Tianchi Temple

Tianchi Temple

Tianchi temple is located on Jiaoyu mountain in the east of Taiyi palace in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. There used to be private houses, palaces, gardens, fish ponds, etc. of the Marquis, marquis and concubines of the past dynasties, which were used for the rest of the pilgrims. The scenery around the temple is quiet and charming. It is one of the scenic spots in Zhongnan.

The temple was called Longchi temple in Sui Dynasty. At the beginning of Emperor Taizong's accession to the throne, in 632, he personally ordered Du Shunjin, the first ancestor of Huayan sect, to build the temples of Zide, Hongfu and Longchi, and changed Longchi temple into Puguang temple, marking the boundary within 10 Li. Because the temple is located in wangfangchi, it is called "Yangtian", so it is commonly known as Tianchi temple.

At the beginning of Hongwu Period in Ming Dynasty, there were two temples: Shangsi (today's Chi Temple) and Xiasi (now between cuijiahe and Shachang Village). Shangsi (today's Chi Temple) had 100 temples and monasteries, 1000 volumes of scriptures and 100 mu of fertile land. Xiasi (now between cuijiahe and Shachang Village) had five temples and more than 60 temples, ancestral halls and galleries. For a while, it was famous as Chang'an.

It was rebuilt in the 22nd year of Chenghua (1486) and the 29th year of Jiajing (1550). There are 5 main halls in Tianchi temple, in which 3 Buddha statues are worshipped. There are 11 monk rooms in the east of the main hall. There is a hexagonal seven storey brick tower in the temple, about 20 meters high, built in the Song Dynasty. There is a cast iron clock in 1722. There is also a Tang Dynasty two dragon pagoda not far from the north of the temple.

Introduction to the ancient temple

On Jiaoyu mountain in the east of Taiyi palace in Chang'an County, there is Tianchi temple, an ancient temple. It is about 15 li away from jiawutai in the East and 10 li away from Cuihua Mountain in the West. In the south, there are steep peaks and precipitous cliffs, extending to qincen. The Beifu river twists and turns to the west, and the Shenhe Shaoling two original hundred hectares surge. The scenery is charming and quiet.

Tianchi temple, also known as Puguang temple, is located in the Wangfang lake. It was named "Yangtian" in the Ming Dynasty and "Tianchi" in the common day. It was called Longchi temple in the Sui Dynasty. It was changed into Puguang temple in the early Tang Dynasty. It was rebuilt in the 23rd year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in the 29th year of Jiajing.

When Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty used to be a dragon diver, he had not yet made his fortune, but was given it by Buddhist monks. Therefore, after the rise of Sui Dynasty, Buddhism was promoted and Buddhism was worshipped. In the fourth year of Renshou Yuan Dynasty, they ordered famous mountains in various states to build relic pagodas. Longchi temple is located in the capital of Tiandu. It was built in accordance with the imperial edict. It was one of the five long characters and three Sui dynasties (the brick pagoda of Shengshou temple in Nantai and the Wooden Pagoda of solemn temple in the southwest of Xi'an). After being eroded by wind and rain, the pagoda did not know when it was destroyed.

Emperor Taizong also believed in Buddhism after he ascended the throne. In 630 of Zhenguan, he personally ordered Du Shunjin, the first ancestor of Huayan, to enter the palace, and granted the title of "emperor's heart" to build zidehongfu, Longchi temples. Longchi temple was named "Puguang" and marked the Ming boundary in the ten cities of Fangyuan. At the beginning of Hongwu Period in Ming Dynasty, Zhu Shuangqin, the king of Qin Dynasty, supervised the construction of the temple and opened up the royal road, which was divided into upper and lower temples (two courtyards). The upper court (today's Chi Temple) has a hundred temples and monasteries, a thousand rolls of funds and a hundred mu of fertile land. Xiasi (now between cuijiahe and Shachang Village) has five temples, temples, ancestral halls and more than 60 houses. There are "private articles", "Palace", "flower garden" and "fish pond" written by Marquis Guiqi of past dynasties. There are "pagodas" and "Pavilions" for the rest of the pilgrims. Puguang temple is quite grand in scale. It is famous for its reputation in Chang'an. As the saying goes, "there is Tianchi on the top, and Puguang under the bottom", "build Tianchi temple, and eat Cuihua Mountain.".

