There is a Pifo Temple in Jingyuan, Gansu Province

He Puyu

Standing on a cliff near Shuihanguan Road, the beauty of the grotto reflects purple light.

The legend of splitting the Buddha is widely discussed by the public, and Sanskrit is the only one spoken by Yuan Yan.

Pifo Temple is located more than 20 kilometers north of Jingyuan and three kilometers away from the Sandan Township Government. It is the collective name of the original seventh, eighth and ninth production teams in Sandan Xintian. It is now renamed "An Ning" The reason why it is called Pifo Temple is that there is an ancient temple on the cliff of Hongshan Mountain in the former grain farm of the Ninth Team Production Team. The grotto is located from the north to the south, about 100 meters long from east to west, and covers an area of ??about 10,000 square meters.

If the Three Beaches are shaped like a curved bow, the temple and the triangular ancient city are exactly at the two ends of the bow. The temple faces south and faces the Yellow River in the east. It is separated from Pingchuan Ducheng by a river. For farmland and villages, there is an east-west dry sand river in front of it, Santan rural road in the west, Baihua Mountain on the top of the northwest mountain, more than 500 meters of hidden slopes on the Hongshan cliff in the northeast, Wanjiaping Water Conservancy Project and Rare Earth Company Power Transmission. Water Station, with its winding paths, shady trees, vast mountains and long rivers, is a Buddhist holy land. It is a county-level cultural relic protection unit.

Since it is adjacent to the Yellow River, we have to talk about the Yellow River and this sand river. As the saying goes, there are ninety-nine bays in the Yellow River in the world. Where there are bends, there must be gorges, and where there are bends, there must be beaches. The river is roaring and rushing, forming daunting grand canyons or magnificent river beaches, showing us the colorful and mysterious Yellow River Gorge. Along the way, various large and small branch rivers merge into the Yellow River. In the Jingyuan section of the Yellow River, There are several large beaches, but there are still stone mountains on both sides, and there are large and small dry sand rivers that lead into the Yellow River from their respective ravines. There are two longer sand rivers in the Sandan section. This one is called the Pifo Temple Sand River. It is named after its truncation. From east to west, there are Xiaochuanzi Sand River and Shuigou Sand River. Except for heavy rainstorms, it is dry all year round. The current Pifo Temple ruins There are fifteen farmers' residential areas nearby, which have been classified as geological disaster-prone areas; the source of the Shah River is at the watershed between Miantanping and Liuchuan Nanchuan. Before the construction of the 109 double line, it was the only way for Santan people to reach Bailan. The road is to take the steep city on the other side of the river before and after liberation. When the river water rose and boats could not cross the river and had to take a detour to the Jingyuan Iron Bridge, it was also a must-pass road on the other side. This unique geographical location and steep red cliffs may be the reason for this Maybe it’s because of the Buddhist temple; the other one is in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, six kilometers north of the Buddhist temple, called the Dabing Road (Dabing Road) Shah River, which leads directly to Baiyin District and goes down the river, passing through Yingzui, Wujiachuan, and Dabingdaokou. , to the Yellow River, which has water all year round and is an important water supply branch river in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River.

It is said that the Pifo Temple was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It was formed during the period when Buddhism was introduced in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, along with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Jingyuan Faquan Temple Grottoes, and Chaoyang Temple Grottoes. It belongs to the same family as Faquan Temple. A front and back yard. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Buddhism was respected. In the early years, the number of temples in the world increased greatly, and the number of monks and nuns continued to expand. In the last years, the number of monks increased rapidly. Due to the influence of the emperors' worship of Buddha, the government and the public followed suit. At that time, the Pifo Temple was located on the strategic route of the Silk Road. The monks relied on the original latag on the steep red cliff of the Pifo Temple (it means "steep house" in Mongolian, which is later homophonic to the current name. It refers to the shape of the cliff that has been washed away by wind and sun. Grottoes), they simply dug rocks into caves, built walls and built temples to propagate Buddhism. The shape of the grotto is that of a Zen grotto. It is said that the original statues, murals and other buildings in the grotto were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. After the reform and opening up, Buddhist disciples and local villagers raised funds to rebuild the statues, with a hall matching the grotto. one. There are three grottoes, carved against the red sandstone mountain, with several side rooms on the left and right. They are quiet, peaceful and solemn. There are statues of Maitreya Buddha, Guanyin, Ksitigarbha, Wei Tuo and other gods in the grottoes, with beautiful postures and meticulous workmanship. The top of the grotto is uneven and still retains the original appearance of the Northern Wei Dynasty. On the top of the main grotto there is a two-square-meter large convex carving that looks like a stone seal.

