Ancient Tibetan Temple in the deep mountains
Part of Jinping Mountain
Luoyang is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and has been known as “the mountains and rivers arch and wear, and the situation is the best in the world” since ancient times. What’s even more rare is that in the thousands of years of history, many famous mountains have formed their own distinctive personalities and have been marked with unique cultural imprints, which is a very interesting phenomenon. To this end, this column has launched a series of “Luoyang Famous Mountain Culture”, and you will go to some famous mountains to “explore the secluded scenery” and have a “winter trip” on paper.
Jinping Mountain is located in the south of Yiyang County, two or three kilometers long from east to west, there are 12 peaks and peaks, it is named because it is like a splendid painting screen, and the person who gives the name is Wu Zetian. Legend has it that Lu Dongbin once cultivated here, and Shao Yong also had a home at the foot of the mountain.
Until more than 100 years ago, Jinping Mountain still has a unique scenery, attracting many people to come here to cultivate and chant. For example, in the eleventh year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty (1831 AD), when Zheng Luan, a native of Jiangsu, went to Renzhi County in Yiyang, he once wrote a poem: “Luoyang Mountain is connected to Yiyang, and there are two lines of peaks and peaks. It is better to go to Yiyang Mountain, and the twelve columns of Jinping are green. ”
Today’s Jinping Mountain has been greatly affected by secular factors such as mining, and its demeanor has been greatly reduced. However, as long as you are willing to climb to the top of the mountain and look at the white clouds above your head and the Luoshui under your feet, you will find that it is quiet and dusty, just like back then.
The empress gave the name Jinping Mountain
The name of Jinping Mountain is poetic and unforgettable. However, when I first came here 10 years ago, I didn’t have a good impression of it, because there were many mines in the mountains at that time, and there was smoke and dust everywhere. I even feel that such a mountain does not deserve such a beautiful name.
It wasn’t until two days ago, because of the series of “Luoyang Famous Mountain Culture” that I came here again to experience the soil, stone, grass and tree of Jinping Mountain up close, and realized how arbitrary I was at the beginning, and almost missed a good scenery. It turns out that this mountain, as a natural barrier in Yiyang County, has its own beautiful and steep side, just like its name.
Speaking of the name of Jinping Mountain, many people know that it was given by Wu Zetian, and it is also recorded in the “New Tang Dynasty Book Geographical Chronicles”. It was 696 A.D., the empress Wu Zetian was fortunate to come here, saw twelve peaks and peaks layer upon layer, such as a splendid painting screen, then gave the name “Jinping”, and wrote down the four big characters of “Jinping Wonders”, engraved on the stone, standing on the top of the jade pillar peak. To this day, these four words are still the “golden signboard” of Jinping Mountain, people talk about Jinping Mountain, always mention Wu Zetian, mention “Jinping Wonders”. It’s just that after more than 1,000 years of wind and rain, the stele inscribed by Wu Zetian on Yuzhu Peak has long been damaged, leaving only a remnant stele of the word “Qi”, which was taken away and preserved by the local cultural management department.
Some people may find it strange, the peaks of Jinping Mountain are not high, mostly in three or four hundred meters, Yuzhu Peak is the highest one among them, and the altitude is only about 450 meters. I think that today’s Jinping Mountain naturally does not leave any wonders, but in ancient times, such steep, verdant mountains and cascading picturesque stone mountains are really rare.
The twelve peaks of Jinping Mountain have their own names, in addition to the highest Yuzhu Peak, there are the second highest Wenbi Peak, as well as the Peach Blossom Peak, Yanxia Peak, Old Man Peak, Kuibi Peak, Xiangshan Peak, Xizhao Peak and so on. In the past, according to the scenery of each peak and the allusions left, some people also listed the ten major landscapes, such as the jade pillar Qingxia, the night moon of the fairy tower, the sound of the academy book, the cloud pavilion overlook, the autumn wind of the pottery cave, etc. It’s just that today’s Jinping Mountain is no longer beautiful, and many landscapes are difficult to find. Fortunately, since Wu Zetian gave the name “promotion”, the literati and writers of the past dynasties have been quite yearning for Jinping Mountain, and there are many climbs to the title. According to rough statistics, from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, more than 40 poets came here, leaving more than 60 poems and songs praising Jinping Mountain. With the help of these words, we can recreate the former beauty of this famous mountain.
At this point, who is not happy to write poems
There are many historical celebrities associated with Jinping Mountain, in addition to the empress Wu Zetian, there are also Lu Dongbin, Shao Yong and Yiyang County Orders of previous dynasties.
When it comes to Lu Dongbin, people are no strangers, but not many people know about his past in Jinping Mountain. This person’s name is Lu Chun, the word Dongbin, born in the late Tang Dynasty, was originally a Confucian student, because he failed to pass the Jinshi twice when he was in his 40s, he began to wander the rivers and lakes to seek immortal cultivation, and decided to give up his fame.
