In the Taihang Mountains of Pingshun County, Shanxi Province, there is a special temple - Jindeng Temple. Jindeng Temple is far less magnificent than many temples, and can even be said to be dilapidated, but every brick and tile here has a history of 1,400 years.
From a modern perspective, this place is really unlivable. There is no water, no cars, no signal, no habitation, and there was even no electricity before 2008. However, Feng Kaiping has stayed here for 23 years!
Jindeng Temple is located in a remote place with rugged roads. In the past, telecommunications were not available, and the cultural relics and Buddhist statues in the temple were repeatedly stolen and destroyed. In 1995, Feng Kaiping was sent here as a civil administrator. He was over 70 years old and later went down the mountain due to cerebral infarction. Feng Kaiping underestimated the danger here. He thought it would be too easy for him and a few guards to guard the temple.
The fact is that in the 1990s alone, Feng Kaiping experienced four thefts. To put it more bluntly, they were robberies. In the most dangerous one, four thieves choked his neck, stabbed him in the waist, and tied his hands and feet. , his mouth was gagged, and he was locked in the kitchen. The wound on his waist was bleeding. Another guard was locked in the woodshed. Finally, Feng Kaiping found a saw in the corner of the kitchen and sawed through the rope with difficulty. When he came out, he saw that the thief had already escaped. Feng Kaiping was injured and walked for several hours before calling the police.
Another time, on a rainy night, when they heard the sound of the door being pried open, Feng Kaiping and the old guard hid on the edge of the cliff and almost fell down. The theft gang stole 14 Buddha statues. By the time Feng Kaiping walked to the police station to report the crime, it was already three o'clock in the morning. Finally, the gang was arrested in Hebei.
There were so many things like this. The other guards left one by one. Those who left first could bear a smaller psychological burden. They felt that they were gone and there were others. In the end, only Feng Kaiping was left, but he couldn't let it go. Determination, because once he leaves, there will be no one left. Feng Kaiping gritted his teeth and defended! We promised to keep it, and we will keep it to the end! Fortunately, the security became better and better, the thieves disappeared, and a new enemy appeared - loneliness!
In the long dark night, loneliness is like a soft knife, gouging out Feng Kaiping's heart. He is most afraid of foggy days. Usually, during the day, he can be on the mountain and see the smoke from the mountains and the moving cars on the road from a distance. But if it is a foggy day, this bit of human fireworks will be blocked. Compared with loneliness, drinking rainwater when thirsty and eating potatoes when hungry, such difficult living conditions are not worth mentioning.
For more than 8,000 days and nights in Jindeng Temple, Feng Kaiping survived the darkness, danger, and loneliness alone. His biggest guilt was his wife, who had raised three children but still supported his work. Feng Kaiping's perseverance was not in vain. In the 13th year he guarded the temple, the Jindeng Temple was electrified. In the 16th year, the Jindeng Temple was installed with surveillance cameras. In the 21st year, the state began to rescue and protect the cultural relics of the Jindeng Temple.
Over time, Feng Kaiping has developed feelings for these cultural relics. He often said that the Buddha statues have spiritual energy. In recent years, his family's health and harmony have been his greatest comfort. In 2018, he was awarded the "Moral Model of Dedication and Dedication" and the "Advanced Worker of the National Cultural Relics System". Feng Kaiping also attributed this to Aura. "Why do so many people across the country fall in love with me? They want talent but not talent, and they want education but not academic qualifications." This old man didn't know how great he was.
When he went to Beijing to receive the award, Feng Kaiping specially brought his wife. The leaders of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage took them to visit the Forbidden City and climb the Great Wall . Feng Kaiping and his wife laughed from ear to ear. In 2019, Feng Kaiping retired. The conditions of the temple are getting better and better, there are more and more tourists, and there will be young cultural conservators willing to come here to take over in the future.
Feng Kaiping's generation is the temple keeper who survived the darkness before dawn, and is also the last "monastery keeper" in China in the true sense!
