Haohao Yan Zhaoge·Shijiazhuang Tour·Cangyan Mountain·"The only peak in Taihang Mountains is Cangyan"
Cangyan Mountain is located in Hujiatan, Jingxing County (now Cangyanshan Town) South of the village, 40 kilometers away from Jingxing County; the main peak, Balizhan, is 1,044.6 meters above sea level. It is known as "the most beautiful mountains in the five mountains, and the only peak in Taihang is Cangyan". Cangyan Mountain has been a famous mountain in Yanzhao since ancient times. It not only has beautiful natural scenery, but also has famous temples. Therefore, it was designated as a national key scenic spot in 1989.
The scenery of Cangyan Mountain is composed of a specific landscape skeleton. The mountain is divided into two peaks, east and west, facing each other; a north and south ridge stretches across the back; between the three is a huge valley with hundreds of feet of walls. The cliff at the bottom of the stream is rugged with strange rocks, the stream is gurgling, the white sandalwood is lush, the ancient cypresses are vigorous, the dangerous stacks are coiled, and the ancient temples are high in the sky. Just as Qiao Yu, the official minister of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in the poem "Huai Yuan Rui": "The two peaks face each other. Zhi Cuiwei, the bird path goes back and forth, the forest of Wanjie Temple is listed, and the ghost ax of Qianxun opens in the middle."
The beautiful natural scenery of Cangyan Mountain is integrated with the elegant temple architecture. The mountains, cliffs, rocks, forests, springs, streams and pavilions together form the Yanguan Suocui, Fengquan Jade, Academy Noon Yin, Bijian Ling Tan, Hanging Cloud Ladder, Cliff Inlaid with Beads, Bridge Hall Flying The sixteen sceneries of Cangyan Mountain include the rainbow, Juewan Huilan, the ancient tablets of Shangshu, the Dangerous Terrace of Dharma, the hidden secrets of Xuge, the sunset on Lufeng, the cypresses on the mountainside, the stone milk on the cliff, the birds singing in the empty valley, the opening of the sky, and the cattle. There are seventy-two temples including Jinzhai, Luantai Nao and Balizhan.
Our Lady of Cangyan
There were originally Zhigong Temple, Bei Temple and Fuqing Temple in Cangyan Mountain. The first two temples have been destroyed, but Fuqing Temple remains today. Fuqing Temple was originally named Xingshan Temple. According to legend, it was built in the Sui Dynasty. After the Zhenzong overhaul in the 7th year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Song Dynasty (1014), he was given a plaque of "Fuqing Temple" and changed its name to its current name. The temple is built on the cliff of a mountain. The ancients praised it as "thousands of views are in the valleys, and thousands of peaks are arched above."
The main hall of Fuqing Temple is the "Princess Temple". The temple is built half way up the cliff of Xifeng. It faces the east from the west, leans on the cliff inside and faces the cliff outside. It is three rooms wide, two rooms deep and has a single eaves. The top of the mountain is covered with glazed tiles. If it encounters steaming clouds and light smoke, it looks like the Brahma Palace in the distance. It is looming. Among the sixteen scenes of Cangyan Mountain, the "Xu Pavilion Hidden Secret" refers to the scenery of the Princess Temple.
The Princess Temple was built in the Jin Dynasty and was originally called "Princess Miaoyang Zhenrong Hall". According to legend, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty had three daughters. The youngest daughter was named Miaoyang, and she was known as the "Three Emperors Aunt". Miaoyang was beautiful and intelligent, and the emperor and empress loved her very much. One day, Emperor Wen wanted to test Miaoyang's literary talents, so he casually recited the first couplet: "Embroidered phoenixes are embroidered on the toes of shoes, and phoenixes dance in the shoes." He asked Miaoyang to write the second couplet. Miao Yang blurted out: "The fan is painted with dragons playing in the water, and the fan is shaken by the dragon flying." Emperor Wen praised it as wonderful. Miaoyang's intelligence made the two sisters very jealous, and they made things difficult for Miaoyang at every turn.
