Cultural Classics, Sacred Sites of the Way (Part 4)
Section 4: Tombs, Temples and Ancestral Halls, Monasteries and Pagodas. The First Mausoleum in China — Zhuzhou's Yan Emperor Mausoleum. Also called the "Son of Heaven's Tomb," it lies at Bailuyuan at the foot of Yanling Mountain, 15 km southwest of Yanling County, Zhuzhou, Hunan. Legend says the Yan Emperor Shennong, ancestor of the Chinese nation, came south to inspect and gather herbs to heal the people, and tragically died after tasting a poisonous plant.
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section Four
Mausoleums, Temples, Ancestral Halls, Monasteries, Pagodas, and Taoist Temples
The First Mausoleum Under Heaven — Yan Emperor Mausoleum in Zhuzhou
The Yan Emperor Mausoleum, also called the 'Son of Heaven's Tomb,' is located at Bailuyuan at the foot of Yanling Mountain, 15 kilometers southwest of the county seat of Yanling County, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province. Legend has it that in ancient times the Yan Emperor Shennong, progenitor of the Chinese nation, came south on an inspection tour, tasting herbs and gathering medicines to heal the people, and unfortunately died after mistakenly tasting a poisonous herb, and was buried here. In historical legend the Yan Emperor is a deity inseparable from inventions and creations in agriculture, crafts, commerce, medicine, culture, and other fields, and so he has always been held in immense reverence and sacrificed to by the descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors through the dynasties. It is a holy place for Chinese at home and abroad to seek their roots and pay homage to their ancestors, and is praised as the 'First Mausoleum Under Heaven.'
China's Oldest Imperial Mausoleum — Shun Emperor Mausoleum in Yongzhou
The Shun Emperor Mausoleum is the oldest of China's imperial mausoleums since recorded history. The Records of the Grand Historian states: 'Shun made a southern inspection tour and died in the wilds of Cangwu, and was buried at Jiuyi in Jiangnan.' Located in the Jiuyi Mountains, the Shun Emperor Mausoleum was first built in the Xia Dynasty and is the earliest-established and longest-lasting ancestral mausoleum temple in our country. In 1956 it was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province, and in 2007 it was listed as a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level. The Shun Emperor Mausoleum covers an area of 50,000 square meters, with a built area of more than 3,000 square meters.
China's First Ancestral Hall — Quzi Temple in Miluo
Quzi Temple, also called Qu Yuan Temple and now opened as the Qu Yuan Memorial Hall, is located on the summit of Yusi Mountain northwest of Miluo city, Hunan. It was first built in the Han Dynasty and rebuilt in 1765, covering 7.8 mu, and is an ancestral hall commemorating the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, when the Chu poet Qu Yuan was exiled, he once lived on Yusi Mountain by the bank of the Guquan River. Later, feeling that there was no hope of saving the state, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river. To commemorate him, later generations built this temple here. The temple is of brick-and-wood construction, solemn and ancient, reverent and elegant, and is the only surviving ancient building in China commemorating Qu Yuan, known as 'China's First Ancestral Hall.'
Hunan's Earliest Temple — Lushan Temple
Lushan Temple is located halfway up Yuelu Mountain and is Hunan's earliest temple. It was founded in the 4th year of the Taishi reign of the Western Jin (268) by the eminent monk Zhu Fachong and was formerly called the First Bodhimanda of Huxiang. From the 1st to the 4th year of the Yuanhui reign of the Liu Song of the Southern Dynasties (473-476), Wang Sengqian, governor of Xiangzhou, rebuilt it. In the 2nd year of Shaotai of the Liang (556), Wang Lin, governor of Xiangzhou, opened the Gate of Sweet Dew and rebuilt the halls. In the 9th year of Kaihuang of the Sui (589) the Ganying Buddha Relic Pagoda was built, and from the 1st to the 8th year of Yuanyou of the Song (1086-1093) the halls were rebuilt. During the Wanli reign of the Ming (1573-1620) it was granted by imperial order the name 'Longevity Palace'; the Ming prince the Prince of Ji built a lecture platform here, and by the end of the Ming all was destroyed by war. In the 15th year of Shunzhi of the Qing (1658) Lushan Temple was rebuilt and afterward repeatedly repaired. Behind the halls there is a spring whose water emerges from rock crevices, extremely clear and cold, called the 'Dragon Spring,' also called the 'Jade Spring.' The temple originally held the Tang Dynasty Li Yong's 'Lushan Temple Stele,' which is now kept at Yuelu Academy. In 1983 the State Council designated Lushan Temple as a key open monastery in Han Chinese areas.
The Temple in Hunan That Possesses a Buddha Relic — Tianmen Mountain Temple in Zhangjiajie
Tianmen Mountain Temple was first built in the Tang Dynasty, and the whole temple consists of buildings such as the Mahavira Hall, the Guanyin Pavilion, and the Sutra Library. Since its founding, it has had many believers and flourishing incense, and at one time became the Buddhist center of the Xiangxi region. Tianmen Mountain Temple has produced many famous scholars and recluses since ancient times: in the old days Zhou Pu of the Later Jin of the Five Dynasties, Zhang Dui of the Yuan Dynasty, and Li Guo of the late Ming and early Qing all lived here in Chan retreat, and today Li Na formed a bond with Tianmen and took refuge in the Buddhist faith. The Buddha relic of Shakyamuni, brought back by the first delegation ever organized by Chinese Buddhist circles to Lumbini in Nepal, the birthplace of Buddhism's founder Shakyamuni, was formally enshrined in Tianmen Mountain Temple in Zhangjiajie, making Tianmen Mountain Temple the only temple in Hunan Province to possess a Buddha relic.
Hunan's Largest Ancient Stone Building — Puzhao Temple in Suining County
Puzhao Temple is located on the summit of Gaodeng Mountain at the junction of Lianmin Township in Suining County, Hunan, and Naxi Township in Dongkou County. It was built in the 39th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing (1700) and was converted into a stone hermitage in the 22nd year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing (1817). The entire temple, from the foundation to the roof tiles, is built of bluish stone, with a built area of about 800 square meters. It consists of five successive sections — the mountain gate, the Kitchen God Hall, the Guan Sheng Hall, the Main Hall, and the Nanyue Hall — plus auxiliary halls, side halls, wings, and a fire room. The columns, beams, rafters, tiles, and walls are all cut from bluish stone and finely carved. The tiles do not leak and the walls do not let in wind. There are many stone-carved couplets and inscriptions. Puzhao Temple towers on all sides into the ninth heaven, seeming about to fly beyond the clouds, and is shrouded in mist and clouds all year round. Buddhist believers regard it as a holy place; it is an important site for Buddhist activities for the people of several surrounding counties and a summer resort for tourism.
Hunan's Thousand-Year-Old Temple — Fahua Temple in Xiangyin
The ancient Fahua Temple in Xiangyin was first built in the Tang Dynasty and is located in Zhangshu Town, Xiangyin, Hunan. Fahua Temple in Xiangyin has a rich history of 1,300 years. The ancient temple separately enshrines statues of Shakyamuni, Guanyin, Maitreya, the Four Great Vajras, and other Buddhas. Pilgrims come in an endless stream, drawing countless men of letters and poets to chant poems and compose couplets, leaving behind the famous lines 'Clouds come from Mount Heng; the river's sound descends to Dongting.' The modern Fahua Temple is majestic and magnificent, pure and solemn; to be there in person fills one with reverence and purifies body and mind. The ancient Fahua Temple has produced famous monks through the ages; in the late Qing, Elder Donglin and Chan Master Jing'an were both great virtuous ones of their time. Elder Donglin served successively as abbot of the Great Luohan Temple in Hengyang and the Gushan Temple in Changsha. Chan Master Jing'an, also known as 'Bazhi Toutuo,' was a native of Xiangtan, Hunan; in the 7th year of the Tongzhi reign he was tonsured under Elder Donglin, and later traveled east to Wu and Yue, where before the Buddha relic pagoda at King Ashoka Temple in Zhejiang he burned off two fingers and cut his flesh to light a lamp as an offering to the Buddha, calling himself 'Bazhi Toutuo.' Chan Master Jing'an was the first president of the Chinese Buddhist General Association and later sacrificed himself for his faith, forever recorded in Buddhist history.
