Lingkong mountain

Lingkong mountain

Lingkong mountain is located in Lingkong mountain town in the northwest of Qinyuan, about 40 kilometers away from the county seat. The altitude ranges from 1600 to 1850 meters, and the highest peak is 1953 meters above sea level. The rock geology is Cambrian limestone. Due to the strong tectonic movement, the crust changes, a large area of bedrock is exposed, and the valley is deeply cut. Three gullies meet in the middle of the mountain, forming a dangerous valley. The rocks are covered with quaternary old loess, which is suitable for plant growth and sufficient rainfall, so the trees are lush, flowers and weeds are everywhere. There are many caves in the mountain, and the steep peaks are beautiful and quiet. On December 25, 2013, the State Council approved Lingkong mountain as a national nature reserve.

Introduction

Lingkong mountain, also known as Jiuding Mountain, is located in the northwest of Qinyuan county. Qinyuan county is located in the central and southern part of Shanxi Province, Southeast of Taiyuan City, the provincial capital, and northwest of Changzhi City. There is a seasonal river more than 10 kilometers southwest of the city, which is called "Baizi River". It flows from northwest to Southeast, and the source of the river is Lingkong mountain. Although Lingkong mountain is remote and located in the extreme depth of Taiyue Mountain range, it connects Hanhong in the north, Yueyang in the south, Huozhou in the west, and Qinyuan County in the East. In history, there are four directions connected by Sichuan roads. In addition, it has become more and more famous since the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties. Therefore, it is convenient for those devout pilgrims to walk. As a famous mountain, Lingkong mountain's scenery of mountains, rivers, forests and sea has been excellent since ancient times. In particular, the Dachuan scenery here is well-known, rich and good. For example, wulongchuan, hanhongchuan, miaoweichuan, dirouchuan and shuitunchuan, which were once appreciated by the ancients, are all famous. However, for some unknown reason, later generations changed the name of Han Hongchuan to "Han Hongchuan", Miao Weichuan to "Maowei Chuan", and di rouchuan to "No.1 Chuan", which is more popular. However, they lost a bit of elegance, which makes many tourists less interested in pondering.

Strange mountain

Lingkong mountain has a radius of 100 Li, with three isolated peaks protruding in the center, like three inverted tripods. At the foot of the peak, two deep valleys come from the West and North, intersect and merge, and go southeast. At the intersection of the deep valleys, a huge hollow is formed, like a giant cave and a stone well, which is like the cutting of a magic axe.

Sheng Shou Temple

On the hillside of Lingkong mountain, there is a platform, where the ancient Shengshou temple is located. According to historical records, Li Kan, the fourth son of Tang Yizong, took refuge here because of the Huangchao uprising and became a monk. After the death of the crown prince, he was awarded the title of "master Bodhisattva". In the second year of Jingfu in Tang Dynasty, the Buddhist temple was built, and in the second year of Duangong in Song Dynasty, "Shengshou Temple" was granted. Due to the supplement and repair of the past dynasties, the existing temple of Shengshou temple is not the original building of the Tang Dynasty. However, it is still a valuable temple complex because of its large scale and ingenious construction.

In addition to temples, Lingkong mountain also has Maoan, Xianqiao, luanqiao, East bell tower and other buildings. Ya'an is built in the cave beside the East Cliff of the temple. It goes up the winding steps and climbs step by step. This is the place that tourists are most interested in. It is built high in the air, half hidden and half exposed. When you enter the nunnery, you feel refreshed.

On the opposite side of the Mountain Gate of the temple stands a cliff, with dead trees and vines hanging upside down. A secluded valley lies in the front of the temple, several feet apart. The ancients built two bridges, xianluan bridge, between the north and the south, connecting the three mountains. Among them, the upper part of the love bridge, the long corridor with red pillars, the dragon and Phoenix sculptures, and the oblique insertion of the bucket arches are exquisite. Cross the love bridge, cross the forest sea, walk eastward along the path, and then cross the fairy bridge to the foot of Dongfeng. From the foot of the mountain to the top of the East bell tower, we need to climb the steep and winding "Eighteen plates" like streamers.

To the south of the East bell tower is the yellow "sacrificial cliff", which is like cutting and cutting. To the south, there is a lonely peak surrounded by cliffs. It is said that it is the place where Prince Li first arrived. It is called "Tangshan village".

Giant pine in Lingkong mountain

If the landscape and scenery of Lingkong mountain are not strange enough, then the giant pines that can be seen everywhere in Lingkong mountain can make you marvel. There are so many giant pines on the mountain. The famous "nine pole flag" can be called "Shanxi giant pine". It was unearthed from one stem and derived from nine trees, which are straight and straight. They have their own names, such as "two immortals preaching", "one incense burner", "three kings", and "one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas", which add a lot of color to Lingkong mountain. Not far from Shengshou temple, there is a giant pine with a girth of about 5 meters and a height of more than 40 meters. Because on its trunk, it later derived nine strong new trunks, which are high in the sky. Many people jokingly call this pine "nine pole flag". It is known that this "nine pole flag" has become the king of Pinus tabulaeformis in North China with its huge physique.

