Welcome to the Thousand Elephants Temple in Tianjin. First of all, let me give you an overview of the Thousand Elephants Temple:
Qianxiang Temple is located in the east of Panshan Garden, Panshan Scenic Area, Jixian County, Tianjin, and belongs to "Gyeonggi Mountain Villa" in Qianlong Palace. Tianjin, as one of the eight scenic spots outside the Palace, is a key cultural relic protection unit, including the statue of a thousand buddhas carved in the Tang Dynasty, the site of a thousand elephants temple, and the "monument of a lecture hall built by a thousand elephants in Panshan for the Tang Temple" in the Liao Dynasty.
Qianxiang Temple, also known as Youtang Temple, was built in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty and was destroyed by fire at the end of the Tang Dynasty. Rebuilt in the early Liao Dynasty, there were Buddhist temples, monk halls and kitchens. The Buddhist temple is divided into three layers, and the front hall is for Maitreya; In the middle hall is the South China Sea Buddha statue; Houdian is a Buddhist Scripture Pavilion built for the statue of Master Xuanzang in Qing Dynasty. There are six mahogany giant boxes on both sides of the statue, which contain scriptures. There are halls on both sides of the sutra depository, the Yaowang Hall on the west and Zhenwu Hall on the east. Qianlong has been rebuilt for ten years, and there is a book "Rain Flower Blessed Land" hanging in the main hall.
On the boulder rock wall around the temple, there are more than 300 line-carved Buddha statues of different sizes, with a height of 1.5-2m, a width of 0.4-o.49, a height of 1.3m and a width of1m. Buddha statues are divided into vertical and pedestal types. Some are in groups of three or five, and some are monopolized by one stone. The Buddha statue has plump cheeks, dignified manners, a crown on its head, praise on its clothes, Buddha's light on its back, lotus flowers on its feet, and a smooth surface, which is quite artistic in the Tang Dynasty.
Qianxiang Temple The lecture hall monument was built in Panshan Qianxiang Temple Tour Hall, which was established in 987, the fifth year of Yelulong in Liao Dynasty. It is three meters high and one meter wide. The four corners of the monument are carved with flat fans, with smooth lines and vivid images. The inscription 1600 words in front of the monument was written by Li Zhongxuan, a military judge of Jizhou, and by Linde, a monk of Yuzhong Temple in Yantai. Calligraphy is vigorous and handsome, which is a rare artistic treasure, and it is known as "the first monument in JD.COM". COM”。
The inscription records the brothers who opened Jizhou and Panshan in Liao Dynasty and the establishment of temples. In the monument, Jimen is called "the land is thousands of miles away, the crown of a hundred cities, the green japonica in Redmi, the fertile soil for fishing and salt, and the prison in the Jinhe River, which is the Olympic area of Jimen." It provides historical data for studying the history, geography and products of Panshan area. It also records the origin of the name of the Thousand Elephant Temple: "Since ancient times, there have been venerable people who have reached far and found a foothold. The monk's landlord, North Point, has a clear spring under the rock. When you see a thousand monks washing dishes in a trance, it disappears instantly, and you can sit at a beautiful family dinner. Later, in the face of valleys and stones, a thousand Buddha statues were carved to show their extraordinary victory. " On the side of the tablet is a text engraved in the fifteenth year of Liao Dynasty 1046, which records the boundary between Qianxiang Temple and Miaoxiang Temple after a dispute over land issues.
To the west of this monument, there is a monument of Panshan Ancestral Temple, which stands side by side with it, and wrote a book for Xia Meng and Song Gedean in the 15th year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty. In front of the Buddhist sutra hall, there is still "rebuilding the monument of the Buddhist sutra hall in Qianxiang Temple".
On the cliff behind Ganxiang Temple, there is a huge stone that stands tall and independent of another rock. People shake it by hand, and the stone body shakes slightly, which is called "shaking stone" and is one of the eight strange stones in Panshan Mountain. It is recorded in Dong Liu's A Brief Introduction to the Scenery of the Ming Capital and Yuan Juji's You Pan Shan. "You Panshan" wrote: "He who rocks carries two stones, which is bigger than the wheel. If you try Xu Yin with one arm, you will swing from side to side. If many people lead, you don't have to try again. " Wang Ying, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, wrote in "Rocking the Stone": "If a stubborn stone has a spirit, it is also good and dangerous; Don't wait for the public, everyone is convenient. " On the rock, the Buddha statue is carved in the south, and the inscription "Rock" is carved in the east.
There is a hole next to the rock, named "Qizhen Cave", and the word "Infinite Life Buddha" is engraved on the hole. There is a relief sitting Buddha in the cave, about two meters high, which is the only grotto Buddha statue in Tianjin.
Well, friends, today's visit is over. Thank you for your support and cooperation in my work. In order to improve my work, if you have any unsatisfactory service, please leave your valuable comments. Wish you all the best!