Birthplace of the Weiyang School — Miyin Temple in Ningxiang
Miyin Temple is located at the foot of Pilu Peak halfway up Wei Mountain in Ningxiang County. It is the birthplace of the Weiyang School, one of the five great schools of Chinese Chan Buddhism, and has a history of more than a thousand years. According to historical records, in the Tang and Song periods it was said that the temple then had a thousand-monk pot capable of cooking rice for 1,000 people, a great bell weighing 5,048 jin, and 5,048 volumes of originally stored scriptures, hence the name 'Miyin Three Treasures.' The surviving buildings include the mountain gate, the main hall, the rear hall, side halls, the Chan hall, and the ancestral hall, covering a total area of more than 9,000 square meters. The Ten Thousand Buddha Hall is the most famous building in Miyin Temple. Built in imitation of the main hall of the Great Temple of Nanyue, it is nine zhang high, with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof and thirty-eight pillars inside and out. The wall bricks are more than a chi high, and each brick is molded with a gilded Buddha image, 12,182 in all, inlaid on the four walls, extremely solemn and worthy of being called the finest under heaven.
Hunan's Only Mausoleum Temple of the 'Five Emperors' — Shun Emperor Temple at Jiuyi Mountain in Ningyuan
Jiuyi Mountain is located within Ningyuan County, Yongzhou, Hunan, and is also called Cangwu Mountain. According to the Records of Jiuyi Mountain, the earliest Shun temple was built in the Xia Dynasty, and the second Shun Emperor temple was built in the Qin Dynasty, with its old site beside Yuguan Rock. In the 4th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming (1371), the Shun Emperor Temple was moved here from Yuguan Rock and is located at the northern foot of Shunyuan Peak, facing north from the south. Today's Shun Temple was rebuilt in the 1990s and completed in 1999. The newly built Shun Temple covers more than 600 mu, faces north from the south, and is solemn and majestic. This is the only Shun Emperor mausoleum in China and is called the 'First Mausoleum of Huaxia.' The mausoleum temple is in imitation Qing style, with two courtyards and four successive buildings, consisting of the spirit way, the Meridian Gate, the Worship Hall, the Main Hall, the Resting Hall, and the mausoleum mountain (Shunyuan Peak).
Hunan's Only Temple Combining Buddhism and Taoism — Nanyue Great Temple on Hengshan
The Nanyue Grand Temple is located on North Street, Nanyue Town, within the Nanyue Hengshan Scenic Area, guarding the entrance to Mount Heng. It is the only temple in Hunan that combines Buddhism and Daoism, built in the nine-courtyard style imitating the Forbidden City. It is one of the largest and most comprehensively laid-out ancient temple complexes among China's Five Great Mountains, and a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit. The temple is a palace-style structure facing south, with a statue of the Nanyue Sacred Emperor enshrined inside, imposing in appearance. The Nanyue Sacred Emperor is the principal deity of the temple; some say he is Chong Heihu, others say he is Emperor Yan, but most refer to him as a nameless, surname-less deity of the South, known as the "Mountain God" before the Tang Dynasty. The temple also houses hundreds of stone inscriptions, most written by famous masters. The Nanyue Temple, together with the Dai Temple in Tai'an and the Zhongyue Temple in Dengfeng, are renowned worldwide, possessing high cultural relic value and artistic value.
Hunan's Earliest Daoist Activity Site — Changsha Taogong Temple
Taogong Temple is located in Langli Town, Changsha County, Hunan Province. It is the earliest Daoist temple in the Jiangnan region and the earliest Daoist activity site in Hunan Province. First built in 507 AD, it has a history of over 1,500 years and was historically known as the "Temple of the Six Dynasties." It is a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit. Taogong Temple covers an area of over 5,300 square meters, with a building area of about 2,000 square meters. It mainly consists of six parts: the mountain gate, the opera tower, the stone steps, the main hall, and the side halls. The temple architecture fully demonstrates the superb skills of ancient Chinese architectural craftsmen. The two characters "Gu Lou" (Ancient Tower) were written by Weng Tonghe, teacher of the Guangxu Emperor. Hanging inside the hall are precious handwritten works by famous Hunan calligraphers such as Yan Jialong, Wang Chaocheng, and Li Li.
Hunan's Earliest Wooden-Structure Confucian Temple — Yueyang Confucian Temple
Located on the campus of Yueyang No. 2 Middle School in Hunan, the Confucian Temple, also called the Temple of Confucius, was a place for ancient sacrifices to Confucius, also known as the Yuezhou Academy. Inside the hall, there are 16 horizontal beams, and between the stone piers and the large pillars, a drum-shaped horizontal block about 30 centimeters thick is placed, called a "wooden cushion." This is rare in ancient architecture and makes it Hunan's earliest wooden-structure Confucian Temple. The wooden cushion prevents moisture and ensures the large pillars remain dry and uncorroded, so the large pillars in the Dacheng Hall, though over 900 years old, remain intact. During the first year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty (1488 AD), a major renovation was carried out in August, and a "Coiling Dragon and Dancing Phoenix" was painted on the ceiling, still faintly visible today, making it a treasure among cultural relics. On June 25, 2001, the Yueyang Confucian Temple, as an ancient building from the Song to Qing dynasties, was approved by the State Council for inclusion in the fifth batch of national key cultural relic protection units.
Hunan's Largest Confucian Temple — Ningyuan Confucian Temple
The Ningyuan Confucian Temple is located in Ningyuan County town. It was first built in the third year of the Qiande reign of the Song Dynasty (965 AD) and is a temple for sacrificing to Confucius, also called the Academy. It covers an area of over 10,000 square meters, making it the largest Confucian temple in the Jiangnan region, second only to the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong in scale. It is a national key cultural relic protection unit. The essence of the Ningyuan Confucian Temple lies in its stone carvings. The danchi (platform) in front of the Dacheng Hall is carved with a five-dragon relief, but even more worth seeing are the 20 gray marble dragon-and-phoenix stone pillars, each 5 meters tall and about 40 centimeters in diameter, which are unique among ancient buildings nationwide.
Hunan's Largest Mazu Temple — Zhijiang Tianhou Palace
Zhijiang Tianhou Palace is located at No. 38 Jiangxi Street on the west bank of the Wushui River in Zhijiang City, facing the county town across the river, 40 kilometers from Huaihua City. According to the "Zhijiang County Annals" of the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1863): it was built by Fujian immigrants in the thirteenth year of the Qianlong reign (1748), and is currently the largest Mazu temple in Hunan and even among inland provinces. Tianhou Palace originally covered an area of 6,532 square meters, a massive scale, and is the oldest surviving Mazu cultural architectural complex. Among its features, the most valuable is the bluestone relief on the mountain gate archway, which is considered peerless and enjoys the reputation of "Pearl of Jiangnan Stone Carving."
