One morning during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a faint red light in the sky. A hunchbacked old man climbed up to the Bell and Drum Tower, facing the place where the sun was rising, and rang the huge bell. 108 loud and far-reaching bells woke up the entire Tianjin city from its slumber. The bustling and noisy day gradually began with the bursts of bells.
Today’s Drum Tower is very majestic, and modern construction technology makes it even more resplendent. Standing at the foot of the Drum Tower, with your face pressed against the blue-green city bricks, I hope she can tell in her ears the nearly 500 years of history that belong to her. The vicissitudes of the remaining years. The clock is still there, but she can only chime a few times when modern people are curious and spend 10 yuan, and that's all.
"The Drum Tower during the Hongzhi period, known as the 'Bell and Drum Tower', is a landmark building in the entire city. It occupies the commanding heights of Tianjin City." Luo Luo, former director of the Institute of History of the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences Shu Wei told reporters that when the city was built in the second year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1404 AD), it was just an earthen fence. It was not until the sixth or seventh year of Hongzhi (1493-1494) that the brick city was built, and the east, west, south, and north buildings were built. There are four gate towers and four corner towers. The Drum Tower located in the center of the city was also built at this time and was named the Bell and Drum Tower. The Bell and Drum Tower is three stories high. The first floor of the building is a square platform made of bricks. It is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. It has four arched doorways that lead to the four main streets of east, west, north and south. On this platform, two floors were built. The first floor is dedicated to Guanyin, Our Lady of Heaven, Guan Yu and Yue Fei, etc. On the second floor of the building, there is an iron bell weighing 300 kilograms.
"Legend has it that the Drum Tower has both bells and drums, but later the drums were moved out and it was called the 'Drum Tower'. The Qing Dynasty poet Zhou Chuliang wrote in his "Bamboo Branch Poems": 'It was originally the bell tower number. In the Drum Tower, there are two shifts in the morning and evening, and the sound is one hundred and eight, and the drum is slow and accurate. '"
The people of Tianjin at that time had no concept of time. They worked at sunrise and sunset. interest. The only time is the sound of the drum tower ringing the bell twice in the morning and evening. The sound of the bell was clear and loud, spreading throughout the city and outside the city and far north and south of Haihe River. At the same time, the Drum Tower is a witness to the prosperity of Tianjin city. Baoquanji, one of the famous markets in the Ming Dynasty, is located next to the Drum Tower. "The city of Tianjin back then was known as 'Sai Huaian'." Mr. Luo said with some pride in his tone, Mei Xiaoshu, a Tianjin poet in the Qing Dynasty, wrote a couplet, which was hung on the Drum Tower. The first couplet is: "Come up to Gaochang and see the shadows of the sails passing by the seventy-two gu"; the second couplet is "Who wakes up from the prosperity? Listen to the one hundred and eighty" The morning and evening bells ring."
Tianjin Drum Tower was destroyed in the late Qing Dynasty. In the Gengzi Year of Guangxu, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Tianjin and the city walls were demolished, except for the Drum Tower. Soon, the building was occupied by the fire brigade as an observation deck. In the 10th year of the Republic of China, Cao Rui, Governor of Zhili Province, and Yang Yide, Director of Tianjin Police, rebuilt the Drum Tower as it was. Written by Jiahua Shikui. In 1952, it was demolished during urban construction. (1) The fort is located in the current Paotai Village in Nankai District. It was built in the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1639). In order to prevent the Manchu invasion, it had no role in the Qing Dynasty and collapsed due to lack of maintenance.
(2) Dagukou Fort is located at the intersection of Haihe River and Bohai Sea in Tanggu District, 60 kilometers southeast of the city. There are three existing forts, named after the words "wei", "town" and "sea". Dagu Haikou is the "screen of Tianjin". Fortifications began in the Ming Dynasty, and forts were built in the Qing Dynasty to gradually form a relatively complete defense system. The Dagukou fort is a historical witness of the Chinese nation's resistance to aggression and its fear of violence. In the sixty years from 1840 to 1900, Western powers launched four invasions of the Dagukou Fort in order to seize their economic interests and political privileges in China. With the signing of the "Xinchou Treaty", the Qing government was forced to demolish the Dagukou Fort. The Dagukou Fort ruins are located on the south and north banks of the Haihe River estuary in Tianjin. It was first built with bricks and stones, and later with Sanhe earth. During the Second Opium War, the fort system continued to develop and the defense system gradually took shape. In its heyday, a powerful coastal defense system was formed, which was mainly composed of six forts: "Wei, Zhen, Hai, Men, Gao" and Shitoujiao, equipped with thousands or ten thousand kilograms of copper and iron cannons and ancillary facilities.
(3) In many tourism websites that introduce Tianjin, the fort among the three treasures is often described as the Dagukou fort. In fact, the fort, known as one of the three treasures, has long been humiliated. The "Treaty of Xinchou" was forcibly demolished, and all that can be seen today is the fort foundation on East Road of Beiyingmen.
