Best time for Zhongde Temple: all year round
Zhongde Temple, formerly known as Zhongling Temple, is located in Changsheng Township, Kedong County. It is a well-known religious tourist attraction. It was built in the third year of Xuantong (1911). There are temple activities on the eighth, eighteenth, twenty-eighth and ninth day of September in the lunar calendar. Zhongling Temple is a Taoist site. Taoism originated from ancient witchcraft. The magical alchemy of the Qin and Han Dynasties was founded by Zhang Daoling of the Eastern Han Dynasty and became popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Taoism regards Laozi as its ancestor. Taoists respectfully call Zhang Daoling the Heavenly Master and Laozi as the Supreme Lord. Its basic belief and doctrine is Tao. It believes that Tao is the system of nothingness, the root of creation, the foundation of gods, the creation of heaven and earth, and the five elements that form the universe, yin and yang, and all things are born from it. It reached its peak during Yuan Taizu (1260-1227).
It is said that during the Qing Dynasty, there was a monk from Mount Wutai traveling north with a burden. There was always a phoenix leading the way, and the monk followed the phoenix northward with great pains. Arriving here, Phoenix stopped. There were three trees here at that time: a sycamore tree, a pear tree, and a peony tree. The phoenix landed on the sycamore tree, indicating that it would settle here. The monk immediately put down his burden. He immediately thought: The Phoenix will never fall without treasure. He thought this was a geomantic treasure land and decided to build a temple to benefit the people. The monk then inspected the topography of the village. The land was shaped like lotus petals, with lotus petals on all sides and a plain in the middle. The Taoist priest took a fancy to this treasure land and began to beg for alms. He transformed into land, wood and money. After everything was ready, construction started in the eighth year of Kant's reign in the Puppet Manchukuo. The main hall has three floors, divided into front, middle and back, with wing rooms on the left and right, named Dongtian, Fudi, Fulu and Jixiang. The two corners in the front are bell and drum towers, which is the famous Zhongling Temple.
Changsheng Township, where Zhong Lingguan is located, was under the jurisdiction of Baiquan County before liberation and was placed under the jurisdiction of Kedong County in 1948. Zhonglingguan was severely damaged during the land reform. Only three main halls made of blue bricks, four side corridors and a cast iron bell remain of the original building.
The people in charge of the construction of Zhonglingguan were Lu Xuancai and Taoist priest Ma Xuanliang. Later, more than a dozen Taoist priests including Zheng Wenhui came to the temple successively. When it was first built, the temple was an earth-and-grass structure house with five halls, each with five rooms. There are temple activities on the eighth, eighteenth, eighth and ninth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. The location of Zhongling Temple is commonly known as the Red Eye Hatang (swamp). It is surrounded by water all year round and the transportation is extremely inconvenient. In 1905, a man named Yu Dao from Huaide County, Jilin came to Beidahuang to build a house and settle down. At that time, he built a house on the south bank of the Runjin River. Because the terrain was close to the river and was relatively low, the people nearby called the village "Wazi Yu Tun". (Today's Team 7 of Bao'an Village). When Shanghuang was born, his gun went off and Yu Jun was killed. Therefore, the Yu family gave his wife forty homes in Xu's retirement home and adopted their son. Soon, as a sign of piety, Mrs. Yu donated all her retirement land to the temple. Lu Xuancai and Ma Xuanliang were responsible for building the temple and enshrining Xu's tablet in the temple. Later, the Yu family donated forty acres of good land to the temple, so they called the old Yu family Shandong. As the land increased and the number of Taoist priests increased, Taoist monks such as Zheng Wenhui and Li Yuansheng began to go out to seek alms. At the same time, the temple employs some long-term and short-term workers as well as iron, wood, stone and other craftsmen. In its heyday, the temple had more than 20 Taoist priests, more than 50 workers of various types, and five or six carts. In addition to cultivating more than 100 acres of land, it also opened up ways to make money by burning bricks. Due to the increase in capital accumulation, temple reconstruction began in 1934. The rebuilt Zhongling Temple is entirely a brick structure. The Shanmen Hall (Horse Hall), the three-story main hall, the east and west corridors, and the tall bell and second floor were built successively. The cornices and bright windows are all exquisitely carved, and there are painted murals and reshaped golden Buddha statues in the temple. The golden walls of the entire temple are magnificent and magnificent. It is a famous Taoist temple within a hundred miles nearby. Because the temple site was originally a swamp, after the temple was rebuilt, the surrounding water level dropped year by year, so this place was considered to be a geomantic treasure. Many faithful men and women came to the temple to burn incense, make wishes, and donate money. Therefore, the fireworks were very popular for a while.
