After Qin Shihuang unified China, he sent alchemist Xu Fu to the East China Sea to look for the elixir of life, but found nothing.
In the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also dreamed of immortality, but the search was still fruitless, so he ordered to dig a big pool in the north of Chang 'an, named Taiye Pool, and three rockeries were piled up in the pool, named after Penglai, Yingzhou and abbot respectively.
Since then, emperors of all dynasties have liked to build royal palaces in the form of "a pool with three mountains". It seems that only in this way can I live forever like a fairy.
Yongding River originates from Sanggan River in Shanxi, Yanghe River in Inner Mongolia Plateau in Hebei, flows through Beijing and Tianjin, then enters Haihe River, and finally pours into Bohai Sea.
After the Yongding River moved south, it left a Yuan Ye and a pond with an island named Yaoyu in the water. The terrain is very similar to the pattern of "one pool and three mountains", so it has become a treasure trove of geomantic omen for the royal family in past dynasties.
In 938 AD, after Lu Ye Deguang, Emperor Taizong of Liao Dynasty, established Yanjing as its capital, Yao Yu Palace was established in Bailiantan, a suburb in the northeast of the city. Due to the accumulation of soil in the lake, an island in the water has gradually formed, which is called "pebble".
According to Liao History, there is a pavilion on the top of Xicheng, Yanjiao Building, Fangshi and Guan Jing in the northeast corner, and there are countless books.
"Qionghua Island was Yaoyu Island in Liao Dynasty" recorded in Hongwu Beiping Atlas can prove the existence of "Yaoyu Palace".
After the state of Jin destroyed the state of Liao, Yanjing was changed to "Zhongdu". 1 150 years, that is, in the second year of Tiande, Wan Yanliang of King Jin Hailing expanded the "Yaoyu Palace" and added the "Daxiong Hall".
From 1 163 to 1 179, Wan modeled Qionghua Island on Genyue Garden in Bianliang, Northern Song Dynasty, and brought a large number of Taihu rocks from Genyue Imperial Garden to build rockery caves. In the northeast suburb of Zhongdu, Daning Palace was built around Yaoyu.
Mud dug in the lake is also used to expand Qionghua Island and dome. At the same time, Guanghan Temple was built on Qionghua Island, and a temple was also built on the dome, which is far away from Guanghan Temple. Since then, a region centered on Yaoyu has gradually formed the pattern of a palace.
At that time, the land excavated by Jinhai was expanded into islands and hills around the sea. The island is called Qionghua Island, and the water is called Xihuatan. Buildings such as Guanghantang have been rebuilt.
1260, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, became the fifth "Great Khan" of the Mongolian khanate in Kaiping. In order to capture the Southern Song Dynasty and control the northern Mongolian ministries, Kublai Khan accepted the advice of his cronies Batulu and Liu, and decided to build the capital in the original place of Jinzhongdu.
Because Jinzhongdu was completely destroyed by Mongolian army in 12 15, Kublai Khan adopted the plan of Taibao Liu Zhongbing and chose Daning Palace in the northeast suburb of Jinzhongdu as the center to establish a new capital. Before the new capital was built, Kublai Khan often lived in Daning Palace.
When the Yuan Dynasty was built, a stone letter was excavated under the Sakyamuni stupa at the site of Ai 'an Temple. There is a small iron tower in the stone letter, which contains a copper bottle with 20 pieces of Sakyamuni Buddha relics.
What is even more peculiar is that there is a copper coin at the bottom of the bottle, on which the words "Zhiyuan Bao Tong" are cast. Kublai Khan was very happy when he heard about it, because his title was Zhiyuan, and the copper coins buried in Taki more than 0/00 years ago actually had the title of Zhiyuan. Isn't it that God is suggesting that this "Zhiyuan Emperor" is really the only thrill?
In addition, Kublai Khan formulated the national policy of "ruling the country with Confucianism and governing the mind with Buddhism", and the appearance of Buddhist relics is more conducive to the implementation of the national policy of "governing the mind with Buddhism".
In addition, Kublai Khan himself is a Buddhist. He respected Basiba, a monk of Tibetan Buddhism, as the "imperial teacher" and accepted the "King Kong initiation ceremony" held by Basiba. He hopes to use the magic of Buddhism to bless the mountains and rivers, and of course he is worshipping Buddhism to strengthen Tibet's submission to the imperial court.
127 1 year, Kublai Khan ordered the construction of a huge stupa in order to worship the relics and bless Dayuan Mountain forever. The inscription on the Sakyamuni stupa built by imperial edict at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty clearly pointed out that to build a new capital, it is better to build a tower and raise dragons on the basis of happiness, so as to benefit the country for a long time.
Because Kublai Khan took Tibetan Buddhism as the state religion, he chose Anika, a Nepalese craftsman who was proficient in Tibetan Buddhist pagodas and was recommended by Emperor Basiba, to be responsible for the design and supervision of the White Pagoda of Ai 'an Temple.
"Pagoda" is a transliteration of ancient Indian Sanskrit "Pagoda". Buddha relic is a small particle condensed after the cremation of Sakyamuni's body. It is a popular practice for believers in ancient India to build towers to worship Buddhist relics. The style of Tibetan stupa comes from ancient India.