Hunan's Only Ancient Sacrificial Architectural Complex Commemorating Liu Zongyuan — Yongzhou Liuzi Temple
Liuzi Temple was first built in the third year of the Zhihe reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song Dynasty (1056 AD). It is located on the west bank of the Xiaoshui River in Lingling District, Yongzhou City. It is the only ancient sacrificial architectural complex in Hunan built to commemorate the famous Tang Dynasty writer, politician, and thinker Liu Zongyuan. It is a national key cultural relic protection unit, a Hunan Province patriotism education base, and a Hunan Province civilized window unit. The entire temple covers an area of 15 mu, with a building area of 4,000 square meters. The temple houses many stone inscriptions, plaques, and couplets from various dynasties, of high value, among which the "Lizi Stele" and "Yan Song Stele" are particularly precious. The "Lizi Stele" is especially notable because it was composed by the famous Tang Dynasty writer Han Yu, calligraphed by the great Song Dynasty calligrapher Su Dongpo, and its content praises Liu Zongyuan's virtuous governance. It combines the writing, calligraphy, and virtue of three great masters of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties on a single stone, and is also known as the "Three Excellences Stele." The temple contains numerous carved, engraved, sculpted, and painted artistic components, all created by famous masters from across the country, of very high value.
China's No. 1 Yao Hall — Jianghua Panwang Hall
Jianghua Panwang Hall is located in Pingtouyan Park (also known as Panwang City Park) in the center of Tuojiang Town, Jianghua Yao Autonomous County, Hunan Province. It is currently the largest Panwang temple in China and can be called China's No. 1 Yao Hall. Panwang Hall faces south and is a concrete building in ancient style. It covers 21 mu, with a building area of over 1,300 square meters. The terrain is divided into three levels, successively the side rooms, the main hall, and the mausoleum. The entire architectural complex, viewed from afar, is well-arranged with red walls and glazed tiles, resplendent and magnificent; viewed up close, it is simple and elegant, with carved beams and painted rafters, full of antique charm. It is a Yao museum showcasing Yao history and culture and has become a sacred place for Yao people at home and abroad to seek their roots and visit their ancestors. Wherever Yao people settle, they build an ancestral temple — a Panwang Temple — to show they have not forgotten their origins.
Hunan's Only "Four Religions in One" Holy Site — Zhishan in Jianghua Yao Autonomous County
Zhishan is located east of Tuojiang Town in Jianghua County and stands on the banks of the Xiaoshui River, with "sheer cliffs reaching the sky and overhanging precipices above the flowing water." It is named after its shape, which resembles the legendary one-horned beast (the Zhixie). Zhishan Temple was built in the fourth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1576), over 400 years ago, and features an architectural layout combining Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. In sequence are the Buddhist Guanyin Pavilion of Zhishan Temple, the Daoist Lüzu Pavilion, and the Confucian Wenchang Pavilion, arranged in a line and connected as one. At the mountaintop, the Islamic Lingyun Pagoda (also called the "Wen Pagoda") was built in the eighth year of the Tongzhi reign (1869) and completed in 1878 with donations from Wang Debang (a native of Mashi, Jianghua), a Qing Dynasty "general of the restoration." The pagoda is a brick-and-stone pavilion-style structure, with seven stories and a height of 21 meters, eight sides and four doors, integrating Buddhist and Islamic architectural styles. The exterior follows traditional Chinese architectural forms, with dougong brackets, projecting eaves, and upturned corners characteristic of Chinese architecture; the interior features a hollow dome with smooth curves, reflecting Western architectural techniques and Islamic architectural style. This pagoda can be described as a Chinese-Western hybrid building. A Qing Dynasty poem praised it: "A heaven-made peak of the most secluded scenery, its bright reflection ripples in the river flow... Where the two rivers meet, the cliff stands steep, a scenic wonder that endures through the ages." Experts say Zhishan is a unique "four religions in one" holy site in the entire country.
Hunan's Oldest Waterside Daoist Temple — "Chisong Pavilion" in Nanxian
Chisong Pavilion is located on the west bank of the Ouchi River in Nanxian County. It is a famous waterside Daoist temple recorded in historical annals. According to the "Book of Liang": "In the second year of Dabao of Emperor Jianwen of Liang (551 AD), the Prince of Xiangdong of Liang sent Hu Sengyou to capture Hou Jing's general Ren Yue at Chisong Pavilion." Later, because the famous Daoist figure Chisongzi cultivated here, it was renamed Chisong Pavilion. The Twenty-Four Histories record that after Zhang Liang of the Han Dynasty retired, he traveled here with his teacher Chisongzi, and thus the pavilion was built. Chisong Pavilion was originally a water pavilion, surrounded by water on three sides and facing a street on one corner, with a history of over 1,400 years. The "Poet Sage" Du Fu, traveling south to Dongting, arrived at Chisong Pavilion in 768 and wrote the poem "Sent to Han Jianyi Zhu," which has been passed down through the ages, further enhancing the fame of Chisong Pavilion. From the Tang and Song through the Ming and Qing dynasties, visitors came in an endless stream. In the spring and summer of 1921, when Mao Zedong was inspecting national education in Nanxian, he visited this place. In June and October of 1930, Duan Dechang and He Long twice led the Red Army to capture the county town and expanded their forces here. Chisong Pavilion has endured many vicissitudes; now only one dilapidated hall remains. Only the Han bricks and Wei stones that survived the baptism of war bear witness to the raging flames of those years and record the traces of civilization along the lake and river. Chisong Pavilion once glorified the ancient Jingchu region with its Daoist culture of quiet non-action and alchemical fasting. With the development of tourism culture, this Dongting scenic spot embodying Chinese historical culture will sooner or later reappear before people.
China's Only Currently Well-Preserved Kun (Female) Daoist Temple — Hetu Temple in Changsha County
Hetu Temple is located on the north side of the Laodao River in Aoyu Village, Shuitang Township, Changsha County. It is currently the only well-preserved Kun (female) Daoist temple in China and is a Kun Daoist temple of the Quanzhen Longmen School of Daoism. It was founded in 1863 by Yi Benli, a Daoist priest of the fifteenth generation of the Longmen School from Wudang Mountain. It covers 5,400 square meters, and the mountain gate bears five large characters horizontally: "Shifang Hetu Temple." It was expanded in the fifteenth year of the Guangxu reign (1889 AD), rebuilt in 1933, and repaired twice more in 1982 and 1986. The hall layout is compact, simple, and concise. The temple gate directly bears the three characters "Hetu Temple," and the mountain gate is fully inlaid with relief paintings depicting Daoist stories. Hetu Temple is situated in a water town, backed by a small hill, with paddy fields in front, shaded by green pines and bamboo above and dotted with exotic flowers and grasses below — fresh, harmonious, simple, and natural. The temple preserves the only Daoist music ritual of the Quanzhen School of Daoism.
China's Largest Jiangnan Sarira Pagoda — Nanyue High Mountain Vajra Sarira Pagoda
The High Mountain Vajra Sarira Pagoda is located on Ruiying Peak behind Nantai Temple in Nanyue, Hunan, at an altitude of over 600 meters. It is the largest high-mountain vajra sarira pagoda in Jiangnan, China. The pagoda is 48 meters tall, covers 233 square meters, and has nine stories and eight faces. Inside, 256 steps spiral up along the pagoda walls, and two Buddha sarira authenticated by the national cultural relics department and the Chinese Buddhist Association are enshrined on the top floor. Construction began in July 1993 and was officially completed on May 15, 1998.
