Situ Temples

Situ temple is located in the southeast of Jianlang village in the west of Guangfu town. It is the ancestral temple of Deng Yu, the great situ of Guangwu emperor in the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are four thousand year old cypresses in situ temple, so they are also called gubai'an, Baiyin society and Baiyin jingshe. There is no historical record of the founding of situ temple. The present temple was rebuilt in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.

There are more than 20 existing temples in situ temple. The layout is traditional courtyard style. In front of the gate is a wall gate. In front of the gate is a pair of stone lions. Along the main axis of the gate is the mountain gate and the main hall. The two are separated by courtyards with side chambers on both sides. On the left side of the temple, there is a courtyard with famous ancient cypress trees and a hall for appreciating cypress trees. Behind the hall are four famous ancient cypress gardens. The four ancient cypresses are said to have been planted by Deng Yu himself for more than 2000 years. These four ancient cypresses have unique shapes and different postures. Although they have been attacked by wind, frost, rain, snow and lightning for thousands of years, they are still magnificent, just like natural bonsai, which can be called the world's wonders. It is said that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited Jiangnan and was greatly attracted by the four ancient cypresses. He gave them as "and" One of them fell to the ground and was luxuriant; the other got into the ground a few meters away from it and stretched out a new branch again to grow into a new old cypress. The new branch came from withered wood, which was quite interesting for withered wood to spring. "One of them was split into two pieces by thunder, and one took root far away from its mother plant, lying on the ground for three times It's like a dragon walking on the ground, but the other one is like a hanging basket, lying on the spot, like a dragon holding its head high, trying to take off!

Although the Qing Dynasty, the strange, the ancient and the strange have suffered for thousands of years, they are still gloomy and green all the year round, showing an indomitable spirit. That kind of indomitable and unyielding character gives people the feeling of full of hope and struggle.

Situ Temples

There is a famous historic site situ temple in Guangfu, southwest of Suzhou. Situ temple is located in the southeast of Jianlang village, west of Guangfu town. It is the ancestral temple of Deng Yu, the great situ of Guangwu emperor in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is also called gubai'an, Baiyin society and Baiyin jingshe. There is no historical record of the founding of situ temple. The present temple was rebuilt in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. It is also called Dengwei temple. There are four ancient cypresses in the temple, which are nearly 2000 years old. They are green, tall and beautiful. The trunk of Qibai is broken, and its belly is hollow. The texture of ancient cypresses is winding, and they are simple and vigorous. The strange cypresses lie on the ground, and they are like dragons. After being split by thunder, the two branches completely leave the main trunk, but they are alive and give out new branches. Four ancient cypress trees are combined together, just like a natural picture of ancient cypress. After Qianlong saw it, he named four ancient cypress trees: Qing, Qi, Gu and Guai

overview

brief introduction

It is said that situ temple is the hermitage of Deng Yu, the great situ of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Later generations worship as a God, a long time into the temple, known as Baiyin jingshe.

During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, there were eminent monks Chang Wu, Hong Hai, Shu Cheng, Jue Xing and other ancestors handed down from generation to generation. Now they belong to the other temple of Tianshou sheng'en temple in Xuanmu mountain (it is said that it is the temple where Qianlong's father became a monk). Most of the buildings in situ temple were built in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. 100 meters to the west of situ temple is the famous xiangxuehai scenic spot.

survey

There are more than 20 existing temples in situ temple. The layout is traditional courtyard style. In front of the gate is a wall gate. In front of the gate is a pair of stone lions. Along the main axis of the gate is the mountain gate and the main hall.

The two are separated by courtyards with side chambers on both sides. On the left side of the temple, there is a courtyard with famous ancient cypress trees and a hall for appreciating cypress trees. Behind the hall are four famous ancient cypress gardens.

The four ancient cypresses are said to have been planted by Deng Yu himself for more than 2000 years. These four ancient cypresses have unique shapes and different postures. Although they have been attacked by wind, frost, rain, snow and lightning for thousands of years, they are still magnificent, just like natural bonsai, which can be called the world's wonders.

It is said that Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited Jiangnan and was greatly attracted by the four ancient cypresses. He gave the four cypresses "Qing", "Qi", "Gu" and "strange".

"Qing" person, the main pole is strong and straight, straight towering clouds, the body is steady, the branches and leaves are verdant, the heroic posture is Sa Sa Sa, gives the person straight and handsome, clear, full of vigor feeling. The "strange" tree has two branches, one of which is green and luxuriant after being cut off. The other one is a few meters away from it, and then reaches out a new branch again to grow into a new old cypress. The new branch is really out of withered wood, which is quite interesting for withered wood to spring. The "ancient" tree has less skin and baldness, simple and vigorous, solemn posture, lingering texture, like a hundred cables circling around the body, and beautiful Like a dragon coiled around the body. It gives people a rough and honest feeling.

