Qin River image
Grounded
Shuangmen Shundi Temple
Text/Dong Chunhua | Photo/Zhang Xudong
In our north, no matter how big or small, there are village temples, and no one can say why. I think that the village temple, as a spiritual landmark on which the villagers live, may be related to the traditional culture of the Chinese. Just listen to the old people, every village temple has a moving story. These stories, because they are mythologized by people, are shrouded in a layer of mystery. As a result, the tall temple became a place full of mystery.
In the north of Jiaokou Village in Qinshui County, Shanxi, between the three mountains and the ridges, with the undulating terrain, the Shundi Temple, which stands majestically on a rock high hill, adds to its mysterious sense because of its different structure from other temples. Over the centuries, the Temple of Emperor Shun has gradually decayed through the sweeping of time, the baptism of war, man-made destruction, and the loneliness of faith. From the thirty-second year of Qianlong to the ninth year of Guangxu (1767-1883), after the recuperation of the "Kangqian Prosperous World", people began to have the energy to continue the hope and faith in their hearts, re-raise funds to repair the temple, and the Shundi Temple restored the exuberant incense of the past.
Shundi Temple, as the name suggests, is a temple built to worship Emperor Shun. Sima Qian once recorded in the "History of the Five Emperors": "The Mingde of the world began with Emperor Shun. "Emperor Shun, the legendary leader of the late alliance of patrilineal clan societies, surnamed Yao, had the Yu clan, the name Chonghua, known as Yu Shun, was born in Zhufeng Village, Yuanqu, Shanxi. Shun lost his mother at the age of 7, and after being abused and persecuted by his stepmother, he later fled to Dongping to Xiping (present-day Shunwangping, Qinshui, Shanxi), where he worked for 23 years until he was 30 years old before he was recommended by Yao to take over the government. The "History of the Five Emperors" also mentions that "in the 20th year of Shun, filial piety was heard." That is to say, Shun was famous for his filial piety at the age of 20. In the 13 years from the time Shun fled at the age of 7 to the age of 20, it was when Shun built warehouses in Alexandria, gave cattle and sheep, taught the people to harvest, and dehua the world, and the filial piety of the villagers around Alexandria was undoubtedly obvious to all, and he also admired him incomparably. So that later, in order to commemorate Shun, many villages near Alexandria built Shun Temple, and even the deep mountain villages of three or five families were not far behind. According to the statistics of relevant people, there were more than 100 Shun Temples built around the area at that time, but later with some human or natural factors, most of the Shun Temples were lost, but there are still more than 20 places, which shows the great influence of Shun's cultivation of Alexandria on the surrounding villagers. Among these large and small Shun temples, only the Shundi Temple in Jiaokou Village, Qinshui County, Shanxi Province, is the most distinctive.
It is said that the Jiaokou Shundi Temple is different from other temples because it has two mountain gates in the east and west. The shape of the two mountain gates is basically the same, the difference is only that the west gate has 20 steps and the east gate has 28 steps. Of course, this may vary depending on the height of the terrain. However, a temple has two mountain gates, which is not only different from the temples around Alexandria Mountain, but also rare in the history of Chinese temple architecture, so there has not been a reasonable explanation for this in the architectural community, so it has to be listed as a typical case of studying temple architecture.
Between the steps of the two mountain gates, there are two plates of stone mills with a diameter of about three meters. The stone pier in front of the West Gate is carved with a wat and a sword warrior, with fine lines and exquisite depictions. Who the civilian generals are and what stories they have, now that time has passed, no one knows anymore. Coupled with the exquisitely carved stone pillars, the leafy thousand-year-old whitebark pine outside the Xishan Gate makes the Xishan Gate look more and more beautiful. Dongshan Gate was used as a canteen and slaughterhouse for the brigade in the era of "breaking the four olds", and because of the construction of the school, the side corridor of the original box house on the east side was demolished, and later it became more simple and dilapidated. What we see now is that the present people have rebuilt it in order to restore the original appearance of the Shundi Temple.
The mysterious warrior warriors on the stone pier in front of the temple, the rare two mountain gates, and everything have become a mystery that has become difficult to solve with the dust and smoke of history. But history is like this, the more mysterious and more elusive, the more it can arouse our desire to explore.
It is said that there was a beautiful legend about the unique temple of The ShunDi Temple in Jiaokou.
According to legend, in his later years, yao, the leader of the tribal alliance in ancient times, wanted to find a brilliant heir, so he visited the sages of the world, and finally decided to pass the throne to Shun, who was filial to the world and had both moral integrity and ability, and planned to marry the eldest daughter Ying and the second daughter Empress Dowager to him. However, on the matter of who is right and who is biased, Yao and his wife have a dispute. Yao believes that for the sake of Jiangshan Sheji, which daughter is excellent is positive. But Madame believes that since the two people are married at the same time, and they are sisters, the palms of their hands and the backs of their hands are all meat, so naturally the sister should be the eldest and the younger sister should be partial. The couple argued for half a night, and finally Yao's words were fixed: "Don't argue, they are all our children, but they can only be one square and one side, so why not take this opportunity to test them?" Madame thought about it too. So the two decided to come up with three exam questions to test the female Ying and The Empress.