Hunan's Only Song Dynasty Brick Pagoda — Huawa Pagoda in Lixian
Huawa Pagoda is located in Huawa Village, Yiwan Township, 30 kilometers north of Lixian County town, at the border between Hunan and Hubei provinces. The pagoda was built in the Song Dynasty and is a solid brick structure with an octagonal plan, seven stories, and a height of 22 meters. The corners of the body are built with pilasters, and at the bottom of each story's waist eaves, a lotus petal course is first laid to support the eaves. The upturned corners at the waist eaves are shaped like bird wings and curling clouds. The top of the pagoda has a glazed gourd-shaped finial. The pagoda base is actually an underground palace, about 30 meters tall, with an arched door on the north side for entry. The structural style of the pagoda body maintains the characteristics of the Five Dynasties period. It is the only Song Dynasty brick pagoda in Hunan Province and has high historical and artistic value. It has been listed as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit.
Hunan's Tallest Stone Pagoda — Longyin Pagoda in Yuanling County
Longyin Pagoda is located on Hezhang Island east of Yuanling County town. It is named because the sound of water beside the island resembles a dragon's chant. The pagoda is 42 meters tall and is the tallest and best-preserved stone pagoda in Hunan Province. In January 1996, it was listed as a Hunan Province key cultural relic protection unit. According to the "Yuanling County Annals" of the eleventh year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1871 AD) and a stele inscription from the twentieth year of the Daoguang reign, Longyin Pagoda was built in the Ming Dynasty and completed as a seven-story pagoda in the twenty-ninth year of the Daoguang reign (1849 AD). The decorations under the eaves of each story of Longyin Pagoda are varied, including stone dougong brackets and Buddha statues, blending the architectural styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties and incorporating western Hunan local characteristics, forming a unique architectural style. Inside the pagoda, a spiral staircase leads directly to the top. The pagoda body is rigorously structured, with exquisite and elegant decorations and a perfect overall form, demonstrating an extremely high level of scientific and artistic achievement.
Hunan's Best-Preserved Earthen Pagoda — Dayao Earthen Pagoda in Anhua County
The ancient earthen pagoda in Dafu Township, Anhua County, was first built in the sixteenth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1890). It is located by a stream in Dayao Village, Mukong Management Area, Dafu Town, Anhua County, facing south and nestled between mountains and water. Except for the base, which is built of bluestone blocks, the entire pagoda body is made of sanhetu (rammed earth mixture). It is hexagonal with four stories and a height of 12 meters. The eaves are covered with dark tiles, and the hanging eaves are painted with trailing plants. On the six upturned corners of the upper story are sculpted divine beasts crouching and gazing into the distance, with various clay wind chimes hanging below. The lowest story of the pagoda is hollow, with only a door-shaped opening (the pagoda door) on the south side. On both sides of the pagoda door is a couplet: "Great writings reach the realm of transformation, Yao's sun and moon together admire the splendor." From this, people call it the "Dayao Earthen Pagoda." The Dayao Earthen Pagoda is the only well-preserved earthen pagoda in the entire province and is a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit.
Hunan's Tallest Brick Pagoda — Yongzhou Huilong Pagoda
Huilong Pagoda in Yongzhou City is located north of the city, on the east bank of the Xiaoshui River near the confluence of the Xiao and Xiang rivers. It was built in the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1584) with donations from local resident Lü Huo. Huilong Pagoda faces south and is a brick structure with an octagonal plan. It is 38.06 meters tall, with eight stories externally and five internally, a unique construction. The door lintel bears four large running-script characters "Huilong Bao Ta" (Huilong Treasure Pagoda), inscribed by Chen Sheng of Shanren, Imperial Inspector and Right Assistant Censor-in-Chief of Hunan. The ground floor is built of bluestone blocks, with an octagonal plan, side length of 5.67 meters, and height of 4.4 meters. The top perimeter has a stone balustrade composed of posts, rails, and panels. From the second story upward, all stories are built of flat-laid blue bricks. The pagoda body is hollow, consisting of two brick tube structures of different diameters, forming inner and outer rings. The inner ring is the pagoda chamber, with an octagonal corbelled circular flat top; the outer ring is a thick wall. Between the inner and outer rings is a corridor. Between the corridors of each story are bluestone or blue brick stairs, allowing one to climb up and spiral to the top of the pagoda.
Hunan's Best-Preserved Totem Pagoda — Zizhi Pagoda in Hengnan County
Zizhi Pagoda is located in Chizu Group, Jingchong Village, Maoshi Town, Hengnan County. The pagoda was first built in the second year of the Bingzi year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty. It is about 10 meters tall, with four stories, and a base of about 2 square meters. It is currently well-preserved and stands majestically. The overall design is simple and ancient, with exquisite stone carvings on the front of each story. Inscriptions such as "Cherish Written Paper" and "Spirit Soars to the Clouds, Light Shoots to the Dipper" are still clearly visible. According to records, in the past, paper with writing by scholars was strictly distinguished from ordinary garbage and could not be trampled on casually; it had to be burned in a zizhi pagoda. This is the origin of the zizhi pagoda.
Modern Church Architecture in Hunan — Changsha Catholic Church
The Changsha Catholic Church is located at No. 8 Xiangchun Lane, Kaifu District, Changsha City. It is the oldest modern church building in Hunan Province. First built in 1901 in a Gothic Revival style, it was constructed under the supervision of Italian missionary Weng Deming. The Catholic Church consists of two parts: the church and a 22-meter-tall square bell tower. It is connected with the bishop's and priests' residence, forming a group-style courtyard layout covering about 9 mu. In 1946, the Changsha Catholic Church was elevated to the Hunan Archbishop's Cathedral, and 18 Chinese and foreign missionaries once preached here. The Changsha Catholic Church is a symbol of Western culture entering Hunan in the early 20th century and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. It is now a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit. Its long history and rich cultural connotations are unsurpassed in Changsha.
Related Records
The Blessing Culture of Taochuan Temple
Taohuayuan (Peach Blossom Spring), famous for Tao Yuanming's prose, is not only a beautiful "utopia" but also one of the four great Daoist holy sites in Chinese history, known as the "Thirty-Fifth Cave Heaven, Forty-Sixth Blessed Land." Taochuan Temple (also known as Taochuan Wanshou Palace), built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is the earliest Daoist temple building in the Taohuayuan Scenic Area. The temple has five halls, enshrining Daoist deities such as the "Three Pure Ones and Four Emperors," as well as the Child-Granting Goddess and the God of Wealth. Local people believe that the deities in Taochuan Temple can bless them with favorable weather, so the temple has long enjoyed abundant incense offerings.
Lingering scripture chants and music swirl around the majestic Taochuan Temple, and curling incense smoke fills this solemn and sacred site. This traditional culture, passed down for over a thousand years, has attracted over a thousand guests from home and abroad who come drawn by its fame. Together with local people, they come with a pilgrim's heart to seek "blessings." Regardless of age or gender, all silently make beautiful wishes before the halls, then offer a stick of incense to the deities.
A pilgrimage group composed of several hundred local Tao clan members is even more impressive in scale. Because of their shared surname with Tao Yuanming, they revere him as an ancestor. Every year during the blessing ceremony, the Tao clan members drive dozens of miles to gather and pay respects to their ancestor. "It is both to express our remembrance of Old Master Tao and to hope he blesses future generations with peace and good fortune," said a Tao surnamed elderly man over seventy years old.
After the scripture-chanting ceremony, when the resident Daoist priest brought out the "sacred fruit" — a local specialty called "baba" — that had just been offered to the deities, the people who had come to offer incense and pray rushed forward to grab and eat them. According to local custom, whoever eats the "sacred fruit" from the blessing ceremony will have "blessings" throughout the year.
