The former site of Ciyuan Temple is located in Yashan, Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. This is also the place where Zhao Bing, the last emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, established his capital.
In the 12th year of Chenghua (1476) and the fourth year of Hongzhi (1491) in the Ming Dynasty, the great scholar Chen Baisha successively proposed the construction of Dazhong Temple and Ciyuan Temple. The former was to commend the "Three Loyalists" Wen Tianxiang and Lu Xiufu and Zhang Shijie, the latter commemorates the young emperor of Song Dynasty and Empress Dowager Yang who died for the country. After the temple was built, Chen Baisha wrote the "Ciyuan Temple Stele" with his homemade Maolong pen, and his disciple Zhan Yu (later renamed Zhan Ruoshui) wrote the postscript. It is said that Yashan Ciyuan Temple and other buildings were destroyed by Japanese invaders in 1943, leaving only ruins. Fortunately, the "Ciyuan Temple Stele" and other steles were saved from disaster and were re-erected.
When he wrote "Ciyuan Temple Stele", Chen Baisha was already over seventy years old and in a state of illness. However, he completed the calligraphy in one go as his love dictated, leaving behind a treasure of calligraphy for future generations.
Chen Baisha believes that the reason for the demise of the Song Dynasty was its own corruption. When the country was prosperous in the Northern Song Dynasty, the monarchs and ministers did not cultivate their knowledge and practice, nor did they use administrative methods to innovate the world. Even the wise men such as Cheng Hao brothers could not make full use of them. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the country lacked ambition and became increasingly weak. In the end, there was no distinction between good and evil, punishment and rewards were appropriate, and the people became poorer. The country's demise was inevitable.
Ciyuan Temple Monument (original text)
When the world rises and falls, people have their own responsibilities, and so do the kings and ministers. I have read less "History of the Song Dynasty", and I regret that the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty, when they were in their prime, did not have the knowledge to be sincere, and they did not have the political education of the previous kings to create a new world. When used. The traces of his actions are no higher than those between the Han and Tang Dynasties. Looking up at three generations ago, the master was the king and the king's career was prosperous. Now that the father and mother were born and the world was prosperous, what happened to the emperor and his ministers? After the southern crossing, I regret that the emperor was not the one who brought order to chaos. Although he had his ministers, they were not dedicated and evil opinions could be prevented. Ambition is weak and easy to be defeated, great righteousness is hidden but not obvious, the enemy is measured and enmity is played, the national economy is deteriorating, opportunities are often missed, and the success of recovery cannot be achieved. As for the lack of distinction between good and evil, improper punishment and reward, misfortune caused by resentment and anger, the decline of the army after the peace is reached, the increase of money and the increasing poverty of the people, like a chronically ill person who is dying, and the life of the ancestral family is no longer cherished. , I cried over it, and couldn't bear to look at it again. Confucius said: "Man's life is straight, and he is lucky to be born." Liu Wenjing wrote a poem about it: "Wang Gang once disturbed the country, and the human world was invaded by ghosts. The physiological nature is straight and should be played carefully. Eternal in the human heart. "Ah! Si Yan Ye. One word determines good and evil, and determines the rise and fall of all generations. Is it the talisman for the order of chaos in the world? The Song Dynasty was relocated, and the Ciyuan Palace was built on the Yashan Mountain in the city. On the day of the death of the Song Dynasty, Prime Minister Lu carried the young emperor to the water and died. When Master Yuan retreated, Master Zhang returned to Yashan. When he met Empress Ci Yuan and asked where the emperor was, he wailed and said, "I endured my death for thousands of miles and came here just to be a piece of Zhao family's flesh ear. There is no hope for me now." It is tragic to die by jumping into the waves. Sad! There is Dazhong Temple near Yashan, which is dedicated to Wen Xiangguo, Prime Minister Lu and Taifu Zhang. In the winter of the 1910s, in the tenth month of the 19th year of the Hongzhi reign, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs went to Huarong Liugong Building, the former Youbu Government of Guangdong Province, to go to the city. They went boating to Yamen to pay tribute to the former site of Ciyuan, and they began to discuss the erection of a shrine on Dazhong. The surname of Zhao Siren in the town is requested to be civilized and approved. Yu praised his decision and said: "The temple is completed and it should be remembered by the public." Soon after, the public went to serve as the censor of the capital, repair the Yellow River, and entrusted him with the general judge Gu Junshulong. Jiayin Dong Temple was completed. This is a service. It is gathered in one dynasty. The order is not due to having a supervisor. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a large amount of leisure, which is ashamed of the decadent vulgarity and assists the famous religion. People's hearts cannot tolerate it. The monument is placed in the temple so that visitors can have an impression. In the late summer of Hongzhi, I had recovered from my illness and was not yet ready to write or use a pen or inkstone. On the order of Mr. Deng, the governor of the government, I thought of the intention of Ci Yuan Luo Luo Luo Dongshan to build a shrine. I had not heard about it for a long time, so I wrote it with all my strength. I feel ashamed that I can't do it. I know Chen Xianzhang, the sick man of the South China Sea.