On this day, The Yao couple called their two daughters to the front, gave each of them a few small red beans and some dried firewood, and instructed the first to cook to win.
Sister Nüying did not dare to be sluggish, immediately made a fire to cook beans, she burned the fire very strongly, and after a while the water opened, the red beans churned up and down in the crock pot, and the cheeks of the female Ying were also reflected in the fire.
On the other hand, Emperor E was very calm, only to see that she put a bowl of cold water by the fire, and then stayed by the stove to cook beans, and when the water in the crock pot boiled for a while, she took the bowl of cold water and added a little to the crock pot; and boiled for a while and added a little. Sister Nuying saw it and couldn't help but remind: "Sister, it's so easy to open the water, why do you still add cold water?" Emperor E smiled: "Sister, so that you can cook quickly, I don't believe you look at it." Sure enough, when Emperor E gave the cooked beans to her mother, Nüying was still sweating profusely to add firewood to the fire.
The second question is that the sisters make a pair of shoes for Shunhe as a greeting gift to see who will make one shoe first. The preparation at the beginning was fine, and the sisters were on par. When kona's shoe sole, in order to save time for needles and threads, she simply twisted the hemp rope into a long rope. But who knew that this long rope hurt her, only to see that the rope seemed to be deliberately against her, and after a while it was knotted, and the female Ying had to stop the work in her hand to solve the knot. After a while, the knot was knotted again, and she stopped and untied it again. At dusk, the soles of Nü Yingna's shoes were still more than half untouched, and time was used by her to untangle the knots. Looking back at Emperor Eun, she twisted the hemp rope into multiple arms outstretched lengths so that each rope could be pulled out of the sole as quickly as possible. The sun hadn't set yet, and the soles of her shoes had finished.
Looking at the frustrated nu Ying, Lady Yao couldn't help but sigh. She pulled the corner of Yao's clothes: "Although the overall situation has been decided, how can Nuying say that she is also a sister, how can you let her be good in front of Emperor E in the future?" Yao thought about it, and it was indeed such a truth. Remembering that Shun was going to move to Pusaka in the near future, he told Nuying and Emperor Eun: "Well, Shun is going to Pusaka, and you two will also set off today, and whoever arrives in Pusaka first will be the eldest." As for how to go, you decide for yourself. ”
Nuying looked up just in time to see a mule tied to the yard, she thought, the caravan is tired to rest, delay time, livestock are more tired than people, it is better to choose mules.
Seeing that her sister chose a mule, Emperor E didn't think much of it, so she took a sedan to Pusaka. Unfortunately, the mule was halfway up the road and was about to give birth to a foal. Although the female Ying was in a hurry, she couldn't help it. This delay was even later than Emperor E's arrival at Pusaka. Nuying was very angry at the moment, so she ordered that in the future, mules would not be allowed to give birth to foals.
In the end, although Emperor E is positive and female Ying is biased, the kind Emperor E always gives courtesy to her sister. After a long time, the female Ying felt that the Emperor was sincere to her, and she did not care about the right side. Later, Shun toured the south and died in the land of Cangwu. The two sisters went to look for them, but they also died. In order to commemorate Shun and the Imperial Sisters, the villagers of Jiaokou built the Shuangmen ShunDi Temple, which means that Shun has two virtuous wives.
Those who hold such claims rely solely on the oral transmission of their ancestors, but do not provide any fragmentary written information that can prove this statement. The truth of history is impossible for people to verify today, so why this temple has two mountain gates is even more confusing. However, it is an indisputable fact that the double mountain gate of the Shundi Temple is an indisputable fact.
Jiaokou Shundi Temple sits north to south, majestic and magnificent, the whole building is quadrangular, covers an area of 785 square meters, the temple in the Qianlong Thirty-eighth Year (1773) in February rebuilt Shundi Temple West Corridor Stele records that it was built in the sixth year of the Yuan to Zheng (1346), nearly 700 years of history, and has been repaired many times in later generations. In front of the temple, a single-span circular arc stone arch bridge with a length of about ten meters extends, silently shouldering the heavy responsibility of trafficking silk salt and iron on the Jinyu Ancient Road for hundreds of years, and has also become a necessary way for villagers to enter the Shundi Temple to worship the saints, and at the same time facilitate people's lives, until today.
Inside the temple, there is an exquisite shadow wall in the east and west. Carefully discerned, it can be seen that the shadow wall was repaired in the later period, and the base is engraved with yin and yang tai chi, bagua and Buddhist Falun motifs. The three religions of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are one, and the monks and the Tao are also integrated. The seemingly contradictory pattern setting has unique characteristics of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Bypass the shadow wall and enter the temple. The existing buildings in the temple are dedicated to the hall, the main hall, the grandstand and the dance floor, etc. are all in the Style of the Qing Dynasty, and all the hall corridors have cornices, flower board arches or fine carvings, or Miao Shi Danqing, carved beams and paintings, which are beautiful.