The Buddhist Temple is also known as the "Buddha Temple". It is said that during the first campaign to exterminate Buddhism, the Faquan Temple in Jingyuan County built in the Northern Wei Dynasty was also killed. In order to save a large number of Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures from being destroyed After the disaster, the monks who survived the disaster secretly moved the Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures to various places and hid them. Some of the Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures were hidden in a cave in Pifo Temple. The monks and abbots who survived the disaster were left behind and hidden in Pifo Temple. Buddhist scriptures and statue information. Several years later, Buddhism re-emerged, and many Buddhist temples were built in various places. The destroyed Faquan Temple was gradually restored. However, in order to avoid the extermination of Buddhism, the caves where Buddhist statues and Buddhist scriptures were hidden were sealed. In addition, the rising water of the Yellow River and the The silt brought by the floods of the Shah River buried the cave, and the surface was integrated with the mountain. After many searches by monks and laypeople, they finally found the approximate location of the cave where Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures were hidden. However, the tools were crude and could not be opened. Unexpectedly, God followed the Buddha's wish. One day, the front of the cave suddenly collapsed, and the rocks sealing the cave seemed to be split open. Likewise, Buddhist statues and Buddhist scriptures that have been hidden for many years can be brought to light again. Because this cave protected Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures when the Buddha died, it can be called a place of spiritual treasure. The re-opened Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures never returned to Faquan Temple and remain in this cave forever until today. The Buddha took refuge here when he was in trouble, so the temple was named "Buddha Temple". Later, the sealed cave was opened to make the Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures see the light again, so the temple was also called "Buddha Temple".

It is said that in ancient times, a large part of the cultivated land in the Shahe area of ??Pifo Temple was Buddhist field, which was used by the monks of Faquan Temple and Pifo Temple. It was later requisitioned by the school for teaching expenses and was called Xuedian. Later, it was gradually changed to "School Field". Xintian, this is also the origin of the place name Xintian Village here; there is a small canal bridge at the mouth of Shahe River in Pifo Temple, which is still called "Xintian Bridge" today. The G6 Beijing-Tibet Expressway that passes through now crosses the Yellow River. The bridge is also called "Xintian Yellow River Bridge".

In ancient times, the avenue leading to Faquan Temple from Pifo Temple was called "Monk Road". Its route ran from Pifo Temple to the current G6 Beijing-Tibet Expressway pedestrian overpass and Kongjiaozi (meaning the beach in the small channel of the Yellow River). , but some people call it a Confucian element. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was the Sandan Water Conservancy Breeding Farm. It is said that in the old society, there were ancient castle beacon tower ruins here (now cultivated land), next to the Zhongcanal, 109th Line, Zhonger, and Yanmen Or Tuwo, cross the river to Faquan Temple. The section from Pifo Temple to the G6 highway overpass and the section next to Line 109 still exist.

Although Santan Town is one of the towns in Jingyuan County, it has a long history and splendid culture. Silk Road culture, Yellow River culture, religious culture, loess culture, grassland nomadic culture, and farming culture are spread throughout the territory. The Buddhist culture of Pifo Temple is fully expressed and reflected in the dialect symbol system.

According to the interpretation of Chinese language materials in the "History of Ancient Chinese Phonetics", some special phonetic phenomena of dialects can convey rich information about culture, and the pronunciation of place names and relative titles have a strong inheritance. nature, from which we can see some cultural information from the formation period. For example, the place name of Sandan Pifo Temple is written as "Pifo Temple", which means that there is a Buddhist temple here. The spoken pronunciation of this place name in Jingyuan dialect is pǐpósì, and the pronunciation of "Buddha" is pó. The initial consonant of this sound is p, which reflects the pronunciation situation in Chinese before at least the 10th century. "Buddha" is translated from the Sanskrit buddha into "Buddha" and other sounds. Its pronunciation:

[ bó ] Definition: Same as "bo" in ancient times, rising. Group words: Buddha clay.

