mother). In 1996, the State Council designated Wanrong Houtu temple as a national key cultural relic protection unit.

Although the existing Houtu temple is not as spectacular as that in Tang and Song Dynasties, its layout is rigorous and complete, and it is still the largest Houtu temple in China. In recent years, people from all walks of life in China, including Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan compatriots and overseas Chinese, have come to visit their ancestors and worship their descendants. Pray that the nine states under the jurisdiction of the Virgin mother of Houtu will have abundant grain, a peaceful country and a prosperous people, a peaceful world and abundant resources, and bless the whole family's health and safety, prosperity and all the best. Especially on the birthday of the Virgin Mary of Houtu (March 18 of the lunar calendar) and during the temple fair on the fifth day of October, the faithful men and women, business tourists, are bustling.

brief introduction

The goddess of Houtu is the most ancient ancestor of China and the most revered God of land; the temple of Houtu is the crown of ancestral temples in the sea and the source of the temple of heaven in Beijing. As the source of Chinese root culture, it has more and more revealed its profound historical and cultural connotation.

According to the well preserved inscriptions in the temple and the records in Puzhou Fu Zhi, "Xuanyuan only sweeps the floor of the sacrificial altar for the altar, the two emperors and eight members have a division, and the three kings Fang Ze Sui Ju.". In the Han Dynasty, the system was formed. Every three years, the emperor came here to hold a big sacrifice.

In the fourth year of Yuanding (113 BC), the Houtu ancestral temple of fenyin was expanded and designated as a national ancestral temple as a place for inspection.

In his life, he offered sacrifices to Houtu six times, and the ceremony was grand and incomparable. Here he left the famous poem "autumn wind Ci".

Emperor Xuan, emperor yuan, Emperor Cheng, Emperor AI and Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty came here to offer sacrifices for 11 times. In the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji came here three times during the Kaiyuan period to offer sacrifices and expand the ancestral temple.

In the fourth year of the reign of emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Huan also came here to offer sacrifices. For this sacrifice, he appropriated funds to repair the Houtu temple, and made a stele of "the inscription of the two saints of fenyin as a match".

From the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, emperors offered sacrifices to Houtu in wanrongfenyin 24 times. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Houtu moved to the temple of heaven in Beijing.

The original site of Houtu ancestral temple is in fenyin. Fenyin is a long highland with a river on its back. It is four or five li long, two Li wide and more than ten Zhang high.

The Houtu Temple set up by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is here. Several emperors of the Han Dynasty and the civil and military officials led by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty all paid homage here.

During the Longqing period (1567-1572) of the Ming Dynasty, the main stream of the Yellow River swayed eastward, fenyin was eroded by the Yellow River, and the Houtu temple on fenyin was threatened by the flood, which threatened to be submerged at any time.

By the end of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Houtu temple had to be moved to the East.

In 1655, when the Yellow River burst, most of the buildings in Houtu temple were destroyed by the Yellow River, leaving only Qiufeng building and gate hall. The first year of Kangxi (1662), the Yellow River again, even the autumn wind tower also submerged in the Yellow River. In the second year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, Houtu temple was relocated and rebuilt in the north of Qiancun village. In 1867, Houtu temple was once again destroyed by the Yellow River. In 1870, Houtu temple was once again built on the high cliff in the north of miaojian village, which has been preserved for more than 140 years.

The existing Houtu temple is 105 meters wide from east to west and 240 meters long from north to south, covering an area of 25286 square meters.

The existing buildings in the temple include Mountain Gate, stage, Xian hall, main hall, east west five tiger hall, Qiufeng building, etc., with strict layout and reasonable structure.

Compared with the Tang and Song Dynasties, the scale of the existing Houtu temple is much smaller, but it is still a huge and brilliant ancient temple complex.

The main hall and the brightness dazzles the eyes. The exquisite and brilliant architectural techniques are the essence of the building in the temple.

The stage in the ancestral hall is composed of three stages, which form a pattern of "pin" shape. It is the only one in China and is very precious.

Located behind the main hall, qiufenglou is named after the inscription of qiufengci by Emperor Hanwu. The building is 32.6 meters high, and the lower part is a tall platform, the sweeping altar, which runs through the East and the West. The building is divided into three floors and surrounded by corridors.

The proportion of the building body is moderate, the structure of the bucket arch under the eaves is simple and exquisite, and the shape is majestic and beautiful. It is a rare treasure in the existing ancient buildings.

The Song Dynasty stele "the inscription of two saints of fenyin" preserved in the ancestral hall is one of the famous steles in ancient China, which was written by song Zhenzong himself and used as a calligraphy elixir.

It is precisely because of the great historical and cultural value of Houtu temple that in 1996, the State Council designated Wanrong Houtu temple as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

history

Houtu temple is the place where the ancient emperors offered sacrifices to Houtu, the God of land, the emperor of earth and the mother of earth. In ancient times, sacrifice and war were the two major events that people attached most importance to. Therefore, there is a saying in the 13th year of Chenggong in Zuozhuan: "the major events of the state,

In sacrifice and in military. " The original object of sacrifice was "she", which was the God of land, the mother of land. From the Shang Dynasty, the object of sacrifice was not only "she", but also "Ji", which was the God of grain, the ancestor of Zhou Dynasty. In the pre Qin literature, "sheji" is synonymous with the state, which shows the degree of people's respect for the God of land and the God of grain.

