Chapter 33 Section 12 Baxian Temple, the place where gods gather

The Baxian Nunnery was built in the Song Dynasty in Changlefang, Dongguan, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province.According to legend, this area was the "Chang'an Winery" in the Tang Dynasty. Lu Dongbin first met Zhong Liquan (also known as Han Zhongli), and Zhong Liquan enlightened Lu Dongbin to become a fairy here.It is said that in the last years of the Song Dynasty, Zheng Sheng met the Eight Immortals for a banquet here by chance.At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a lot of construction work here, and the "Eight Immortals Temple" was built. "Eight Immortals" is the collective name of the eight immortals of Taoism in legend.The story of the Eight Immortals first appeared in the Tang Dynasty, but their names were not fixed until the Song and Yuan Dynasties. It was not until the middle and late Ming Dynasty that Wu Yuantai's popular novel "The Origin of the Eight Immortals" was identified as Zhang Guolao, Han Xiangzi, Lu Dongbin, Han Zhongli, He Xiangu, Tieguai Li, Cao Guoshu, Lan Caihe and other eight people.The idiom "Eight Immortals cross the sea, each showing their magical powers", and the "Eight Immortals Table" in life all come from this.Baxian Temple is named after the collective name of the eight immortals of Taoism.

Baxian Temple was expanded in the Ming and Qing dynasties and became a famous Taoist temple in Xi'an.In the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1900 A.D.), the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Beijing. Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi fled to Xi'an, where they lived in the Temple of the Eight Immortals. The plaque of "Baolu Xianzhuan" made Baxian nunnery also known as "Emperor Jian Baxian Palace". The existing halls of Baxian Temple were all built after Ming and Qing Dynasties. From the mountain gate to the back hall, they are divided into three entrances, and there are two courtyards in the east and west.There are Lingguan Hall, Eight Immortals Hall, and Doumu Hall on the middle road; Luzu Hall, Yaowang Hall, etc. on the east road; Qiuzu Hall and so on on the west road.Among them, there are statues of the Eight Immortals such as Lu Dongbin in the Hall of the Eight Immortals.

After the renovation in 1952, Baxian Nunnery has taken on a new look, with verdant flowers and trees in the courtyard, charming scenery and quiet environment.