Qinshan Temple

Qinshan Temple

Qinshan temple, formerly known as Qianming temple, is one of the key places for Buddhist activities approved by Hunan provincial government. The temple is located at the foot of Qinshan (now Lixian County, Changde City, Hunan Province) surrounded by mountains on the South Bank of the Lishui river. Qinshan temple is located about 10 kilometers west of Lixian County, about 300 meters walk to the site.

Historical evolution

According to the textual research of Gao Shouquan and Mao Ziyin, the eminent monk Wen Shen, a disciple of good price Zen master in Dongshan of China's Buddhist Cao Dongzong, was appointed by the emperor in the fifth year of Tang Dazhong (851 A.D., there was no Dade name in the Tang Dynasty, and there was a mistake in the state annals) to set up a Taoist temple in Qinshan of Lizhou. He took one word for "Da Ya Qian Yuan" and "Da Ming always" in the book of changes, and named it "Qianming temple in Qinshan".

In the Tang Dynasty, Chinese Buddhism was in its heyday, with temples springing up everywhere and eminent monks coming out in large numbers. The story of Tang Xuanzang's journey to the west to learn Buddhist scriptures happened in this period, and it was at this time that Jianzhen went to Fusang eastward. At that time, there were more than 3000 volumes of woodcut classics in Qianming temple. Before Jianzhen's eastward journey to Japan to promote Buddhism, he came to the abbot of Qinshan temple to study Buddhist classics. Among the monks he led in the eastward journey, there were the monks of Qianming temple in Qinshan. Therefore, the Japanese Buddhist Cao Dongzong respected Zen master Wenshen as his ancestor.

According to the Qing Dynasty's stele on the cause of rebuilding Qinshan temple, the Qianming temple in Qinshan mountain was built by Zen master Wenshen in the Tang Dynasty. There was no shortage of people in the song, yuan and Ming Dynasties. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the state Dynasty, the abbot Chengxie (Bian) lived for several years, and the monk Zhaomin (Ming) lived here for more than ten years In 1681, master Shuke of Baoci temple in Gongan, Hubei Province, was sent here by old monk Huiru, the founder of Taizu. "He paid a lot of money for management, focused on repair, received the Zen of Zhongan, supported the ancestral court, and made good use of the land in all directions. Seven years later, abbess Shuke passed away, and there are still tombstones and tombstones. They were built and erected by Yuanyuan, the abbot of Baoci temple, who was his fellow disciple. However, the later abbots "had no cultivation, the temples were rotten, the fields and mountains were coming out, and they were scattered in all directions.".

In 1781, Gong'an Baoci temple, at the invitation of Shanzhong in the county, became the master of Qinshan temple. Zhou and his disciples suffered from hunger and cold, supporting their families day and night, and "planting bamboo and trees, cultivating mountains and forests". The land has been reclaimed and cultivated year by year, and the mountain forests have been recovered bit by bit. In 1796, the Great Buddha Hall was rebuilt and completed. However, his master died of illness due to his hard work, but there were still Guanyin hall and Abbot's Zhaitang that had not been repaired. In Zhou Dynasty, he "burned his heart in Japan and recited all day long" and "suffered from hardships for several years". Thanks to the silent blessing of the Buddha, his merits and virtues were finally completed. At this point, Qinshan Temple began to enter its heyday, with more than 100 permanent monks, 300 mu of farmland and 1000 mu of forest. The temple covers an area of 20000 square meters and more than 400 houses.

Historical legend

Li Guang's hometown

The origin of Qinshan temple can be traced back to a legend

In 712 ad, the Hu people invaded the border, but Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty sent troops to meet the enemy but failed in the first battle. The news spread to the Imperial Palace, and after a long silence, Xuanzong cried out, "who can't teach Hu Ma to go to Yinshan?"? The minister replied: Li Guangye. So Xuanzong sent people to build a temple beside Li's ancestral hall in Li Guang's hometown to offer sacrifices to the heroes. Coincidentally, the second battle was a complete victory. This temple is Qianming temple, the predecessor of Qinshan temple. In fact, according to the biography of General Li in historical records, Li Guang, a famous general of the Han Dynasty, was originally from Huaili (the name of Han county, in the southeast of Xingping County, Shaanxi Province), and later moved to Chengji (the name of Han county, in the north of Tai'an County, Gansu Province). Li Guang is not from Li, but there is a ancestral hall of Li.

According to a pedigree of Li's genealogy, which was renewed in the 33rd year of the Republic of China, Li's family in Li county "lived in Qinshan temple in Linan County for a long time and was a famous family in the county". On the pedigree, there are pictures of Li's old house, ancestral temple and general plan of ancestral tombs. Unfortunately, the genealogy has not been found, but according to the origin of the surname, Li Lizhen was the ancestor of the Li family in the Zhou Dynasty. Since then, the Li family has been handed down in one continuous line. Before the Tang Dynasty, there was a Li family in the world (emperor Su of the Tang Dynasty had the habit of giving the Li family to his subordinates). There is a record of "Li Guang, a famous general of Han Dynasty" in the historical celebrity genealogy of Li's surname. It can be concluded that the ancestral hall of Li's ancestral hall is high for Li Guang's Shrine, so later generations legend that Li Guang's hometown is here.

