Master Hanshan Memorial Hall is located on a hill to the west of Cai Village, Chuomiao Township, Hexian County. It was built by Cai Villagers for Master Hanshan (common name Cai Deqing), a generation of eminent monks who was born in this village. The memorial hall has double ridges and overhanging eaves, and its corners soar into the sky, just like an ancient temple. In the center of the hall, the gold-painted statue of Hanshan sits on a lotus, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes, Buddhist beads hanging on his neck, hands clasped together, calm and peaceful, and it is awe-inspiring to watch.
Master Hanshan was born in October of the 25th year of Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty (1546). Legend has it that when he was born, he was clothed in white, with a mouth as bright as the moon, eight-colored Yao eyebrows, and a face like a Buddha. The soup after washing was fragrant. The parents were overjoyed and named her baby Damei.
Hanshan entered school at the age of 7, and went to Baoen Temple in Nanjing to study Buddhism with monk Xilin at the age of 10. Xilin also invited him to guide him in reading the "Four Books", "Five Classics", "Historical Records", "Hanshu" and The diction and poetry of various schools of thought. At the age of 19, he was ordained as a monk and took the title of Chengyin.
From the age of 26 to 40, Chengyin traveled to practice Zen. In the first year of Wanli (1573), he went to Mount Wutai in Shanxi, one of the four famous mountains of Chinese Buddhism. The main peak in Wutai is Hanshan Mountain in the north. It has rugged rocks, is beautiful and quiet, so it was named "Hanshan" in silence.
In the eleventh year of Wanli (1583), after arriving at Laoshan in Shandong (now Laoshan in Qingdao) to visit Narayan Grottoes, he settled down on Haibei Mountain in the south of the mountain, built Haiyin Temple, and officially changed his name. For Hanshan.
When he was 49 years old, the imperial court sent him to Leizhou, Guangdong for military confinement for the crime of building a private monastery. He was pardoned 16 years later.
At the age of 55, he went to Shaozhou, Guangdong and started building Nanhua Temple.
He began his second wandering at the age of 66, and went to Lushan at the age of 71. The following year he built Fayun Temple and wrote behind closed doors.
At the age of 77, he returned to Caoxi at the invitation of his disciples in Guangdong. The next year (1623), he passed away sitting in Nanhua Temple at the age of 78.
The scene when the master passed away was unusual. Ancient books record: "At that time, hundreds of birds were mourning, and four people were wailing. The starry night was full of light and candles in the sky. People on the other side of the mountain suspected that there was a fire in the temple. For three days, his face seemed to be alive, and The lips are red, the nose is slightly sweaty, and the hands and feet are like cotton." The monks in the temple raised the throne with oil cloth and placed it in the pagoda courtyard. Hanshan's physical body is still enshrined in Nanhua Temple in Caoxi.
Hanshan studied Buddhism and practiced Zen throughout his life, preached and preached scriptures, preached Dharma, and wrote extensively. Moreover, his poems and essays have a unique Zen heart, and his calligraphy skills are unique. Qi Gong, a contemporary master of calligraphy and painting, praised in "On Calligraphy": "After the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was broken. In the past five hundred years, I have seen several brushstrokes in the Jin, Tang, and Yuan Dynasties. When I was a writer, I was not as good as a monk." What the poem says. Wen Zhengming, a famous calligrapher and painter in the middle Ming Dynasty, and Dong Qichang, a calligrapher who collected ancient masterpieces, are also incomparable. Han Shan is really a great virtue and great talent. (Selected from "Chaohu Humanities Landscape" edited by me)
"Chaohu Lake is good, with good scenery, the water meets the clouds, the sky is white, and the sails fly over thousands of grains..."
Chaohu Lake today, The resort is already there. A 70-kilometer-long Chaohu Lakeside Tourism Avenue, like a beaded golden thread, connects the bead-like landscape along Chaohu Lake and becomes the longest lakeside landscape corridor in China. Starting from Hefei, the provincial capital, and entering Chaohu along this sightseeing avenue, you can enjoy the elegant and ultimate Chaohu style. The three major hot spring resort and leisure centers, Tangchi, Bantang and Xiangquan, run through the city from south to north. Bathing in the hot springs after sightseeing will leave a warm memory of the beautiful Chaohu Lake in a refreshing and leisurely way.