Another Taoist temple in the scenic area—the Taohua Temple—is also crowded with visitors, where a stone screen carved with the character "Fu" (blessing) attracts all the tourists. The guide tells everyone to close their eyes tightly, walk up the steps, and touch the "Fu" character on the stone screen with both hands; touching different positions carries different meanings. A Hong Kong journalist successfully touched the middle of the "Fu" character, and when the guide told him this meant "boundless good fortune," he jumped up with joy: "I have prayed for 'Fu,' eaten 'Fu,' and now touched 'Fu'—now I am truly a blessed person."
Who says peach blossoms are frivolous? See their brilliant splendor, adding color to countless beauties. Dripping with clear jade dew, one envies ten thousand gorgeous buds flowing like rosy clouds. Before long spring departs and blossoms no longer fly, yet in the end the phoenix branches bear fruit. Thus Pingzhong devised schemes, Dongfang stole through the crevice, the Queen Mother of the West feasted guests, and Liu Lang composed verses. Moreover, the kernel can be made into medicine, able to cure chronic illnesses and assist the art of healing; the branches and trunk can serve as staffs, and by borrowing seals and tallies can drive away evil spirits. One may grasp the secrets of heaven and treasure this lovely substance, and also know that the seasons yield to the many flowers. Send word to autumn chrysanthemums and winter plums: be careful not to blindly follow and merely harm your friends.
I praise this blessed land for its enchantment, gazing at the verdant ridges, adding what fairylike pavilions and floating clouds. There is the bright, washed-clean lake, gathering ten li of fine forest into a painting. As if new dust were swept away and the universe purified, one is moved to ride a crane through the sky. No wonder one hears of the mountain's scenic wonders, raises high one's spirits, visits friends in the Qin village, and wields the brush at the stele courtyard. If Qingjie were reborn, he would surely summon the fisherman back to the secluded realm; if Lingjun lived again, he would surely sing of today surpassing former dynasties. Do not grieve that red rain falls on the secluded stream, for it continues the literary tradition through generations; only then can one believe that ordinary mortals need not become feathered immortals to ascend to heaven.
China's Farming-and-Reading Culture
In ancient China, some intellectuals regarded half-farming and half-studying as a reasonable way of life, taking "farming and reading as family tradition" and the combination of farming and reading as their value orientation, thus forming a "farming-and-reading culture."
The intellectuals who lived a farming-and-reading life were mainly of three types: one type was the educated farm owners and relatively wealthy owner-farmers. They had good economic conditions, had the opportunity to study and receive an education, and also participated in agricultural labor. Another type was the recluses, who were cultured but unwilling to become officials, or unable to become officials. Their way of life was "at sunset I open my scrolls, at sunrise I take up my hoe," and "in the western schoolroom I teach my children and grandchildren, on the eastern slope I plant millet and grain." Another type was government officials, many of whom had farming-and-reading life experiences; after becoming officials they still cared about agricultural production, possessed agricultural production knowledge and practical experience, and were enthusiastic about promoting agricultural technology. Of course, there were also poor students who stayed at home to farm and combined half-farming with half-studying in pursuit of advancement.
The common characteristic of the above three types of intellectuals is that they all had farming-and-reading experiences, but their value orientations differed: (1) They took farming and reading as an honor, believing that combining farming and reading was a noble matter. (2) They believed that a life combining farming and reading was reasonable. (3) Farming and reading were the needs of managing one's livelihood. (4) Farming and reading were a way of tempering oneself. (5) They treated agriculture as an amateur hobby, a means of leisure, cultivating one's temperament, and returning to nature.
The understanding of the relationship between farming and reading can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Confucius regarded learning to farm and learning to garden as matters for petty men, saying, "The gentleman seeks the Way, not food." The "old man" who leaned on a staff and carried a hoe, a contemporary of Confucius, mocked Confucius for never using his four limbs and being unable to distinguish the five grains. Mencius advocated the separation of mental and manual labor: "Those who labor with their minds govern others; those who labor with their strength are governed by others." Later generations formed two traditions: one flaunted "scholarly families" and held that "all pursuits are lowly, only reading is high," looking down on agricultural labor and the laboring people; the other advocated "farming and reading as family tradition," taking farming and reading as an honor, and daring to break through Confucian tradition. Most family-instruction books that appeared after the Northern and Southern Dynasties contained exhortations to combine farming and reading. The "Yan Family Instructions" proposed "one should eat from one's harvesting and wear clothes from one's mulberry and hemp." Zhang Lüxiang said in "Instructions to My Sons": "If one reads but abandons farming, hunger and cold will arrive together; if one farms but abandons reading, ritual and propriety will perish."
China's farming-and-reading culture nurtured numerous agricultural scientists and produced a large number of ancient agricultural books. China's ancient agricultural books were unmatched by other countries in both quantity and level. Most ancient agricultural books came from the hands of intellectuals who had lived a farming-and-reading life. They were familiar with ancient classics, had writing ability, and also participated in agricultural production, possessed agricultural production knowledge, and met the conditions for writing agricultural books.
The farming-and-reading culture also influenced literature and art. Through farming and reading, intellectuals came close to production reality and close to peasants, and wrote works that reflected rural life and the joys and sorrows of peasants to a certain extent. Ancient China's pastoral poetry was a product of the farming-and-reading culture. Tao Yuanming of the Jin Dynasty was a typical pastoral poet; his poems such as "Returning Home" and "Returning to the Farm to Dwell" were reflections of the farming-and-reading culture. Xin Qiji of the Song Dynasty lived in rural Jiangxi for 20 years after retirement. He named his new residence at Daihu in Shangrao "Jiaxuan." Fan Chengda of the Song Dynasty, in his later years, retired to Shihu and called himself the Recluse of Shihu. He himself may not have participated much in agricultural labor, but he lived in the countryside and among peasants; his "Miscellaneous Poems on the Four Seasons of the Farm" (60 poems) are rich in rustic flavor and reflect the peasants' joys and sorrows to a certain extent.
China's farming-and-reading culture is a fine tradition of Chinese culture. It influenced Chinese agronomy, Chinese science, and Chinese philosophy, brought intellectuals' thinking closer to the people, and fostered a pragmatic style. The cultural needs of the people of Chaling since the Tang and Song dynasties
Chaling is located at the "head of Wu and tail of Chu," and within its borders are "beautiful mountains in a thousand layers of green, a river of clear flowing water." Agricultural production conditions were relatively good, and because it was remote, there was relatively little war, so many northerners migrated south to settle here; it was one of the important gateways for northern migration southward. From the genealogies of 69 surnames, it was found that 47 surnames migrated south to this place during the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties. After settling down, they established private schools and academies, hoping through diligent farming and hard study to raise their family status and enter the upper class of society. The farming-and-reading culture thus took shape and endured without decline. It once cultivated 122 successful candidates in the imperial examinations, among whom the four great scholars Liu Sanwu, Li Dongyang, Zhang Zhi, and Peng Weixin were outstanding. The strengthening of the farming-and-reading culture, expressed in the form of private schools and academies, enabled poor peasant children to embark on official careers and become official and scholarly families. When the Ming Dynasty Grand Secretary Zhang Zhi was young, he could only maintain his studies relying on his father working as a long-term hired laborer for others and on the support of relatives and friends. He could only live in the remote western suburb of Chaling Prefecture City at Jingzhong Nunnery, studying bitterly, and in the 16th year of Zhengde (1521) he became famous at one stroke, passing the metropolitan examination as huiyuan and jinshi, later rising to Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion and entering the upper class of society. Grand Secretary of the Huagai Hall Li Dongyang, influenced by Chaling's farming-and-reading culture, founded the "Chaling Poetry School" and wrote a large number of realist works, exerting a major influence on Chinese history and culture. The strengthening of the farming-and-reading culture not only fostered a spirit of diligence and love of learning, but also promoted the fine virtue of respecting teachers and valuing education. Private schools were established in every village in Chaling; some villages had 2-3. From the Song to the Qing dynasties, 52 academies were established in total, ranking among the foremost in Hunan. In the Yuan Dynasty, Li Qi stated in "Record of Schools": "Chaling's schools are the most flourishing in Hunan," ranking third in Hunan in the Song Dynasty, second in the Yuan Dynasty, and first in the Qing Dynasty. Chaling had 22 academies in the Qing Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty zhuangyuan Xiao Jinzhong first studied at Shujiang Academy, and later after resigning from office lectured at Mojing Academy. The bangyan Cao Yisun successively studied at Baisha Academy in the county and Yuelu Academy in Changsha, and later when on leave from office lectured at Shujiang Academy. In Chaling, from the first year of Tianfu in the Tang Dynasty (901) to the 30th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1904), the vast majority of those who passed the jinshi examination had studied at academies; after passing the jinshi examination they gave back to society and established academies. The Ming Dynasty Hanlin academician Liu Sanwu and jinshi Wang Tingjue, Luo Jian, and the Qing jinshi Lan Zhuohuan respectively founded the Mingdao, Yunya, Xichou, and Fanle academies in the county.
