Chapter 44 2. Worshiping Buddhism and Taoism

There are a large number of religious buildings in the Forbidden City, such as Buddhist halls, Tibetan Buddhist Buddhist halls, Taoist temples, etc., and sacrifices continue throughout the year.There are Yinghua Hall in the northwest corner and Jingfu Palace in the northeast corner, which are horn-shaped and symmetrical buildings. The Yinghua Hall was built by Empress Dowager Li, the birth mother of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, to worship the Buddha. It is the only remaining Ming-built Buddhist hall in the Forbidden City.Later, it was the place where the empress dowager, concubines and concubines of the Qing Dynasty worshiped Buddha.The Yinghuadian area is 70 meters from east to west and 104 meters from north to south, covering an area of ​​7280 square meters.The Great Buddha Hall of Yinghua Hall has a high standard of construction. It is five rooms wide with yellow glazed tiles on the top of the mountain, and there are three stacked halls on the left and right.There are glazed screen walls on both sides of the door, and the cranes are in a spirit, ready to fly and fall.There are two bodhi trees in the courtyard, which were planted by Empress Dowager Li.It blooms in midsummer and is pale yellow. There are bodhi seeds, which are yellow and shiny, and can be used as rosary beads. Emperor Qianlong wrote a poem and erected a stele for this, and built an imperial stele pavilion.In the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, the empress dowagers and empress dowagers often stayed in the temple, offering incense to Buddha and praying.

Gyeongbokgung Palace is an independent palace in the northeast corner of the palace.In the twenty-eighth year of Kangxi (1689), Emperor Kangxi built this hall of worship for the Empress Dowager Xiaohui.In the front is Jingfu Gate, inside the gate is Jingfu Palace, and behind it are two pavilions dedicated to Buddha: Fori Building and Fanhua Building.After the completion of Jingfu Palace, Emperor Kangxi wrote a poem of ode: "Ciyan Yijiao, only enshrined inscriptions. Blessings and longevity, long-lasting happiness. Pine and jade trees, full of voiceless sounds. Shude is pure, and day lilies are luxuriant in the forest. Swipe a pen to pay homage, eternal sunflower heart." Emperor Qianlong also said in his poems that this palace is "the residence of my emperor Feng Xiaohui Empress Dowager".In his later years, Emperor Qianlong rebuilt Gyeongbokgung Palace and wrote "Five Blessings and Five Generations Hall" and hung it in Gyeongbokgung Palace.Since then, Gyeongbokgung Palace has been called "Five Blessings and Five Generations Hall".

The Buddhist halls are distributed throughout the inner court and have been preserved to this day.Tibetan Buddhism was introduced to the mainland in the 13th century and was respected by the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty.The Ming and Qing emperors both pursued the policy of supporting Tibetan Buddhism.The Qing emperor even regarded the support of Tibetan Buddhism as an important national policy to govern the Mongolian and Tibetan areas and consolidate the imperial power, so the number of Tibetan Buddhist temples in the palace gradually increased.During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the "Zhongzheng Hall Chanting Office" was specially set up to manage Tibetan Buddhist affairs in the palace. "Great Qing Huidian".Emperor Qianlong studied Tantric Buddhism under the third living Buddha Zhangjia Hutuktu. Today, most of the Buddhist halls in the palace were built in the Qianlong Dynasty. The statues, artifacts, and thangkas specially made for the Buddhist halls in the palace are It is a beautiful and gorgeous work of art.

A group of buildings in Zhongzheng Hall is the center of Buddhist activities in the palace. It is located on the west side of the Sixth Palace of the Inner Court. There are more than ten buildings in total. Destroyed), Yanchun Pavilion, and finally Jianfu Palace Garden.The Zhongzheng Hall enshrines the Buddha of Infinite Life, recites the Sutra of Infinite Life, and blesses the emperor with longevity.There are 7 large and small gold pagodas and 5 golden Buddhas in the Xiangyun Pavilion in front of the hall. It is also called the Golden Pagoda Hall. a big fire.Today, the Jianfu Palace Garden and Yanchun Pavilion have been rebuilt.