To the north of the middle is the Dedication Hall. The dedication hall is generally a place where sacrifices are displayed, so as to make the sacrifice activities more solemn. The dedication hall of the Shundi Temple is a ridgeless architectural style, and what is striking is that the two stone pillars in front of the dedication hall are engraved with a red font that highly summarizes Shun's noble character of filial piety and legendary life: "The ruins of the near-lishan grievances and weeping have not been lost for thousands of years, and the wind and wind of Pusaka Mingliang's joy have survived for eternity." "Lishan in The Middle of the Yanglian Is the place where Emperor Shun cultivated and lived, and Pusaka was the place where Emperor Shun built his capital. The upper link tells the pain of labor and the family rift that King Shun suffered when he ploughed the Mountain; the lower link tells the merits and morals of King Shun's life, expressing the local people's admiration and remembrance of King Shun. The main hall behind the dedication hall is three rooms wide, with a single eaves hanging mountain roof, the hall was originally dedicated to Emperor Shun, but it was later vandalized, but the exquisite frescoes on the walls are well preserved. There are a total of 14 frescoes in the main hall, with an area of about 30 square meters. Among them, there is one wall in the east and west, the east wall is the "Five Old Guan Taiji Diagram", and the western wall is the "Fulu Shou Three-Star Map". The 12 murals on the central north wall are combined into a screen shape, and under each mural there is a "Fulu Shou" pattern in various fonts. The content of the murals is extensive, such as "Magpie Dengmei" and "Songhe Yannian"; the themes of the character stories include "King Wen Visiting Taigong" and "Xiao He Snow Chasing Han Xin at Night". These murals paint the legendary stories of the Ming Emperors and Sages of the Past, and when you browse around, you will suddenly feel that there are talents in the Jiangshan Dynasty. As for the paintings of flowers, birds and spirits, what is given to people is a beautiful blessing and a sense of historical aesthetics.
The most amazing thing is that this group of murals not only has a very good meaning, but also the composition color is just right, and the fineness of the painting is also superb. Among them, the characters are dressed in fluttering, the flowers, birds and animals are vivid and vivid, and the lines of landscape paintings are thick and distinct. According to the Shundi Temple, this group of murals was all made by Qiao Zheng, a folk painter in Qianlong in the 32nd year. It is just a pity that for Qiao Zheng's detailed information, there is no record in the historical materials.
The ear halls on both sides of the main hall are the Dragon King Hall, the Guandi Hall, the Mountain Shrine and the Lady Of Sending Daughters Hall, each hall has a mural. However, after the "four olds" were destroyed, the Shundi Temple was used as a public house in the village, the idols were removed, and some of the murals were destroyed to varying degrees. On the walls of the Lady's Hall, there are still dozens of children of different shapes or dressed in colorful clothes or belly pockets, each playing and playing, cute and interesting. The reason why the frescoes of the main hall can be well preserved is that the hall was used as a warehouse at that time, which survived. The most serious damage was the Dragon King Hall, which was requisitioned as a sanitation center at that time, so the frescoes in the store were covered with white ash. However, it is precisely because of these uses that the main body of the Shundi Temple has been preserved in that special era.
In addition, there was also a Black Dragon Lady Hall that was destroyed. Legend has it that there used to be a village girl with the surname of Zhang, whose appearance was ugly, and no one had come to the door to ask for relatives. One day, a girl surnamed Zhang went to a pond near the village to fetch water, and has never been seen since. A few years later, she wrote a letter to her family and was already married to the Black Dragon God King. Because of this relationship, every year in dry weather, as long as the people of Jiaokou Village ask for rain, the black dragon has every request. In order to thank the grace of the Black Dragon Lady, the people of Jiaokou Village built a monument to her.
However, later, in the "four old" movement, the Black Dragon Niangniang Hall was demolished, and now only a fragment remains, which seems to be silently telling people about the suffering and struggle of another era.
A temple dedicated to various gods and goddesses, as well as a full range of murals. Such a feast of sight and soul is rare in the folk. Looking at the entire Shundi Temple, Emperor Shun, The Dragon King, the Mountain God, the Guan Emperor, the Sending Lady and the Guanyin Niangniang, all the gods and immortals gathered here, had to make people sigh. At the same time as the fusion of Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist cultures, they are also moved by the philosophy of survival of the villagers, who pin their hopes on a temple, hoping that it can bless the smooth winds and rains, life and beauty of the world; and bless the people with peace and security and smooth things.
After a hundred years of vicissitudes, the former prosperity of the Shundi Temple in Jiaokou has rolled away with the wheel of history. Only the exquisite murals, inscriptions, and desolate and majestic ancient buildings that have survived in the temple record the former style of the Shundi Temple, highlighting the distinctive local characteristics and artistic value.
Today, the Shundi Temple in Jiaokou Village has been repaired several times, and it still stands high on the hill north of the village, because of the mysterious legend, it protects the villagers of Jiaokou from generation to generation and lives a peaceful and peaceful life. And the story of a temple and a double mountain gate is still passed on by word of mouth in the folk, from generation to generation...
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