Beijing...... my home for more than ten years.
From Forbidden City to Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace to Yonghe Lhama Temple,
Longqing Gorge, White Cloud Mountain, etc.
It is the place where the ancient and modern blend into one.
The White Cloud Temple, also known as Baiyun Temple or the Abbey or Monastery of the White Clouds, is a Taoist temple and monastery located in Beijing, China. It is one of "The Three Great Ancestral Courts" of the Quanzhen School of Taoism and is titled "The First Temple under Heaven. The White Cloud Temple was first founded in the mid-8th century during the Tang dynasty and was initially called the Temple of Heavenly Perpetuity (Tianchang Guan). During this period, the abbey was state-sponsored and staffed by an elite clergy. From 1125 to 1215 when what is now Beijing was controlled by the Jin dynasty, the abbey served as the Taoist administrative headquarters and played an important role in state ceremonies. After Beijing was taken by the Mongols in 1215, the abbey was taken over by the Quanzhen patriarch Qiu Chuji and became the headquarters of the Quanzhen movement until the establishment of the Ming dynasty. Qiu—who himself was known by the name Master of Eternal Spring—renamed the abbey the Palace of Eternal Spring (Changchun Gong). Upon being summoned by Genghis Khan, Qiu undertook a three-year trek from Shandong to give the great khan an exposition on Taoism, which he completed in October 1222. Qiu's successor, Yin Zhiping (尹志平; 1169-1251) built a memorial shrine over Qiu's grave. This shrine became a temple in its own right and became known as the White Cloud Temple. The abbey was damaged when the Mongols took over in the late 13th century and, during the Ming dynasty, the Palace of Eternal Spring was destroyed. However, the White Cloud Temple survived and took over the functions of its former parent. Qiu Chuji and Yin Zhiping appeared on wuxia novel Eagle Shooting Heroes 射雕英雄传 and Return of Condor Heroes 神雕侠侣 by Jin Yong. The White Cloud Temple is also mentioned in the historical fiction The Great Emperor Kangxi by Eryue He. In the story, it was said that Kangxi visited the temple in around 1658. The temple was not been fully renovated during the time after the destruction during the late Ming Dynasty. The book described, that there was a long corridor with the diorama of the story Journey to The West - but when I visited there, there's no diorama of Journey to the West. But inside one of the hall, there's a diorama which depicted Qiu Chuji's travel to the western region (probably current Samarkand) where he met Genghiz Khan. The corridor is now used as a gallery for painting and calligraphy. Also, in the book, it was said that the tripod or ding, was made of gold. Indeed there's a tripod/ ding with the golden bronze color, but it was not gold. To this day, the White Cloud Temple remains controlled by the Quanzhen school. The abbey was without an abbot for the 1940s and was closed when the Communists came to power in 1949. Unlike many other historical sites which were damaged during the Cultural Revolution, the White Cloud Temple was well-protected and remained safe. Today, it is again a fully functioning temple and is the seat of the Chinese Taoist Association.. It is very easy to go to White Cloud Temple. It's located not far from Beijing Subway line 2 (Changchun Lu). It was located outside off the old Beijing city wall. Therefore, it was actually considered as a suburb during Kangxi's time. In the novel, Kangxi rode a horse, or a chariot to go there. Since it is a taoist monastery, there I saw a taoist practitioner who played guqin over there as part of their worship ritual. It's so relaxing to be there. It's like a retreat place in the middle of metropolitan Beijing. A Taoist master was playing Taichi in a hall with the diorama of Qiu Chujiu met Genghiz Khan.