It is said that the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan pacified the world and set up an altar in fenyin to offer sacrifices to the mother of the land. During Yao and Shun dynasties, sacrificial activities were held here in Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties. In the 16th year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (164 BC), Houtu temple was planned to be built on the Bank of the Yellow River. In the fourth year of Yuanding reign of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty (113 BC), when Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty was worshipping heaven in Yong county (now the south of Fengxiang County in Shaanxi Province), he said to the ministers, "today, God is in the suburbs, but if there is no sacrifice in the later land, the ceremony will not be answered." (the same below) let the ministers discuss the matter of offering sacrifices to the later land. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "established the ancestral temple of Houtu on the top of fenyin" and led the officials to fenyin to offer sacrifices to Houtu, "such as the ceremony of God." Sima Tan is the father of Sima Qian, the author of historical records. His hometown, Xiayang (now Hancheng in Shaanxi Province), is just a river away from fenyin. He suggested that Emperor Wu of Han should go to fenyin to offer sacrifices to Houtu. It should be said that the activities of offering sacrifices to Houtu in fenyin had a long history before emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. As a historian, Sima Tan was familiar with the sacrificial situation in history and the local conditions and customs of fenyin County, so he put forward such suggestions to Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. After offering sacrifices to Houtu, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty rowed between Hefen and his officials, and feasted on the boat. He looked around. The autumn wind was bleak, the grass and trees were yellow, and the wild geese were returning to the south. You can't forget the beauty of orchid and chrysanthemum. Pan Lou Chuan Xi Ji Fen River, horizontal flow Xi Yang Su Bo. The sound of the flute and drum, the sound of the song, the joy, the sorrow, the youth. Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty went to fenyin five times to offer sacrifices to Houtu, and built a Longevity Palace in Houtu temple. Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty went to fenyin twice to offer sacrifices to Houtu, and emperor yuan of the Han Dynasty went to fenyin three times to offer sacrifices to Houtu. In the early years of emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, Kuang Heng, the prime minister, and Zhang Tan, the imperial censor, wrote a memorial to Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty. They thought that when they went to fenyin to sacrifice to Houtu, they had to "cross the great river, and there was a risk of turbulence and boats". They suggested that the sacrificial activities to Houtu should be changed to the northern suburbs of Chang'an, and the sacrificial activities to heaven should be changed to the southern suburbs of Chang'an. Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty adopted their suggestion and temporarily changed the activities of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth to be held in the suburbs of Chang'an instead of going to fenyin to offer sacrifices to Houtu. Two years later, Kuang Heng was dismissed as an official because of other things. Both the government and the public thought that Kuang Heng should be punished. They thought that Kuang Heng should not suggest the emperor to change the place of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth easily. Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty regretted having listened to Kuang Heng's suggestion. In the first 14 years of emperor Yongshi's reign, Emperor chengdi's mother saw that the emperor had no children for a long time, so she issued an imperial edict in the name of empress dowager, and decided to restore the "system of prior Emperors" in which the emperor went to fenyin to offer sacrifices to his later land. The Empress Dowager believed that emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty had changed the place of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth to the northern and southern suburbs of Chang'an, which offended the emperor and his descendants, lost the heart of heaven and earth, and the God of heaven and earth had sinned, so that the emperor had no children for a long time. In March of the fourth year of emperor Yongshi's reign (13 BC), Emperor Cheng led his officials across the Yellow River to fenyin to offer sacrifices to Houtu. Later, Emperor Cheng of Han Dynasty went to fenyin three times to offer sacrifices to Houtu. In the 18th year of Jianwu (AD 42) of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu led his ministers to fenyin to offer sacrifices to the later earth. This is the last time that the emperor of Han Dynasty went to fenyin to offer sacrifices to Houtu.

In ancient times, when emperors ascended the throne, they all had to worship the society and Ji. Wanrong Houtu temple is a temple for emperors to worship Houtu before Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, as early as in the primitive society, this was the place where emperor Xuanyuan swept the floor and sacrificed. Houtu temple is located in the top hill of fenyin in Chinese history. The so-called "Tuo" refers to the natural formation of a Changfu with a length of four or five li, a width of more than two Li, and a height of more than ten Zhang. Because the Eastern Zhou Dynasty belonged to Wei, it was also known as the "capital of Wei". Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, ascended the throne and listed the sacrifice of Houtu as an important national event. From the Yuanding to the first year of the Tianhan Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty visited fenyin eight times to worship the Houtu, set up altars to offer sacrifices, made big banquets for the officials, and drank in the middle of the stream. In June of the first year of Yuanding, he got Baoding beside the ancestral temple and improvised the song of Baoding, and changed its name to Yuanding.

Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong Kaiyuan

Chinese PinYin : Hou Tu Ci