Recently, the National Botanical Garden was officially inaugurated in Beijing. The predecessor of the National Botanical Garden was the Beijing Botanical Garden, which was founded in the 1950s and is home to hundreds of thousands of flowers and trees. According to the "Beijing Botanical Garden", there are "1197 ancient trees and famous trees in the park, 121 first-class ancient trees and 1076 second-class ancient trees and famous trees over 300 years old." "Behind some of these ancient trees are little-known anecdotes.
Ancient Ginkgo Biloba: Zheng Banqiao once wrote poetry for it
On the east and west sides of the gable of the Reclining Buddha Temple III in the National Botanical Garden, there is a tall ancient ginkgo tree, and on the east side, a trunk diameter of 121 cm, a tree circumference of 380 cm, and a height of 22.5 meters, grow strong, next to four young trees, the thickest one has a chest diameter of 60 cm. On the west side, a tree is nearly 20 meters high, with a dry diameter of 103 cm and a tree circumference of 323 cm, which is also strong, with three young trees next to it, and the thick chest diameter is 50 cm. These two ancient ginkgo trees are male and female in the east, and are said to have been planted when the temple was founded, and have a history of thousands of years. The giant umbrella-like canopy guards the temple, and in late autumn, the bright yellow fan-shaped leaves flutter like colorful butterflies, which are particularly brilliant against the background of blue sky and red walls.
Wat Pho Ginkgo Tree
In the first year of the Qianlong Dynasty (1736), Zheng Banqiao, one of the "Eight Monsters of Yangzhou", entered Beijing for the third time and participated in the temple examination in front of the Taihe Hall Danqi (steps), "The eighty-eighth jinshi of the second class of the middle class, who was born as a jinshi." To this end, he specially painted the "Okra Stalagmite Diagram" and inscribed a poem: "Peony Rich And Noble Flower King, Peony Medicine Harmony and Zai Xiang." I also ended up being called a jinshi, along with Dangui Yuanlang. "The joy is palpable. However, winning the jinshi does not mean that there are officials to do, and Zheng Banqiao, who has no patron in the DPRK, has to live idly in Beijing to find the ancient temple Zen forest in Gyeonggi.
One day in late autumn, when Zheng Banqiao was riding a horse to find the famous temple of Xishan Mountain, he came to the Reclining Buddha Temple at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, visited the famous monk Qingya monk in the temple, and drank tea with him under the ginkgo tree while talking about Zen Buddhism. It was a cold autumn, and the ancient ginkgo biloba trees were full of "golden armor", and Zheng Banqiao improvised a poem: "The west mountain is willing to tie the green of the ten thousand mountains, blowing through the thick clouds as cold smoke." Horses follow the Yellow Leaf Temple, rain and rice ripen in early autumn. The "Yellow Leaf Temple" in the poem refers to the Reclining Buddha Temple, and the "Yellow Leaf" refers to two ancient ginkgo trees in the temple that are dyed golden by the autumn wind.
Ishigami Cypress: "Wooden Stone Former Alliance" or from this
Located in the cherry ditch northwest of the National Botanical Garden, Ishigami Cypress is also known as Ishigami Pine and Ancient Juniper, which is actually an ancient cypress that grows on a huge dangerous rock that is condescending, and this tree has been recorded in ancient times.
Cherry ditch stone on cypress
In the eleventh year of Qing Shunzhi (1654), Sun Chengze, a former imperial scholar, lived in seclusion in Cherry Valley at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, spent more than twenty years studying the history of Beijing, and wrote the "Remnants of Dreams of Chunming" and "Tianfu Guangji". It is described in the "Yulu of Chunming Dreams" of Shishang Pine: "Duyankou ancient juniper, the root out of the two stones between the place, circling around, hanging upside down, can be hundreds of circumferences." The color is as red as dansha, and the lady cannot slander it by plucking the (fǔ) dragon and slandering it, so that the truth should be so juniper. It is also the wonder of the rock. Mao Rui, a native of Liangzhou (present-day Wuwei County, Gansu Province) in the Ming Dynasty and the governor of Caoyun, once traveled here and saw a pine tree standing proudly between the mountains and stones, with flowing water in the ditch and elegant scenery, so he gave a poem: "The monk is in danger, and the stone is standing on the pine." He hesitated to come out of the water and sat in a circle. From this, it is inferred that this ancient tree has a history of nearly five hundred years.
