2024 Chinese New Year outlook
In the depths of the mountains in southern Zhejiang, there is a corner that has been forgotten by time, and that is Jingyun Shisi Temple. Here, the moss is green and paved with ancient stone steps, as if it is the whisper of time. And the color of the grass, as if it is a green brush, gently outlines the outline of the temple, verdant, like an emerald inlaid in the deep mountains.
Here, there is no bustle and hustle, no strong smell of incense, only the tranquility and mystery, which makes people yearn for it.
The name of Shisi Temple itself contains a deep historical charm. It was built in Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty for ten years, and was originally the tomb of Meiyuan Garden. Mei Yuanyuan, a filial child who could guard the ancestral tomb for three years at the age of six, moved the world and the government at that time by his filial piety. In recognition of his filial piety, the government gave him the name of Shi Si Yuan. In the first year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, the Shisi Temple was upgraded to a temple, and since then, it has become a place of cultivation, quietly telling the vicissitudes of history.
Walking into Shisi Temple, it is like walking into an ancient world. The architecture here is simple and quaint, there is no ornate painting, no intricate carvings, only the color of logs and thousand-year-old trees. The 1,500-year-old cedar king has witnessed the rise and fall of Shisi Temple. It has a DBH of 447 meters, the bust has reached 134 meters. Although it used to be more than 50 meters high, it was struck by lightning, and now it is only 28 meters high. The hollow trunk of the tree is said to be able to accommodate more than 30 people, making people sigh at the magic and power of nature.
The main hall of Shisi Temple is considered to be a building at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, but some scholars believe that it was rebuilt in the early Qing Dynasty. No matter what era it is, it can't hide its unique Song and Yuan charm. The inscription under the inner forehead between the two front inner pillars of the main hall was originally created in the year of Zhizheng Bingshen, and it has witnessed its long history. According to the records of Jingning County Chronicles, Shisi Temple is in Dayao, created from Song Shaoxing, and rebuilt in three years of Shunzhi of the National Dynasty. Although the specific age is still controversial, the architectural style of Shisi Temple is undoubtedly the charm of the Song and Yuan dynasties.
Walking on the bluestone slab of Shisi Temple, it seems that you can hear the echo of history. Everything here is so quiet and so harmonious. The grass growing freely on the grass is verdant, setting off the low-key and quiet of the ancient temple. There is no excessive decoration here, there is no bustling hustle and bustle, only the tranquility and indifference, which makes people feel refreshed. Shisi Temple is such a place outside the world that is not stained with mortal dust, allowing people to find a pure land of soul in the chaos of the world.