[ fó ] Definition: 1. The Sanskrit word "Buddha" is the abbreviation of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. It is also the name that Buddhists call a person who has perfected his practice. 2. Refers to "Buddhism". Group words: Foyin, Fomen, Foxiao.

[ bì ] Definition: Same as "弼" in ancient times, assisting Bi. Group word: Foli.

[ fú ] Definition: 1. See "imitation". 2. Same as "fu" in ancient times, which means to violate or violate.

Language is language, words are words, and Chinese characters often obscure the fact that Chinese or its dialects are. The initial sound is a voiced b. In our Chinese, voice and voice are not opposites. For example, people in Jingyuan pronounce the word "po" in "wave" (wave). For example, there is a local named Zhang Xingbo, and the sound of "bo" in "wave" is local. People pronounce it as po, not bo, or pronounce it as b or p, which does not affect the understanding of the meaning. Since the pronunciation of "Pi" is the same as "avoid" in Jingyuan dialect, people in Pifosi Village believe that this may be related to the movement to destroy Buddhas in Chinese history. In order to avoid the destruction of Buddha statues, Buddhist temples were built in relatively remote places. Therefore, it is called "Buddha Temple".

Regarding why Pifo Temple is called Pipo Temple, in addition to the above point of view, I found two other written materials. One is the resume and personal life of General Zhang Zhenyu, saying that his place of origin is Mitan. The commune (formerly Santan Mitan was one commune) is Piposi Village; the other is Pifo Temple and the Zhang family. According to the "Zhang Family Genealogy" compiled in the 8th year of Tongzhi's reign, it is called Pipo Temple.

Professor Luo Peng of Northwest Normal University said: The textual research of the Qianjia School in the Qing Dynasty is mostly well-founded and has solved many problems, which can explain the phenomenon of dead (documentary) and living (dialect) languages. The terms used include "sound transfer", "yin transfer", "language transfer", etc., but they cannot explain the conditions and have been misunderstood by many scholars. Today's academics, especially textual research, in addition to the dual evidence method advocated by Wang Guowei, must also Coupled with linguistic research, this may be closer to the truth. Common people's spoken expressions are natural, and there is no slip of the tongue. It's just that when compared from the perspective of words, it seems inappropriate. This is because Chinese characters cover up the true nature of the language. The materials preserved in the documents of the past dynasties are all written in Chinese characters and almost faithfully record the language. However, due to changes in time and place, today's scholars use today's pronunciation to read it. In Jingyuan's words, it is "out of shape". There are many places. The reason is that the characters change with the pronunciation, and the pronunciation changes with the pronunciation of the characters. For example, people in Jingyuan call the large slope in Shuiquan "Rubber Slope", which is actually a phonetic version of "Elephant Trunk Slope". The word "nose" in Jingyuan dialect used to be pronounced with the aspirated initial consonant p, just like in neighboring Huining and other places. However, now Jingyuan dialect has the initial consonant b. People would not think of it at first, so they write according to the current saying and refer to Tongyu. According to the standard, we can only write an approximate "rubber slope". In addition, the current red holy land Hubaokou was actually originally called Hebaokou. People in Jingyuan called the flats on the mountain Hu "Bangge" (meaning half) flats.

People have reasons for naming things. This reason is the essential attributes or important characteristics of things. The Pingchuan Hollow Tower was the prescribed system for the Great Wall piers in the Ming Dynasty. There were buildings along the Great Wall, and they were later mistakenly called Gongxing piers. It is like a bunker, containing food, weapons, drinking water, etc. to prepare for the stubborn resistance when the enemy is besieged. It is a purely military defense building. Of course, it is also right to call it Gongxing Pier, which means arching towards the Big Dipper, because there is also a seven-star array ruins near Xiaohuang Bay. The origin of these words can only be solved by recording them in the original literature.

Another example is Tonghui Fort and Tonghuai Fort between Qianyanchi and Dalachi. The vowels of the three characters of Tonghuibao are all high vowels, which is difficult to pronounce. The local people (with low education level) , let alone understand linguistics) In the process of ordinary communication, they naturally pronounce the word "hui" in the middle as a sound with a wider vowel opening, which becomes "Tonghuaibao".

