In the vast territory of the land of China, each ancient temple carries a profound history and culture. However, there is an ancient temple, which looks like nothing special and the overall scale is not large, but it enjoys the 24-hour uninterrupted protection of the armed police.
What is so "special" about this temple that it can stand out from the crowd and enjoy such a high standard of treatment? Next, let's take a closer look at this.
Tanzhe Temple is located at the foot of Tanzhe Mountain in the southeast of Mentougou District in western Beijing, about 30 kilometers away from the city center. Beautiful surroundings with lovely views.
The founding of Tanzhe Temple can be traced back to 307 A.D. in the Western Jin Dynasty, with a history of more than 1,700 years, and its name was called "Jiafu Temple" at first.
Later, until the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor was very fond of Tanzhe Temple, and had personally gone up the mountain many times to make incense, and gave the temple a large number of property and imperial books.
In the twenty-fifth year of Kangxi, that is, in 1686 AD, the Kangxi Emperor appointed the famous Zhenhuan monk to come to Tanzhe Temple as the host. Soon after, Emperor Kangxi himself also personally drove to Tanzhe Temple, where he talked with the monk Zhenhuan all night, ** Buddhism.
Emperor Kangxi stayed here for several days, and his mood became very pleasant, which can be described as lingering. At the time of parting, Emperor Kangxi also rewarded 10 volumes of the Diamond Sutra, 10 volumes of the Medicine Sutra, 1 Agarwood Mountain, etc., to express his love for the Tanzhe Temple.
After that, Emperor Kangxi gave gifts to Tanzhe Temple many times, such as in the 31st year of Kangxi, he rewarded 10,000 taels of silver to repair the main hall; In the thirty-sixth year of Kangxi, he was rewarded with a lot of imperial books and bamboo curtains and other items.
It's worth mentioning when it comes toEmperor Kangxi also personally gave the name Xiuyun Temple to Tanzhe Temple. Later, because there is a dragon pond behind the temple, and there is a Zhe tree on the mountain, so the folk have been habitually calling it "Tan Zhe Temple".
The name fully reflects the unique geographical environment and natural characteristics of the temple, and also reflects the architectural and cultural connotations of the temple, forming a beautiful picture.
In such a long history, Tanzhe Temple has undergone many repairs and expansions, and gradually formed its current scale. Once one of the important temples in the Chinese Buddhist community, it attracted many eminent monks to come to participate in meditation and practice.
In the history of Chinese Buddhism, Tanzhe Temple has a very important position and is known as one of the "holy places of Buddhism". Now so many years have passed, Tanzhe Temple is still the inheritance treasure of Buddhist culture in our country, and many Buddhist believers and tourists come to worship and visit the popular attractions every day.
As the largest royal temple in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty, Tanzhe Temple has a rigorous internal architectural layout, sits in the north and faces south, has an obvious central axis to divide the left and right sides, the overall sense of hierarchy is distinct, and it is also relatively rich in symmetrical beauty, and the characteristics of Chinese architectural style are prominent.
The main buildings can be divided into three roads: middle, east and west. Among them, the main buildings located in the middle of the road are the mountain gate, the Tianwang Palace, the Daxiong Treasure Hall and so on, which are arranged in sequence along the central axis.
The roof of the building is made of traditional yellow glazed tiles, and there are exquisite paintings around it, showing the story of Buddhism and the life story of the Buddha, which is also very ornamental.
The temple also preserves a large number of Buddhist scriptures and classics, as well as a variety of documents and cultural relics, which is an important material for the study of Chinese Buddhist history and culture.
In addition to these more traditional Buddhist temple architectural styles, Tanzhe Temple also has some unique architecture, such as high towers and stone pagodas.
The pagoda, also known as the "Pagoda", is one of the landmarks of Tanzhe Temple, which treasures many Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues. The stone pagoda is located in the tower courtyard, there are as many as 71 in total, mainly used to bury those monks who have died, and the overall atmosphere is very solemn and solemn.
Although some buildings are too old and look dilapidated, such as the Three Temples in the center of the middle road, which are now a little dilapidated, they cannot be restored by modern technology, so they can only be reluctantly maintained to slow down their deterioration.
However, with the full support of the state and the careful maintenance of many professionals, Tanzhe Temple is still quite well preserved from the overall point of view, and most of the buildings are still intact.
Miao Feng, a famous monk in the Ming Dynasty, once served as the abbot of Tanzhe Temple, and he was committed to promoting the prosperity and prosperity of Tanzhe Temple, and carried out large-scale repairs and expansions in the temple. It also actively advocates Buddhist teachings, and has successfully attracted many believers to come to worship and study.
