Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Legendary Course

In order to find a qin girl and to visit masters, A Bing started a legendary journey of visiting temples and famous teachers with his pipa and huqin on his back... The road is vast, where can I find my beloved Qinmei... A Bing first sought masters in Wuxi Mingchuan Ancient Temple. In the evening, A Bing came to Tiesuo Temple, and the sun was about to set. A Taoist boy came out and asked, "Where did the priests come from? What are you doing here?" A Bing saluted and said: "Little Taoist priest Hua Yanjun came from Lei Zun Hall in Wuxi, and he came here specially to pay homage to Taoist Master Huang Guan."

Xiao Daotong went in to report to the chief reporter, and when the mage knew that he was Hua Qinghe's illegitimate son, he said disdainfully, "I don't see you." Xiao Daotong came out and said euphemistically, "Master is sitting here, I don't see you." In order to pay homage to this famous mage, A Bing had no choice but to stand outside the view of the iron chain. When night fell, A Bing urged the little Taoist again: "Little senior brother, can you go in?" "Wait for me to report." The mage still said no. Xiao Daotong came out again and said: "The mage is asleep, wait for the dawn!"

A Bing had to wait.In the middle of the night, when the cold wind fell, A Bing was shivering from the cold, and he hoped for the dawn. At dawn, A Bing asked the little boy who cleaned the door: "Little brother, can I go in?" Xiao Daotong said, "Wait until I go in and report." After a while, Xiao Daotong came out and said, "Master is chanting sutras, so I can't see you." A Bing's feet were numb, but he still stood crookedly. As the sun rose, Ah Bing's frozen hands eased, and he played the huqin. Suddenly, the melodious and moving sound of the qin came into the temple. The Taoist priests who were chanting all stopped to listen when they heard it. The proud mage was probably also infected, and he finally waved to Xiao Daotong, which meant that he could call A Bing.

The young A Bing was introduced into the hall of this great Taoist temple. He saw the mage with childlike face and hair and wearing a crane cloak holding incense in his hand, half-closed his eyes and doing ritual repentance with the Taoists.Seeing A Bing coming, he opened his eyes slightly, looked at A Bing, and began to chant again. In this smoky Taoist hall, there is a statue of the Supreme Lord on the front desk, and Ah Bing felt a sense of immortality, and Ah Bing also recited the "Jade Emperor Sutra" together with the Taoists... After the recitation, the mage finally talked with A Bing.The master asked A Bing, "What did you learn from the iron chain visualization?"

A Bing said: "Study Taoist music." The mage said: "Okay, you stay here for a few days and sacrifice to the gods with us, and you will be able to understand, because Daoyue is not something that can be explained by words." "The mage will teach you." On the day of offering sacrifices, firstly, string songs were used to encourage sacrifices to ghosts and gods, and then to pray to the fairy world with quaint and soft music. After listening to this, Ah Bing's eyes were broadened. Finally, the master asked Ah Bing to play an erhu solo, which of course was praised by everyone.

One day, after reciting the scriptures, the master asked A Bing, "Daoist Hua, have you learned anything from me?" "I learned the majesty of Doraku." "Very well, you must always remember: Doraku is solemn and sacred." "yes." A few days later, Ah Bing bid farewell to the master and all the Taoists, and traveled all over the famous mountains and Taoist temples in Suzhou and Hangzhou alone. A Bing's cloth shoes were worn out, so he put on straw sandals and walked across the famous mountains and rivers in Suzhou and Hangzhou every day, and walked between temples.

On this day, A Bing finally came to Maoshan, Jiangsu, the first of the twelve blessed places of Taoism. A Bing raised his eyes, but he saw the mountains stretching and the forest deep. A Bing was not afraid. He went up the stairs alone along the path. When he was approaching the eighth cave, he slipped and fell, almost to his death. Bing moaned on the hillside. At this time, two Taoist priests came, and one of them stopped suddenly. He pointed to the ravine and said, "Someone seems to be moaning below." "Someone is humming. Could it be that someone fell down?" "I'll go down and have a look."