This ancient cypress is planted on a boulder on a high slope of more than 10 meters high and 4 meters wide, growing from the cracks between the boulders, the tree is more than 7 meters high, the trunk diameter is 35 centimeters thick, although the growth is average, but because of the special tree site and its tenacious vitality, it is indeed rare. Its roots are thick, as long as a giant python, crowding the entire stone crevice, so Sun Chengze recorded as "circling and winding, hanging upside down on the outside", is a well-known spectacle of Cherry Valley, listed as an ancient tree, for special maintenance.
According to legend, when the Qing Dynasty literary scholar Cao Xueqin lived at the foot of the West Mountain, in order to write "Dream of the Red Chamber" (originally "Stone Record"), he often went out to visit, collect creative materials, and came to Cherry Valley many times to explore the ancient world. When he saw the stone cypress on the cliff, he stopped for a long time, inspired by this, and suddenly had inspiration, and conceived the love story of Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu - "Mushi Qianmeng". "Wood" refers to Lin Daiyu, and "stone" refers to Jia Baoyu. Therefore, the first cloud of "Dream of the Red Chamber": "This matter is funny, only because there is a daisy grass on the bank of the Western Spirit River, and sometimes there are waiters of the god Ying of the Red Flaw Palace, who irrigate with manna every day, and this daisy grass has to last for a long time." Later, after being nourished by the essence of heaven and earth and nourished by rain and dew, he had to shed the grass tire wood, change his human form, and only cultivate a female body. That is, the "Divine Attendant" is Jia Baoyu, and in his previous life, he was a stubborn stone. "Daizhu grass" is Lin Daiyu, in the past life, it was Daizhu Immortal Grass, and "Daizhu Grass" is used as a metaphor for "wood".
In the early years, there was a folk song in the Xiangshan area: "Retreat Valley (Cherry Valley) Stone Pine (Cypress), known as Wood Stone Edge." Boulders are rugged and sweet. Crazy Monk Cave on the mountain, White Deer Rock below the mountain. Cao Gongsheng flower pen, Bao Dai forever passed on". This folk song connects Cao Gong with "Dream of the Red Chamber" and the "Three Gems" of Cherry Valley (Water Source, Yuan Gem, and Shi Shangbai).
Ancient Wax Plum: "Mei Kai Twice" crown of the capital
In front of the Heavenly King Hall of the Reclining Buddha Temple, there is an ancient wax plum, the date of its planting is not exactly recorded, it is said to have been planted during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty (another legend, planted in the Yuan Dynasty or the Qing Yongzheng period), with the reputation of "the crown of the wax plum in the capital".
This ancient wax plum, dozens of branches in a radius of less than one meter to break out of the soil, up to three or four meters high, generally at the end of February, early March every year. The earliest flowering period was in December, the waxing moon of the lunar calendar. When the flower blooms, the outer layer of the petals is yellow, the inner layer is lilac, the fragrance is very strong, and it is called "Nine Ying Plum" in botany.
According to legend, one year in the waxing moon, the Qianlong Emperor was stationed in qingyi garden (now the Summer Palace). After staying for a few days, someone sang it and said that the wax plum blossoms of the Ten Square Pujue Temple (Reclining Buddha Temple) in the west of Beijing had bloomed. Qianlong was extremely happy, and it was a great elegant thing to watch the flowers blooming in the middle of winter, so he got up and drove to the Reclining Buddha Temple to explore the plums. When he came to the Heavenly King's Hall, he saw a cluster of wax plums blooming with all yellow flowers, fresh and delicate, and compared with the dead yellow leaves, it looked so delicate and pleasing to the eye.