Miaofeng also actively participated in the social and cultural activities at that time, and frequently interacted with a group of literati, which promoted the exchange and integration of Buddhist culture and social culture in Tanzhe Temple. With the efforts of Miao Feng, Tanzhe Temple developed to its peak in the Ming Dynasty.
Now if you go to Tanzhe Temple to play, it is not difficult to find that there will be some armed police standing guard 24 hours a day, which makes many tourists surprised.
There are so many temples in China, why can Tanzhe Temple enjoy the honor of being guarded by the armed police 24 hours a day? The reasons for this are simple, mainly the following:
First, although there are many Buddhist temples in China, there are very few that can reach 1,700 years in history like Tanzhe Temple. The long history of Tanzhe Temple makes it have extremely high cultural value.
There are also two very important historical treasures in the temple: a stone pot and a stone fish. These two items are believed to be the magic weapons of the Dragon King of the West Sea, and have the magical effect of praying for rain.
Among them, the stone pot is a large cauldron with a diameter of nearly two meters, which has historically carried the food of all the people in the temple. The stone fish is a stone that looks very much like a fish, which is a landmark cultural relic in the temple and is deeply loved by the majority of tourists.
Nowadays, the stone pot and the stone fish have become precious cultural relics and historical and cultural heritage, and each piece is invaluable.
Many thieves or theft groups have been trying to steal these artifacts. In order to protect these cultural relics from theft and destruction, the state dispatched armed police to guard the temple 24 hours a day to ensure the safety of the cultural relics and the temple.
In addition to the stone pot and stone fish, there are also eighteen Arhats and Buddha statues of Sakyamuni in the temple, the value of these Buddha statues is not low, it is easy to be remembered by lawbreakers, and the armed police are needed to help protect it.
The second reason is that Tanzhe Temple has an important position in the local culture and is the center of the local Buddhist faith and an important carrier of culture.
The existence of the temple has well promoted the exchange and integration of local culture, and has brought an important impetus to the development of local tourism. In order to protect this important cultural heritage of Tanzhe Temple, so that the local culture can continue to be friendly and integrated, the state decided to strengthen its security protection.
Tanzhe Temple, as an ancient temple with a history of more than 1,700 years, still has multiple values in modern society, which are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
Cultural values. Tan Zhe Temple is a very important historical and cultural heritage in our country today, by visiting the landscape and murals in the temple, reading the books in the temple, we can help our modern people understand the ancient architectural art, Buddhist culture and traditional morality, etc., and can also understand how to study and protect the ancient temple.
Historical value. Tanzhe Temple has witnessed the changes and development of China's thousands of years of history, and is an important carrier for the study of history, which is extremely rich in historical value. Through the investigation and research of Tanzhe Temple, it can help us understand the political, economic, cultural and other aspects of the ancient society, and is an indispensable important material material for historical research.
Social value. Tanzhe Temple still has quite a good social function in modern times, many people who believe in Buddhism will come here for visits, cultural exchanges, so that their souls can be purified, so that they can get better moral practice, which is the embodiment of its social value.
Spiritual values. The cultural connotation contained in Tanzhe Temple, including a lot of Buddhist philosophy and traditional morality, these things are the precious spiritual food left to us by our ancestors, which can help modern people reshape the spiritual world very well.
Especially in the current society, the pace of life is very fast, life is very stressful, and people are generally obsessed with the pursuit of material desires, while ignoring the construction of spiritual desires. Therefore, with an ancient temple like Tanzhe Temple, people can visit here to seek to make their hearts more peaceful and peaceful, and then enhance their spiritual and life force.
Tourism value. The tourism value can be regarded as the most conspicuous value of Tanzhe Temple at present, and it is currently rated as a 4A-level scenic spot.
In addition to the rich cultural connotation, the buildings inside the temple are also very artistic, which can become an important tourist attraction. By visiting Tanzhe Temple, visitors can feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture and enhance their understanding and identification with Buddhist culture.
All in all, Tanzhe Temple is a temple with a history of more than 1,700 years, which contains rich historical and cultural connotations, and also shows us the architectural art with unique charm, which has social, tourism, cultural and many other aspects of value.
It is precisely because of this that the state will send the armed police force to stand guard 24 hours a day to ensure that this precious cultural heritage will not be wantonly destroyed by some lawless elements.
With the rapid development of society and the acceleration of urbanization, many ancient temples are at risk of being destroyed, forgotten, or even completely disappeared. In this regard, we call on more people to protect such a precious cultural heritage as Tanzhe Temple and jointly protect our spiritual home.
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