Legend has it that at the age of 64, Lu Dongbin was enlightened by immortals, and finally attained enlightenment, becoming one of the eight immortals of Taoism, and leaving many legendary stories among the people. Regarding his cultivation in Jinping Mountain before he attained enlightenment, his poem “Jinping Mountain” can be testified. After attaining enlightenment, he revisited his hometown and wrote a poem “Crossing Jinping Again”. It is said that there was a Dongbin Building on the top of Yuzhu Peak in the past, which was built to commemorate Lu Dongbin’s cultivation in Jinping, and there were relics of him riding a white deer on Yanxia Peak.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Shao Yong settled in the comfort nest south of Luoyang Bridge, and often traveled with Sima Guang and others, and Jinping Mountain was one of his favorite places. Perhaps because he liked this place too much, he built a home at the foot of Jinping Mountain, and came to live here around the Qingming Festival. Interestingly, in addition to lingering in Jinping Mountain, Shao Yong also wrote a poem: “Jiashu empties the rock garden, and the good peak is in front of Cui County.” Those who have a light difference in fame and fortune will drop out of time here. “I advise others to take fame and fortune lightly and take time to enjoy a good time in Jinping Mountain.
Among the many poems about Jinping Mountain, Liu Minkuan’s “Jinping Mountain Song” is very weighty and cannot be left unmentioned. He was the magistrate of Yiyang County during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and worked here for 6 years, and the county government at that time was in front of Jinping Mountain. Because of the relative day and night, his feelings for this famous mountain are different from others. He wrote in the poem: “Zhan Bi Songyue is the axis of the land, and the northwest Jinping is its foot. The peaks are high and merge into the smoke, and the lush forests are full of trees. Overlooking Luoliu clear and clear, the mountain is like a whale under it. On the right, Yique wandered, and on the left, Hangu He Zhengrong ……, “If he wasn’t extremely familiar with Jinping Mountain and its surrounding environment, how could he write such a poem?”
According to the “Yiyang County Chronicle”, Liu Minkuan had a lot of good governance when he was in Yiyang, and when he left office, the people were reluctant, “the father, the old and the children embraced the road and covered it”, and also built a shrine for him.
From the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, there were many people who lived in seclusion in Jinping Mountain to practice and even study hard. This historical mountain is an eclectic mix of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, leaving a wealth of historical sites, but unfortunately people are rarely seen today. Someone in the local area told me that because the mountain was full of cypresses in the past, Jinping Mountain also has a common name, called Mountain Cypress Loquat (pronounced pá), which is now also used to call the southern slope of Jinping Mountain, where there are many cypress trees.
You can still get rid of the dust when you enter the mountain
One afternoon two days ago, I drove from Luoyang New District, along Kaiyuan Avenue all the way to the west, and then turned to the Luoyi Expressway, after driving about 30 kilometers, I arrived at the northern foot of Jinping Mountain, which is located in the south of Chengguan Town, Yiyang County.
However, it is not easy to get up to Jinping Mountain from the east. I asked some people who lived at the foot of the mountain, and they all said that there was only a road to the west, and there was no way to go anywhere else. When asked where Yuzhu Peak was, they couldn’t tell. An old lady said, “Are you going to the Jade Emperor Temple?” From there, you can go up to the top of the mountain. “I continued westward as I was told, and finally saw the stone steps up the hill near the intersection of South Ring Road and Wenhua South Road.
It was evening, the white clouds were floating in the sky, and there was a quiet all around, and the voices of people faintly came from the mountains. I looked at the time, and it was just 17 o’clock, and I immediately started climbing the mountain. At first, the trail is gentle, but when you reach a flat area and climb up, the steps become narrow and steep, and your legs become weak when you look up. I was engrossed in climbing the mountain, and after 10 minutes I arrived at a temple built on the mountain, the Jade Emperor Temple, and the people inside had already started to eat dinner.
Ji Shengli, 60, was about to leave the temple and went down the mountain, he said that there were eight or nine people living here, all of whom were believers from all over the world. I asked where the temple came from, and he said, “That’s early!” This temple was built in the Western Jin Dynasty, and the road was built later. According to him, the peak on which the Jade Emperor Temple is located is the Jade Pillar Peak. There is a plaque of “Jinping Wonder” in the temple, and there is an ancient monument in the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, as if to confirm his words.
Walking further up from the Jade Emperor Temple, there is no railing, and the stone steps are getting smaller and smaller, and gradually disappearing. I walked carefully in the dead trees and grass, and after more than 10 minutes to reach the top of the mountain, I was sure of my mind, looking back at the north, and suddenly opened up in front of me: the scenery of the county town was unobstructed, and the mountain area was in the distance, Luoshui loomed, the bright moon was in the sky, and the breeze came slowly, and there was an artistic conception of “I came to ask the question and said that the clouds are in the blue sky and the water is in the bottle”.
Look at the southern slope of the mountain again, sure enough, the vegetation is dense and relatively gentle, and it is said that Jinping Town is under the mountain. In order to save time, I went down the mountain along the same road, and when I passed the Jade Emperor Temple, there was a melody of opera singing from inside. Standing there quietly and listening for a while, my mood also became happy: this trip was not in vain, and I finally re-acquainted myself with the Jinping Mountain in front of me. (Reporter Zhang Guangying, text/photo).