Baohua Hall is a small hall with three rooms dedicated to the statue of Sakyamuni.The Qing Palace holds a large-scale Buddhist event here every year, "Sending off the New Year", and lamas perform "Dancing Buza", commonly known as "Fighting Ghosts".This kind of religious dance with a strong Tibetan style is performed in the palace, which is strong, grand and very distinctive, and the emperor often comes to watch it in person.Yuhua Pavilion was built at the same time as Baohua Hall. Yuhua Pavilion is a pavilion-style building with three floors on the outside and four floors on the inside, with strong Tibetan Buddhist architectural features.Yuhua Pavilion is currently the most complete shrine of the four divisions of Tibetan esotericism in my country, namely, the Ministry of Action, the Ministry of Practice, the Ministry of Yoga, and the Ministry of Supreme Yoga. It is designed in strict accordance with the four divisions of Tibetan esotericism.The first floor is called "Zhixing Layer", where the plaque "Zhizhu Heart Seal" written by Emperor Qianlong hangs, dedicated to the Buddha of Infinite Life. Three exquisite enamel mandala cities added in the 19th year of Qianlong (1754) are still well preserved.The second floor is the mezzanine, which is called the "Practice Floor". There are 9 Buddhas, the Bodhi Buddha in the middle, 4 Buddhas and 4 Vajras on the left and right. The walls are covered with thangkas.The third floor is dedicated to the five Buddha statues of the yoga department, also known as the "yoga floor".The fourth floor is the "superior floor", which enshrines the three statues of Dense, Great Power, and Shengle Buddha.Yuhua Pavilion is not only a mysterious Buddhist building, but also a typical work of a combination of Han and Tibetan architecture.Carved dragons interspersed with squares, animal face decorations on stigmas, gilded copper lama pagoda top, four golden dragons leaping over the ridge, etc., all have distinct Tibetan architectural styles.Lined with blue glazed tiles, the architectural shape is exquisite and unique.Looking northwest from the Palace of Preserving Harmony, among the palace buildings with red walls and yellow tiles, the Yuhua Pavilion is particularly eye-catching.

The Fanzong Building in the northwest of the pavilion has three rooms and two floors. It is dedicated to the largest bronze Buddha statue with a height of 1.72 meters in the palace.Emperor Qianlong enshrined the armor, clothes and weapons he had used in front of the Buddha statue. The east and west side buildings in front of Yuhua Pavilion, during the Qianlong period, images of the third Zhangjia Hutuktu and the sixth Panchen Lama were enshrined, expressing Emperor Qianlong's respect for Tibetan Buddhism, Panchen Lama VI and Zhangjia Guoshi. There are many Buddhist halls and Buddhist events in the Qing Palace.For example, there are lamas chanting scriptures 365 days a year in Zhongzheng Hall, and Buddhist halls such as Yuhua Pavilion, Hall of Mental Cultivation, and Garden of Compassion Palace have a fixed number of days for chanting scriptures every month.Since the Buddhist hall is located in the inner court, the lamas who chant scriptures are mostly served by eunuchs.

There are a large number of Buddhist supplies in the Qing Palace, such as offering vessels, offerings, thangkas, and Buddha statues.Most of these items were made by the Qing Palace Building Office and the Zhongzheng Hall Chanting Sutra Office. They are exquisitely made and elegant, and most of them have been preserved in good condition. Ming and Qing court sacrifices, inside and outside the palace, there are both Buddhist halls and Taoist temples. Everyone in the Taoist temple knows that the surname of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was Li, and that Lao Tzu, the ancestor of Taoism, was also surnamed Li. Therefore, when Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty ruled Li, Lao Tzu was regarded as the ancestor of the Li family, and he was respected as "Emperor Xuanyuan of the Taishang", and Taoist temples were set up in prefectures and counties.In the Song Dynasty, the temple was built in Dajian, and it was set up in Taixue, with a doctorate, and Taoism flourished.Emperor Yuan also respected Taoism.Qiu Chuji, the founder of Quanzhen Sect, who was born in Qixia, Dengzhou, Shandong (now Qixia, Yantai), traveled as far as the Amu Darya River, and had a conversation with Genghis Khan—asking is the way to govern, and he answered: "Respecting the sky and loving the people is the foundation." Asking about the way of longevity, he answered: "Pure heart and few desires are important." He was awarded "immortal", revered as "great master", and lived in Baiyun temple in Dadu.Ming Zhu Yuanzhang was born as a monk, but his descendants Yongle Emperor, Hongzhi Emperor, Jiajing Emperor and Wanli Emperor all respected Taoism.

