Tianqi Temple, it is mentioned in the novel that Jia Baoyu was ill and went to Tianqi Temple to make a wish after he recovered. The Tianqi Temple here is actually the Dongyue Temple commonly known among the people. Many years ago, Dongyue Temple was built all over China, dedicated to the Emperor Dongyue, and the characters inside were ferocious. According to legend, Emperor Dongyue is the mountain god of Mount Tai. Because everyone's life and death are in the hands of the world, you can still see the underworld in the temple. In those days, as long as people were sick or unlucky, they would worship the Emperor Dongyue at Dongyue Temple to make a wish. Jia Baoyu in A Dream of Red Mansions recovered from his illness, and his grandmother invited him to Tianqi Temple to burn incense and make a wish. According to relevant research, there are actually two apocalypse temples in Beijing, one at Hongshankou in the western suburbs and the other outside Chaoyangmen. Cao Xueqin, the author of the associative novel, writes books in Xishan area, so many people think that the Tianqi Temple in Hongshankou, a western suburb, is probably the temple mentioned in the novel.
Shuiyue Temple, located in the West Lake where the willow waves smell warbler, appears in the fifteenth chapter of the novel. Hosted in the temple, clean and empty. Because the steamed bread in the temple is delicious, it is also called the steamed bread temple. But in fact, Shuiyue Temple is not a Buddhist place. Once Wang Xifeng went to live in Shuiyue Temple, and the owner asked her to use the influence of Jia's family at that time to help her solve a lawsuit. She said that Wang Xifeng agreed, but the ending was to kill two lives. Not only is the nun clean and empty, but even her disciples have not kept the precepts and done all kinds of bad things. It is understood that Shuiyue Temple refers to the Millennium Iron Gate (Iron Threshold Temple), implying the royal family, while Shuiyue Temple refers to the grave, telling us that life and death are instantaneous.
Cuiqi Temple is a religious building, where Miaoyu practices, located in the Grand View Garden. The novel about the layout of this building is not detailed, only the wing, the East Zen Hall and the mountain gate are mentioned. I also wrote that Lin Daiyu also enjoyed tea and plum blossoms here, so what impressed readers most was the plum blossoms in Cui Temple. Miaoyu practiced with her hair, but in the process of practicing, she still couldn't stop yearning for the world of mortals. So it is difficult for us to judge whether this place is a nun or buddhist nun. In addition to Miaoyu, Xichun once lived.
Prison temple, as its name implies, is the great god in charge of prison. What is written in the novel is that Wang Xifeng, as the general manager, maliciously collects usury in his life. Baoyu copied a list for her at that time and put her in the prison temple together. Usually, this temple is for prisoners to worship. In fact, the prison temple is also a prison. Later, Jia Baoyu was released from prison, and Wang Xifeng died in the prison temple, which may also imply the decline of the Jia family.
The Hulu Temple mentioned in the novel was next door to Zhen's house, but it was later destroyed by a fire, and Zhen also declined. In addition to treachery, Jia Sidao in history later became a traitor. In fact, he also likes to collect all kinds of paintings and calligraphy. From his collection, we can see that all the bells are covered with gourd prints, so Hong Sheng called Jia Sidao's home "Hulu Temple", which is a wonderful source.
Zhitong Temple, the novel says that Jia Yucun worked as a teacher for Daiyu in Fu Lin after being dismissed from office. One day after Jia Min's death, Jia Yucun accidentally broke into the temple while walking. Only the old monk Longzhong is cooking porridge in the temple. Although it looks ordinary, this old monk is the one who really sees through the world of mortals. This is a mirror image of Dai Yu and others who later saw through the feelings in the world. From this perspective, Cao Xueqin actually told us the ending in this place, but when we read the novel, we were in the world of mortals like Jia Yucun and didn't see through it, so we had to follow the plot of the novel. It was only after Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and others experienced all this that we suddenly realized.
In fact, in addition to the temples mentioned above, there are Jade huang temple, Dizang Temple, Desert Temple and Muni Temple. Every temple in A Dream of Red Mansions was actually hidden by the author Cao Xueqin. The appearance of monks and Taoists in the novel can let us know what they are doing behind the scenes. It is in this way that we understand why Cao Xueqin used Jia Baoyu's mouth to slander Taoism and the crooked ways in Buddhism. Buddhism is the truth of the world, and many people don't believe in cause and effect, but later they all suffered the corresponding tragic ending.