Chaoyang Lingshan Temple scenic spot

In the 14th year of Yuanhe, Tang Xianzong (8 19), Han Yu, then assistant minister of Beijing punishments department, was demoted to Chaozhou as a secretariat because he angered Xian Zong by remonstrating with Buddha's bones. During my eight months in Chaozhou, I had two meetings with Dadian. In June 5438+10 of the same year, when I was about to leave Chaozhou for Yuanzhou, I made a special trip to Lingshan Temple for the farewell ceremony again. He is 88 years old and Han Yu is 5 1 year old. After some conversation, the two were still reluctant to part, and the ceremony personally sent Han Yu to the bridge outside the temple gate. Deeply moved, Han Yu took off his robe and gave it to the ceremony as a souvenir. Later generations built a "cloakroom" here to commemorate their friendship. Han Yu, a "hundred teachers" who was "the decline of eight generations of literature" and "the drowning of the world's Taoism", was originally demoted because he risked his life to persuade the emperor not to indulge in Buddhism. Why did he have such close contact with Buddhist monks after a whim? Scholars and bureaucrats are talking about it. Some people think that Han Yu has been influenced by Buddhism and Taoism, while others think that Han Yu has realized that he should not remonstrate with Buddha bones and regret his past behavior. How to treat this problem is still inconclusive. In fact, Han Yu rejected Buddhism that year, not because he was at odds with monks, but because the rampant Buddhism not only affected the tax revenue of the imperial court, but also caused great consumption of the state's financial resources. The contact with Diandian is purely a personal friendship, because Diandian is "quite clever and reasonable" and has a very speculative talk with him, but he "doesn't believe in his methods" (see Han Yu's Book with Meng Shangshu). This is a rather subtle story of the communication between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in history, which has caused many debates among scholars. How should we treat it? You can also think about it.

This is the main entrance of Lingshan Temple, and the inscription on the door is "Lingshan Temple for Protecting the Country". Why is it called "Lingshan"? It is said that the ceremony reserved to compare this place to jiusan in the West, and called it "Lingshan" gracefully. The title of the Hall of Protecting the Country was officially given to the plaque in the second year of Emperor Shizong of Tang Dynasty (822), but unfortunately the original thing no longer exists. In the Song Dynasty, the temple was renamed "Lingshan Kaishan Temple", and now the ancient monument of "A Gift to Lingshan Kaishan Temple" is still preserved in the temple. This is a rare stone tablet in the Song Dynasty. The inscription was written by Xu Shen, a Chaoyang scholar who is one of the seven sages of Chaozhou. This ancient monument carved with bluestone is also the physical evidence of the temple's "imperial kindness"

There are two "Lilian trees" in front of the yard. All varieties are "Gan Tang trees". It is said that these two trees have a history of 500 years, but they are still full of vitality and lush foliage. The trunk of a tree is thick and straight, but it is connected with each other, so it is called a connected tree. Locals call it "blood tree" because it will ooze a blood-red mucus after cutting the bark, just like human blood.

The temple is 39 meters wide and 74 meters deep. The front seat is Guanyin Hall, the middle seat is Daxiong Hall, and the back is the two-story Grand Ceremony Hall and the Tibetan Scripture Building. In the fifth year of Xiangfu in Song Dynasty (10 12), the first 278 volumes of Tibetan Scriptures translated by Emperor Zeng Qinci were collected in the Tibetan Scriptures Building. There are also 1500 volumes of Diamond Sutra written by Buddhist monks. However, after several disasters, the Tibetan scriptures no longer exist.

This is the famous Tongue Mirror Tower, the tomb of the founder of Lingshan Temple. Tang Changqing died here in the fourth year (824) at the age of 93 and was buried beside the temple. It is the oldest and most complete tomb in Chaoshan area.

Why is it called "Tongue Mirror Tower"? According to the Records of Chaoyang County, Qin Long in the Ming Dynasty, the Dadian Tomb Tower was rebuilt three years after its completion. Monks see the bones of the ceremony, and the armor is long, but they are rebuilt without moving; Late Tang Dynasty, rebuilt. After the tomb tower was opened, I saw that the bones had melted. "Only the root of the tongue is still alive." After repair, it is called "lingual mound"; During the Song-Daoist period, Zheng Shiming, a county magistrate, opened a tower to repair the tomb. When he saw that the base of the tongue in the tower had melted, only the "ancient mirror circle" was left, so it was later called "Tongue Mirror Tower". The shape of this tomb tower is Tang Dynasty style, with inverted bell-shaped and octagonal bases, surrounded by patterns of flowers, dragons and animals. Its carving and modeling have the characteristics of simplicity, vastness and solemnity of Tang Dynasty architecture. Due to the historical and artistic value of this tomb tower, 1978 has been listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Guangdong Province.

Finally, let's take a look at a tower high in Lingshan Temple-Thousand Buddha Pagoda. The tower is modeled after Miancheng Wenguang Tower, with a height of 19 m, seven floors and eight sides, and the top of the tower is stacked with hexagonal saws, which is exquisite and ingenious. The whole tower is made of granite, from the first floor to the third floor. There are more than 300 stone buddhas carved on the stone wall around each floor, and the total number of the three floors is *** 1000, hence the name "Thousand Buddha Pagoda". There are spiral stone steps in the tower. On the third floor, you can have a panoramic view of Lingshan. Also known as Lai Chi Path, it is behind Lingshan Temple. According to legend, the big shop planted thousands of lychees, made a copper bottle, a nectar bottle and poured it on thousands of trees. After sudden death, the bottle lost its tree and withered. The existing litchi forest has been replanted by monks.