Zhu Di, the king of Yan, raised his army. It is said that with the help of Emperor Zhenwu, he gained imperial power, built the imperial palace in the north, built Wudang in the south, and revered Taoism.The Qin'an Hall was built in the Forbidden City to enshrine Emperor Zhenwu and protect the country.Qin'an Hall is located at the northern end of the central axis of the Forbidden City, with double eaves and a roof, 5 rooms wide and 3 rooms deep. Unique shape, only seen in the palace.Later, Emperor Jiajing built a Liaoyuan (enclosed wall) outside the Qin'an Hall, built the Tianyi Gate, and formed his own courtyard.During the overhaul of Qin'an Hall in 2004, it was discovered that there were more than 3,000 volumes of Buddhist scriptures in the treasure top, and they were returned to their original positions.

When Emperor Yongle was building the Qin'an Hall, he ordered to build the Wudang Mountain Taoist Temple (in today's Shiyan City, Hubei Province).Wudang Mountain is majestic and magnificent: "The air swallows Qinhua, the Milky Way is close, and the power over Min'e is high." (Xu Xiake's words) "Seventy-two peaks meet the sky, and twenty-four streams often sing", the situation is steep, and the mountains are rugged. There are four streams, dangerous mountains, high city walls, the Golden Summit of Taihe, 1612 meters above sea level, a golden palace with double eaves and roofs, magnificent and splendid.All the copper pieces of the Golden Palace were cast in Beijing, transported to Wudang, and installed on the mountain, just like "the jewel in the crown".A gilded plaque "Golden Hall" is hung under the eaves outside the hall.For five hundred years, incense has been burning continuously, and there has been a grand scene in the Taoist world of "five miles, one nunnery and ten miles of palaces, with red walls and green tiles looking exquisite".Wudang Mountain Temples are included in the "World Cultural Heritage" list.Wudang Temple has been around for 600 years.There is a saying: "If you don't go to the famous Wudang Mountain, you will come here for nothing." There is also a story about Zhang Sanfeng in Wudang Mountain.

Zhang Sanfeng was born in Yizhou, Liaodong (now Heishan County, Liaoning Province). His name was Quanyi and his name was Sanfeng.Because of his rough appearance, he was nicknamed Zhang Sloppy.In the cold and heat, there is a sack and a scorpion, and the food is exhausted, or it may be eaten for several days, or it may not be eaten for several months.Likes to wander, is good at joking, talks like a river, and acts like no one else around.Tasting Wudang Mountain, he told people: "This mountain will flourish in the future." Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty heard his name and sent officials to search for it, but he couldn't find it.Later, he lived in Jintai Temple, Baoji, Shaanxi.One day, he said he should die, and he did, and was buried in a coffin.During the burial, there was a sound in the coffin, and when the coffin was opened, the person was resurrected.Mitutoyo re-enters Wudang, his whereabouts are unpredictable.Emperor Yongle sent Hu Wei and his eunuch Zhu Xiang to visit with Xi Shuxiang coins.Emperor Yongle ordered Guo Jing, the servant of the Ministry of Industry, and others to supervise more than 300,000 Ding Fu, camping Wudang Palace, and the expenses were in the millions.Once it is completed, it is named Dayue Taihe Mountain, and an official is set up to cast a seal to guard it.This was in line with Zhang Sanfeng's prophecy. ("History of the Ming Dynasty Zhang Sanfeng Biography" volume 299) Yuzhen Palace, one of the nine palaces and eight temples in Wudang Mountain, is said to have been built by Zhang Sanfeng as the place where Zhang Sanfeng established a nunnery for 600 years.The existing Yuzhen Palace Mountain Gate and East and West Palace Gates were raised 15 meters in situ due to the Danjiang Reservoir project, which has become a good story in the protection of Chinese and foreign cultural relics.

Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty emphasized Taoism and built a Taoist palace in the northwest of the Forbidden City. In the Dagaoxuan Gate, the front is the Dagaoxuan Hall, the middle is the "Nine Heavens Yingyuan Thunder Altar", and the back is the Qianyuan Pavilion - a pavilion style. It has two floors on the outside and three floors on the inside. The upper circle (blue glazed tiles) and the lower (yellow glazed tiles) have a unique shape, which is only seen in China.During the Jiajing period, Taoist priests made alchemy, officials wrote green poems, Taoist incense was lingering, fasting and sacrifices continued, praying for immortality, and praying for immortality. Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty paid homage to both Buddha and Dao.He concocted alchemy in Yuanmingyuan to seek longevity.But the status of Taoism in the palace is far inferior to that of Buddhism.An important ceremony that reflects the awe of the Ming and Qing emperors is fasting in the fasting palace.