In the early years, I watched a costume drama filmed in Taiwan, called "The Legend of the New White Lady". I remember that in the play, there was a big monk with a bad top, and the monk's name was "Fahai". This TV series, supposedly quite interesting, but the male and female duets in it (because Xu Xian is also played by women, so it is also considered to be a two-female duet) are too long, and I think about smashing the TV set from time to time. But in any case, the name "Fahai" was remembered by me. Moreover, as long as anyone mentions this name, in my mind, there will always be a fierce and evil face. Until one day, when I heard Gong Linna sing the song "Fahai, You Don't Understand Love" in her almost inhuman language, I suddenly realized that this elder sister Gong, like me, had grown up from the pursuit of the "White Lady".
Fahai in The Legend of the New White Lady
In fact, the real Fahai in history is definitely an admirable monk. Beijing has built two Fahai Temples in history, and the Nanfahai Temple still preserves national treasure-level cultural relics - Ming Dynasty murals.
There are two Fahai Temples in Beijing
This "Fahai" was originally surnamed Pei, and his father was Pei Xiu, the Hubu and Libu Shangshu of the Tang Yizong Dynasty, that is, the "Xiangguo Pei Gong" as the people called it.
Pei Xiangguo's second son, known as Pei Wende,was born as a jinshi. At the time, this origin was not good. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a saying that "fifty young soldiers, thirty old Ming Classics". This means that fifty years old can be admitted to the jinshi gong name, which is considered to be young, and thirty years old to take the Ming Jing gong name, obviously too old. From this, we can see the difficulty of entering the entrance examination. There are even sources that Pei Wende obtained the title. Such a clever child (not too young in actual age), in the third year of Tang Xuanzong's junior high school (849), was sent to the monastery by Pei Xiu to become a monk. What's going on here?
It turned out that Tang Xuanzong's crown prince was seriously ill at this time, and the world's famous doctors were helpless. Pei Xiu, who was in a hurry to go to the hospital, simply sent Pei Wende to the Miyin Temple (located in Ningxiang, Hunan) donated by his family to "become a monk on behalf of the prince". The abbot of the Miyin Temple, the lingyou monk, the founder of the Yang Sect, gave Pei Wende the title of Fahai. After serving Lingyou in the Fahai for some years, the ancestor ordered him to travel around to spread the Dharma. It is said that Fahai came to a mountain in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, to prepare to open a dojo.
While excavating the foundation, Fahai and others unexpectedly harvested a batch of gold. Fahai then offered the gold to Zhenjiang Taishou, who in turn reported the matter to the imperial court. The emperor was very touched when he learned about it, and gave the gold back to Fahai, and gave the temple the title of "Jinshan Zen Temple", and Fahai became the first generation of abbots.
Jinshan Temple, Zhenjiang
At that time, the climate in the Zhenjiang area was hot, and there were white pythons that endangered the people. According to some historical records, Fahai once led the Buddhist activities to drive white pythons into the river. There was nothing wrong with his actions, but it was changed by rappers hundreds of years later. So much so that Mr. Lu Xun wanted to make a big fuss in the article "On the Fall of leifeng Pagoda": "The monk should have only been concerned with chanting the sutra himself. The White Lady is self-obsessed with Xu Xian, and Xu Xian marries a demon, what does it have to do with others? He wanted to put down the scrolls, and he was going to move right and wrong, probably with jealousy, and that was simply certain. ”
To this end, Mr. Wei Li, a famous collector of ancient books, once said: "(Lu Xun)'s thesis seems to be debatable, after all, Fahai was born in the family of the prime minister, and his traditional education would make him do such a thing- if there is such a thing - then it can only be said that this is his philosophy, and should have nothing to do with jealousy." ”
In the eyes of the citizens of old Beijing, this "Fahai" is not evil, and even has a bit of sacredness and solemnity. The people may be able to hold such a view because of the original meaning of the word "Dharma"—"The Dharma is as vast as the sea." Not only the common people saw it this way, but even the imperial courtiers in the Ming and Qing dynasties also saw it this way. As a result, near xishan in Beijing, two "Fahai Temples" have appeared successively: The North Fahai Temple and the South Fahai Temple. Beifahai Temple is located on Mount Wan'an in Nanmentou Village near Xiangshan, and for a long time only some relics still exist there. Although it has been renovated, it looks too new. Liang Sicheng and Lin Hui, the two of them, once visited the Beifahai Temple. Under their lens, they also left an image for a street tower there that was about to disappear. Therefore, the Fahai Temple mentioned now is generally the South Fahai Temple on the north side of The Mokou Street in Shijingshan District.