"Strange" person, I don't know what year and month, was split into two pieces by thunder. One piece is far away from its mother and takes root in the ground. It lies on the ground for three times. It looks like a pen holder and a dragon walking on the ground. The other piece is like a hanging basket. It lies on the ground like a dragon holding its head high and wants to take off. It's really strange! Although the Qing Dynasty, the strange, the ancient and the strange have suffered for thousands of years, they are still gloomy and green all the year round, showing an indomitable spirit.

That kind of indomitable and unyielding character gives people the feeling of full of hope and struggle.

People who have visited these cypresses are impressed by their tenacious vitality, especially the two cypresses named Qihe and Qiqi. The heart of Qihe cypresses is completely empty, and the two branches of Qiqi cypresses are more than 20 meters apart after being split by thunder, but they are not dead. They encourage every visitor to have confidence and courage in life.

Numerous scholars and celebrities chanted and praised the ancient cypress.

Li Gengen, the general of the 1911 Revolution in modern times, listed the four ancient cypresses as one of the four unique in Suzhou. Modern poet Tian Han wrote a poem after watching the ancient cypresses on January 26, 1964, praising the simple spirit of the ancient cypresses.

Ye Shengtao, a modern writer and educator, went to the situ temple in the early summer of 1977 to observe the cypress, and left two seven unique poems, which expressed the poet's praise for the flourishing style of the ancient cypress.

tourist resources

Situ temple was announced as a cultural relic protection unit (including ancient cypress) in Wu County on March 25, 1986.

There are two Buddhist scriptures in the corridor beside the hall of appreciating cypress in situ temple.

One is "the Sutra of lenyan at the head of all the righteous Bodhisattvas' ten thousand lines" revised by the Great Buddha top Tathagata, which is called "the Sutra of lenyan" for short. One is Vajra Prajna paramita Sutra, which is called Vajra Sutra for short.

"Lengyan Sutra" is a part of Mahayana sutra. It expounds the world view that "all things in the world are Bodhisattva's mind, heart's circle and ten directions". It says that "all living beings don't know their own mind, so they should practice meditation to break all kinds of toppling views." It advocates that "through the practice order from low to high, we can achieve the state of the supreme way.

The original text is Sanskrit, translated into Chinese by Emperor Bami of Tang Dynasty. The full text is more than 67000 words, which are respectively engraved on 84 bluestones. Each stone is 95 cm long and 33 cm wide.

The average engraving is about 800. The Scripture was engraved in the reign of Chongzhen (1628-1637) of the Ming Dynasty. It has a history of more than 340 years. It was granted in the reign of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. The Scriptures are divided into 10 volumes.

The first volume is written by Zhang Bingfan, who was not a resident in the autumn of 1628.

The second volume is a book written by Zhang Luwei, a cool resident in April of 1629. The third volume is written by yunqi Guangya Houdong in 1628.

The fourth volume is written by Wang Shimin, a Buddhist disciple of Loudong. Volume 5 is written by Gui Changshi. Volume 6 was written by Gu Xichou, the first mate of the Buddhist disciple in September 1631. The seventh volume is the first book of Wang Han's fumigation in 1634.

The eighth volume is a book written by Gu Tongde, a disciple of Gulou Buddha, one day after the second year of Chongzhen (1629). Volume 9 is the book of Baoyin written by Tong Jiao, the disciple of Tatong Bodhisattva.

Volume 10 is written by Zhang Liping, a Kunshan disciple Wen Xi Ju Shi in the winter of 1637. In the first month of 1642, the 15th year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty, Wei Zhaolu, a Kunshan native, wrote postscripts for the stone carving of Lengyan Sutra, explaining its origin and development.

"Lengyan Jing" was engraved by Zhang maode of Wumen. The handwriting is well proportioned and the knife technique is powerful, which is still very clear. The stone carvings should have been sent to Fangshan, Zhuozhou, Tibet. Due to the entry of Qing soldiers and the exhaustion of rivers, they had to be stored in Shilin temple, Xiajiao village, Guangfu. In 1976, because Shilin temple was in disrepair and collapsed, it was moved to the stele Gallery of situ Temple by Wu County Cultural Relics Management Committee. Lengyan Jing is a well preserved stone Scripture of Ming Dynasty. On August 30, 1957, it was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province by the people's Government of Jiangsu Province.

The whole book of Vajra Sutra is carved on a striking bluestone tablet. The monument is 192 cm high and 69 cm wide. The stone carving designer skillfully arranged the whole text on the design of a seven level pagoda.

From the beginning of the volume in the center of the pagoda, the whole Vajra Sutra can be read in sequence. The bell under the corner eaves of each tower and the lotus column under the eaves of each tower are engraved with the word "Buddha" respectively.

There is not a single word on the pagoda. The pagoda and the Scriptures are well arranged and symmetrical. The Scriptures are all written in neat and small block letters, and are carefully carved.

In addition to the two rare stone carvings of the Sutra of Lengyan and the Sutra of Vajra, there is also a stele named "songfengshuiyue", which is 41 cm high and 96 cm wide. In addition, Lin Sen, who once served as the chairman of the national government, wrote the stone tablet of "Prajna boat" in calligraphy. The inscription is powerful and round, which can also be regarded as a masterpiece.

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Chinese PinYin : Si Tu Miao