Record of Shigu Academy
Shigu is situated at the confluence of the Zheng and Xiang rivers, with river currents encircling it like a belt, making it the finest spot in the whole prefecture. Hence a academy was established here during the Yuanhe period of the Tang Dynasty by Li Kuan, a man of the prefecture. At the beginning of the present dynasty, it once received an imperial plaque. Later, it was gradually moved slightly eastward and became a prefectural school. Thus the traces of the academy here were abandoned and no longer repaired. In the 12th year of Chunxi, Commissioner Pan began by the old site to arrange several rooms, inscribed with the former plaque name, intending to wait for scholars from all directions who had aspirations to learn and disdained the business of examinations to reside there. Before it was completed, he left. Now Commissioner Song Ruoshui Ziyuan of Chengdu has further expanded it on the old basis, separately building a multi-storied house to enshrine the images of the former sages and former teachers, and has compiled several volumes of printed books from the Directorate of Education and the various prefectures of this circuit, and had the prefectures and counties select and send cultivated scholars to fill it. The military commissioner Lin Li, the commissioners Su Xu and Guan Jian, and the Hengzhou prefect Xue Boxuan all contributed funds and allotted public fields to assist the work, and after more than a year it was completed. Thereupon Commissioner Song sent a letter saying: "I wish you to record the facts to instruct later generations. And if there is anything by which to fortunately teach its students, that is what I hope for." I consider that in former dynasties the education of schools was not cultivated, and scholars suffered from having no place to study, so they often chose scenic spots and established retreats as places for group residence and reading. And those in government would complete and commend them: such as this mountain, such as Yuelu, such as White Deer Grotto. By the prosperity of the Qingli and Xining periods of the present dynasty, school officials were established throughout the realm, and the huts of former recluses had no use, so the overgrowth and abandonment of their old traces was also the natural tendency. If not for the worthy who love antiquity and cherish the old, who could carefully preserve them? Moreover, today's prefectural and county school officials and appointed doctoral students have never examined the fundamentals of virtuous conduct and moral principle. What they receive and teach is again all worldly books and the business of advancement, causing people to see profit and not righteousness; scholars who have aspirations for themselves are ashamed to speak of it. Therefore they always wish to seek a leisurely, quiet, and spacious place to together discuss what they have heard, but cannot obtain it. This is why these two gentlemen were moved to indignation in this work and did not dare shrink from its troubles—it was not merely that they could not bear the overgrowth and abandonment of the old traces. Therefore I specially record its beginning and end to inform those who come, so that they may know the intentions of these two gentlemen and not confuse them with the present-day intentions of schools and examinations. And also to admonish those in office, so that they may know that the harms of today's schools and examinations will be more than can be stated. One cannot regard this as merely incidental and fail to save it. As for what the students should study, and what is not what people today call it, then my former friend Zhang Zijingfu's record of Yuelu has spoken of it in detail. However, regarding the effort of lower learning there is something not yet fully explored, so those who discuss his words do not know the method by which to proceed, and have no way to tread its reality. Yet what else need we seek now? It is also said: nourish it whole before it is aroused, observe its subtle beginnings at the moment it is about to be aroused; if good, expand and fill it out; if evil, overcome and remove it. That is all there is—what need is there to wait for my words?
Yuelu Academy, a Millennium-Old Institution of Learning
Yuelu Academy is located at the eastern foot of Yuelu Mountain in Changsha, Hunan, covering an area of 25,000 square meters, with a building area of 7,050 square meters, integrating teaching, book collection, and sacrificial rites. In the Song Dynasty, Lü Zuqian called Songyang, Yuelu, Suiyang, and White Deer Grotto the "four great academies of the realm," yet only Yuelu Academy, having passed through the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties down to the present, still continues its unbroken strains of song and study, fully deserving to be called the foremost academy under heaven.
Its historical status is transcendent. Before the Tang Dynasty, Yuelu Mountain was a favored site for Buddhist and Taoist activities; later, these temples gradually developed into places of cultural tourism. In 976 AD, with the support of Confucian scholar-officials, Yuelu Academy was formally established. In 1015 AD, Emperor Zhenzong of the Northern Song also joined the ranks of its patrons. He summoned Zhou Shi, the head of this mountain courtyard, to Bianjing, bestowed books and horses upon him, and wrote the four characters "Yuelu Academy" as a gift. After Emperor Zhenzong, successive emperors granted books, funds, and plaques, while local gentry and prominent families also donated fields, repaired buildings, and contributed goods and money, enabling teachers to teach with peace of mind and students to study with peace of mind. The prosperity of Yuelu Academy came from its reasonable management and teaching systems. The academy implemented a system of responsibility by the mountain chief, whose morality, learning, and social prestige were all outstanding. The academy had its own fields and formed an independent economic system by leasing land to peasants. Teachers had generous annual salaries, students had substantial stipends, and the living environment was first-rate. Students mainly studied on their own, and every ten days or half a month the mountain chief personally lectured. There were strict school regulations, rewarding excellence and punishing inferiority. While exercising strict internal management, it also practiced open education externally, receiving visiting scholars year-round, allowing outsiders to audit, and arranging food and lodging. Under such circumstances, Yuelu Academy consistently maintained a relatively high teaching quality, and its status far surpassed that of official schools.
Only Chu has talent, and here it is most abundant. In the Song Dynasty, a folk saying circulated: "Three hundred monks at Daolin, a thousand students at the academy." In the Qing Dynasty, there was the saying, "Of the generals and ministers of resurgence, nine out of ten were from Hunan." From the Song to the Qing dynasties, dozens had biographies in the official histories, while those scattered in various local gazetteers were as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. Figures who stirred their times and astonished the four seas, such as Wang Fuzhi, Tao Shu, Wei Yuan, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Guo Songtao, were not few. And heroes who transformed heaven and earth, such as Cai E, Mao Zedong, and Cai Hesen—even if only one appeared, it would make this courtyard shine through the ages. In 1926, after several transformations, Yuelu Academy became the First College of Hunan University. President Hu Shuhua adopted the eight characters "loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and purity; orderliness and seriousness" as the school motto, using Yuelu Academy's traditional culture and Western science and technology to cultivate students. In 1937, after a comprehensive investigation, the Nationalist Government upgraded Hunan University to a national university. In 1950, Mao Zedong inscribed the name of Hunan University. On both sides of the main gate of Yuelu Academy hangs a famous couplet that has been celebrated through the ages: "Only Chu has talent, and here it is most abundant." This couplet, which makes Hunan people feel immensely proud, expresses the historical fact that Yuelu Academy was the most glorious gathering place of outstanding talents under heaven.