The two went down to the ravine and found A Bing, who had injured his waist. "Where do you come from, sir?" "I came from Wuxi and wanted to learn Buddhist scriptures from your monastery. Unfortunately, I fell and injured myself." Two Taoist priests helped A Bing to the monastery. Knowing that A Bing was injured, the old Taoist came to see him. A Bing said: "I have heard that Maoshan Taoist Temple is a famous Taoist holy place in Wuxi, and I have been yearning for it for a long time." The old Taoist said: "Maoshan is famous for the three brothers surnamed Mao who practiced Taoism and became immortals in the Western Han Dynasty. Afterwards, the famous Ge Hong and Tao Hongjing all practiced here. Tao’s Chaoyang Cave.”

"Thank you so much." The old Taoist said again: "Your Daoist Gu and I are Taoist friends. I also know that Hua Qinghe is a master of silk and bamboo. I also heard that you play the erhu very well. I didn't expect you to come. We can have a good exchange." "Thank you, Daoist." After a few days, A Bing could walk on the ground.Standing outside the monastery, he saw Maoshan Taoist temples lined with smoke, and the monastery was very spectacular. The two Taoist priests who rescued him took him to visit Chaoyang Cave, where there were four characters "Huayang Cave Sky" inscribed by Emperor Kangxi.

A Bing participated in their morning recitation, ritual repentance and other activities, and participated in their performance. A Bing seeks advice from famous Taoist teachers in Maoshan, and learns Taoist fairy music with them, which broadens his horizons. In order to absorb the optimistic advantages of the unique temples, he braved the wind and snow to learn Buddhist scriptures from Xuanmiao Temple in Suzhou. On this day, it was snowing heavily. A Bing stepped on the snow and came to the gate of the temple. The Taoist priest who guarded the gate enthusiastically led A Bing in. When he arrived at the abbot's house, the Taoist priest politely introduced the Xuanmiao Temple to A Bing.