In Hongwu year of Ming Dynasty, there were Indian monks stationed in the temple. Zhu (mushuang), the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, was in Xi'an to repair. It was renamed Puguang temple. There are two chambers. At the foot of the mountain, the Xiasi temple is resplendent, with a lotus pond of more than ten acres inside. There is a sutra Pavilion on the island inside the pool, and there are stone steps along the mountain road between the two temples. At that time, Puguang temple was the crown of all temples in Chang'an. In the Qing Dynasty, it was called "Puguang auspicious Temple" and later changed to Tianchi temple.

Existing cultural relics

There is a brick Pagoda in the temple, which is about 13 meters high and has seven stories on six sides. There is a 1-meter-high cast-iron spire on it. Each floor has arched niches with built-in Buddha statues. In the middle there are the five bay Hall of the Qing Dynasty and the Dharma hall behind it. On the side there are several monk rooms, but there are no others. "

Related Legends

It is said that in the early Tang Dynasty, an eminent monk came from the western regions. Huimu had a clear view of this place and the blessed land of Buddhism, and he wanted to settle in Longchi temple. Because of the shabby temple and the narrow size of the temple, it was difficult to promote Buddhism. So he put a wooden fish as big as a drum on the top of the ancient pagoda tree and sat on it day and night. The sound was loud and excited, which spread hundreds of miles away. Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, was restless. He ordered Chi Jingde, the general, to observe. Jingde followed the sound of the wooden fish and found Jianyi and shangduan sitting on the ancient pagoda tree in Longchi temple Jingde called out: "you are the monk there. Why are you sitting on the ancient locust tree knocking on the wooden fish day and night?" The monk seemed to be alone, motionless, slightly closed his eyes and gently knocked on the wooden fish. Jingde was anxious, Li Sheng asked: "monk, you knock wooden fish day and night, startled Shengjia, do you know the sin?" The monk still closed his eyes and didn't move his silk. Jingde became furious, like a roaring lion. He grabbed the steel whip and hit the monk. Only a white light flashed by. The monk in the tree still closed his eyes and knocked the wooden fish, safe and sound. However, Yuchi Jingde's steel whip suddenly jumped out of the air, fell to the ground, and even became a scholar three feet. He kowtowed and apologized to the monk. The next day, Li Shimin led his entourage to Jingde and led the way to Longchi temple. The eminent monk sat on the ancient locust tree and knocked on the wooden fish. Taizong asked, "dare to ask the eminent monk to stop the wooden fish.". He said calmly: "when I come to the western regions, I have no name of reverence. Because I want to worship Buddhism here and have no place to live, I sit on the ancient locust tree and knock on the wooden fish. Please come here.". Taizong asked, "I don't know how many places the venerable needs." the venerable without bosom is like a leaf, falling down gently. To put it bluntly, "I only need one sleeve of land.". Taizong didn't understand his meaning, so he raised his sleeve in the air, and his shadow covered 48 villages in Gaozi mountain. The venerable said, "where the poor monk's sleeve covers, please give it to the temple."? Taizong nodded and said, "just as the venerable said.". The venerable wuhuai said: "although there is a place, it is futile for the poor monk to have no money to build it.". Taizong ordered Jingde supervisor to build Longchi temple. Although this story is a legend, Li Shimin's inscription on the tablet when he ascends the Longchi temple and meets the wuhuazun.

Address: Zhongnanshan, Chang'an District, Xi'an City

Longitude: 109.02584838867

Latitude: 34.008144378662

Chinese PinYin : Tian Chi Si