Before coming to Mount Tai, a friend specially explained to me that you must not miss the Dai Temple when visiting Mount Tai, otherwise your trip to Mount Tai would not be complete. So, after getting down Mount Tai, I arranged a day to visit the Dai Temple.
The surrounding environment of Dai Temple
The Dai Temple is full of spring colors
Flower beds in the Dai Temple
Rockery fish pond in Dai Temple
The peach blossoms in the Dai Temple bloom
When I took a taxi to the gate of Dai Temple, I saw a stone archway with a sense of age, and the archway had three big characters written on it: "Yaosan Pavilion". The "Yaoshan Pavilion" archway was created in the thirty-fifth year of Qianlong (1770 AD) and is still intact. On the left and right sides of the torii there is an iron lion squatting column.
A stone archway with a sense of age
Haruka Pavilion
There is an iron lion squatting on the left and right
In front of the torii there is also the "Double Dragon Pond". According to records, the "Double Dragon Pond" was built in the sixth year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1880 AD), built with ashlar barriers, and then led the water of the "Queen Mother Pool" around the Dai Temple and poured into the pool. It is named because there is a stone dragon head in and out of the water in the northwest and southeast corners of the pool, and there are four large characters "Dragon Leaping Heavenly Pool" on the inner wall of the fence.
Double Dragon Pool
There is a plaque at the entrance of the "Harukandei" that reads "The First Palace of Mount Tai". It is said that the ancient emperors who had anything to do in Mount Tai would first perform the ritual of paying homage here, and in the Ming Dynasty, they began to worship the "Bixia Yuanjun". In ancient times, whenever the emperor came to Mount Tai to hold a festival, he would first hold a simple worship ceremony here to show his devotion to the god Tai Shan. Therefore, "Yaoshan Pavilion" was also known as "Yaoshanmen" in the Tang Dynasty, and the folk have always spread the saying that "to worship the god of Mount Tai, first worship Yaoshanmen".
Harukatei
The First Palace of Mount Tai
The "Yaosan Pavilion" is located outside the Zhengyang Gate of Dai Temple, which should be regarded as the forecourt of Dai Temple, right? In front of the main hall of the "Yaosan Pavilion", there is a huge seal, engraved with the "Seal of the Taishan Heavenly Immortal Virgin Bixia Yuanjun". The main hall of the Yaosan Pavilion enshrines "Bixia Yuanjun", and the east and west halls are divided into "Eye Niangniang" and "Sending Children Niangniang". For thousands of years, people have respected "Bixia Yuanjun", and the people have affectionately called her "Grandma Taishan".
The main hall of Harukatei
The Seal of Bixia Yuanjun
Our Lady of Tarzan, Bixia Yuanjun
Between the "Yaosan Pavilion" and the "Dai Temple" there is a "Dai Miao Fang", also known as "Linglong Fang", built in the eleventh year of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty (1672 AD), the archway is staggered, the bucket arch is cascaded, the cornice corners are flying, and the reliefs are lifelike, very majestic and dignified, worthy of the treasures of Qing Dynasty stone carving architecture!
Take a photo in front of Dai Miao Square
"Daimiaofang" is also known as "Linglong Fang"
Pattern of a dragon on a side column
The bucket arches are cascaded, the cornices are upturned, and the reliefs are lifelike
Dai Temple, commonly known as "Dongyue Temple", was founded in the Han Dynasty and was already brilliant in the Tang Dynasty. When Song Zhenzong made a big consecration, he expanded it greatly. It is a place where successive emperors held consecration ceremonies and worshipped the god Tarzan. In addition, Dai Temple is also a sacred place of the mainstream Quanzhen school of Taoism. The main building is the "Tianjian Hall", which is the shrine of the Dongyue Emperor. Together with the Taihe Hall of the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Dacheng Hall of the Confucius Temple in Qufu, it is known as the "Three Great Palaces of China". In addition, Dai Temple and the Forbidden City in Beijing, Sankong in Qufu, Shandong, and the Outer Eight Temples of Chengde Summer Resort are also known as the "Four Ancient Buildings of China".
Dai Temple is commonly known as "Dongyue Temple"
Dai Temple Zhengyang Gate
Walking into the Dai Temple, I looked at the overall layout plan of the Dai Temple, which should be built in accordance with the highest standards in the ancestral architecture since the Tang and Song Dynasties, using three vertical axes as the mainstay, supplemented by two horizontal axes, and a balanced and symmetrical group layout that expands to both vertical and horizontal sides. Dai Temple covers an area of about 96,500 square meters, and the entire building complex is centered on a north-south vertical axis, with a balanced horizontal expansion. The main buildings located on the central axis are: Yaoshanting Hall, Dai Miaofang, Zhengyang Gate, Futianmen, Ren'an Gate, Tianjian Hall, Middle Sleeping Palace, and Houzaimen.
