In the northwest of Shijingshan District, in the rolling Yanshan Mountains, there is a historical temple complex - Bada.
The eight ancient temples that are still well preserved in the eight places enshrine the relics of the Buddha's tooth and carry the profound Chinese Buddhist culture. Regardless of the change of dynasties, Buddha Light has always loved this pure land, and the mountain temple has been revitalized here for a long time.
Issue 2, Eight Places • History
Look at the changes of the ancient temple of Qingshan
The Buddhist temple Sheng Ancient Temple is eight or nine on it
Badaji is the place with the highest density and concentration of temples in Beijing. How many temples are there in the Eight Great Places? According to historical records, in the heyday, there were dozens of temples in the eight major places, which can be described as "ten steps and one temple, five steps and one temple".
Since Kublai Khan adhered to Genghis Khan's ideas and converted to Tibetan Buddhism, the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty built temples when they took the throne, and temples gradually prospered.
▲ Ming Dynasty West Mountain Map
In the Ming Dynasty, the "Records of the Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty" said: "Before the seventeenth year of Chenghua (1481), there were 639 temples inside and outside the capital. After the reconstruction, even the West Mountain and other places are endless, since there are many ancient Buddhist temples, there is no one beyond this time. "The West Mountain referred to here, the main area is the eight major places.
The four emperors Kangxi, Qianlong, Jiaqing and Puyi once visited this place, and many senior monks such as Master Wuxiang, Master Zhixiang, Monk Guifang, and Zen Master Huidang practiced here.
The past is over. By the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Dynasty, only eight ancient temples had been preserved - Lingguang Temple, Chang'an Temple, Sanshanan, Dabei Temple, Longwang Hall, Xiangjie Temple, Baozhu Cave, and Zhengguo Temple, and the eight places were also named after these eight temples.
Temple Tibetan Buddha Tooth Relic
▲Today's Buddha Tooth Stupa
Among the eight temples, the two Lingguang temples are the most famous because of the Buddha tooth relics offered in the original Zhaoxian Pagoda.
According to Buddhist historical records, after Buddha attained nirvana, two teeth remained in the world, one in the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy, the ancient capital of the Lion Country (present-day Sri Lanka), and the other in the Buddha Tooth Relic Pagoda of Lingguang Temple in the Eight Great Mountains of Beijing.
Zhaoxian Pagoda was built in the Liao Dynasty. In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1900), during the restoration of Lingguang Temple, the monks of the temple were given a stone letter while cleaning up the ruined base of the tower. Inside the stone letter is an agarwood wooden box, which contains the ink inscription "Shakya Buddha Spiritual Tooth Relic, Diary of April 23 of the Seventh Year of the Heavenly Meeting, Book of Good Wisdom" and Sanskrit scripture mantras. At the time of its discovery, the relic had been hidden in the Zhaoxian Pagoda for more than 830 years.
▲Agarwood box
In 1957, at the initiative of the Buddhist Association of China and approved by Premier Zhou Enlai, the Buddhist ritual path was used to rebuild the Buddha's Tooth Stupa in the north of the original Zhaoxian Pagoda. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 2, 1958, and it was completed in the summer of 1964.
▲The Buddha Tooth Stupa in the 60s of the last century
During the Cultural Revolution, Buddhist activities at Lingguang Temple ceased. In 1983, the Buddha Relic Stupa was designated as a national key Buddhist monastery. The buildings and Buddha statues of Lingguang Temple were gradually restored, and believers from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Myanmar, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Britain, France and other places flocked to the temple.
Zhaoxian Pagoda has gone through vicissitudes
▲ Liao Dynasty Zhao Xian Taji
More than 100 meters south of the Buddha Tooth Stupa of Lingguang Temple, there is the base of the remnant pagoda of Liaozhaoxian Pagoda. Next to the base of the tower is a horse chestnut tree, also known as the Solo tree. The tree is about 300 years old, and it is paired with the mottled color of the base of the tower, showing the traces of time.
The Zhaoxian Pagoda was destroyed in the 26th year of Guangxu (1900) by artillery fire from the Eight-Nation Alliance. At present, the remaining base of the tower still has two or three floors, and it takes more than 80 steps to circle the tower, which shows the majesty of the tower in those years.
Qing Governor Jiangnan River Dao Linqing "Hongxue Karma Chart": "The tower has ten floors and eight edges. But judging from the only old photos in the archives, Zhaoxian Pagoda is an octagonal thirteen-story close-eaves tower, which also coincides with the saying that the number of floors of Chinese towers always appears in the singular.
The image is preserved and remembered a few house numbers in the Republic of China
▲Map of eight major regions during the Republic of China
In the summer of 2008, Di Genlong, the manager of the six training centers in the six major offices, met a woman named McMalone at the six places, holding an old photo of an A4 paper photocopy in front of the six courtyard prayer buildings. It was filmed in winter, with the dried branches of the magnolia sticking out into the sky, and a monk wearing a cotton hat sitting in front of the tree.
