Shanghai Chenghuang Temple originated from the folk, and the earliest activity place was mainly in the mountainous area. Therefore, at that time, there were only caves, stone rooms, quiet rooms, lobbies, mountain houses, thatched houses, one house and other dwellings, and the requirements for cultivation and living environment were relatively simple, just wanting to "live in an ethereal place away from the noisy environment".
In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, in order to meet the needs of feudal rulers, Taoism reformed with reference to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and gradually improved the teachings of Taoism, and put forward a new theory: Taoists should take loyalty, filial piety and benevolence as the foundation, take medicine in alchemy and prolong life. Since then, Taoism has reflected the needs of emperors in past dynasties for people's spiritual rule, and has been welcomed by rulers, and has developed from primitive folk religion to systematic official Taoism. In order to facilitate the combination with imperial power, Taoist buildings began to appear in plains and cities, and "Palace" and "View", which were originally palace buildings, also became the names of Taoist buildings.
In the Tang Dynasty, Laozi Li Er was regarded as the ancestor, and was named "Tai Shang Xuan Yuan Emperor", commonly known as "Tai Shang Lao Jun", and became a god with the same status as Buddhist Sakyamuni. Taoism was more important in the Song Dynasty. When Song Zhenzong (998- 1022) was in power, all the main temples were Taoist temples. In the seventh year of Jin Dading (1 167), Wang Zhongyang founded Quanzhen Sect, and his apprentice Qiu Chuji was treated with courtesy by Genghis Khan (1 162- 1227), and Taoist architecture spread all over the country, reaching its peak. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taoism turned from prosperity to decline.
For more than two thousand years, Taoist buildings have been built on the mountain, accounting for an absolute majority. This looks like Buddhist architecture, but Taoist architecture has its own unique ideological basis for this positioning.
First of all, under the influence of Taoism's basic ideas of "people everywhere, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows the nature", advocating nature, conforming to nature and returning to nature have become the inevitable pursuit of Taoism in architecture. Architecture should make use of the wild interest of mountains and rivers, combine with mountains and rivers, adapt to the environment, and at the same time, the site should conform to the laws of Yin and Yang and five lines of gossip, and integrate with mountains and rivers to achieve the harmony between technology, art and nature, and achieve "harmony between man and nature"
Secondly, the ultimate goal of Taoist practice is to achieve immortality, and these mountains are artificially endowed with the connotation of "fairyland". There are rich myths and legends in ancient China. Taoism believes that these legendary fairy residences are "Xanadu" in the inaccessible famous mountains except the vast ocean and nine days. "hole" means "access", which means that you can reach heaven; "Fu" means auspiciousness, which means that practicing there can make you immortal. Therefore, Taoism corresponds the real geographical location with these "caves and blessed land" and defines the location and environment of Taoist architecture.
In addition, there are mysterious demands such as practicing Qigong and alchemy. Taoism requires such a place to have a quiet and mysterious environment, and the mountain forest just meets this requirement. In the Taoist concept, alchemy is sacred and the alchemy room is inviolable, which also has a very important impact on the site selection and plane layout of temple buildings.
Some Taoist temples are located at the top of the mountain, which means high above and close to the sky. The temple is integrated with the sky, with a sense of transcendence and a fairyland atmosphere. There are also a large number of temples located on the slopes in foothills, terraces and ravines, facing the mountains and facing the water, with the sun in the shade. This is due to the consideration of traditional feng shui theory. This terrain is conducive to the diversion, convergence and recovery of "Qi", which is an organic combination of architecture and natural environment. Under the influence of various factors, Taoist architecture generally appears in famous mountains and holy places, such as Wudang Mountain in Hubei, Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan and Laoshan Mountain in Shandong. Because Taoism believes that immortals like to live in buildings and can be close to the Heavenly Palace, the "view" of welcoming immortals is often built in the palace view, which is a very high-profile building and has become one of its architectural features.
Laozi advocates materialism and frugality, which is fully reflected in the architectural form and material selection of the mountain temple. Although Taoism became the official religion, Taoist priests no longer lived in real caves and thatched cottages, but in temples and mansions with vivid images and beautiful environment. The building materials were basically produced locally, and the buildings were not exclusive to official buildings. They often adopted simple living practices and showed strong local characteristics.
Taoism is a polytheistic religion, with "Tai Shang Huang as the ancestor, Buddhism as the Sect and Confucius as the evidence", which is inclusive and makes the saints of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism highly respected in Taoist architecture. Due to the complexity of the immortals believed by various factions of Taoism, in order to facilitate the spread of Taoism, Taoism imitates the "three-body" theory of Buddhism and combines the highest gods of various factions to form the "Three Clearances". Therefore, Sanqing Hall occupies the most important position in all Taoist buildings and becomes the main hall in Taoist temple. In addition, Taoism also follows the Confucian patriarchal hierarchy system, which classifies other immortals and the buildings dedicated to them accordingly, which affects the plane layout of Taoist temples.
The Taoist temple dedicated to the gods is a typical temple building. Taoism really worships ancestors, and Laozi is the tallest among them. Therefore, the Sanqing Hall dedicated to ancestors in the Taoist temple is the main hall and the only hall, and Laozi's deity is enshrined in the center of the main hall. In addition to Sanqing Hall, there are many ancestral halls and old gentleman halls (pavilions) dedicated to Laozi. In addition, there are Jade Emperor Building (Hall), Notre Dame, Doulao Hall, Zhenwu Palace (serving Xuanwu God) and Sanguan Hall (serving big officials, local officials and water officials). Everyone enjoys a high standard and often lives on the main shaft with Sanqing Hall.
Most of the existing Taoist temples were rebuilt in Ming and Qing dynasties, and there were not many early relics. Yongle Palace was founded in the Tang Dynasty, originally located in Yongji County, Shanxi Province, and later moved to Ruicheng. Founded in the third year of Yuan Dynasty (1262), there are main buildings on the central axis, such as Shanmen, Wuji Hall, Sanqing Hall, Chunyang Hall and Chongyang Hall. Yongle Palace is the earliest Taoist temple in China, which completely retains the architectural features of the Yuan Dynasty. The Jade Emperor Temple in Fucheng Village, Jincheng also has some buildings in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, among which 28 are exquisite clay sculptures of the Yuan Dynasty with vivid shapes and skillful techniques. The mysterious temple in Suzhou was built in the Northern Song Dynasty and rebuilt in the sixth year of Xichun in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 179). It is 9 rooms wide and 6 rooms deep, with double eaves and nine ridges, and its scale is huge, from which we can see the approximate scale of Taoist temple in Song Dynasty. The ancient building complex of Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province was built in the Tang Dynasty, and in the thirty-first year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1552), a large building complex with 9 palaces, 9 temples, 72 rock temples and 36 halls was formed. The main building is the palace temple, which is built in a mountain basin or platform and has its own system. Rock Temple stands at the peak and is in danger. It has reached a very perfect state in architectural art and architectural aesthetics, and has a strong China. The Gongguan complex in Qingchengshan, Sichuan Province began in the Jin Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Taoist temple 1 1, natural, ancient and long-standing, has China Taoist cultural features and western Sichuan folk customs. It was listed in the World Cultural Heritage List in 2000.
There are many Taoist temples left over from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as Baiyun Temple in Beijing, Zhengyi School of Longhu Mountain in Guixi County, Jiangxi Province, Loutai Temple in zhouzhi county, Shaanxi Province, Qingyang Palace in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, etc. , are all famous.