Dai Temple building distribution map
A vertical axis running north-south
With the gate of heaven
Ren'anmen
Standing on the wall of Dai Temple and looking around, Dai Miao has high battlements, majestic temples, hall corridors, and overlapping palaces, which is extremely magnificent and an inseparable part of Taishan culture.
Palaces overlap
Daimiao Castle Battlement is high
In front is a copper pavilion
Dai Miao Fang
Dai Temple is an ancient building complex with great historical value and profound cultural connotation. It is inseparable from the consecration ceremony held by successive emperors on Mount Tai. "Sealing Zen" was a major ritual for ancient emperors to communicate with heaven. According to the "Shiji Feng Zen Book", before the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were "seventy-two kings" who successively worshiped the heavens on Mount Tai. In the Confucian classic "Rites of Zhou", the Duke of Zhou also specially legalized this "Zen sealing ceremony", stipulating that only the monarch was eligible to carry out the activity, so the sealing activity gradually became a traditional ritual for successive emperors. Qin Shi Huang pioneered the holding of a consecration ceremony on Mount Tai; Emperor Wudi of Han also arrived at Mount Taishan seven times to hold a consecration offering; Subsequently, Emperor Guangwu, Emperor Zhang, Emperor An of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty and Qianlong also came to Mount Taishan to hold a consecration ceremony.
Prayer flags of the Tang Dynasty
Turtle Monument
View from the Dai Temple
Five Mountains Exclusive Stone Carvings
View from the Dai Temple
The main building of Dai Temple is the "Tianjian Hall", which was built during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song and is the highest existing temple building in the mainland. The yellow tile red pillars of the hall, the heavy eaves and arches, solemn atmosphere, give people a beautiful overall visual effect.
Tianjian Hall, together with the Taihe Hall of the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Dacheng Hall of the Confucius Temple in Qufu, is known as the "Three Great Palaces of China"
Song Tianzheng Hall yellow tile red pillar
Yellow tile red columns, heavy eaves bucket arches
The hall is majestic and majestic
Enter the main hall, which is dedicated to the Dongyue Emperor, that is, the god of Mount Tai.
The main hall of the Heavenly Temple
The Tianjian Hall is dedicated to the Dongyue Emperor, the god of Mount Tai
In addition, the mural in the main hall is even more eye-opening, this mural is called "Taishan God Qiqi Huiluan Map". The entire mural is 3.3 meters high and 62 meters long, depicting the magnificent scene of the god Tarzan when he travels. The centaurs in the painting are colorful and vivid. The mural is a Song Dynasty work and is still brightly colored and lifelike to the figures. It is a masterpiece of Chinese Taoist murals and can be called one of the cultural landscapes of Mount Tai.
Mural "Tarzan God Qiqi Returning to the Dragon"
It depicts the magnificent scene of the god Tarzan when he is on tour
On both sides of the Tianji Hall, there are imperial monument pavilions, which contain the poetry stele of the Qianlong Emperor's Gudai Temple.
The Qianlong Emperor's poetry stele at the Temple of Gudai
Imperial Monument Pavilion
In front of the hall, there is also a large platform above the ground, quite wide, in the process of touring just happened to meet a Tai'an primary school is organizing a spring outing, children standing on the platform in unison, chanting aloud "a strong youth is a strong country", the scene is very shocking and very exciting. Imagine what a grand solemnity and solemnity the scene should have been when the emperors held a grand consecration ceremony here.
Located behind the Tianjian Hall is the Middle Dormitory Palace, where Empress Shuming, wife of the Dongyue Emperor, is enshrined.
Middle Palace
Dedicated to Empress Shuming, wife of Emperor Dongyue
On the east and west sides of the backyard of Dai Temple, the copper pavilion is in the east and the iron tower is in the west. The Copper Pavilion, also known as the "Golden Que", was cast in the forty-first year of the Wanli Ming Dynasty (1613). It is said that the copper pavilion was originally on the top of Mount Tai, and the pavilion was dedicated to Bixia Yuanjun, and later moved to Dai Temple, which is one of the three major copper pavilions on the mainland.
Copper Pavilion
The heavy eaves of the copper pavilion
The interior structure of the copper pavilion
The iron tower on the west side was cast during the Ming Jiajing period, with a simple and majestic shape, the original 13 levels, standing in the Taicheng Tianshu Temple. Later, it was blown up by Japanese aircraft in the Anti-Japanese War, and now only 3 levels remain, about 4 meters high, and moved to Dai Temple in 1973. Both the copper pavilion and the iron tower fully demonstrate the exquisite smelting and casting technology of ancient China.
The iron tower was cast during the Ming Jiajing period
There were originally 13 levels, but now only 3 levels remain
The tower bears the names of the donors
In addition, a large number of inscriptions are preserved in the Dai Temple. More than 150 stone inscriptions from the Qin and Han dynasties still stand between the temple hall and pines and cypresses. Seeing that there are many calligraphy lovers standing in front of the stele to ponder and learn, this is a kind of inheritance and development of Chinese stone carving art.