A millennium-old forum opens the way for new culture. In the 3rd year of Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi went to Yuelu Academy and sat side by side with the academy's head lecturer in the lecture hall to debate the Way of the "Doctrine of the Mean," realizing the first and greatest joint lecture and discussion in Yuelu Academy's history, known in history as the "Zhu-Zhang Joint Lecture," and also pioneering the practice of joint lectures in Chinese academies. In recent years, Yuelu Academy has embarked on a uniquely distinctive path of cultural branding, wishing to transplant the grand events of joint lectures that once occurred here into today's era, and thus the "Yuelu Academy Millennium Forum" came into being, with contemporary scholars stepping onto the platform one after another, following in the footsteps of their predecessors. Fortunately, these people all came with an attitude of utmost reverence to continue writing this legend, and did not disgrace Yuelu Academy's cultural temperament of more than a thousand years. On this millennium forum, they all gained the right of free expression through their own distinctive sharp talents, and their words also endowed cultural scholarship and contemporary life with vivid reality.
Seeking Antiquity at Tianxin Pavilion
The ancient city wall at Tianxin Pavilion is the southeastern corner of Changsha's ancient city wall. It began in the 5th year of Emperor Gaozu of the Western Han (202 BC) when Wu Rui, King of Changsha, built the city. The wall was originally earthen; from the Han to the Song it was gradually expanded, and by the Yuan it had basically taken shape. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1398), Changsha garrison commander Qiu Guang built the Changsha city wall, changing the earthen wall to stone foundations and brick masonry. In the 11th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1654), Hong Chengchou was stationed in Changsha and dismantled and transported bricks and stones from the Ming princely mansion to repair the city wall, making Changsha's "city walls lofty and towering, foremost among other prefectures." In the 2nd year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1852), after the Taiping army captured Changsha, governors Luo Bingzhang, Mao Hongbin, Yun Shilin, Li Hanzhang, Liu Kun, and others successively strengthened the ancient city wall at the Tianxin Pavilion section, installed 9 cannon platforms, and added an outer wall, making the ancient city wall a semi-circular arched inner double-city layout. After the Revolution of 1911, Changsha's city wall was demolished and a ring road built; Tianxin Pavilion and the wall where it stands were preserved because they were historic sites of the ancient city. In 1924, Zhao Hengti governed Hunan and comprehensively renovated the pavilion buildings, adding verandas and corridors connected to the main tower to form a complete layout, and established a park with Tianxin Pavilion as the centerpiece, opening it to visitors. In 1938, Tianxin Pavilion and the architectural complex in the park were completely destroyed in the "Wenxi Fire." In 1985, the Hunan Provincial and Changsha Municipal People's Governments allocated funds for reconstruction, preserving the original appearance of the main pavilion while, with reference to the ancient Yueyang Tower, adding two two-story auxiliary pavilions, like the body and two wings of a roc. The three pavilions are connected by corridors, forming an integrated whole. The extant ancient city wall at Tianxin Pavilion is 226.2 meters long, 13.4 meters high, and 6.1 meters wide at the top.
The name Tianxin Pavilion is said to originate from astrological lore. Because the terrain here is high and steep, astrologers believed that the rising earth vein was an auspicious sign of flourishing literary fortune. Therefore, a spiritual terrace for "observing the stars and sacrificing to the heavenly gods" was built here, and so Tianxin Pavilion was originally also called "Tianxing Pavilion." Unexpectedly, because of its precipitous height, with its foundation occupying the highest ground in the whole city and sitting atop a hundred-foot city wall, Tianxin Pavilion became a contested strategic point for military strategists of successive dynasties, and for thousands of years warfare was frequent. First, in 1636 (the ninth year of Chongzhen), the miners' uprising army of Linwu and Lanshan attacked Changsha, destroying the gate tower completely. Then, in August 1645 (the sixteenth year of Chongzhen), Zhang Xianzhong's peasant uprising army captured Changsha and burned down the entire Prince Ji's Palace, which occupied more than half of Changsha city. Close on its heels, the Southern Ming general Zuo Liangyu burned, killed, and plundered even more severely than before, and the city's residents suffered terribly from the disasters of war. In 1647 (the fourth year of Shunzhi), Qing troops entered Changsha, and wherever they went, "there was still not a single long-term resident in the city; when first entering the city, it was nothing but a field of sand. Occasionally there were three or four thatched huts, without even a screen door, and men and women stood barefoot in the snow, with not even clothing or bedding for the sick lying on their beds." In 1852 (the second year of Xianfeng), Xiao Chaogui, the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, led vanguard troops to besiege Changsha and mistakenly regarded Tianxin Pavilion as the main obstacle to capturing Changsha. They dug tunnels beside Tianxin Pavilion and planted explosives many times. Although they left the city wall and the pavilion riddled with holes and severely damaged, in the end they could not take a single step into the city. After Wuhan fell in October 1938, the Japanese army continued its southward invasion, and the Kuomintang's "scorched-earth resistance" reduced the thousand-year-old city to ashes.
"Climb Tianxin and you know Changsha." Tianxin Pavilion, towering at the highest point of the ancient city of Changsha, has gracefully spanned more than two thousand years of history since the city was first walled in the Han Dynasty. Through wind and rain, through vicissitudes, the ancient pavilion still stands; its historical tales and legends stretch back far and long.
Former Residence of Wei Yuan
The Former Residence of Wei Yuan is located on a sandbar at Xuetang Bay, Simenqian Town, Longhui County, Shaoyang, Hunan, with a total area of about 2,300 square meters. In 1794, Wei Yuan—a famous patriotic thinker, historian, and writer in modern Chinese history, called by Mao Zedong "the first Chinese to open his eyes to see the world"—was born here. The Former Residence of Wei Yuan was declared a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit in 1983. In 1995 it was designated one of Hunan's first batch of patriotic education bases. In November 1996, the Former Residence of Wei Yuan was announced by the State Council as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.