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Finally I managed to go to Shanghaiguan. I've been eager to go to Shanhaiguan, since it's an important place in Chinese history. When I was a child, I saw many tv series, or read novels about Shanhaiguan - the most impressive series is Princess Cheungping (武侠帝女花) Shanhai Guan aka Shanhai Pass. Literary means : Mountain-Sea-Gate. Just like the name, this small county in Hebei Province, in Qinghuangdao City, is a mountainous county by the sea, in which there lies a city wall or great wall. This pass, is famous not only because this is the place where the great wall meets Bohai Sea -this particular site is called 老龙头 (Old Dragon Head). But also because throughout Chinese history, this pass served as a front line defensive outpost against ethnic groups from Manchuria (right now the region is called Dongbei ), including the Khitan, Jurchen and the Manchus. That's why this pass is also called as The First Pass Under Heaven - 天下第一关 because it's a very important defense fort. Shanhai Guan is the place where The Battle of Shanhai Pass, fought on 27 May 1644 happened. It was a decisive battle leading to the formation of the Qing dynasty in China. It is in this battle, that Qing Prince-Regent Dorgon allied with former Ming general Wu Sangui who surrendered to Qing to defeat rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty, allowing Dorgon and the Manchus to rapidly conquer Beijing and replace the Ming dynasty. This Wu Sangui...I'm very familiar with his name. From tv series, history books, and wuxia novels. Last year when I went to Yunnan, I also managed to visit Jindian Temple, a temple founded by Wu Sangui in Kunming. He's definitely one of the most glorious traitor in all Chinese history. First he betrayed Ming Dynasty, and declared loyalty to Qing Dynasty. Then later, he betrayed Qing and created his own dynasty and declared himself as an emperor. So on the site of Old Dragon Head, was an ancient barrack where the military lived and did their training. On this site, people could also see the Eight Diagram Tactics. Also, from Old Dragon Head, Temple of Mazu could be seen clearly. It's pretty easy to go to Shanhai Guan. Just take a train from Beijing Station. There's plenty of train passing Shanhai Guan. It takes around 2.5 hours to go there from Beijing. The train station is pretty modern too. I didn't have too much time to visit the city of Shanhai Guan, but it's pretty modern with a lot of food. This is the view when you get off from the train and entering the station at Shanhai Guan Train Station. After arriving in Shanhai Guan, then I went to Haining Cheng - which is where Old Dragon Head located. Basically Haining Cheng 海宁成 is the place where the ancient soldiers barrack located. Also on this place, there's a Xing Gong 行宫。Basically Xing Gong is a small palace where emperor who came to visit a place would stay at. Now this Xing Gong becomes a museum, where they displayed many articles. Inside the Haining Town Longwu Barrack. 龙武营生活区 Inside, there's a kitchen, dining room, stable, weapon rooms, etc. Basically it was a barrack in ancient time. It also has a quarter where the military general and his family (wife and kids) lived. After finished with Old Dragon Head and great wall on the sea, then we stop by at Xinggong - 行宫. Xinggong literally means 'traveling palace' was a palace which used by the ancient Chinese emperors to stay at during their trips to other cities. The current Xinggong was the latest building after some renovation during Qianlong era. Many emperors visited Shanhaiguan. The first emperor who visited Shanhaiguan was Qin Shihuangdi. Sui Yangdi, and Ming Emperors also visited Shanhaiguan. Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong all visited Shanhaiguan too. The Xinggong in Shanhaiguan now is used as a museum. Inside, there are displays of many interesting items. For me, the most interesting items is the clothing. Apparently the dragon robes wore by the Qing emperors, are hand made embroidery. They look really really beautiful, much more beautiful than what you see on tv series. Finished with Xinggong, then the last stop is The Number One Pass Under Heaven - 天下第一关. This is the famous pass where many battles took place. This is the gate which was opened by Wu Sangui when he surrendered to Manchu. First Pass Under Heaven - 天下第一关 The First Pass Under Heaven - the fortress/ city wall, is so wide and tall. Even for today's standard, it is a great defense wall. But, a great defense wall is not a guarantee that no invader could breaktrough.
This is what Kangxi said about great wall: "When an emperor rules a nation, he relies on internal sources and does not solely depend on barricades. The Great Wall was built during the Qin Dynasty and constantly repaired during the Han, Tang, and Song Dynasties. Yet, this did not prevent foreign invasions. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, my ancestor led his army through it, destroying any obstruction. No one could stop them! Therefore, to defend a nation is to cultivate one's virtue and treat the people respectfully. When people are happy, the nation is in harmony and the frontier is fortified. My thoughts concerning this are clearly represented by the proverb 'Unity of the people with the same purpose is a formidable force.'" |
Author:I am Kangxi's big fan. I read books about him, and I travel and visit places he visited before. D'oh!! :p Archives
February 2020
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