Inscription on the stele
Learning observers
Walking in the Dai Temple, you can see the steles and ancient trees, among which "Tang Huai" and "Hanbai" are ancient trees that have experienced thousands of years of ups and downs, there are "Tang Huai Huazi", there is "Qilin Looking at the Moon", the ancient cypress in the Dai Temple is said to have been planted by the Han Wudi Liu Che himself, 2100 years ago.
Gubai of the Han Dynasty
Kirin looking at the moon
In the Tang Huai courtyard of Dai Temple, there is a rather strange black trunk, although the trunk is empty, but another locust tree has grown from it. According to legend, this black trunk is the locust tree planted by Tang Gaozong himself, and it has been more than 1,300 years now. At that time, Tang Huai was tall and luxuriant, sheltered from acres, but gradually withered and died due to the destruction of the warlords. In 1952, people implanted a young locust plant in the fasting stomach of Tang Huai, and now, the young locust has grown into a large tree, supporting the lush and luxuriant, the roots are deeply planted in the body of the old locust, one old and one young, like a mother and son who are deeply in love one on one, hugging each other tightly, the torso of the old locust opens all around, protecting the young locust and becoming a great scenery in Dai Temple, commonly known as "Tang Hui Huazi".
Tang Hui hugged
Dai Temple is known as the "Dai Temple Stele Forest", and there are more than 300 steles carved in the temple. Located on the east side of the Pingtianmen Gate of Dai Temple, stands a majestic and imposing tall stone stele - "Xuanhe Rebuilt Taiyue Temple Stele", which is the heaviest turtle stele in Dai Temple. Standing in the sixth year of Zongxuanhe of the Song Dynasty (1124 AD), the stele is 9.25 meters high, 2.1 meters wide and 0.7 meters thick. The turtle seat is 1.85 meters high and 4.75 meters long, carved from a huge stone and weighs about 20 tons. On the back of the stele are four large characters "Bandai Respect".
Xuanhe rebuilt the monument of Taiyue Temple
Bandai admires
In addition, on the west side of Ren'anmen, there is also a towering stone stele with extraordinary majestic momentum - "Great Song Dongyue Tianqiren Shengdi Stele", which is the earliest turtle stele of Mount Tai, erected in the sixth year of the Great Zhongxiangfu of the Northern Song Dynasty (1013 AD), for the Song Zhenzong to crown Taishan God as the "Tianqi Ren Holy Emperor", the stele is 8.2 meters high, 2.15 meters wide and 0.6 meters thick. The stele is written in four big characters "Five Mountains and Sects".
Great Song Dongyue Tianqiren Saint Emperor Monument
The Five Mountains Alone
In addition, in the rain courtyard of Dai Temple, there is also Taishan Jingshiyu carved stone, the original carved stone is located in Taishan Jingshiyu, carved in Northern Qi, is the largest existing Buddhist cliff carved stone in the mainland, the scripture is engraved "Vajra Prajnaparamita", mainly affiliated books, majestic font, with high calligraphy artistic value.
The scripture is inscribed with the Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra
The city wall of Tai'an Dai Temple is a landmark building in the ancient city of Tai'an, Shandong, which is ancient and spectacular. Zhengyang Gate is the main gate of Dai Temple, which was built in the Song Dynasty, called Taiyue Gate at the time, called Yue Miao Gate and Dai Miao Gate in the Ming Dynasty, and Zhengyang Gate in the Qing Dynasty. The Wufeng Tower is located on the city wall of Zhengyang Gate, from which you can overlook Dai Miao Fang, and the word Dai Temple on Zhengyang Gate is inscribed by the famous calligrapher Huang Tinghui.
The walls of Zhengyangmen
Five Phoenix Tower
Five phoenix towers on the city wall
The word Dai Temple was inscribed by the famous calligrapher Huang Tinghui
Dai Miao Fang
The north gate of Dai Temple is the Thick Gate of Thick Load, and the word "Thick Zai" is taken from the Kun Kua of the I Ching, which means "Hou De Carrier", that is, the earth can carry all things because it is vast and thick. The castle tower on the gate is called "Wangyue Pavilion", and you can see the majesty of Mount Tai from above. Step out of the Houzai Gate of Dai Temple, and the road to the Red Gate is ahead, and you can walk all the way to the Red Gate at the foot of Mount Tai. Starting from Dai Miao and climbing Mount Tai through the Red Gate, it is the most classic route.
Mr. Guo Moruo believes that Mount Tai is a partial microcosm of Chinese cultural history. As the ancestral garden of Mount Tai's faith, Dai Temple is a large-scale comprehensive museum integrating ancient Chinese architecture, cultural relics, carving, calligraphy, painting, and smelting and casting techniques. At the same time, Dai Temple is also a pleasing classical garden. It contains the idea of Confucian etiquette, embodies the concept of sacrificial culture, and is also permeated with the influence of Buddhist, Taoist and other religious cultures. Therefore, Dai Temple is a monument to the history and culture of our Chinese nation!