Chapter 12 Section 12 Fayuan Temple, the oldest ancient temple in Beijing

There are many famous temples in Beijing, such as the Tanzhe Temple in Mentougou, which is said to be the oldest temple in Beijing. There is a proverb that says: there is Tanzhe first, and then Youzhou; Jue Temple and Dazhong Temple, Zhihua Temple in Dongcheng District, and Guangji Temple in Xicheng District are all famous.If only in the city of Beijing, Fayuan Temple can be called the oldest famous temple in existence. Fayuan Temple is located at the southern end of Jiaozi Hutong outside Xuanwu Gate.At first, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty Li Shimin ordered to build a temple here in the 19th year of Zhenguan (AD 645) in order to commemorate the soldiers who died in the war against Korea.During the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty (1436-1449 A.D.), it was rebuilt and renamed Chongfu Temple.During the reign of Emperor Shun in the early Qing Dynasty, an altar of precepts was set up here. After being rebuilt in the 11th and 12th years of Yongzheng (AD 1733-1734), it was designated as a temple of the Buddhist Law Sect. , which means "the true source of Fahai".

The temple faces south from the north, and on the central axis are the Shanmen, Bell and Drum Tower, Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Hall, Mizhong Terrace, Pilu Hall, Great Compassion Altar, Sutra Library and other buildings. Daxiong Hall is the main building of Fayuan Temple and the main place for religious activities.On the Baoxia beam in the hall, there is a plaque inscribed with "The True Source of Fahai" written by Emperor Qianlong. Mizhong Terrace, also known as Nianfo Terrace and Guanyin Pavilion, was built by Li Keju, the governor of Youzhou during the Tang Zhonghe period (881-884 A.D.), and is the oldest existing building in the temple.Minzhong Terrace is built on a one-meter-high square brick platform and is a single-eave Xieshan-top building.The outer wall is supported by 12 wooden columns, and the structure is quite novel and unique.The temple has a rich collection of cultural relics from past dynasties, such as stone statues of the Northern Qi Dynasty, stone Buddha statues of the Tang Dynasty, iron Buddha statues of the Five Dynasties, wood-carved Arhats of the Song Dynasty, bronze-cast Guanyin of the Yuan Dynasty, and wood-carved Arhats crouching tigers of the Ming Dynasty.Some of them preserved important materials for studying the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and some clearly reflected the nature of Buddhism and the purpose of the rulers' promotion of Buddhism.On the outer wall of the platform, there are Weng Fanggang's copy of Tang Li Yong's book "Yunhui General Li Gong (Xiu) Stele Remnant Foundation" and "Kyoto Ancient Minzhong Temple Now Fayuan Temple Dragon King Bodhisattva Spiritual Story" embedded on the east wall, and the west wall is embedded There are stone carvings such as "Praise of Buddha Statues Received in the West" and "Eight Songs of Fayuan" in the Qing Dynasty.

The Great Compassion Altar is now turned into an "exhibition room for the editions of Buddhist scriptures in the past dynasties", displaying scriptures written by people in the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, Song editions "Kaibaozang", "Sixi Zang", "Qi (qiqi) Sand Zang", Yuan Dynasty "Puning Tibetan, "Southern Tibet", "Northern Tibet" and "Jiaxing Tibetan" in the Ming Dynasty, "Wulin Tibetan" which is the only residual edition handed down from ancient times, "Longzang" in the Qing Dynasty, and "Beiye Jing", "Xixia Wenjing", "Uyghur 〔huhu〕Wenjing', 'Dai Wenjing', 'Tibetan', 'Mongolian' and other classics in minority languages ​​and some rare scriptures are one of the temples with the most Buddhist scriptures and the most precious editions in my country.

The Tibetan scripture building is located at the end of the temple. It has two floors, five rooms wide and three rooms deep. Photocopies, etc., these are important materials for studying Buddhist culture. Fayuan Temple is a famous temple in history.Song Qinzong was captured by the Jin soldiers and taken to Yanjing, where he was imprisoned; in the 13th year of Jin Dading (AD 1173), it was used as an examination room for the Jurchen Jinshi; in the 26th year of Yuan Zhiyuan (AD 1289), Xie Fang [Fang Fang], a survivor of the Song Dynasty, was detained and died of a hunger strike in Fayuan Temple for refusing to lower his Yuan.

Since ancient times, Fayuan Temple has been luxuriant in flowers and trees. It is said that there are still Tang Songs and Song Cypresses in the temple.In the Qing Dynasty, Fayuan Temple was even more famous for its beautiful flowers and trees.In each period from the early Qing Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, there was a kind of main ornamental flower.Begonia first, then peony, and finally lilac.These flowers have made many celebrities and scholars linger and chant, leaving many poems.There are still hundreds of lilacs in the temple, known as the sea of ​​fragrant snow.Every year when the flowers bloom, the fragrance is strong and floats for miles.

After 1949, Fayuan Temple was repaired on a large scale, and the Xuanzang Memorial Hall was built.Now, Fayuan Temple is the seat of the China Buddhist Academy and the China Buddhist Library and Cultural Relics. It is not only an institution for studying Buddhism, but also an exhibition center for Buddhist art and cultural relics.Many heads of state and foreign guests, especially Buddhists, went to burn incense and pay homage.