May 19 this year (the first day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar) is the Mentougou Miaofeng Mountain Temple Fair. As the saying goes, "The mother of Miaofeng Mountain, shine far but not close", which means that the mother and mother of Miaofeng Mountain only bless pilgrims who come from afar, but do not protect the local people.
In the Ming Dynasty, the Spring Festival of Niangniang Temple on Miaofeng Mountain was held a few days before and after the 15th day of the first lunar month, and it was an incense gathering held by nearby villagers. The autumn festival is held from July 25 to the first day of August, and in addition to pilgrimage to the mountains and greeting the gods, there is also the custom of praying for a good year.
During the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor named the Niangniang Temple of Miaofeng Mountain as the "Golden Peak Miaofeng Mountain", making it above the five "Niangniang Temples" in the east, west, south, north and middle of the capital. The date of the spring meeting at the Niangniang Temple of Miaofeng Mountain has also been changed to the first day of April every year, with pilgrims from other places coming from other places, and the autumn meeting is jointly organized by local villagers and foreign incense associations. Since then, the Niangniang Temple Festival on Miaofeng Mountain has become the most popular place for incense in Beijing and the surrounding provinces. Due to the large number of pilgrims from other places who participated in the Spring Festival of Miaofeng Mountain, and the few local villagers participated, the legend of Miaofeng Mountain Niangniang was "far away but not close".
Niangniang Temple, also known as Bixia Yuanjun Temple, is not unique to Miaofeng Mountain, and Bixia Yuanjun Temple is very common in northern China. According to statistics, before the liberation, there were about 300 temples dedicated to Bixia Yuanjun in Beijing, most of which existed under 50 different names, such as "Bixia Yuanjun Palace, Bixia Yuanjun Temple, Our Lady Temple, Our Lady of Yuanjun Temple, Our Lady of the Descendants Temple, Yuanjun Palace, Yuanjun Temple, Niangniang Temple, Descendants Niangniang Temple, Granny Temple, Tianxian Temple, Tianxian Xinggong, Tianxian Virgin Palace, Tianxian Shrine, etc.
Wayao Qipan Mountain Tianxian Temple
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, when folk incense was prevalent, the Niangniang Temple of Miaofeng Mountain, the Niangniang Temple of Baiyangcheng in Liucun Town, Changping District, and the Tianxian Temple in Wayao Village were the three major Niangniang temples worshiped by pilgrims in Beijing.
The Tianxian Temple in Qipan Mountain in Wayao Village, built on the 8th day of the first month of April in the 42nd year of Ming Jiajing (1563), is said to have been built on the same day as the Niangniang Temple of Miaofeng Mountain, and is a sister temple of the Niangniang Temple of Miaofeng Mountain, and its spiritual degree is no less than that of Miaofeng Mountain.
Changping Qipanshan Tianxian Temple
The "Tianxian Temple" dedicated to Bixia Yuanjun in Wayao Village was built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, and the Tianxian Temple sits north facing south, with two mountain gates. The outer gate is a three-room brick imitation wood structure on the top of the mountain, with 38 stone steps leading to the summit. The inner mountain gate is a brick carved imitation wood structure, the middle gate is the top of the mountain, and the two sides of the gate are built with hard mountain tops. Bypassing the shadow wall, there are three main halls in the north, and the center is dedicated to the heavenly fairy and jade girl Bixia Yuanjun, that is, the folk name Grandma Taishan; On the left side are accompanied by the sending of children and the birth of Niangniang; On the right side are the eyes of Niangniang and Smallpox Niangniang. The east ear room of the main hall enshrines the medicine king Sun Simiao, and there are book children holding "A Thousand Golden Prescriptions" on the side; The West Ear Room is dedicated to Emperor Wenchang. In front of the main hall, there are three east and west halls, the east hall is the hall of three officials, dedicated to heavenly officials, earth officials, and water officials, and the west hall is the temple of the God of Wealth, which enshrines Bigan, Fan Stupid, and Zhao Gongming, the god of wealth and martial arts. There is a City God Hall in the East Cross Courtyard, which is dedicated to the city god of the county and accompanies the mountain god and the land god. There are still three merit monuments in a corner of the hall. In August 1938, the Japanese army could not attack the southern entrance for a long time, so they sent a force to attack Changyu City and the area around Zhenbian City from Gaoyakou. On the way, the Japanese army occupied the Tianxian Temple on Qipan Mountain, and destroyed the Tianxian Temple after retreating. At the end of the 50s, the last remaining cast iron statues were also thrown into the furnace of large-scale steelmaking.
The Tianxian Temple in Wayao Village, unlike the Niangniang Temple of Miaofeng Mountain, is "close but not far", only has a spiritual effect on the prayers of residents in Beijing, and has great influence in Miyun, Shunyi, Haidian, Mentougou and Changping in the northern part of Beijing.