In front of a red brick second-floor building at No. 118 Dongma Road, Beiyingmen, Hongqiao District, the reporter saw the only remaining fort foundation. The platform base is about 2 meters high, the base is square, each side is more than 16 meters long, and it covers an area of ??about 260 square meters. Wang Yuzhu, director of the Hongqiao District Cultural Relics Management Office, told reporters that these seven forts are 178 years older than the Dagukou fort. After the Yaowa fort was abandoned, nothing was left except the base, which was left desolate for a long time. During the Japanese and puppet period, houses were built on it and a police station was established. The people called it the Fort Police Station. In 1956, after the merger of street stations, the police station was moved out and turned into a dormitory for district government cadres. A few years ago, Sanjo Shifang Management Station surrounded the platform with cement to protect it.
The reporter was surprised why he didn’t see the “Hongqiao District Cultural Relics Protection Unit” sign on the wall. Wang Yuzhu said with a smile: “Because the sign is made of copper, Mrs. Ma in the small building is afraid of it. If someone stole it, he simply took it to his own home for protection."
According to Wang Yuzhu, in the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1639), there were intrusions from the Manchu ruling forces outside, and Li Zicheng "made trouble" inside. "Amid internal and external troubles, Tianjin, the throat of water and land transportation, immediately became the frontline town to defend the capital. The Ming Dynasty government ordered Zhao Hudong, the commander-in-chief of Tianjin, to build seven forts around the Tianjin Acropolis. They were located in seven places, namely today's Fengjiakou, the west of Haiguang Temple, the north bank of Sanchahekou, the south bank of Yaowa in Hebei District, and Hongqiao District. Xigu, Shaogongzhuangdong and Shuangmiao Street. Each fort is assigned 10 soldiers to defend day and night to protect the safety of the city. During the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Zhiqi's poem "Seven Towers Encircling" listed the fort as one of the "Eight Scenes of Tianjin". You can imagine how spectacular the fort was at that time.
However, the spectacular fort did not protect the precarious regime of the Ming Dynasty. As the rebel king Li Zicheng entered Beijing and the Qing troops entered the customs, the fort became a waste. Cui Xu of the Qing Dynasty wrote in "Hundred Odes of Jinmen": "The forts are heavily defended, and the seven places surrounding the city are also majestic; during the peak season, they are idle and useless, and the broken walls are covered with green moss." However, during the Gengzi Incident in 1900, Some forts played a role in fighting the Eight-Power Allied Forces. Therefore, in the terms of the "Xin Chou Treaty", the Eight-Power Allied Forces required the dismantling of these seven "soldiers" who defended the country. (1) The Lingdang Pavilion was originally the Sutra Collection Pavilion of the ancient Xiji Temple in the old city. It was built in the seventh year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1579). It is commonly known as the Lingdang Pavilion because of its cornices and dingdong wind chimes. During the Guangxu period, a fire broke out at a nearby skatepark and was destroyed. During the Republic of China, Lingdangge Middle School was built on the original site.
Lingdangge Middle School is located in the northwest corner of Tianjin County. It was originally named Jigugu Temple and was built in the Tang Dynasty. The temple contains the entire Tripitaka. In the seventh year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1579), the Sutra Collection Pavilion was built, with double eaves protruding from all sides, which was very spectacular. There are wind chimes installed in the corner of the pavilion, and the sound of the bells can be heard for miles. The villagers call it Bell Pavilion because of it. In the thirty-eighth year of Kangxi's reign, the abbot Hanguang monk rebuilt it again. Zhu Yizun, a literary master of the Qing Dynasty, wrote an article to record the event and described his feelings when he ascended: The setting sun was on his clothes, the wind chimes were ringing, and the flying birds were flying up and down. Kuang Shen Yi. In the eighteenth year of Guangxu's reign, a fire accidentally burned down the Buddhist scripture pavilion. The house and the Buddhist scriptures stored there were reduced to ashes. In 1901, Yan Fansun, Gao Lingwen, Wang Shilan and others proposed to build a new middle school on the old site of Jigu Academy, named Tianjin Ordinary Middle School, but due to habit, people called it Lingdangge Middle School. On its school flag and emblem, the bell is the main symbol
(2) Nowadays, it is impossible to see the original appearance of Belldang Pavilion. The only thing the reporter can find is the "Lingdang Pavilion" named after it. "Lingdangge Middle School" and six steles in the school. In this scaly claw, the reporter slowly appreciates the buried past.
On the only six remaining inscriptions, there are only the reasons for changing the Jigu Temple into the Jigu Academy and the curriculum regulations of the Jigu Academy. "In the 13th year of Guangxu's reign, due to the lawlessness of the monks of Jigugu Temple... an academy was restructured."