To the right of the former residence stands a small two-story building with three rooms on each floor, its doors and windows simple and antique in style. A couplet is mounted upstairs: "All things observed in stillness are naturally satisfying; the finest moods of the four seasons are shared with the world." As a child, Wei Yuan studied on this upper floor and seldom came downstairs. The stories of "occasionally going downstairs and being chased and bitten by the family dog" and "becoming so absorbed in reading that he dipped zongzi in ink and ate it" both happened on this floor. Today, everything upstairs remains as before. The desks and stools in the lecture hall are still arranged neatly, only the people are gone and the building empty. The private school and Wei Yuan's bedroom are laid out in a row, with surviving relics that bring to mind the amusing anecdote in which the teacher's line "willow catkins fly in, fleck by fleck, red" caused an uproar among the whole gathering, and a student cleverly answered with "the setting sun shines back on the peach blossom shore" to rescue him from embarrassment. The inkstone Wei Yuan used while studying, with the inscription on its back, "Ink holds treasure, books hold fragrance; one mu of field is enough for rice and grain," and a bamboo paperweight carved with "Literature is born of feeling and has the breath of spring; when inspiration arrives, there are no ancients before one," are said to have been taken into a collection; the inkstone and the paperweight carved with "To learn and constantly practice what one has learned" displayed in the bedroom are replacements. Most striking inside are the old-style chest of drawers and the tung-oil lamp on it, both revealing traces and hues of having weathered the ages. Perhaps because "ink holds treasure and books hold fragrance," rats were lured into gnawing two fist-sized holes in the desk drawers, like a pair of eyes through which history peers into the future. It is said that Wei Yuan was always "sparing of speech and laughter, with few appetites and desires; even in severe cold or intense heat, he never let go of a book; when talking with close friends, after no more than a few quarter-hours he would bend over his desk chanting..." Thus he accumulated profound knowledge, gradually formed his own distinctive system of thought, and finally broke new ground in scholarship. His good friend Gong Zizhen once gave him a couplet: "Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand li; synthesize the classics of an age, establish the words of a school." I think what is most admirable about Wei Yuan is this: "He worked hard at learning and cultivated his character, and was especially earnest in his personal conduct; his scholarship was devoted to practical use and did not rely on empty talk, and what he said decades ago was verified decades later..." Is that not so? Endowed with talent to save the world, he called all his life for reform and wrote 47 works in vast and numerous volumes, becoming an outstanding patriotic thinker, writer, and historian in modern Chinese history. In his lifetime he met with many setbacks, yet his ideas and views had an enormous and far-reaching influence. Not to mention that he became a pioneer of the Hundred Days' Reform; even more than a hundred years later today, they still astonishingly coincide with China's domestic reform and opening to the outside world, shining with a brilliance that illuminates the future!
Temple Architecture in Hunan
Hunan's temple architecture developed along with the prosperity of Buddhist and Daoist culture in Hunan and formed its own distinctive architectural system.
Since ancient times China has had a tradition of nature worship and belief in multiple deities, setting up altars for open-air sacrifices and establishing temples for indoor worship. In the prefectures, sub-prefectures, and counties of Hunan there were also altars to the gods of soil and grain, to the first farmers, and to the deities, and these formed fixed regulations. In the Sui Dynasty, Mount Heng was formally designated as the Southern Sacred Mountain, and in the early Tang Dynasty the "Temple of the Marquis of Huo, Administrator of Heaven" was formally built at Nanyue. Thereafter successive dynasties repeatedly granted titles and offerings were made at the proper seasons, forming the massive palatial architectural complex of the Great Temple of Nanyue, which remains intact to this day.
Hunan's temples often contain a mixture of Buddhist and Daoist deities. Famous mountains and scenic spots frequently have Daoist temples, Buddhist monasteries, and academies coexisting, as at Mount Heng (Nanyue) and Yuelu Mountain in Changsha, which are both centers of religious culture and centers of academy culture. At the same time, cases of converting Daoist temples into Buddhist monasteries, Buddhist monasteries into Daoist temples, or temples and monasteries into academies, and academies back into temples and monasteries, are also common. Therefore, Buddhist monasteries, Daoist temples, and ancestral shrines show no major differences in architectural style.
The layout of Hunan's temple architecture generally adopts the traditional form of axial symmetry along a longitudinal line, combined with courtyards and light wells. A few Buddhist monasteries include pagodas. Among surviving Buddhist monasteries, the larger ones have multiple gateways and extend upward along the mountain, while those in towns and cities are compact and densely arranged; the smaller ones are almost indistinguishable from dwellings. Daoist temples are generally smaller in scale, without bell and drum towers and the like, and are closer to folk architecture. City god temples and larger folk temples are mostly located in towns and cities, with a stage set up in the front section, making them places for public activities.
Hunan's temple architecture often adapts to local conditions, uses local materials, and responds to climatic conditions and people's living characteristics. Whether in the selection and integration of the natural environment, the organic organization of architectural group space, the shaping and expression of architectural forms, or the focused handling of decoration and ornament, it both inherits the characteristics of China's distinctive architectural system and does not rigidly adhere to a unified canonical formula. It both blends the characteristics of southern architecture and displays flexible and diverse methods across Hunan's regions and ethnic groups, adding new types to Hunan's traditional architecture, enriching its plastic arts, and opening up a new style.
The Yan Emperor Mausoleum Sacrificial Ceremony
The Yan Emperor Mausoleum Sacrificial Ceremony is a sacrificial folk custom formed by the Yan Emperor Mausoleum memorial activities handed down through generations over hundreds and thousands of years.
Yan Emperor Shennong was an outstanding tribal leader of China's ancient era and the founder of Chinese agricultural culture. He lived in the period of transition from matrilineal to patrilineal clan society in primitive times, about 6,000 to 5,500 years ago. Leading the ancestors of the primitive ethnic groups, in long-term production and practice he created abundant material and spiritual wealth, preparing the initial material and cultural foundation for the emergence of Chinese civilization and the formation of the Chinese nation. Together with Huangdi Xuanyuan, he is revered as an ancestor of the Chinese nation.
According to historical records, Yan Emperor Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs to heal the people's illnesses and once "encountered seventy poisons in a day without stopping." In the end, because he mistakenly tasted a broken-intestine herb, he "died and was buried at the end of Chaxiang in Changsha," that is, at Luyuanpi, 17 kilometers west of present-day Yanling County seat. Thereafter, generation after generation the sons and daughters of China used many forms of sacrifice to commemorate the Yan Emperor and honor the great achievements of this ancestral figure of the nation.
The Yan Emperor Mausoleum Sacrificial Ceremony is divided into official sacrifices and folk sacrifices. Folk sacrifices began in the Xia Dynasty, official sacrifices are seen in the Zhou Dynasty, and imperial sacrifices began in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song. By the fifth year of Qiande in the Song Dynasty (967 CE), Emperor Taizu issued an edict to "build a temple before the mausoleum and sacrifice to his likeness," and accordingly sent officials to the mausoleum to offer sacrifices, and "once every three years, taking this as the norm," which became an established regulation. Thereafter, sacrificial activities in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties never ceased; the Ming Dynasty conducted them 15 times and the Qing Dynasty 58 times. In the long course of history, the "Yan Emperor Mausoleum Sacrificial Ceremony" has become a comprehensive cultural carrier covering music, dance, literature, and many other fields. In May 2006, the Yan Emperor Mausoleum Sacrificial Ceremony was successfully selected into the first batch of the national intangible cultural heritage list.
The sacrificial methods at the Yan Emperor Mausoleum include civil sacrifice, material sacrifice, fire sacrifice, music sacrifice, and dragon sacrifice, among which the dragon sacrifice is the most distinctive and original. Today, the types and forms of expression of the dragon sacrifice in the Yan Emperor Mausoleum Sacrificial Ceremony have developed greatly. There are the three-man cloth dragon and Mars dragon unique to Yanling, as well as the 56-section long dragon representing the 56 ethnic groups and the five-color dragon representing the descendants of Huaxia on five continents. There are also the yin-yang bagua dragon, which embodies traditional Chinese cultural connotations and reflects the Yan Emperor's emphasis on the bagua giving rise to the taiji, as well as modern competitive dragons, human dragons, flying dragons, lotus dragons, "nine dragons coiling around a pillar," and other modern dragon dance forms that express the national spirit and the spirit of the times. When the dragon sacrifice is held, the 24 seasonal drums symbolizing the 24 solar terms, along with Shennong gongs and drums and the northern and southern lions, also appear together, fully performing the long-standing Yan Emperor culture and displaying the Chinese people's spirit of perseverance, indomitability, unremitting self-improvement, and selfless dedication.