Laoye Temple is located at the top of Longtou Mountain in Duobao Township, duchang county City, Jiangxi Province, facing Xing Zi County (now Lushan City) across the river. It is adjacent to Poyang Lake on three sides, 270 kilometers away from Nanchang and 30 kilometers away from Duchang County.
The author has accompanied friends or classmates from other places to visit the Laoye Temple many times. The last time, on June 5438+ 10, 2020, several friends from Nanchang drove past the 5589-meter "Second Poyang Lake Bridge" (also known as the Laoyemiao Bridge in Poyang Lake), drove out at the exit sign of Duobao Township (Laoyemiao) in Duchang, and then drove along the winding cement road by Poyang Lake for more than 20 hours.
Near the Laoye Temple, you can see a golden sand mountain, which is golden under the midday sun. Shashan stands out from the rest, and Loki Mountain stretches for more than 20 kilometers from Duobao West Mountain. Some waves rushed into the beach, and some winds rolled into hills, fluctuating and in different shapes. There are sporadic Rosaceae plants on the sand mountain, which is called Duobao Sand Mountain by the locals.
It is reported that the sediment of Duobao Sand Mountain comes from the sediment deposited by the Ganjiang River water injected into the Yangtze River, and the hydrological and climatic conditions of Poyang Lake are the important reasons for the formation of the sand mountain on the lakeside. During the dry season every year, the exposed sand in the lake beach is blown by the strong wind in winter, and then transported to the lakeside area for accumulation by the wind, gradually forming more than 40,000 mu of lakeside sand mountain, which is also the largest contiguous sand land in the south of the Yangtze River, and is called "Gobi Desert in the south of the Yangtze River".
Laoye Temple, formerly known as Longwang Temple, was built in an unknown age. Built according to Longtou Mountain. The temple foundation is 7 meters high, with granite strips and stone steps on the left and right. Temple construction area of more than 600 square meters, divided into the main hall, Dragon King Hall, Tong Ren Tang, large and small living rooms, kitchen six parts. Ancillary buildings are distributed on both sides of the main temple.
Legend has it that Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang fought Poyang Lake for the world at the end of Yuan Dynasty. In the waters here, Zhu Yuanzhang was defeated by Chen Youliang, and was rescued by the python when he fell into the water. After Zhu Yuanzhang won the world, he built the "Dingjiang King Temple" on the riverside, that is, the "Laoye Temple", and named this giant catfish "General Yuan".
Laoye Temple is famous for the gratitude of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of Ming Dynasty. On the left cliff of the temple, there is a stone carving of "unintentional water" cliff, which is said to be inscribed by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Taizu. Up to now, there are still Zhu Yuanzhang's "Dianjiangtai" and "Jianchi" sites behind the temple.
According to Duchang County Records, the Laoye Temple was renovated and expanded three times in the 22nd year of Kangxi (1683), 15th year of Jiaqing (18 10) and Guangxu (1875- 1908). During Guangxu period, it was renamed Laoye Temple. In the 27th year of the Republic of China (1938), it was bombed by Japanese invaders. In the thirty-fifth year of the Republic of China (1946), monks were rebuilt with the donation of the owner. 1983 duchang county municipal government carried out renovation, and now it is a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit in Jiangxi.
Climb the 7-meter-high granite stone steps, which is the main hall of Laoye Temple. In front of the door stood a mighty sign of "avoidance" and "silence", with a basin of "clean hands" next to it. Many pilgrims are afraid of bad luck and make "Master" disrespectful. They washed their hands carefully before entering the hall. Setting off firecrackers on the right side of the main hall before offering incense to worship seems to be seeking the protection and tolerance of the "master"
The Laoye Temple consists of three parts: the upper part is the main hall, the middle part is the tour building, and the lower part is the Wannian Platform. The doors and windows in the temple are engraved with patterns and painted with red paint. In the main hall, "King Dingjiang" sat majestically in the center, and two or three masters on both sides looked at every visitor and pilgrim. "Masters" seem to know their past lives like the palm of their hand, and some pilgrims kneel to the ground.
There are two stone tablets embedded in the walls on both sides of the temple. On the right is General Zuo Liyuan Temple in Ding Jian, and on the left is General Feng Yingyuan Temple. In front of the main hall, there is a granite pillar with a couplet on it. The first couplet reads: "Repairing the Centennial Temple to Praise the Merit of Our King", and the second couplet reads: "Nine Wan Li Weilingpi splashed with water." The most striking and thoughtful are the gold-plated couplets on both sides. The first part is "It is useless to do evil and burn incense"; The second couplet "Why don't you worship me?" . It seems that this "master" earnestly warned the world that no matter how many good and bad things happen, only by helping the world and helping the poor and doing more good deeds can we accumulate virtue. Looking up is worthy of heaven, looking down is worthy of "the Lord". Even if you don't worship in front of the "master", he will be generous. If you do evil on weekdays, even if you worship in front of your master, it will not help.
The couplet next to General Yuan Yun is full of philosophical wisdom, which makes people think deeply. The first part: "Everything is a lifetime"; Bottom line: "Land and law are natural every day."
I savor the profound philosophy of this couplet, and deeply feel that everything is made on the earth, following and deducing heaven, and endless. Taoism conforms to nature's creation and natural operation, heaven and earth coexist with people, and everything is integrated with people.
Standing on the broad platform of the tour building of Laoye Temple, I looked at the vast Poyang Lake. Not far away, it is the famous "waters of Laoye Temple". This is a long and narrow water area connecting Poyang Lake with the exit of Ganjiang River, which is said to be "rejecting five waters and one lake in the throat". The waters start from Songmen Mountain in the south and reach Xing Zi County (now Lushan City) in the north, with a total length of 24 kilometers. Therefore, there is an ancient temple in this area, hence the name of the water area.
Over the years, the waters of "Laoyemiao" have been called "Bermuda" of China due to frequent mysterious sinking and capsizing incidents, and countless ships have disappeared here, even thousands of tonnage ships will disappear here.
Modern research shows that the cause of sinking in this sea area is closely related to strong winds, currents and underwater eddies. First, the north wind prevails in the waters of Laoye Temple. When the north wind goes south, the existence of Lushan Mountain makes it a rare windy area, which brings safety hazards to navigation. Secondly, the water from the five major river systems meets in the waters of Laoyemiao after being injected into Poyang Lake, and the water flow is strong and chaotic. In recent three years, a 2.5-kilometer-long east-west sandbar hidden at the bottom of the lake has produced a powerful underwater vortex under the action of strong winds, which is particularly fatal. All these natural factors explain the accidents of ships coming and going.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, the bell of the grandfather temple rang and echoed in Poyang Lake for a long time. A touch of golden afterglow of the sunset is sprinkled on the vast lake, and the afterglow fluctuates with the lake, like a ribbon dancing with the wind, which is beautiful. The sunset glow also painted the old temple with a layer of golden red. The old temple at this time is like a beautiful castle by Poyang Lake. As the mountain forest gradually sank into darkness, we reluctantly bid farewell to the old temple. When we drive back slowly, the old temple is getting farther and farther away from us, but the "Dingjiang King" seems to be getting closer and closer to us.