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"The age screening will admit eighty candidates, 15 candidates as secondary candidates, 25 candidates as secondary candidates, 40 candidates as outside candidates, listed as candidates for admission, and 20 people who have been deducted will be made up. "
If you take classes in the academy, the academy will also give you a "scholarship" if you study well. "Each class will be given a scholarship by the official, and the course papers will be distributed by the academy. The first place will be given three citations for tuition and fees, the second to fifth place will each be given two citations, and the sixth to fifteenth place will each be given 500 citations. The first place will be awarded a tuition fee of 500 copper coins, the second place to the twenty-fifth will be given one penalty each, the first place will be awarded a tuition fee of one penalty, and the second to twenty-fifth will be given eight coins each. A hundred articles, but no tuition fees. ”
The requirements for being a teacher in Jigu Academy were very high. “You must choose someone with both character and knowledge to teach classics and history, and you don’t have to be limited to people from the local area...” It can be seen that at that time, as long as he was talented, no matter where he was, he would be "Search" entered the academy.
Qi Ming, the principal of Lingdangge Middle School, told reporters that when the school renovated the playground many years ago, two stone turtles with no heads were dug out. It took an 8-ton trailer to pull out one of them, but the other one was still buried under the playground. "The burning of Belldang Pavilion or the forgetfulness of Belldang Pavilion made Qi Ming very regretful. Looking at the students running around on the playground, he said, "The history of Belldang Pavilion should be understood by today's children. Got it. ”
According to Luo Shuwei, a researcher at the Institute of History of the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, Lingdang Pavilion is a common name and was originally a “Sutra-Tibetan Pavilion”. There are different opinions on when it was first built, some say It was first built in the Tang Dynasty, some say it was built in the Yuan Dynasty, and some say it was built in the Ming Dynasty. The "Tan Temple" attached to Volume 8 of Qianlong's "Tianjin County Chronicles" states: "Jigu Temple is located in the northwest corner outside the northwest gate. It was built by imperial decree in the seventh year of Wanli and in the third year of Kangxi's reign. It was rebuilt in the 18th year and has a Buddhist Scripture Pavilion. "The Sutra Collection Pavilion here is the Lingdang Pavilion. "Xu Zhi" of Tongzhi: "Haihui Temple is located in the west of Jigu Temple in the west of the city. Haihui, a monk from the Tianzhu Kingdom during the Yuan Dynasty and Zhengzheng Dynasty, established his nunnery here, hence the name. It was rebuilt during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. "Obviously, there are differences between these two records. However, Gao Lingwen, a famous local chronicler in Tianjin, used his explanation to resolve the contradiction between the two: that is, the Jigu Temple built in the Wanli Period was next to the Haihui Temple, and the Haihui Temple was built in the Yuan Dynasty. Hui Temple was demolished in the late Ming Dynasty and merged into Jigu Temple. The "Tianjin County New Chronicle" in Volume 25 states: "Haihui Temple is located in the northwest of the city. It was the Haihui Temple in Tianzhu during the Yuan Dynasty. Hence the name. Next to it is Jigu Temple, which was built in the seventh year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. Later, the land of Haihui Temple was merged into Jigugu Temple. "
The Sutra Pavilion was originally a building of Haihui Temple, and was later merged into Jigu Temple and became its auxiliary building. "The pavilion has two floors, five couplets wide, with flying eaves everywhere, like a bird spreading its wings. "The Sutra Pavilion has two floors, but the foundation is more than one foot high. The roof has prominent cornices, painted beams and carved pillars, and is solemn and gorgeous. In order to promote the role of Buddhism in awakening the world and prevent the destruction and defilement of birds, the roof is built on the ridge There are 48 wind chimes hanging on the eaves and corners, which are more than a foot long. When the breeze blows, the sound of the bells moves from near to far, like waves, and the sound can be clear and sweet. It adds to the splendor of the residents in this area and is deeply admired by people. Over time, the announcement of Lingdang Pavilion was loud and heard far and wide, and it became superior to Jigugu Temple.
There are sixteen cabinets of Buddhist scriptures hidden in the pavilion, among which the Tripitaka contains almost all Chinese Buddhist classics. , and the Beiye Sutra. These classic versions are very precious. During the Kangxi period, the Tianjin Road Department donated money to rebuild the Jigu Temple, and invited famous craftsmen from the south of the Yangtze River to renovate it after the Yellow Crane Tower. At the same time, several bungalows were expanded to serve as the temple. For the purpose of textual research.
In the library inside the pavilion, most of the writings were donated by celebrities at that time, and most of them are rare treasures, with hundreds of unique copies in the country, especially those from the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. The most precious are the manuscripts (over 100 types) and the 40 volumes of scriptures written in the Six Dynasties. It is said that on that day every year on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, all the books in the pavilion are exposed to the sun to prevent them from rotting. At the same time, we took this opportunity to let people read it for the enjoyment of readers. At that time, many scholars from Jinmen came to see it in advance, and it was an unprecedented event.
In the 18th year of Guangxu's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1892), Jigu Temple was approaching. A fire broke out in the wooden board factory, which affected Lingdang Pavilion. Unfortunately, this famous historical site was destroyed by the fire together with the collection of books. Now, only Lingdang Pavilion Middle School and the six inscriptions record that there was a beautiful building in Tianjin.