Similar phenomena are common in place names everywhere. The ancient and modern principles are not very profound. However, some people have specially researched "Tonghui Fort" for this purpose, thinking that it was built in September of the first year of Yuanfu and was the main road leading from Jingyuan Road to Huizhou. A "road protection fort" on the road. "History of the Song Dynasty", "Continued Edition" and "Tan Qixiang Map" all write "Tonghui Fort". But some scholars think it is "Tonghuai Fort". It may be thought that this is the fort on the road from Dingrong Fort to Huairong Fort, so it is called "Tonghuai Fort". It is also possible that there was Tonghui Fort first, followed by Dingrong and Huairong Forts, so it was called "Tonghui Fort". If you examine the explanation carefully, there is a lot of knowledge in it.

Many people think that the word "temple" was invented or first used by Buddhism. The places where Buddhist monks live are usually called temples, courtyards and halls - such as Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou and Shaolin Temple in Henan. wait. However, before the introduction of Buddhism, there were already "temples" in China. Temples at that time were not connected with religion. "Shuowen" explains the meaning of "temple" this way: "Temple means court, and there are those who have laws and regulations." Others say: "Temple means governance, and official residence." To put it simply, the temple was originally the place where the government office was located. If you look carefully at the structure of the word "Temple", you can find that it is composed of two characters: one means inch and the other means soil. Every inch of land also belongs to the monarch, and it is an office that is subordinate to and serves the monarch. The pronunciation of "Temple" is the same as "Servant", which also means that the temple is a place that only needs to respect and obey the will and be able to understand it. In ancient times, there was a government office called "Dali Temple", which was equivalent to the modern Supreme Court and was responsible for hearing some criminal and prison cases. Its history can be traced back to the Qin and Han Dynasties. Buddhism was introduced to our country in the early Eastern Han Dynasty. When we look up the word "fusi", it is very clear: the residence of the three ministers is called the mansion, and the residence of the nine ministers is called the temple. Later, the term "fu" was generalized, and those with a certain status dared to call it "fu". The term "temple" was also generalized, meaning it was a temple. Jiuqing is what we often hear: Taichang, Weiwei, Zongzheng, Taipu, Dali, Sinong, etc. The most famous one is Dali, who is in charge of punishment and prison. In the 10th year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 67), Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty built the first official Buddhist building in China. At that time, the department responsible for receiving monks from the Western Regions was called Honglu Temple. This building is also named "Temple", which is White Horse Temple. Because during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, Mo Teng, a monk from Tianzhu, came to Luoyang from the Western Regions and came east on a white horse carrying sutras. He initially lived in "Honglu Temple" in Luoyang. Later, Honglu Temple was rebuilt and named "White Horse Temple". So the temple became the general name for the monks' residence. In Sanskrit, "temple" is called Sanghalama, which means the garden where the monks live. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, temples were used less and less as official offices, and gradually became a special term for Chinese Buddhist architecture. From here on, "temple" took on a new meaning, not only referring to official offices, but also to Buddhist temple buildings. In ancient times, the two coexisted without conflict. However, in modern times, no one names official offices as "temples" anymore. Over time, people have become accustomed to the fact that "temples" only represent Buddhist buildings.

There is also a saying that in ancient times, a post station was set up every thirty miles and a temple was set up at twelve o'clock to manage the place or receive outsiders. The Pifo Temple is located in the ferry area of ??the ancient Silk Road. It is also right at the entrance of Huanggou, and on the other side is Pingchuan Doucheng. In Doucheng, there are Manyin City and Liuzhou City. What is the connection between the functions of these two ancient cities and the function of Pifo Temple? Where is the written evidence that Pifo Temple and Faquan Temple are front and back yards? Are Faquan Temple and Famen Temple related? The Triangular City of Santan, the Triangular City of Yinmenxian, and the Triangular City of Mozigou are each exactly in the shape of a triangle. Is it just a coincidence? These are topics that experts and scholars studying local history and geography have been constantly debating and researching recently, and we look forward to unveiling them soon.