Later, Miaoyang was infected with ringworm, which could not be cured by any treatment. In a dream at night, the Buddha told him that there was a sacred spring in Cangyan Mountain, Jingxing, Hebei Province, and bathing in the spring water could cure the disease. Miao Yang then bid farewell to his parents and came to Cangyan Mountain. After taking a bath one day, he fell asleep. In a trance, he rode a horse and soared to the sky outside the clouds. He witnessed the Emperor Sakyamuni sending away the souls of the dead. From the treasure mirror, he saw the joys and sorrows of the world, honor and disgrace, and other scenes. Later, he was enlightened by Tianzun and determined to become a monk and practice in order to transcend the mortal world. After Miao Yang woke up, he soon recovered from his illness and decided to become a nun.
It is a royal disgrace for a princess to become a monk. The queen persuaded her in every possible way, and Emperor Wen severely reprimanded her, but to no avail, so she had no choice but to agree. Princess Miaoyang rushed to Cangyan Mountain. On the way, Quan encountered a fire while staying at Nanhua Temple. It is said that Emperor Wen sent eunuchs secretly to restore the emperor's dignity. The princess was rescued from the sea of ??fire by the white tiger and rode the tiger up Cangyan Mountain.
Emperor Wen burned the Buddhist temple and angered the Heavenly Lord, so he brought disaster to the palace. The emperor and his wife were covered with abscesses, which were difficult to heal after long-term treatment. One night, the Buddha told him in a dream that the sore could only be cured by brewing a decoction from his own daughter's hands and eyes. The elder and younger princesses heard that they would give their hands and eyes, but neither of them agreed. When the third princess learned about it, she resolutely offered her hands and eyes. After the emperor recovered from his illness, he built "Xingshan Temple" (later changed to Fuqing Temple) in Cangyan for the princess.
The inscriptions in the temple that describe the temple before Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty all refer to this anecdote.
During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, Yan Jiaju, the magistrate of Jingxing County, concluded after research that Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty had only two daughters, neither of whom was recorded as a monk. According to the "Book of Sui: Biography of Princess Nanyang", Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty's daughter named Princess Nanyang had become a monk. . When she was fourteen, she married Yuwen Shiji, the second son of Xu Guogong Yuwenshu. Later, Yu Wenshiji's brother Yu Wenhuaji killed Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty in Jiangdu (now Yangzhou) and took the princess back north. On the way, she was captured by Dou Jiande's army. Princess Nanyang decided to become a nun because her family and country were ruined. Yan Jiaju believes that when the princess of Fuqing Temple in Cangyan Mountain became a monk, she should be referring to Princess Nanyang. As soon as this was said, Nanyang replaced Miaoyang, and it was said that Princess Nanyang cured diseases and disasters for the people in the Cangyan Mountain area, accumulated virtues and promoted good deeds, and responded to all requests. The people respected her as the "Mother of Cangyan", commonly known as "Grandma".
Crossing the Tiger Mountain Climb
Enter Fuqing Temple and go up the stream. After passing the Eight Immortals Hall, there is a small temple halfway along the road. There is a statue of a princess riding a tiger up the mountain. It is called : "Mountain climbing across the tiger". According to legend, Emperor Wen sent people to burn down the Nanhua Temple. The princess was surrounded by the fire. Suddenly a white tiger ran from Nanshan. It carried the princess and flew towards Cangyan Mountain. The white tiger's carrying skills were poor and he threw the princess to the ground when he jumped into a ditch and crossed a stream. At this time, a long-haired monkey came and laughed at the tiger's incompetence. The princess stood up from the ground and said: "The tiger saved me, it has its virtues; it threw me to the ground, it has no skills. You can't ridicule or blame it, you can only tame it." She looked around and saw a cave halfway up the mountain. The entrance was narrow, but the inside of the cave was wide and flat. It was a good place for tiger taming. The princess ordered the long-haired monkey to ride the tiger and run seventy-two times in the cave. The tiger's carrying skills greatly improved. Then the monkey led the way, and the princess climbed up to Cangyan Mountain astride the tiger. Later generations named the cave halfway up Nanshan Cliff "Tiger Taming Cave". The tiger later got into a cave on the east peak of Cangyan Mountain. To commemorate the tiger's contribution, people named the cave "Tiger Cave". The divine monkey later stayed in Cangyan Mountain and went to the "Dharma Dharma Stage" every day to listen to the princess' sermons. According to the "Jingxing County Chronicle", there used to be hundreds of monkeys in Cangyan Mountain. During temple fairs, the monkeys would squat on the cliff to watch the excitement.