The Taoist said: "Xuanmiao Temple has a long history. It was the Helu Forbidden City in the Spring and Autumn Period, and later it was Ziji Palace. Later, it was renamed Yuanmiao Temple in the Qing Dynasty to avoid taboos. It has a history of more than 1,600 years." Looking at the buildings and statues of the temple, A Bing said, "The Yuanmiao Temple is well preserved." The Taoist said: "It was destroyed by war in the Southern Song Dynasty, but it was rebuilt later." A Bing knew that the Taoist music of Xuanmiao Temple in Suzhou was famous, so he planned to live in this temple temporarily, and the master graciously agreed.The Taoist priest said: "Gu Taoist priest and I are friends, and I have also visited Chong'an Temple." A Bing told the Taoist priest that the Sanqing Palace was burned down by the rebels and that he was expelled from the Leizun Palace because he refused to give a birthday performance to the warlord's concubine. Settle down!" "Thank you, Daoist." Taoist music in Suzhou has enjoyed a long-standing reputation and is best combined with court music. It also absorbed Jiangnan silk and bamboo music, thus forming an elegant and soft feature. A Bing was determined to comprehend it well and bring it back to Wuxi. So, A Bing lived in a hut with two Taoist priests, and the two Taoist priests liked A Bing and played the erhu very much.On this day, they sat in the bamboo forest outside the monastery and listened to Abing playing the qin. The sun was setting and the western sky was dyed red. Stopped and praised: "It's really good, Taoist music has successors. You can stay here for a while, let them all learn from you." "Okay, I also want to learn more from them." On this day, A Bing watched Taoist priests in Suzhou doing fasting sacrifices, and the Taoist priests sang the "Jade Emperor's Sutra Kaijing" to the sound of music: A Bing sighed: "It's too fairy-like. It's really illusory." On this day, the birthday of Laojun Taisheng, Yuanmiao Temple held a grand ceremony. The wind and percussion music included the drum solo that Suzhou Taoism is best at. The music is as elegant as fairy music, and there is also "buxu". Taoist priests walk around the incense burner amidst the music, like immortals walking freely in the illusory space. The music is simple and elegant, which makes A Bing feel Taoist music the beauty of nothingness. A Bing left Yuanmiao Temple and boarded Lingyan Mountain.A Bing looked at Lingyan Mountain, and he really looked like a reclining elephant.After walking for a while, A Bing saw a poor man sketching from life. He drew the old man picking herbs on the Lingyan mountain, with white clouds floating and standing still. A Bing sighed: "Sir, your paintings are really lifelike. A stone figure is so lifelike under your brush." The poor man turned his head, cupped his hands to A Bing and said, "Thank you for your compliment. I don't know where the man came from and where he wants to go?" A Bing returned the courtesy and said: "My surname is Hua, my name is Yanjun. Everyone calls me A Bing. I belong to Lei Zun Temple in Wuxi. I was expelled from the monastery because I offended the warlord. Now I am learning scriptures everywhere!" "Oh," the humble man's eyes lit up, and he praised, "I thought Taoists were all hiding from the world to protect themselves. I didn't expect there to be such a strong man as you." "Thank you for the compliment, may I have your name?" "You can call me 'Xiaoyaoyou'." Seeing that A Bing's eyes were wide open, he said again, "I am a poor painter. I adore Zhuangzi, so I took this name myself." "Oh, wanderer, where are you going?" "Wandering around without a fixed place, what about you?" "I'm going to drift away for a while before returning to Wuxi." "Okay, then let's go together." "Okay. We are destined!" The sun was about to set, and the sunset glow in the western sky was so colorful and spectacular that it attracted the leisurely wanderer to stop and sit on a stone to draw.The setting sun sank into the western sky, and the painting of the wanderer was finished. A Bing took a look and said, "ah, it's so beautiful." In the evening, they stayed overnight in Lingyan Temple on the mountain. The two were lying on the wooden bed, and the moon shone in through the wooden window of the temple... A Bing was thinking about Qinmei... Where are you, Qinmei? A Bing asked: "Pleasant traveler, you have traveled everywhere, but have you ever met a girl named Yang Qin?" "The girl named Yang Qin, is that your sister?" "I don't have a sister." "Oh, I see, is it your sweetheart?" "Yes, she is my beloved, but she disappeared during the warlord turmoil. I have inquired everywhere, but so far there is no news of her." "Oh, so you traveled all over the world to find her?" "yes." "Alas," the Wanderer sighed again, and said, "We are both fallen people." "Why, you have some misfortune too?" "To tell you the truth, I escaped from marriage." "Where is Na'er's sweetheart?" A Bing asked. "I haven't met a beautiful woman yet." "Oh, that's right, then you are really at ease, because although you have troubles in your heart, you have no pain." "I sympathize with you, and I will definitely help you find it." "thanks." "It's late at night, let's sleep!" Lingyan Temple is a Buddhist temple on Lingyan Mountain. It is only more than ten kilometers away from Gusu. The incense in the temple is very prosperous. A Bing just caught up with the eminent monks in the temple to do the Taoist temple. There are drums, flutes, sansiqin... For the serenity and elegance of Buddhist music, Ah Bing felt the connection with Taoist music. He said to the wanderer: "The Dharma of Buddhist music is to save all living beings, making us feel that life is really like a sea of ​​suffering." The wanderer said: "I didn't feel the sea of ​​suffering, only the sea of ​​freedom." A Bing said, "You really deserve to be on a free and easy tour." In the afternoon, A Bing and the wanderer visited Lingyan Temple with two monks. Looking at the simple and elegant temple, A Bing said: "I have heard that Lingyan Temple is full of incense, and it is true." An old monk said: "During the Spring and Autumn Period, this place used to be the ruins of the palace that Fuchai, the king of Wu, repaired for the beauty of Xishi. You can see that the lotus pond behind the temple is said to be the place where King Wu and Xishi went boating to pick lotus." After hearing this, the wanderer said: "So that's the case. I said why the incense in Lingyan Temple is so prosperous."