Hokai-ji Temple
Ming Dynasty murals are precious
Approaching the Fahai Temple, I found that the mountain gate was missing, which was strange. In fact, similar examples to the "mountain gate without a trace" of Fahai Temple are not without a trace. In Zhengding, Hebei, there is a Longxing Temple (also known locally as the "Great Buddha Temple"). There, the mountain gate there, is separated by more than ten kilometers from the second hall, the Hall of the Heavenly King. However, the reasons for this construction are mostly unknown. So it comes down to all sorts of folklore. As for the mountain gate of Fahai Temple, it is estimated that this is also the case. But so far, I have not found any legends about it.
Now the "mountain gate" of Fahai Temple is the Protector Vajra Hall. The plaque "Fahai Zen Temple" hanging on the lintel was inscribed by Zhao Puchu, president of the Buddhist Association of China. Inside, there is the Hall of the Heavenly Kings. This hall, along with the Hall of Kongo, was only rebuilt in the 1980s.
Fahai Temple's Daxiong Treasure Hall
Every time I visit Fahai Temple, when I stand in the Hall of the Heavenly King and look at the new white walls around me, I can't help but feel sad - I think that this ancient temple of the Ming Dynasty is a royal edict, and it will come all the way down from the Hall of King Kong, and there are murals everywhere. Especially in this Heavenly King's Hall, such a large open room, there was nothing left, it was really a pity. Compare the Yuan Dynasty Yongle Palace in Ruicheng, Shanxi, the five halls are full of wall paintings, and everywhere is wonderful. But here, there is only one great treasure hall left with frescoes, is this not a great regret?
In 1962, the "Beijing Famous Places of Interest and Monuments" printed by the Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Task Force recorded that "only one Daxiong Treasure Hall remains in the Fahai Temple, and it is still relatively complete." Of course, in this completely preserved Daxiong Treasure Hall, the "very precious statues of the Third Buddha and the Eighteen Arhats" enshrined were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
Today, in Fahai Temple, there are still four treasures left: Ming Dynasty murals, Ming Dynasty zaojing, white skin ancient pine, and a Ming Dynasty bronze bell. Within these four treasures, the bronze bell is currently in the collection of the Great Bell Temple Museum. The ancient pine surrounds the Daxiong Treasure Hall, while the frescoes and the moi are both inside the main hall.
Ming Dynasty murals
These four treasures are indispensable. However, if there were no Ming Dynasty murals, then the Beijing Municipal Cultural Protection Unit (the first batch in 1957) and the national key cultural protection unit (the third batch in 1988) of the Fahai Temple could all be withdrawn. In the Ming Dynasty murals of Fahai Temple, the figures are grouped into groups of three or five, echoing each other, unified and changing. The costumes are gorgeous, the manners are beautiful, the lines are smooth, and the colors are strong. The walls are full of wind and beautiful. Some Western scholars once said something like this after comparing the 15th-century Eastern and Western murals: "The murals of Fahai Temple appeared at the same time as the Renaissance murals. His artistic achievements can also be compared with Italian church frescoes. Nowadays, the 20 yuan ticket to visit Fahai Temple does not include the cost of appreciating the mural. If visitors are interested in viewing the Ming Dynasty murals, they need to pay an additional 100 yuan for the visit, and they will be led by a special person to see the real face.
So, who is Li Tong, the founder of Fahai Temple? If you want to get the answer, you have to look for it from the Fahai Temple. Just to the southwest of the Daxiong Treasure Hall, there is a "Three Treasures Shi Shi Restaurant". The builder of this sutra must also be Li Tong. But who are the "Three Treasures"? If you open the historical data, it is estimated that you will be surprised - this "Three Treasures" is not someone else, but zheng he, a great navigator and eunuch who was famous in the early Ming Dynasty. This is strange, thinking about how Li Tong could set up a scripture for Zheng He in the Fahai Temple. If you want to study it carefully, it is also easy to explain that this Li Tong is a disciple of zheng he, the eunuch of the Three Treasures. The disciple erected a building for the master, which was logical. Zheng He was quite important during the Ming Dynasty. And as a disciple, Li Tong is also optimistic about Chengzu, which is also reasonable.
The most beautiful thing Li Tong ever did was to secretly escort the spirit of Emperor Chengzu back to Beijing from the Mongolian desert in 1424. After that, Li Tong rose step by step until the era of Emperor Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. The eunuchs whom Emperor Yingzong relied on were wang zhen instead of Li Tong. However, inside the Fahai Temple, on a monument of merit, Wang Zhen's name was impressively engraved. The construction of Fahai Temple was in the early days of the Yingzong Dynasty (1439-1443), when Wang Zhen controlled the political situation.
Since Li Tong is a "political evergreen tree", the temple he presided over can also be extravagant. Just north of Li Tong's tombstone, there is still a party "Leng Yan Jing Building", which is engraved with the name of the craftsman who built the Fahai Temple. According to the researchers' research, these craftsmen were all from the palace institutions and were the people used by the royal court. From this point of view, the mural of this Fahai Temple is the court painting of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, for this Fahai Temple mural that "embodies the highest level of Buddhist painting in the Ming Dynasty", no matter how praised, it is indeed well-deserved.