Li Kan, king of Tang Dynasty

Before the fall of the Tang Dynasty at the end of the ninth century, there were not many famous stories about Lingkong mountain. I'm afraid it didn't even have the name of Lingkong mountain at that time. In March of the sixth year of Qianfu (879 A.D.), Li Fu, a 19-year-old emperor of Tang Dynasty, sent his fourth brother Li Kan to Jinyang (today's Taiyuan), an ancient city full of flames of war, under the instruction of a group of powerful officials, to stay in Taiyuan, where the Fu Yin and Bei Du were in chaos and served as the governor of Hedong. But no one can imagine that Li Kan may not be in office at all, but he escaped to Lingkong mountain and became a monk. This should be the real beginning of Lingkong mountain as a famous historical mountain. Anyone who is familiar with the history of Lingkong mountain knows that Lingkong mountain would never have been famous without the arrival of the "master Bodhisattva". For more than a thousand years, however, many local people do not know that the so-called "master Bodhisattvas" turned out to be 20 Bodhisattvas from the Tang Dynasty

Li Kan, the fourth son of Emperor Tang Yizong. Tang Yizong didn't do much political work in his life. He died at the age of 41. He was young, but his children were numerous. His concubines gave birth to eight princes and eight princesses. Li Kan, who became a monk in Lingkong mountain, was not born to the queen, so he failed to inherit the great tradition. The fifth and seventh, who were much younger than Li Kan, had a queen's mother, so they all had a throne to sit on. This is Tang Fu Zong and Tang Zhao Zong in history. In the new and old book of the Tang Dynasty, it is said that Yizong of the Tang Dynasty worships Buddhism, which is superstitious and extravagant. His third daughter, Princess Tongchang, died of illness. He not only made elegy for the Manchu Dynasty to bury, but also made pottery figurines and buried them with countless treasures and even living people. He sang sutras and chanted Buddhism with monks in the palace. He often rewarded monks with royal banquets and entertained more than ten thousand monks at a time. Later generations think that Li Kan, the fourth son of Tang Yizong, abandoned his official position and went to Lingkong mountain to become a monk because of the war caused by the Huangchao uprising in the late Tang Dynasty. In fact, this may not be the only reason. It seems that Tang Yizong's fanatical addiction to Buddhism during his lifetime should also have a considerable impact on Li Kan's later seclusion.

Li Kan, the fourth son of Tang Yizong, became a monk in lingkongshan, which was not recorded in the new and old books of the Tang Dynasty, but only found in the steles and local chronicles in lingkongshan. Perhaps because of this, many people think that Li Kan's becoming a monk in Lingkong mountain is just a historical legend, so they don't believe it. As a matter of fact, although it is not explicitly written in the old and new books of the Tang Dynasty, we can still find some clues if we read the records of the sixth year of Qianfu in the old book of the Tang Dynasty. For example, in the old book of Tang Dynasty, it is recorded that in March of the sixth year of Qianfu, the imperial court "made Li Kan, the envoy of ningjiedu, the Minister of Hubu, the envoy of Yindu and Beidu in Taiyuan, and the envoy of Hedong Jiedu". However, in the August of the sixth year of Qianfu in the old book of Tang Dynasty, it has already sent Li Wei, the envoy of Yindu and Beidu in Taiyuan, as the governor of Tongping, and the envoy of Hedong Jiedu in Taiyuan. From March to August, just five months later, it is obvious that Li Kan didn't come to the post. No matter from the perspective of time or geography, this kind of account has made some circumstantial evidence for Li Kan's not going to the post, but to Lingkong mountain.

In the stone tablets of Lingkong mountain and the local chronicles of Qinyuan, there are many records about Li Kan's life after he became a monk in Lingkong mountain. Although this kind of folk record often has a strong tone of preaching, it makes up for the lack of official history records from another angle Lost. There are many places of interest in the history of Lingkong mountain, such as mapaoquan, gaihaidong, Shibapan, Xianqiao, luanqiao, Wulongtan, tangwangzhai, mamingwangjing, Tiewa temple, sheshenya, Ditui cave, jingshenyao, Haiquan temple, Lingshou temple and so on. Most of them have something to do with the experience of Li Kan's seclusion to Buddhism. For example, the Xianqiao bridge in the two streams of sheshenya has been said for generations. The first bridge was built with feldspar in the mountain when Li Kan just entered the mountain. Another example is tangwangzhai on the isolated peak of Dongxia. The peak is ten thousand feet high, surrounded by cliffs like knives and axes, but the peak is about 10 mu wide. It is said that Li Kan often climbs to the top of the mountain and looks west at Chang'an. According to local chronicles, the initial construction of at least four temples in Lingkong mountain and its vicinity is closely related to the arrival of Li Kan. The four temples are Shengshou temple near Lingkong mountain bridge, Haiquan temple in Hanhong Town, Luoshan temple in Beishi village 10 km south of Qinyuan county and Lingshou temple at the south foot of Lingkong mountain. The first temple was not called Shengshou Temple originally, because Li Kan, the Bodhisattva of the first master, died here in the second year of Jingfu (AD 893) of Zhaozong of Tang Dynasty, so people used to call it the Bodhisattva Temple of the first master. The temple forehead of Shengshou temple was granted by Emperor Taizong of Song Dynasty in 989 ad, the second year of Duangong in Northern Song Dynasty. Luoshan and Haiquan, one mountain and one spring, are all due to Li Kan Chu

Chinese PinYin : Ling Kong Shan