A Bigan Temple, located in Weihui, Henan Province, is one of the important temple-tomb-integration complexes. It is the first ancestral temple in China that contains tombs for human sacrifices, and is known as "the first in the world." One temple”.
Historical origins and legends:
“Water spinach” is the most famous legend of Bigan Temple. It is said that after Bigan was brutally heartbroken by King Zhou, his loyal soul touched the heavens. The Jade Emperor sent Jiang Ziya to rescue him, asking Bigan to remain silent and ride south until he reached his heart (i.e. Xinxiang), where he could grow a new heart. He covered his robe in silence, with an earth-colored face, and rode southward. Unexpectedly, when he reached Makino, he encountered an old woman Daji had turned into blocking the road and selling water spinach.
Bigan asked: "Caizu can live without a heart, but what about people without a heart?" The old woman replied: "Caishes can live without a heart, but people will die without a heart." After hearing this, Bigan vomited blood. , fell off his horse and died. The loyal soul turns into green for thousands of years, and the red orifice seems to leave a cloud.
To this day, clumps of water spinach are still growing on the tomb of Bigan and in the fields around the temple. Water spinach has three leaves and no heart. People think it is the heart of Bigan's seven orifices.
The passing of history has erased people’s memory of ancient historical facts, and gradually evolved into this mysterious legend to express their respect and sorrow for Bigan.
Extended information:
Introduction:
Bigan Temple has been maintained by the government in the ancient city of Weihui throughout the ages. The existing building complex was rebuilt in the 7th year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty. Bigan Temple is an important building complex that combines temples and tombs. It is the first ancestral temple in China that contains tombs for worshiping people, and is known as "the best temple in the world." The temple is spacious, simple and spectacular.
The main building of the entire temple consists of the Shinto, the screen wall, the mountain gate, the second gate, the stele gallery, the wooden square, the side hall, the main hall, etc., with a total construction area of ??47,000 square meters.
The temple preserves many cultural relics of important value, and its calligraphy, sculptures, and architectural styles are of high taste and historical value.
Bigan Temple is a national key cultural relic protection unit announced by the State Council in 1996. It has now become a tourist attraction integrating tombs, temples and precious historical relics.
Bigan Tomb is the first recorded mound-style tomb in China. With its long history, complete layout, large scale, and rich cultural accumulation, the tomb occupies a pivotal historical position and is known as " The best tomb in the world."
There are many steles in Bigan Temple. From the Confucius sword steles in the Spring and Autumn Period to the imperial steles written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, there are 64 inscriptions, covering almost all dynasties in the history of our country.
Overview of architectural distribution:
The National Temple of God is a complex of temples and tombs. The existing basic layout is what it looked like after reconstruction during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty. The temple faces north and south, and the main buildings are distributed on the north-south central axis.
The stele arch, Shinto, Bigangong statue, screen wall, mountain gate, second gate, wooden square, stele corridor, worship hall, main hall, side hall, stone square and tombstone are basically intact. The temple is grand and spacious. The buildings are majestic, simple and spectacular, showing the ingenuity and artistic creativity of the working people in ancient China. ?
Climb the stone steps of Bigan Temple’s mountain gate and look up at the opposite side of the mountain gate. Standing majestically is a 6-meter-high and 10-meter-wide screen wall. It was a building built during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty. The pattern is neither a dragon or a phoenix, nor a sun, moon, clouds, and water. In the center of the front and back is a peony flower pattern made of 24 high-relief green glazed bricks. The flower roots grow in a vase, which symbolizes the prosperity of the Lin family's descendants. Tribes have the same origin.
Temple:
The temple faces north and south, and the main buildings are distributed on the north-south central axis. The main hall is on the top of the nine ridges of Xieshan Mountain, and the worship hall is located in front of the main hall and close to the main hall. The overall architecture is relatively intact, with the temples being grand and the buildings towering and simple and spectacular, showing the ingenuity and artistic creativity of the working people in ancient China.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Bigan Temple