This ancient wax plum once withered, and then it sprouted new shoots and grew luxuriantly, so it was also called "second degree plum". It is said that cao Xueqin's "Dream of the Red Chamber" wrote that the begonias in Yihongyuan withered for a year, and suddenly re-bloomed the following year, attracting Jia Mu and others to feast, which was taken from the material of the "second degree plum" of the Reclining Buddha Temple. Some scholars believe that Cao Xueqin lived near the Reclining Buddha Temple in her later years and created "Dream of the Red Chamber", which may have been inspired by the "Mei Kai Twice" of the Reclining Buddha Temple.
Crooked neck locust: or for Cao Xueqin in front of the door tree
In front of the Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall in the National Botanical Garden, there are three huge ancient locust trees, which are famous trees in Beijing. The first ancient locust tree on the west side is 20 meters high and has a trunk circumference of 4.9 meters, which is one of more than a dozen thick ancient locust trees with a trunk circumference of about 5 meters in The Beijing area. The second trunk has a circumference of 3.7 meters. The most famous tree is the "crooked neck locust" on the east side, and the "shape" is very peculiar. It is said that these three ancient locust trees have a history of more than 500 years and are all first-class ancient trees.
Ancient locust in front of Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall
According to legend, Cao Xueqin once lived in the flag camp at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain and created "Dream of the Red Chamber". There is a local song that sings: "The ancient locust crooked neck tree in front of the door, the small bridge flowing water wild celery hemp." This is in line with the opening author of "Dream of the Red Chamber" who said that he lived in the place of "Jieliu Tinghua" and the chant of "the mountains and rivers in front of the door are painted, and the flowers and birds in front of the hall enter the chant" in Cao Gong's friend Zhang Yiquan's "Inscription Qinxi Resident".
Local old people said that there are three tall ancient locust trees outside the door of cao gong mansion, one of which is crooked neck-shaped, commonly known as "crooked neck locust", not far from the door is a river beach, every summer grows a lot of wild celery, Cao Gong often uses it to treat the villagers, and called himself snow parsley, also known as qinxi, celery garden. According to the relevant records of historical materials, some red scholars have visited this place. After careful investigation, comparison and analysis, it is believed that these three huge ancient locust trees, with their peculiar shape, coincide with the scenery cited in Cao Xueqin's friends' singing and poetry, that is, the three ancient locust trees can be used as one of the favorable evidences for Cao Xueqin's former residence. Mr. Wu Enyu, a famous red scholar, once wrote: "He (Cao Xueqin) lived in the west of the Four King's Mansions, to the left of the Jizo Pass near the river, where there is a large locust tree today."
Bodhi Tree: Divided by the "sacred tree" of the Buddha's sitting meditation
In the tropical greenhouse in the South Garden of the National Botanical Garden, there is a Linden tree, lush and green, known as the "Tree of Friendship".
bodhi tree
The Bodhi tree is known as the "Sacred Tree of Buddhism" and is native to India. "Bodhi" is originally a Sanskrit transliteration meaning enlightenment, wisdom. In Buddhism, there is a saying that "where the Bodhi tree is, the Buddha is there."
According to legend, more than 2,500 years ago, Shakyamuni practiced monasticism in order to save sentient beings. After years of cultivation, he finally attained great enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and eventually became a Buddha, which led buddhism to regard the Bodhi tree as a "sacred tree."
In October 1954, at the invitation of the Chinese government, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru visited China and brought a seedling cultivated from the branches taken from the tree where the Buddha sat in meditation and presented it to the leaders of the mainland to show the friendship between the Chinese and Indian peoples. This precious Linden seedling is l5 cm tall and has 5 leaves, packed in a purple sand pot. At that time, it was accepted by Premier Zhou Enlai in a solemn ceremony, and then transferred to the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for conservation. The botanical garden is carefully maintained by special personnel to make it grow and thrive. Since then, this "sacred tree" has been moved to the greenhouse of the Beijing Botanical Garden at the foot of Xiangshan Mountain, becoming a precious tree in the tropical greenhouse, and the only Bodhi tree in China that is separated from the sacred tree where the Buddha sat in meditation, so it is cherished by Buddhists. (Images from this edition are provided by the author)