▲A corner of six Tibetan scripture buildings during the Republic of China
▲Six observation decks during the Republic of China
McMalone's grandfather, Mark Mo, was the U.S. business representative in Peking and loved Chinese culture, taking a large number of precious photographs and donating them to Princeton University. Mark Mo also drew a map of his travels in China, and McMalone's footsteps followed in his grandfather's footsteps to visit China.
Di Genlong decided to search for these precious materials, but after two years of hard work, he was fruitless. When Qu Bin, an old friend of Sino-US trade, heard about it, he agreed to go to the United States to look for it. In March 2011, Qu Bin found relevant materials at Princeton University, but due to intellectual property protection, he could not bring them back to China. Qu Bin agreed to retake some of the photographs and videos only after he was told in good faith that it was only for research purposes and might be helpful for the restoration of monuments in China.
A few days later, Di Genlong received more than 10 old photographs of downtown Beijing and eight major places, as well as a CD-ROM. These materials are very precious, in addition to the eight major places, there are also the ancient road of camel bells at the mouth of the millstone, the bell and drum tower on the golden top of Miaofeng Mountain, and the Yongding River Basket Boat that even historians have only heard of and never seen. Photographs and videos are valuable for studying the history of the eight major places, and even Beijing.
The park is renovated and the mountain looks new
Located in the northeast of Shijingshan District, with a radius of 300 hectares and an altitude of 498 meters, Badachu Park is one of the first key cultural relics protection units in Beijing and a national 4A-level scenic spot.
The park was born in 1956 and is named "Eight Great Places" because of its eight well-preserved ancient temples, and is the earliest park opened in Shijingshan.
Eight major timelines of park change
In 1949
The Public Reverse Property and Clearing Bureau cleaned up four temple properties in the western suburbs, including Xiangjie Temple, Sanshan An, and Baozhudong. The Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau handed over the above-mentioned temple property to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Construction for management.
1950-1952
The Air Force Cultural and Labor Corps, the Communications Department of the Central Military Commission, the Labor University, and the heads of the Central Military Commission who were temporarily stationed in the eight major monasteries were moved out of the eight major offices in stages and batches. The abbot monks of the temples successively donated the property rights and goods of the temples where they lived to the government for management. At this point, all temple property rights in the eight major areas were nationalized.
In 1956
After simple repairs and preparations, the eight parks were initially completed and officially opened to the public.
In 1962
The eight major offices were officially renamed as the "Xishan Scenic Area Eight Great Park Management Office".
In 1983
The eight parks were separated from the Xishan Scenic Area Management Office and renamed as the "Beijing Eight Great Park Management Office". The concept of Xishan Scenic Area has also changed as a result, and Xiangshan Park, Beijing Botanical Garden and Badachu Park are all directly under the Municipal Bureau of Gardens and Forestry, and each is independent.
In 1986
On December 1, the park was officially transferred to the Shijingshan District government, and the name was still "Beijing Badashu Park Management Office".
After 1988
The park has successively launched many tourism and cultural activities with considerable scale, such as "Eight Great Chongyang Mountain Fair", "Eight Great Places and 100 Teams Mountaineering Race", "Eight Great Places Spring Temple Fair", "Eight Great Chinese Garden Tea Culture Festival" and many other tourism and cultural activities with considerable scale, forming a brand with considerable appeal in the capital and even the whole country.
▲2023 Eight New Year Cultural Temple Fairs
At the end of the eighties, the park was built as a water body scenic spot - Yingcui Lake, the scenic area is located at the entrance of the park, the lake is not large, the scenery is beautiful. In spring, the willows are in full bloom, and the lotus flowers are in full bloom in summer, and even in autumn and winter, the scenery is still impressive. On the shore of the southwest lake, there is a bluestone inscription "Yingcui Lake", which is handsome and elegant, and is inscribed by the famous calligrapher Mr. Aisin Kyoro Pujie.
▲Eight places reflect the green lake
1992-1994
The world-leading "Klemin Aerial Cableway" and the "Fuster Alpine Slide" have been built successively. Two extreme entertainment projects once caused a sensation in Beijing.
▲Eight ropeways
▲Fuster slide
1996-1998
The ancient gate archway of the pure large wooden method and the ancient building community in the gate area were completed one after another. Decorate the eight gate areas with a variety of weather.
After years of development, Badachu Park has become a first-class park in Beijing and the closest ecological mountain forest to Beijing.
▲China Fine Seal Valley
Since 2000, the park has introduced a new concept of integrated services of "culture, leisure, entertainment and fitness", and newly built and repaired landscapes such as the China Jingyin Valley and the 24 Filial Piety Cultural Wall of Baihui Garden. Time flies, and the ancient temple opens a new chapter.
The next issue, Eight Places • Culture
Describe the three mountains, eight temples and twelve scenes of the eight major places