There are three famous mountains in Anhui, namely Huangshan, Jiuhua Mountain and Tianzhu Mountain. Among them, Tianzhu Mountain has profound historical heritage and beautiful scenery. It was named "Southern Mountain" as early as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, so it is famous. There are many tourists coming here, but when many people travel to Tianzhu Mountain, most of them ignore one place, which is the Sanzu Temple located on Fengxing Mountain in the south of Tianzhu Mountain. This temple has a long history and is a sacred temple of Zen. It is known as the "Crown of Nanzhou Zen Forest". Unfortunately, because of the existence of Jiuhua Mountain, it is not very famous now.
Sanzu Temple is located in Qianshan County, Anqing City. It was first built in the period of Emperor Liang Wu of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (505 AD) and has a history of more than 1,500 years. It was built by Master Baozhi, the imperial master of Liang Wu at that time. Emperor Wu personally gave it the name "Valley Temple". According to legend, there was also a wandering Taoist who also took a fancy to this place at that time, but one mountain could not tolerate two tigers, so Emperor Wu of Liang decided to let them fight and the one who could get it would win. Taoist Yunhe turned the whisk in his hand into a white crane. Upon seeing this, Master Baozhi turned the tin staff in his hand into a silver dragon. The white crane was frightened by the silver dragon and landed on Bailu Gang. Finally, the temple was built, and the Taoist was there A White Crane Temple was built at the location of Bailu Gang. The Zhuoxijing behind the temple is said to be the place where Master Baozhi fought.
Sanzu Temple was not built by the third ancestor of Zen Buddhism, Monk Can. It was named because in the 10th year of Emperor Kaihuang’s reign in the Sui Dynasty (AD 590), the third ancestor came here to promote Buddhism and established it here. Later Tang Suzong Li Heng It was also named "Sanzu Valley Qianyuan Zen Temple", hence the name "Sanzu Temple". In the 14th year of Tianbao of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (755 AD), Li Bai, Yan Zhenqing and Wu Daozi came to Tianzhu Mountain together. When traveling, they heard the name of Master Baozhi, so the three of them collaborated. Wu Daozi painted the "Portrait of Zhigong", Li Bai wrote "Praise to Zhigong's Paintings", and Yan Zhenqing was responsible for writing it, which was later engraved on a stone tablet. These are the "Three It is a pity that the original stele has disappeared in the long history, and all that remains in the temple is a rubbing stone stele.
Next to a small stream below Sanzu Temple, there are more than 300 cliff stone carvings left on the surrounding cliffs and huge rocks in the stream for more than 500 meters. From the Tang and Song Dynasties to the Republic of China, over 1,200 years, Many literati from all dynasties came here to leave inscriptions, among which the famous ones are Wang Anshi, Su Dongpo, Huang Tingjian and other great writers. Their calligraphy is different, including poems and articles, and is relatively well preserved. It can be called "the calligraphy of famous writers in the past dynasties". Museum" is a provincially protected cultural relic and is worth a visit.
Most of the buildings of Sanzu Temple today are rebuilt. They are built on the mountain. The mountain gate is at the foot of the mountain. It is a pavilion-style building with three gates standing side by side. They represent "liberation" from east to west. , "wisdom" and "diligence". The "Qianyuan Zen Temple" written above the lintel of the main door is also the nickname of Sanzu Temple. On both sides of the door are the two generals "Humph" and "Ha", which look quite mighty and majestic. Inside is the 60-level Tongtian Steps. In the past are the Heavenly King Hall and the Main Hall. Its architectural form should be imitated in the Tang Dynasty, but it looks like it was newly built in modern times.
On the left side of the Main Hall, you can directly access the Third Ancestor Cave, which is said to be the place where the Third Ancestor faced the wall. Entering a small door, you will find the famous Thousand Buddhas Hall. This hall does not use a single nail and is made of brick and wood. The four walls of the hall are densely covered with thousands of small Buddhist niches, and thousands of small Buddhist niches are enshrined inside. Buddha statues surround the Vairocana Buddha statue, forming a scene of "thousands of Buddhas paying their respects to Vairocana". Not far away is the "Jueji Pagoda", which enshrines the relics of the Third Patriarch. It has five floors. The most unique thing is that there are hundreds of wind chimes tied to the tower. Whenever the wind blows, the bells jingle incessantly. Stop, it's very interesting.
Although Sanzu Temple is a certain distance away from the scenery of Tianzhu Mountain, it is very convenient to get there. It is not well-known and has few tourists. If you don’t like crowded attractions, Sanzu Temple is a good choice. , it is also very good to come here to see these literati's calligraphy and listen to the long Zen music. Moreover, this is also one of the six ancestral temples of Zen Buddhism. The ticket is only 10 yuan. It is a bright pearl on the tourism landscape of southwest Anhui.