Bixia Yuanjun is a popular believer in sending births, so those who go to Niangniang Temple are married women to pray for children or make wishes. In the old days, women had difficulty getting pregnant, which may have been caused by poor living conditions, thin bodies, and too little fat. Too little fat can lead to endocrine system disorders and make it difficult to get pregnant. Since a woman's ovaries are very related to estrogen levels, once the body's estrogen levels drop, it may cause periodic disorders and even amenorrhea. Once ancient women are difficult to get pregnant, the psychological pressure is particularly great, go to the Niangniang Temple to pray, please return the doll given by the son Niangniang, the mood is comfortable, there is not so much pressure, diet and sleep are better, naturally become fat, easy to get pregnant, once pregnant, they will go to the temple with great fanfare, so that the Niangniang Temple is famous, outsiders see it, they think that the Niangniang here is very effective.
Pregnancy and child prayer ceremonies are usually performed by Taoist priests in the temple. The seeker of pregnancy first took a mud doll and handed it to the Taoist priest, who after praying, tied a copper coin with a red thread and tied it to the doll's neck. After that, take the doll and use the copper money to knock on the copper rock in front of God and choose a name for the child. After the child prayer takes the doll home, he hides it somewhere in the bedroom, and it is said that he will soon become pregnant.
Changping District Liucun Town of Wayao Village formed in the early Ming Dynasty, people migrated from Hongdong County, Shanxi, there are many craftsmen who burn bricks and tiles, seeing that the soil here can be burned bricks to make tiles, they followed the trend to build a kiln to start a business, continue to develop, forming a village, in Changping, there are "walnuts of Wolf Eryu, dates of Xifeng Mountain, girls of Haoyao (Qiyuan Village), and ballads of Xiao'er (boys) of Wayao, among which "Wayao Xiaoer" means that the boys in Wayao Village are all beautiful and capable.
A preserved village with a pristine culture
In addition to the Tianxian Temple in Wayao Village, there is also an unknown "Ping'an Temple", which was built in the 42nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, and is commonly known as the West Great Temple because it is on the high platform on the west street of Wayao Village. From 1952 to 1984, the village primary school was in the Xida Temple, objectively protecting the main architectural pattern of the temple. In April 2004, it was restored in the old site according to the Qing Dynasty architectural style.
Heian Temple
After the restoration, the main building of Heian Temple is in the pattern of a quadrangle. The mountain gate is three-room, with brick carvings imitating wooden structures and hilltop type. The three inverted sitting rooms are Maitreya Halls, with the entrance door dedicated to Maitreya Bodhisattva, the back enshrined to the Dharma Protector Bodhisattva Veda, and the four heavenly kings on both sides. The three main halls are dedicated to Shakyamuni Buddha, accompanied by Manjushri and Puxian Bodhisattvas. The main hall has two east and west ear rooms, the east ear room is dedicated to Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the west ear room is dedicated to Jizo Bodhisattva. In front of the main hall, there are three east and west halls, and the west hall is the Garan Bodhisattva Hall, dedicated to the Holy Emperor of the Dharma Garan God. The East Side Hall is the Peacock Ming King Hall. Enter the East Cross Courtyard through the Corner Gate, where there are three halls dedicated to the Medicine Buddha for Disaster Elimination; The original tree shrine, which blessed the harvest of fruit-tree treetops, has yet to be restored. The countryside around Xishan is rich in fruits, and it is natural to worship the tree god. There are two ancient acacia trees and two ancient cypresses in the temple.
During the Anti-Japanese War, an anti-Japanese hero appeared in Heian Temple. In 1937, Zheng Fuzi of Ao Yucun became a monk at the monastery at the age of 27. Zheng Fuzi heard and witnessed the atrocities of Japanese devils burning and looting in the tile kiln and surrounding villages, and could no longer calm down to practice Buddha worship. He resolutely took off his cassock, put down the wooden fish, put on his military uniform, picked up a knife and gun, and joined the fifth detachment of the Eighth Route Army to go to the front, where he unfortunately died in a fierce battle with the Japanese army in the Xingtang area of Hebei. General Ji Tingxie, chief of staff of the Naval Aviation Department, was then the chief of the first general detachment of the fifth detachment of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. He wrote an elegy for Zheng Fuzi: "It is a hero to go out of the monk's gate and enter the red gate to resist Japan and save the country; Left the Buddhist hall to go to the battlefield to sacrifice his life for the country. ”
Before liberation, on the 8th day of April every year, the Great Temple of Wayao opened its temple gates, and pilgrims and tourists from dozens of miles away came to admire it. People follow the 18 Pan Ancient Incense Road on the east side to put incense on the Niangniang Temple (Tianxian Temple) on the mountain, and worship the Buddha at the West Great Temple (Ping'an Temple) under the mountain; When tired, drink tea in the tea shed and take a break. At the temple fair, those who put on incense, play, listen to play, and do business have their own fun.