Shengquan Temple

Shengquan Temple

Shengquan temple, also known as Longquan Temple. Located in Fengshan Forest Park on the north slope of doushankou, 1.5km northwest of Longcheng Town, Xiaoxian County, Anhui Province, it is a thousand year old temple with unique architectural style and one of the eight sceneries of Xiaocheng.

Shengquan temple was first built in the Northern Song Dynasty. Dou Shidao, a local sage, lived in seclusion here and built gongcui hall. It was also built and expanded in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It has always been a place for tourists and scholars. By 2015, it has a history of more than 1000 years. There are more than 30 houses, temple according to the mountain, hall court porch, quite spectacular. There is a spring beside the temple, which is called "holy spring". Wang Weihan, a poet of the Qing Dynasty, praised "who will decide which spring in the south of the Yangtze River without Lu Yu frying tea". When Su Shi was the governor of Xuzhou, he went to Shengquan temple to hunt for wonders. He left a beautiful talk about "Dongpo tasting tea and knowing holy water", and wrote a picture of dead trees and strange rocks, which had a allegorical saying of "water in Shengquan Temple drinking a clapper".

Shengquan temple covers an area of about 10000 square meters, with a construction area of about 5000 square meters

. It is mainly centered on temples and surrounded by a variety of scenic spots. There is a peach blossom cave on the left of the mountain. It is said that it is the place where the Peach Blossom Fairy practices. There is a stone cave in the north of the temple, which is more than Zhang deep. It is famous for its calligraphy. The holy spring in the east of the temple is only a small pool, but it does not dry up in the four seasons. The spring water is sweet and clear, and there is an endless stream of people who come here to get water and play.

In August 2006, Shengquan temple was approved as a cultural relic protection unit in Suzhou

.

Historical evolution

In the Northern Song Dynasty, Dou Shidao (Mian) lived in seclusion here. After his death, Dou Mingyuan (Dunli), his nephew, built "gongcui hall" beside the spring, which was the earliest building in this area.

In the first year of Yuanfeng (1078), Su Shi went to Xuzhou as governor. Accompanied by Chao Buzhi and others, he came to gongcui hall in Xiaoxian county and painted a painting of dead wood, bamboo and stone for Dou Dunli.

In the third year of Jin Mingchang (1192), it was changed into "Longquan Temple" and became a Buddhist temple.

In the early Ming Dynasty, it was renamed Shengquan temple, and then the temple collapsed.

In the 19th year of Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1540), sun Chongguang, the county magistrate, built "Xugu hall" beside the spring. In 1558, xugutang was destroyed by strong wind.

In the second year of Longqing (1568), monk man Cong was rebuilt.

In the late Qing Dynasty, it began to fall, most of the ancient temples collapsed, and only the ruins remained.

In December 1994, Buddhist activity sites were restored. Master zhidu and master Ledu have contributed to build three Golden Buddha statues and build a new mountain gate.

Since the monks moved in in 2006, they have built walls, floors and mountain gates, built two-story East and West houses, rebuilt Buddhist Chanting halls and restored the three holy halls.

On March 13, 2013, Shengquan temple in Xiaoxian county held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the mountain gate and the opening of the four heavenly kings.

In 2013, Xiaoxian Fengshan Forest Park Management Committee was established to manage Fengshan forest park scenic area.

Architectural pattern

Shengquan temple is located in the valley on the east side of Maitreya top, the back peak of Fenghuang mountain. It is a millennium old temple with unique architectural style and north facing Mountain Gate. It is a courtyard with two entrances. In front of the gate is the mountain gate. Although the scale is small, the three gates stand side by side, close to Nanshan. Inside the middle gate, there is only one Zhangyong Road, which is a main hall, called Weituo hall in ancient times, serving Maitreya Buddha. Out of the back door of Weituo hall is the main courtyard. In the north, there are three rooms and two entrances to the main hall, which is the main hall for Sakyamuni, the Buddha, and Manjusri and Puxian Bodhisattvas. There are three side halls in the East and west of the main courtyard. The west chamber is for Nanhai Guanyin and the East chamber is for Ruyi Guanyin. The courtyard is not big, the building is carved, elegant and compact. There are two steles in front of the main hall, one on the left is the stele of merit and virtue in Chenghua year of Ming Dynasty, the other on the right is the stele of merit and virtue in Jiaqing year of Qing Dynasty. The ancient well in front of the right tablet is Weituo Shenbei well. The well head is covered with stone slabs, which are smooth, and the well is covered with wooden windlass. There are Tianwang hall, Guanyin hall and other buildings near Taohua cave.

Main attractions

Ancient temple

The ancient temple was built in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the residence is a typical traditional Han architecture in the Central Plains. Most of the existing buildings in Shengquan temple were built by monk man Cong in 1568. As of June 2014, there are more than 30 houses with an area of 5460 square meters. On July 20, 2014, Daxiong hall was newly built in Shengquan Temple scenic area of Xiaoxian county.

