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Essay on the Capital City God Temple

Beijing was the capital of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. No one can count how many temples, Taoist temples and monasteries have been built in old Beijing for hundreds of years, and how many have been abandoned. Even the official information may not be detailed. From Dajue Hutong to Huguosi Street, there are three temples within a straight line, namely Xueyuan Temple, Baochan Temple and Huguosi Temple, not including the nearby Kannonji.

Let's talk about the long river. The names of many temples remain on both sides of the long river. From this point of view, the incense of Buddhist temples at that time must be vigorous, and the number of temples also met the situation of believing in Buddhism at that time. Castle peak roughly calculated, including; Guangtong Temple, (the prototype of Famen Temple is now gone, and the original site is Beixiaguan Primary School), Wuta Temple, Niangniang Temple, Xiaozu Tower, Zizhu Temple, Manjuji, Immediately Guandi Temple, Shuanglin Temple, Bi Xia Yuan Jun Temple, (namely Xiding Niangniang Temple), Shifo Temple, etc. (I am not a historian, please forgive me if there are any omissions). Now all that remains is; Wuta Temple, Zizhu Temple and Manjuji Temple disappeared in the collapse of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China and the large-scale reconstruction after liberation.

There is a stone pier on the north bank of the high beam bridge, which is the royal pier for the royal family to take a boat trip to Qingyi Garden for rest and sightseeing. There is also a little-known elegant courtyard "Hongyi Hall" for the emperors' empresses to have tea and rest. It is very close to the Royal Pier, which can be described as a stone's throw. There are many officials and eunuchs stationed in another courtyard of this "Hongyi Hall", waiting for orders at any time, and the "Hongyi Hall" has long since disappeared with the Qing Dynasty. Otherwise, how can there be two archways in a small stone bridge?

There are Buddhism and Taoism in China, together with Confucius and Mencius, which is Confucianism, which can also be called Confucianism. That is, people often say "Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism". Taoism and Confucianism are unique to China, while Buddhism was introduced from abroad. Because the enlightenment concept of Buddhism is more in line with people's psychology, it is very popular. There are many famous temples and devout believers all over the country, and there are four Buddhist Dojo. Wutai Mountain is Manjusri Bodhisattva, Putuo Mountain is Guanyin Bodhisattva, Emei Mountain is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, and Jiuhua Mountain is Tibetan Bodhisattva. Buddhism has two branches: tantric Buddhism and pure land Buddhism, and may also be related to Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism. It can be said that many dynasties in China were founded by Buddhism. The emperors of the Yuan Dynasty paid more attention to Taoism, so besides Baiyun Taoist Temple, another royal Taoist temple in Beijing was the Capital City God Temple, which was also built by the royal court.

Today I will talk about the "City God Temple" in the southwest corner of old Beijing. Although its name is "City God Temple", it is not a Buddhist cloud forest, but a Taoist temple, and it is close to the nearby "Lvzu Palace". The gentleman said; Chenghuang Temple is just like Chenghuang Temple. What else is it called "City God Temple"? When you open your mouth, you will be out. Who cares about 36 blessed lands, 72 caves, 100,000 heavenly soldiers and various immortals? Jade emperor! Hum, ha, two generals, four heavenly kings, eighteen arhats, protector Wei Tuo, three saints in the west, five hundred arhats, all the monks in the world listen to their teachings, and Buddha Sakyamuni is not finished. In ancient times, the Town God Temple was the most indispensable part of a town, because it was the patron saint of the town.

Solemnly explain; Chenghuang Temple is the seat of the general god who commands the whole country. The city god temples in other parts of Beijing and other provinces are its branches, including the city god temples in the Ming and Qing palaces. This Chenghuang Temple is located on the north side of Fangcheng Street, which runs east and west behind Fuxingmen Parkson Commercial Building in Xicheng District, and the famous entrance to the city is on the east side of the street. This boundary belongs to Fang Jincheng in Yuan Dynasty, Fang Jincheng in Ming Dynasty, Fucai Square on the right, and the red flag in Qing Dynasty.

Thousands of years ago, almost all towns in China had God Temples, so we should follow the old adage that "three miles and one earth temple, ten miles and one God Temples, every family has a kitchen god". In China people's minds, there are immortals everywhere, such as those wandering in the sun and at night, excluding scattered immortals wandering among the people. "There are immortals three feet above the ground" is a mantra, which also has a warning function, but it also shows that the concept of immortals everywhere has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. City God is a god who guards the city, supervises the death of Yin and Yang, punishes evil and protects all beings.

In ancient times, the most indispensable thing for a town was the City God Temple. When I was traveling to Hangzhou, I saw a city god temple on the Wu Shan, where Zhou Xin, a loyal minister of Daming, was enshrined. That is, a few days ago, CCTV Channel 1 hit the prototype of the upright and upright official in the costume drama "Judge Daming". According to anecdotal reports; After Zhou Xin was wronged by the Ming Emperor, ministers wrote letters to express their feelings. The emperor clearly knew that Zhou Xin was killed by mistake, but he didn't want to admit his mistake. So he played politics and made concessions, allowing Zhou Xinan to burn incense as the main god of Hangzhou. According to folk rumors, Lord Huang Cheng's birthday is March 28th.