Planting the True Soul on the Immortality Stone
There are towering ancient trees on the valley bank at the bottom of Fuqing Temple in Cangyan Mountain. Among the many trees, the white sandalwood is the most unique. Many white sandalwood trees are more than a thousand years old, and their tree shapes vary from place to place: some grow in the gaps between rocks, with branches extending sideways, as if they are extending their arms to welcome you; some hang under the cliff, like green umbrellas hanging upside down; They were born among the rocks beside the stone path. Their roots looked like giant pythons drilling into cracks in rocks, and their galls were densely packed. What's even more surprising is that the little white sandalwood is relatively straight. Once it grows up, its heart and skin will peel off, and its trunk will be hollow, but it will still be lush and lush, becoming one of the wonders of Fuqing Temple. People named the thousands of peculiar white sandalwood trees at the bottom of the deep valley "Bijian Lingtan". "The rainbow arms are upturned to hold the green sky, and the dragon roots are holding the sun to explore the purple light. They don't admire the blue springs and red cliffs, they don't love the fertile soil but the poor hills. They have no intention and ambition. They have roots and leaves, but they don't like yellow." The predecessors vividly said. Describes the ecology, habitat and character of white sandalwood.
Why is the white sandalwood hollow and skinless? Legend has it that when the princess climbed the mountain across the tiger, the white sandalwood trees on the roadside stretched out their branches to express welcome. Unexpectedly, the branch caught the princess's dress, and the princess said smoothly: "White Sandalwood Tree! You are so unreasonable. You took advantage of someone's danger to plot against me. One day I will gouge out your heart and skin you!" Although Baitan was unjust, the princess's words were over. Exit, so the white sandalwood tree of Fuqing Temple in Cangyan Mountain has since become a hollow and skinless sacred tree. It is said that "it has shed all its mortal skin but not its roots" and "the true soul is planted in the stone of immortality".
"The grandmother of Cangyan Mountain shines far away but not close up"
From the west side of the Princess Temple, pass through Tongtian Cave and reach the top of the West Peak. There are three or five farmhouses on the top, terraced fields, where the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard, and the scenery of the fruit trees can be seen. The scenery here is called "Utopia". There is a small hill here called "Zhizhan Cangshan". There is a story circulating locally. In ancient times, there was a monk Zhigong (according to historical records, Zhigong, a native of Jinling, with a surname of Zhu and a given name of Baozhi). He became a monk in Daolin Temple at the age of seven and specialized in Zen. He was a famous monk in the Southern Dynasties and later became one of the Eighteen Arhats. 1) Before the princess went up the mountain, she had already been to Cangyan Mountain. Seeing the beautiful mountains and beautiful water, she wanted to build a temple here, so she inserted her sword into the mountain as a mark, and then traveled to various places. After the princess went to Cangyan Mountain, she learned that Zhigong had occupied the land first, but she was unwilling to leave, so she came up with a plan: she buried an embroidered shoe under Zhigong's sword. The latter two got into an argument and dug up mountains in front of everyone to see who could get something first.