The sound of books

Shusheng cave, also known as Xiandong Shusheng cave and Erzi Shusheng cave, is located dozens of steps southwest of the temple, more than Zhang deep. It is said that in ancient times, people often heard the sound of reading in the cave when they passed under the cave at night. Listening carefully is a question and answer by two people, so it's called Shusheng cave. The old records are called "Xiandong Shusheng", which is one of the eight sceneries of Xiaocheng (Xiantai Qishi, Xiandong Shusheng, bianliu Xiaodu, Qijing Chungeng, Longtan Jiaoyue, Fengling Qingyun, tianzaoqifang, Shenzhong strange trace).

spring water

Shengquan water is located in the north slope of Quanshan mountain, three miles northwest of Xiaoxian city. It has the reputation of the first spring in the south of the Yangtze River. On the rocks beside the spring, the word "Bodhisattva spring" with bowl size was originally engraved. In the Ming Dynasty, Geng spring was named Shengquan. There was a pavilion on the spring, which was built by Wen Changfa, magistrate of the county in the 10th year of Yongzheng reign (1732). Although Shengquan was only a small pool, it did not dry up in the four seasons and the water was clear and sweet. In midsummer, the surrounding villagers come to the mountain to collect spring water to cool off. There is a allegorical saying of "water of Shengquan temple - drink a bang", and it is jokingly called "drinking to death does not hurt people". Before the founding of the people's Republic of China, this spring was very abundant, and it never bottomed out. The overflowing spring flowed through the underground diversion canal to a faucet in the east of the temple gate, which was shaped like a dragon. The spring flowed from its mouth and finally left sanxiantai.

Peach blossom cave

Taohua cave is located in the middle of the mountain on the west side of Shengquan temple, about 3 li southwest of Shengquan temple. There are lawns in front of the cave, cliffs behind the cave, and grotesque rocks on the left and right. To enter the ancient cave, you have to pass through the crack of the boulder. There are four small caves in the north and south of the cave.

Sansiantai

The spring water of Shengquan Temple moistens a small village at the foot of Shengquan Temple: sanxiantai. Sanxiantai is located between sanxiantai village and Shengcun village. It is only 100 meters high across the water from the old Xiaocheng. Because it is close to Xiaocheng, it used to be a gathering place for tourists and scholars in the Ming Dynasty. There are luxuriant trees on the mountain. You can visit the old town of Xiaoxian. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it was selected as one of the eight scenic spots of Xiaocheng.

Air raid shelter

Xiaoxian air raid shelter is a defense project built in the last century to meet the needs of future wars. On the hillside, it has a total length of more than 500 meters. There is no lighting device in the cave, which is warm in winter and cool in summer. It's a challenging project to visit Shengquan temple. At the air defense entrance, you can get a panoramic view of Xiaoxian city.

protective measures

In August 2006, Shengquan temple was approved as a cultural relic protection unit in Suzhou

.

In 2014, it raised funds to build the main hall. As of September 2015, the wall has been pulled and the foundation has been laid.

In December 2015, the south entrance of Shengquan temple was rebuilt.

On July 11, 2017, the environmental remediation work of Shengquan Temple scenic spot was carried out.

Cultural Activity

Buddhist activities

There are Dou Mingyuan (Dunli), monk man Cong, master zhidu, master Ledu and master Damiao who presided over Shengquan temple. At the beginning of the new year, the holy spring temple holds the Dharma meeting from the first day to the seventh day of the first lunar month, and the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Every October in the golden autumn, with the harvest of sweet scented osmanthus and fruit food in Xiaoxian County, Shengquan temple will hold an annual water and land Dharma meeting to pray for a prosperous harvest, prosperity, prosperity and peace.

At 9 a.m. on March 13, 2013 (the second day of the second lunar month), a ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the three gates and the opening of the sacred statue of the four heavenly kings.

History and culture

legend

Bodhisattva spring

The holy spring was originally called "Bodhisattva spring". It is said that in ancient times, a scholar passed by to quench his thirst. He saw an old woman sitting on a stone. The scholar asked each other with courtesy. The woman sat still and said nothing. He asked again. He pointed to the rock behind him with a smile. The scholar looked at him. If there was a spring, he wanted to thank her after drinking. The woman did not see him again, so he named it.

Eight Immortals

It is said that tie Guai Li, Lu Dongbin and he Xiangu, among the eight immortals, once stopped to rest on the mountain, leaving three pairs of footprints on the mountain, so they are called sanxiantai.

Peach blossom lady

It is said that when the Jin soldiers invaded the south, a local heroine named "peach blossom lady" led the local people to fight against Jin. Later, she was trapped by the Jin soldiers in the valley. "Peach blossom lady" in order not to fall into the hands of the golden soldiers, jumped down in the most dangerous place of "yixiantian". In memory of her, later generations called her Peach Blossom Fairy, and called the hole above "yixiantian" peach blossom cave.

The Queen Mother of the West

A long time ago, there was a beautiful queen mother in the sky. She came down to the world and walked to Fenghuang Mountain in Xiaoxian county. She stepped on a stone and left a big footprint. When the queen mother was thirsty, a spring came out from under the stone she stepped on. The fairy boy, the Queen's follower, moved away the stone. There was a clear spring under it. The queen held out her hand and drank some spring water. The spring water was cool and quenched her thirst. The queen immediately felt refreshed.

literary works

From the original Quanshan bieye, where Dou Shidao lived in seclusion, to the gongcui hall built by Dou Mingyuan, to the Longquan Temple in the Jin Dynasty and the Shengquan temple in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Quanshan architectural complex witnessed the rise and fall of Xiaoxian history. Su Shi, Chao Buzhi and Chen Shidao in Song Dynasty; Liu Yueshen in Yuan Dynasty; bi Ti, Li Sancai and Peng Jin in Ming Dynasty; Wang Weihan, Shen Xueyuan, Wang Shiyi and Wu in Qing Dynasty

Chinese PinYin : Sheng Quan Si