Zhong Ling Guan is built from the north to the south, with a rectangular plane. Two flagpoles about 20 meters high stand on both sides in front of the temple. Located at the southernmost end of the central axis of the temple is the Shanmen Hall (Horse Hall), with one room on the east and west sides, and a clay sculpture horse in each hall.
Each floor of the main hall was rebuilt and expanded on the original basis, and the original carvings and paintings were restored. The cypress trees planted along the corridors in the temple further enhance the tranquility and elegance of the entire temple.
Zhongde Temple has now become a famous Buddhist temple far and wide. There are grand Buddhist activities every eighth, eighteenth and twenty-eighth day of the old calendar. At that time, devout men and women came in droves. The temple door is wide open, incense smoke is burning in each hall, and the sound of wooden fish and sutras are constantly heard. Merchants and merchants gather in the streets outside the temple, and there is an endless stream of tourists. It is very lively. The Zhongde Temple, which is under development, has become a pleasant tourist attraction with its exquisite architecture and rich religious culture.
The iron bell in Zhongde Temple is well preserved. The bell is in the shape of a traditional bell. The whole bell is cast with 23 templates. The height of the bell body is 1.41 meters, the height of the bell is 1.93 meters, and the waist circumference of the bell is 3.34 meters. , wall thickness 3 cm, weight 680 kg. The hanging ring of the bell is made of two curled dragons, with their heads downward and their mouths open. There are four equidistant round holes on the top of the bell. The radius is 10 cm and is used to transmit knocking sounds. Under the round hole, there is a zigzag-shaped decorative belt with a width of about 10 cm. There is a cast of "Wansheng Wansheng" on the front and a dedication word on the back. Under the yang pattern frieze is cast the year of Kant of the Manchu Empire, Gengchen, September, and the Double Ninth Festival. The bell spirit of the audience, the public, is cast with the characters above and below it are the twelve zodiac signs. The pattern is vivid and lifelike. Below the pattern are eight groups of seven-character poems:
Pray to ancestors, worship ancestors, and be sincere to God
Love all living beings and help the orphans and the poor
Fifty-five points contain good fortune
The Thirty-sixth House Matches Human Relations
Lingshan Dharma Conference Sutra
The Causes of the Four Saints and Six Mortal Species
The Three-Hearted Empty Man I
Earth, Heaven, and Source are all serious
Dazhong Zhizheng Tianxin
Create yin and yang to transform the universe
Hetu Luoshu Xiantian Reverse
The stars turn and the new year begins
Wanshu is all natural
Weigh the weight to build a gold ship
Waiting for the name of the pearl to be revealed
It is auspicious to sit in court and ask questions
The sound of bells reaches the earth and the sky
Dahua Hongkai Global Security
National Games and the Twelve Years of Prosperity
The Five Religions Jointly Police Three Thousands
One point of Taiyun will open up nothingness
Throughout the whole week and change the wall chart
The yellow beam has reached the shore of the road.
The white snow spirit bud makes a fool of the house
The holy fruit of the water spirit has been formed early
Educating the three thousand people of Yuhou
Qi Zhan Sutra Lun opens up fortune
Everyone sends out his wishes to close the dust
Ingenuity activates all things to enjoy
Fish leaps and kites fly, purple aura condenses
One piece Hetu Qiankun Ding
Sanhui Longhuaqing Shengping
The lower end of the bell is cast with a fringe decorative skirt, and has Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun and Dui. The eight big characters and eight hanging patterns mean that the Buddha bell rings every year and the sound is heard in all directions. The inner wall of the bell is cast with sun patterns, and there are 272 Chinese characters in the whole bell.