A Fayuan Temple, half of Chinese history: What historical events has Fayuan Temple witnessed

Many people have heard the name of Beijing Fayuan Temple , from Li Ao 's novel "Beijing Fayuan Temple". In this novel, the famous reformers Liang Qichao and Tan Sitong visited the Fayuan Temple and met here to discuss Buddhism and current affairs. When leaving, Liang Qichao also invited Tan Sitong to have dinner at Guangheju, one of the eight major restaurants in the capital.

Tan Sitong was born in Lanman Hutong outside Xuanwumen . When entered Beijing on the eve of the Hundred Days Reform , he lived in Liuyang Guild Hall in half alley . Both Lanman Hutong and Banjie Hutong are adjacent to Fayuan Temple. Therefore, whether it is Tan Sitong in his youth or Tan Sitong in his youth, it is possible to stroll to Fayuan Temple to play.

Fayuan Temple is located on the east side of the south end of Jiaozi Hutong outside Xuanwumen, and on the west side of West Brick Hutong . This is an old temple. Its history even exceeds the history of Beijing City . The Fayuan Temple was built in 645 (the nineteenth year of Zhenguan’s reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty), while the predecessor of Beijing City, Yuan Dadu, was constructed as early as 1267 (the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty to the fourth year of the Yuan Dynasty). Fayuan Temple predates Beijing by more than 600 years.

The person who built Fayuan Temple was Tang Taizong Li Shimin.

In February 645, Li Shimin personally led the army to set off from Luoyang and set off on an expedition to Goguryeo. In this military operation, the army of the Tang Dynasty has won many victories. However, because the war dragged on for too long, the front was stretched too long. In the blink of an eye, the weather in Goguryeo became extremely cold. The army of the Tang Dynasty had difficulty adapting to the local climate, coupled with the unsustainable food and grass, so they had to return to the dynasty.

When Li Shimin passed Youzhou on his way back to his teacher, he ordered the construction of a temple in the southeast of Youzhou to mourn the fallen soldiers. The temple was given the name "Minzhong Temple". However, in 649, when Li Shimin died of illness, the temple had not been completed.It was not until 696 that the Minzhong Temple was completed.

The Minzhong Temple has been built intermittently for decades, and its scale is very large. In the Minzhong Temple, there is a Minzhong Pavilion, which enshrines the tablets of soldiers who sacrificed their lives. "Tianfu Guangji" volume 38 records: "The high pavilion of mercy and loyalty, go to the sky and hold it." From this, we can imagine the majesty and majesty of the temple of mercy and loyalty.

1 For more than 400 years, Minzhong Temple has experienced countless winds and rains and witnessed many historical events. It is known as "a Fayuan Temple, half of Chinese history".

At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the An Shi Rebellion broke out. An Lushan army occupied the Minzhong Temple, renamed it "Shuntian Temple", and built a pure and pure light pagoda in the temple. There is an inscription in the Wugou Jingguang Pagoda, which was written by the famous calligrapher Su Lingzhi in the Tang Dynasty. This inscription is unique in that it is the only inscription written from left to right in ancient China.

1057, an earthquake occurred in the area of ​​Youzhou, and the Minzhong Temple was destroyed. In 1070, the Liao people restored the Minzhong Temple at the original site and renamed it "Daminzhong Temple". In

1127, the Jin army marched south, captured Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, and escorted Zhao Gou and Zhao Huan of Song Huizong to the Northern Song Dynasty, where they were detained for more than 20 years. In 1153, after the King of Jinhailing finished Yan Liang's move to Yanjing, he imprisoned Song Qinzong in the Daminzhong Temple, where he lived for several years until he died of illness.

1289, the Southern Song Dynasty Xie Fangde who fought against the Yuan Dynasty army was captured in Yuan Dadu and imprisoned in the Dacizhong Temple. Xie Fang saw a tablet of Cao E between the walls and cried, "Little girl Yuer, am I not like you?" Then Xie Fang went on a hunger strike for 5 days to serve the country.

1341 In the early spring of 1341, Zhang Zhu, a famous poet of the Yuan Dynasty, came to visit the Daminzhong Temple and boarded the Minzhong Pavilion. While feeling deeply, he wrote a seven-law "Xinsi Ershuo Dengzhong Pavilion": "Hundred-level dangerous ladder. Looking back at the blue sky, relying on Lan Hao Hao to absorb the long wind.The golden and silver palaces are in the heavens, and the splendid mountains and rivers are in one breath. As things move forward, the monk has grown old, and his soul is still alive in the sea. I only pity the south garden of the spring city, and the lonely flowers fall into old red. "

1630, the famous anti-Qing general Yuan Chonghuan was executed by Emperor Chongzhen Ling Chi, and the execution ground was Caishikou not far from the Daminzhong Temple. After Yuan Chonghuan died, no one dared to collect his bones. At this time , a servant surnamed Yu beside Yuan Chonghuan risked his life to stand up, steal his corpse and hide it in the Daminzhong Temple. After the rumors passed, the servant surnamed Yu buried Yuan Chonghuan quietly.

During the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty Due to the disrepair of Damin Zhong Temple for a long time, the Qing court allocated funds to rebuild it. After the reconstruction, Damin Zhong Temple was renamed "Fayuan Temple" - this is the name today. He initiated the famous 1988 Reform. However, the 100-day Reform failed after only 100 days. Reformers Tan Sitong, Kang Guangren, Lin Xu, Yang Shenxiu , Yang Rui , Liu Guangdi were killed by the Qing court Yucaishikou execution ground. Their bodies were once hidden in Fayuan Temple, and then they were buried separately. For more than 1400 years, Fayuan Temple has not only become a geographical coordinate of the capital city, but also a cultural coordinate. Countless cultural celebrities I have been to Fayuan Temple and left a lot of cultural relics. In 2001, Fayuan Temple became the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.