Professor Bian Qiang, formerly of the Gansu Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, saw my post about attacking Buddhist temples and left a message saying that based on the analysis of the local pronunciation of "piposi", he suddenly felt that its title might come from the Buddhist classic Sanskrit name Piposi. The pronunciation and meaning of "Vibasi Buddha" is also called "Vibasi Buddha", "Phasa Buddha", "Shengguan Buddha" and "Weiwei Buddha". The free translation is Sheng Guan Buddha, Pure Contemplation Buddha, Sheng Jing Buddha, Various Seeing Buddha. That is, the Buddha who appeared in the past solemn kalpa. "Great Wisdom" calls him the first of the seven Buddhas in the past. This Buddha became enlightened under the Popolo tree. Buddhist scriptures record that he held three sermons. The first time was attended by 160,000 disciples, the second time by 100,000 people, and the third time by 80,000 people. There are two disciples, one is Qiancha and the other is Tishe; there is also a deacon disciple named Wuyou. Life span is 80,000 years. The volume of "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's Original Vow Sutra" states: "The name of the Buddha is the ninth. In the past, a Buddha appeared in the world, named Viposhi. If any man or woman hears this Buddha's name, they will never fall into the evil paths, and will always be reborn in human and heaven. It is a wonderful music." Buddhism has spread eastward to China. In the past, Buddhists were worshiped by many believers from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Tang and Song Dynasties. The name of the temple may have originated from this. Professor Bian’s statement is also worthy of reference and discussion by those who are interested.

In front of the cliff of the mountain temple, there is a forest full of chaos, and in the quiet grottoes, the sound of hangings is played.

Worship the gods and Buddhas with three sticks of fragrant heart, and be devoted to everything you do and have an untainted heart.

Pifo Temple originally had an Anning Primary School, which was later moved and is now the Anning Cultural Compound. The tunnel of Pifo Temple began to be dug ominously. In the northeast of Pifo Temple site, there is a stone cave dug on the cliff. The entrance of the cave is very small, and generally only allows one or two people to enter and exit. However, there is a world of its own inside. The small one is more than ten square meters, and the large one is dozens of meters. It ranges from hundreds of square meters. It hangs halfway up the mountain with no way in or out, and can only be accessed by hanging on a rope. It is a place of refuge from robbers and bandits.

There are many outstanding people in Pifo Temple, and a large number of outstanding talents have emerged. Dean Zhu Mingxin, who was elected as a member of the Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 1955, is known as an outstanding person in the city; there is General Zhang Zhenyu, the founding general of the People's Republic of China, and a well-known canal and water conservancy expert Wan Shixun, there are workers, farmers, and intellectuals from all walks of life, all fronts, and all fields. There are civil servants who serve the people, there are teachers who educate people, there are experts and scholars, there are hard-working farmers, and there are leaders who are getting rich!

In the past, Pifo Temple had more people but less land. After the reform and opening up, the hard-working, brave and self-improving people of Pifo Temple were closely united and worked together to build the Pifo Temple Wanjiaping Water Conservancy Project. Today, Tianchou Zhi Splendid, fertile fields brewing fragrance, strong rural charm, white walls and black tiles, gurgling water, Wanjiaping is also a beautiful picture of "beautiful pastoral, mellow humanities, rich economy, harmonious life, and beautiful villages" is quietly unfolding, climbing On the top of the mountain behind Shangpi Buddhist Temple, looking at the three beaches, the faint fragrance of flowers and fruits is carried in the wind, and the coolness of the Yellow River water is in the air. It gives people the impression that it is a place where "you can see the mountains, you can see the water, and you can remember the nostalgia", with the original local flavor and many atmospheres such as farming culture, Buddhist culture, stone culture, red culture, Yellow River culture, etc. The tranquil natural "oxygen bar" makes people feel relaxed and happy.

The new scenery is painted with thick ink and heavy colors, with green water and green mountains bringing smiles. I believe that one day, if the people of Pifo Temple, a place with an ancient sound, and even the people of Sandan, tap into these many cultural resources, promote the transformation of rural tourism, create and develop leisure local culture, and create "Pifo Temple with ancient charm", I believe it will become very popular!

About the author: He Puyu, male, from Jingyuan, Gansu, college education, member of the Communist Party of China, senior agricultural technician, member of Gansu Workers' Association, and correspondent of Gansu News Network. He has published more than 100 essays with more than one million words in "New Gansu.Gansu News Network", "Gansu Daily", "Western Prose", "Gansu Peasant Newspaper", "Baiyin Weekly", "Baiyin Daily", "Baiyin Evening News" and "Humanistic Silver". He is the author of a collection of essays "Relics of the Yellow River".