The Town God Temple in Beijing was built between the Yuan Dynasty and the first year of Zhengzheng. After hundreds of years of renovation, I don't know whether it still retains the architectural features of the Yuan Dynasty, let alone its architectural layout, what the mountain gate looks like, how heavy the temple is, how many gods it worships and when it will be held. Everything, everything is far from us. In the past, the Chenghuang Temple once had its own glory. Cigarettes filled the room, candlelight flickered, and many believers bowed down to the gods. The Taoist temple echoed with solemn chanting. Amid the sound of devout believers wishing to pray, the Town God Temple suddenly turned into cold smoke, and its once glorious past is gone forever. Now, there is only an ancient temple, a few dilapidated stone tablets and stone components scattered on the grass, an empty hall, quietly isolated in the original site, which has tried hard to prove that Ducheng Temple once existed and had a glorious time.

From a distance, I saw the newly renovated Metropolitan Temple. There is a double-headed kiss on the ridge of the temple, covered with yellow glazed tiles and inlaid with black edges, and birds and animals are staggered. The most rare is the golden dragon seal pattern on both sides of the temple, which is the highest specification in the decoration of ancient buildings and can only be used by royal temples. Brilliance and massiness highlight its position in history. Although there is only one temple, the back hall with red walls and Zhuguo Zhumen, it is also an ancient building with extraordinary momentum. There is always a solemn feeling in the view, which shows the majesty of the royal Taoist temple. When I walked down more than ten steps to observe the main hall carefully, I was shocked by its ingenious conception, colorful paintings, magnificent buildings and exquisite patterns.

The only remaining back hall stands on a large bluestone foundation, and there are several broad stone steps in front of it. The whole building presents a "convex" shape, the cornices of the hall are tall, light and smart, and the arches are dignified and vigorous. The gate of the temple is decorated with purple vermicelli and painted with golden moire. The girders and arches are decorated with blue-green background, and only simple lines are painted on them, and more are painted with golden dragons. Whether it's swimming in Shuanglong, gaining momentum in Wolong, or the mighty and swaying dragon, it's light, smart and vivid, which shows the superb painting skills of the painter at that time. It is rare to draw so many dragon-shaped patterns between the beams of a back hall in Beijing. The temple of the Capital City God Temple shows the magnificent momentum of the royal architecture, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it with resplendence. You know, dragon patterns were not painted casually in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

On the beam above the window lattice on the east side of the main entrance of the main hall, there are still painted patterns of the Ming Dynasty. Although after hundreds of years of wind, frost, rain and snow erosion, most of them have faded and fallen off, but the pattern is still faintly discernible and the observation is delicate. It provides detailed and true information for repair, and also conforms to the principle of repairing the old as the old.

The capital city god temple is the first royal city god temple in Beijing. Incense is flourishing and pilgrims gather, not to mention, especially on major religious festivals. It is really difficult to walk. It also set fire to all the merchants in the nearby hutongs, including teahouses, restaurants, restaurants, cake shops, dim sum shops, funerary wares shops and rouge shops, one next to the other. Even prostitutes in brothels set up shop here, with stalls selling incense sticks and fruits, paper money, meat, fish, seasonal fruits and money. Lady, give me two pence. In front of another restaurant, a large crowd gathered around to watch the fun. I saw a man leading a large group of people to beg for money. (Beggars' Sect) holds two shiny thigh bones of cattle, which are decorated with copper coins and tied with red ribbons. With rhythm, hands shake and knock each other, singing these treasures in a hoarse voice. Manned, open for business, can buy and sell, buy low and sell high, and it is not surprising to fight for money every day. Manned, handsome, rich ears, three wives and four concubines, many children, many grandchildren ... a woman let out a scream, and those dude boys in the street flirted with young women again. At this moment, I saw a man running quickly behind him. On the other hand, a gang of hooligans have ganged up for territory again. You must say it in your heart; This place is really a mess. All right! You are absolutely right. This street is called the "downtown entrance" and the only one in Beijing. You see, every hutong in old Beijing has its origin. Now the place name is still there, also called downtown. The original place was just a wide road. It's still so noisy and annoying. Still noisy? Come on, it's been hundreds of years. Dude, I guessed wrong. It is a traffic jam.

The downtown area is calm, the glory of the Town God Temple is no longer, and Fangcheng Street is no longer an old street. Everything is in a trance. The grandeur and solemnity of the lonely hall in the sunset is also a little more sad. Without the noise of the past, without the channel number in the cigarette, there is a strange haze in the silence, which is even more reverie.

With the process of urban transformation, many famous ancient buildings in hutong were abandoned in the roar. Even the seventeen and a half rooms, which are regarded as the darling of redology scholars, Cao Xueqin's old house outside Guangqumen turned into a road in an instant, and the demolition unit didn't even inform the Cultural Relics Bureau, which made redology experts cry. Businessmen have nothing in their eyes but money. From this point of view, Chenghuang Temple is lucky. Sanqing was merciful and escaped a fatal shovel. It was really lucky.

Fangcheng Street, an ancient hutong spanning three dynasties, is now full of tall buildings, but there is only one hall, which is quiet and lonely. On the evening of summer, I looked at the Metropolitan Temple with many tall buildings and was filled with emotion. After hundreds of years of ups and downs, I came back, leaving only a harem. After renovation, the back hall of the Town God Temple has been restored to its original authenticity. It can be said that it is magnificent and solemn, quietly displaying the charm of the ancient capital in the afterglow of the sunset. The Town God Temple is so magnificent, so quiet, so magnificent and so mysterious. ...