Why is Beijing the capital of Buddhism? Even in the deep mountains, there are temples and temples 1500 years ago.

Buddhism was founded in ancient India from the 6th century BC to the 5th century BC, and was founded by Sakyamuni, the prince of Kapi Weiguo (now Nepal). Buddhism was introduced into China from the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty, and spread widely in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Youyan is located at the eastern end of Buddhism introduced from the west, which is far away in space, but Buddhism was introduced not later than the Western Jin Dynasty (Lingquan Temple in the western suburbs of Ji Cheng, which will be mentioned below, may have been built earlier).

From the Northern Wei Dynasty, Youyan became a place where Buddhism flourished. "Where Buddhism flourished in the north at that time, it was necessary to be cool in the northwest and swallow in the northeast."

In the early Northern Wei Dynasty, Liangzhou in Longyou (now Wuwei) was juxtaposed with Huanglong in Youzhou (called Huanglong Kingdom in Youzhou in the south of the Yangtze River), and the two places were already places where Buddhism flourished.

Except for the first extermination of Buddhism by Emperor Taizu of the Northern Wei Dynasty (445-446), during the 400 years from the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Five Dynasties, the Central Plains Dynasty cracked down on Buddhism three times. Due to the special historical and geographical conditions, the three "legal problems" in Youzhou have not been affected:

The Northern Zhou Emperor destroyed the Buddha (572-577), and the Northern Qi Dynasty was far away from Youzhou.

Tang Wuzong destroyed the Buddha (842-845), and Youzhou was the separatist land of the buffer region, which was not affected;

In the Five Dynasties (955), Zhou Shizong destroyed the Buddha, and Youzhou belonged to the Qidan Liao Dynasty.

In order to avoid disasters, a large number of monks poured into Youzhou, which led to the continued prosperity of Buddhism in Youzhou. After Liao Dynasty, Youyan became the center of Buddhism in China.

The earliest Buddhist temple in China is the Baima Temple in Luoyang, which was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty. "Temple" was originally the name of the ancient official building in China, and later it was gradually dedicated to Buddhist architecture.

Buddhist temple architecture in China follows the traditional architectural style of temples. Wood frame structure is the main structural form of ancient Chinese architecture, in which the beam-type structure is the most widely used, and the bucket arch is a special component of the beam-type structure. Temples and mansions can be divided into two parts: height and scale. Temples refer to tall buildings, while mansions are ordinary residential buildings.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the construction of Buddhist temples was very popular. In the Southern Dynasties, there were more than 500 Buddhist temples in Jiankang, the capital, and more in the Northern Dynasties. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were more than 1300 temples in Luoyang and its vicinity, and there were more than 30,000 temples throughout the Northern Wei Dynasty.

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the layout of Buddhist temples mainly took two forms: pagoda-style and courtyard-style. The former is centered on the stupa, surrounded by cloisters or courtyard walls, and believers worship around the stupa. This form originated in India. The latter was either built in imitation of government offices or rebuilt from the mansion of rich bureaucrats (the front hall is a Buddhist temple and the back hall is a lecture hall, because the original structure was not built), which has the characteristics of traditional architecture in China.

Buddhism flourished in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the number and scale of Buddhist temples were more than that of the previous generation. During this period, two types of Buddhist temples, stupa temple type and quadrangle type, gradually merged, forming the basic pattern of south tower and north hall; Towers no longer occupy the main position in temples, but Buddhist temples dedicated to Buddha statues have become the main body of temples, which have the quadrangle-style characteristics of traditional houses in China.

Temple buildings in the Song Dynasty have been finalized, such as Shanmen Hall, Tianwang Hall, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Ursa Major Hall, Ancestral Hall, THE TEMPLE OF JIALAN Hall, Dharma Hall, Zen Hall and Zhaitang. , with the north and south as the axis, form an orderly combination and complete the stylization of China temple architecture.

Because the temple buildings are mostly wooden structures, and the Buddhist temples in the Northern Dynasties were destroyed many times from the Northern Dynasties to the Five Dynasties, few Buddhist temples in the Sui and Tang Dynasties have been preserved so far. There were only two Buddhist temples in the Tang Dynasty, one was Nanchan Temple Hall and the other was Wuke Temple Hall, both in Wutai County, Shanxi Province.

Buddhism may have been introduced into Lingquan Temple (now Mentougou) in Lingshui Village, Zhaitang Town, the western suburb of Ji Cheng as early as the Eastern Han Dynasty. According to records, it was built in the Han Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, Wanping County magistrate Shen Bang compiled Wanbu Miscellaneous Notes: "Lingquan Temple, in Lingshui Village, began in Han Dynasty". Originally named Ling Rui Temple, the temple was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty and renamed today.

There is also a quiet and steep mountain in the western suburb of Ji Cheng (now Mentougou). There is Longtan in the mountain and Zheshu in the mountain, which is called Tanzhe Mountain. There has been a Buddhist temple on the mountainside since ancient times. It is speculated that this Buddhist temple was built in the Western Jin Dynasty by Master Hua Yan of the Jin Dynasty. It was originally called Kafka style. People often say that this is the earliest Buddhist temple in Beijing, and there is a folk proverb that "Tanzhe Temple comes first, then Youzhou City". This at least shows. Kafka Temple on Tanzhe Mountain was renamed Longquan Temple in the Tang Dynasty, Damanju Temple in the Jin Dynasty and Yun Xiu Temple in the Qing Dynasty. It is commonly known as Tanzhe Temple because of the mountain name.

During the Northern Wei Dynasty, as one of the two places where Buddhism flourished alongside Liangzhou, the construction of Buddhist temples in Youzhou was also very prosperous. According to documents and archaeological findings, Buddhist temples were built in Jidi during the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties, such as Guang Lin Temple, Mu Yan Temple, Fengfu Temple and Tiankai Temple in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Weizhijun Temple in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Youshengyuan Temple in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and Da 'anji in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

The Buddhist temples in the Northern Dynasties were destroyed, and the temples and pagodas that can be seen on the original site were rebuilt by later generations, and the names of Buddhist temples changed with the changes of years. For example, the Guang Lin Temple in the Northern Wei Dynasty is now Tianning Temple, and the stupa was built in Liao Dynasty. There were no Buddhist temples in Youzhou in the Northern Dynasties, but stone carvings have been preserved to this day. At present, Fangshan Kongshui Cave has a cliff niche statue, and Fangshan Gecun Cliff has a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.

The most vivid image is a statue of Sakyamuni in the 23rd year of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (499), which is now in Cherying, Haidian District. It is the oldest single stone Buddha statue in Beijing. The statue is 1.65 meters long and 2.2 meters high, with a circular backlight behind it and a bodhisattva beside it (also known as a threatening waiter, in Buddhism, the bodhisattva stands on both sides of the Buddha). The statue is covered with a cassock, exposing the upper body and pleating smoothly; Hold your right hand flat on your chest and your left hand hanging on your knees to make a fearless seal (seal is the five connotations of Sakyamuni, and fearless seal is characterized by bending one hand, raising your arm with one hand outward, which means to relieve the suffering of all beings. Five kinds of seals are detailed in the relief Buddha statue of Yuntai in Juyongguan in Yuan Dynasty. The statue has a broad forehead, a high nose, slender eyebrows and curly hair, which has the style of Indian Gandhara art.

From this point of view, there are ancient temples and Buddha statues in the mountain villages outside the Seventh Ring Road. Can't you say that Beijing is a Buddhist city?