However, according to historical records, Li Guang may have been here. "When Wu and Chu troops were in the army, they were widely used as military captains. They attacked Wu and Chu troops from Taiwei Yafu." It's also reasonable to visit Li's ancestral hall and contact him with the help of clan forces. Therefore, it's said that the scarred and heavily stained ancient luohansong, which is said to have survived 2500 years, may have tied Li Guang's war horse. In addition, according to the records of Zhou, in qinshanyu, which is ten miles southwest of Zhou, there are Qinshan mountain, Leifeng mountain, Pengling mountain and other mountain peaks. More than ten miles around Zhou, there are many beautiful plants and trees, connected by green and blue water, flowing cold water and pouring into Li River in the East. Among them is Qinshan temple. According to legend, under the foundation of the temple, is the Yuxian cave, "unfathomable, the wind howls, poisonous snakes hidden Yan, so the stone stack its mouth, built the temple town." It is said that the "Dieshi" was General Li Guang of Han Dynasty. At the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, Taoyuan Jinshi once served as Liyang County captain, and wrote a five character poem "Qinshan yuxiandong looking for the location of the Dragon King" (see Gao Shouquan's Annotation "celebrities chanting Lizhou).

At that time, there was a treasure in the temple. The monk commonly known as "nine fire copper Bodhisattva" weighed more than 100 Jin; "nine fire" refers to the high-purity refined copper which has been smelted for nine times. It is extremely beautiful and it is not known which dynasty or which generation of treasure it is. However, it is a continuation of the history of abbots, and it has never been revealed. Due to historical reasons, the majestic palace, tall Buddha statues have disappeared, and there are few things in the temple. Where can I find the treasure of the temple! History has left us only a few lines of records, a thousand year old arhat pine, a well in the Tang Dynasty, a piece of rubble.

Qianlong's visit to Qinshan

Emperor Qianlong visited Jiangnan in the 26th year of Qianlong's reign. He passed through Lizhou and went to Qianming temple in ancient Qinshan to worship the Buddha. He heard that there was a treasure of zhensi (the legendary treasure of Qinshan temple, jiuhuo copper Bodhisattva). This bronze Buddha was handed down and kept secret by successive abbots. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the temple was destroyed and the monks scattered After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong also presented a gold plaque with the title of "Qinshan Temple". Therefore, the name of Qinshan temple is still in use today. Later, a stele was erected in the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, and records were kept in the temple as evidence. Many old people had seen this stele in the early days of liberation. In the great leap forward era, inspired by the idea of fighting against heaven, earth and people, Qinshan temple was destroyed in the slogan of breaking down the four old and establishing the four new. Red walls and green tiles collapsed overnight. The big columns and wooden collar trees on the beams surrounded by the two people were dragged to build the county government, school and Lizhou Confucian temple. The forest of Steles in the temple was carried to fill the reservoir embankment After taking charge of the overall work, he visited the old people everywhere, looked up historical materials, and searched the lost objects of the ancient temple back to the temple. Now he found some stone tablets and monk's tombstone, but it's a pity that the Emperor Qianlong didn't give them away! In the history of Qinshan temple, emperors and ministers visited, and many literati and dignitaries, such as Zheng Banqiao and Li Shangyin, paid homage to them. Sun Yat Sen, the pioneer of independence, democracy and freedom, once sent his secretary Liu shanchu a set of famous paintings of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum to Qinshan temple. Today, there is a bamboo couplet presented by Zheng Xie in the eighth year of Qianlong reign

He long visits Qinshan Temple

He long was originally named "Wen Chang" with the word "Yun Qing". It is said that "he Hu" (he long) once saw the couplet "Zhao Zilong's master, Wolong's brother, long Di, Zhang Yide's respect for Xuande, Junde's minister" in the Guanwang Hall of Qinshan Temple. Because of his admiration for Zhao Yun, he changed his name to "he long", so that after guarding Lizhou, he galloped to the battlefield and became famous as thunder They were among the "top ten marshals" of the founding of the country. On July 19, 1920, Lizhou garrison envoy Wang Ya was murdered by his deputy Qing Heng in Cili maoeryu. On July 24, Yu Yin, Wang Ya's son, led 7000 soldiers from nine regiments to take revenge in Cili Dongyueguan. He was the commander of Changli national defense army. He led Helong as a helper, and sent people to repay Sun Yat Sen, the Grand Marshal of Guangdong Province. Sun Yat Sen praised them all. On July 29, Wang and he attacked Lizhou. Soon after Qing Heng fled, Sun Yat Sen appointed Lin GuoXuan as commander-in-chief of the Hunan Jingguo army. He long led his troops to Pengshan. When he was stationed in Pengshan, he went to Qinshan Temple several times to visit Zen and had a fast meal in the temple.

Documentation

Li Zhou Zhi records: "the great virtue monk Wen Shen Jian of the Tang Dynasty". According to legend, there is a ravine under the temple foundation, which is unfathomable. The wind howls and poisonous snakes hide in it. Therefore, the temple is built by overlapping stones. Inclined by the mountain, the architectural layout is from low to high, with more than 40 rooms. "Next to the temple, there is a nine entrance hall with stone cloud board, about two feet wide, which is sonorous." There are three and a half houses built in Ming Dynasty, about 100 square meters, one ancient well and one luohansong in the east of the temple. In addition, there are remains of the Buddhist pagodas of the past dynasties, and more than ten places can be identified.

According to the records of the prefecture, in 851 ad, there were more than 3000 volumes of woodcut classics in the ancient Qinshan Qianming temple. According to historical records and many Buddhist books, master Jianzhen traveled to Fusang to promote Buddhism. He came to Qinshan temple to study Buddhist classics. Among the monks who traveled to Japan to promote Buddhism, there were Fusang Dharma protectors from Qinshan temple, Since then, Chinese new era culture has also been introduced to Japan along with the Oriental Buddhism of Zen Buddhism,

Chinese PinYin : Qin Shan Si