After digging out Zhi Gong's sword, there were indeed princess embroidered shoes underneath. Zhigong had no choice but to leave in anger, and later built Zhigong Temple on Luantai Nao opposite Cangyan Mountain. The princess took over Cangyan Mountain and finally achieved success, and was respected as "Grandma" by the world. The local people all know the secret of Grandma's occupation of the mountain and sympathize with Zhi Gong. However, the faithful men and women who are far away from Cangyan Mountain do not know the details and especially worship her. This is the origin of "Grandma of Cangyan Mountain, she shines far away but not close".
Flying Rainbow in the Bridge Hall
The Bridge Hall in Fuqing Temple is the most amazing and beautiful scene in Cangyan Mountain. Visitors here are all amazed by its wonderful structure. The golden tablet in the temple records that during the Dading period of the Jin Dynasty (1162-1189), Zen Master Yangong of Tianning Temple in Pingding Prefecture, Shanxi Province came to Fuqing Temple to visit and worship. He saw monks and pilgrims "coming to the south of the stream and going to the north of the stream. The roads were dangerous and extremely inconvenient." ”, and then suggested that “if you get a bridge, you can’t add more good things.” Master Zhijian of Fuqing Temple responded and said, "Wonderful." After raising funds from many parties, a single-empty stone arch bridge was finally built over the cracked stream, which was more than 40 meters deep and only a few meters wide. Then a palace was built on the bridge, so it was called "Biaolou Palace".
The Bridge Tower Hall is not only a traffic bridge for traveling between the north and south of Shenjian in Fuqing Temple, but it is integrated with the topographic environment of Shenjian and cliffs here, and it also constitutes a unique and unique among the famous ancient temples in China. scene. When tourists look up from the bottom of the stream, the bridge is like a flying rainbow and the palace is like a Brahma Palace. "The embroidered wall is divided into two parts, with green and green branches, and the sky is as golden as a rainbow." (Poetry of Liang Hanzhen, a famous scholar of Qing Dynasty) "Looking into the Hongqiao of thousands of feet, the skylight and clouds are flying across the bridge." (Three Poems of Wu Jun, a famous scholar of Qing Dynasty) Someone else described it like this: " The bridge builders on the two cliffs look like they are riding a rainbow in the sky. Looking up at the soaring heights, they feel like they are reaching the Heavenly Palace. If you climb up the 360-step "hanging cloud ladder", you can see the palace. There is a couplet in cursive script hanging in front: "There is no lamp in front of the palace, so the moon shines, and the mountain gate is unlocked to wait for the clouds to fly." Because this place is located in the middle of the mountain, with cliffs on both sides, there is a cracked stream in the middle, and the clouds and mist gather here, and the palace is looming. Whether the arch bridge stops or moves, it really feels like you are in a fairy palace in heaven. "You can't see the way back when you lean on the railing, and the sunset is hidden in the boundless vastness."
Hebei Cangyan Mountain Bridge Tower Hall
It is said that the construction of the Bridge Tower Hall was quite difficult, especially the cutting of stones and stone masonry on a deep stream with a depth of more than 40 meters, which made Master Zhijian very happy. worry. Fill it with soil. Where did there come from so much soil on the mountain? Fill it with rocks. If you have to dig out rocks from the mountain, it will destroy the feng shui of the temple. Let's build wood, but I'm afraid the wood won't hold up. A year has almost passed, and it is already cold weather. Master Zhijian is pacing under the cliff. He suddenly looks up and sees that the dripping water under the cliff at the head of the ditch has formed huge icicles. The master suddenly realizes that if he fills the stream with firewood, it will lead to icicles. Freezing the spring water saves labor and is also strong. After the bridge is repaired in winter, the ice in the warm firewood will naturally melt in spring and summer. This is the so-called "firewood freezing method." The Bridge Tower Hall can be said to be a masterpiece of ancient Chinese architecture, both in terms of site selection and scenery, as well as bridge-building techniques.