The legend of Jimo Lingshan Mother

Qingxiao Yuanjun, the deity of the Holy Mother Hall, is also known as Lingshan Old Mother. According to the record of Zhou Rupi, a wine worshiper during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, when the Lingshan Temple was renovated in the Wanli year, Yuanjun's remains were excavated and a stone tablet was found.

"The Monument of Yuanjun" records that in the fifth year of King Yuan of Zhou Dynasty, a woman named Wang from Zhaoyuan was raised as a child by her aunt in Jinmen, Jimo. Without any resentment, he drew water to the east of the mountain one day and met an immortal who restored his true appearance. On April 15th, he climbed to the top of the mountain and sat on a boulder. He was immortalized as "Qingxiao Yuanjun".

Later generations built a temple to worship him, and designated April 15th as the Lingshan Temple Fair Day.

Lingshan, formerly known as Lingshan, also known as Lingzhi Mountain, was named after its shape. Later, it was called "Lingshan" because of the popularity of incense. Famous.

The entire mountain is composed of three hills arranged from east to west.

Lingshan is located in the south of Lingshan Town, 10 kilometers north of Jimo City.

It is 154.6 meters above sea level, 127°27' east longitude, and 36°32' north latitude.

National Highway 204 passes along the foot of the mountain. It is the commanding height between the two main highways of Qingyan and Qingshi, and it is also the barrier to the north of the city.

Lingshan Mountain is a tourist attraction with lush trees and beautiful scenery.

On a sunny day, you can climb up to see the sea rocks and the sea to the southeast; on hazy days, the top of the mountain is shrouded in mist and clouds gather together but never disperse, which is called "Lingshan Wearing a Hat".

In the spring and autumn, hundreds of birds gather together, circling and singing happily, and sometimes a red "fire fox" jumps through the forest.

Lingshan not only has beautiful natural scenery, but also has a long history, numerous historical sites, unique temple architecture, and grand scale.

There are also many legends of Our Lady of Lingshan interspersed with it.

It is said that the Lingshan Temple was founded in the 5th year of King Zhou Yuan, that is, 471 BC. It underwent two major restorations during the Wanli Period of the Tang Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty.

It has been destroyed since the Daoguang and Xianfeng years of the Qing Dynasty. In the 18th year of the Republic of China and 1929 AD, it was repeatedly restored and expanded to its current size.

The restored Lingshan temples include the Notre Dame Hall, Eyesight Hall, Rash Hall, Shengsheng Hall, Birthing Hall, Baizi Hall, Taishan Mother Hall, Wusheng Hall, Dragon King Hall, Slap Hall, and Three Gods. Among the main hall and the eighteen-hand hall, the Notre Dame Hall is the largest and most magnificent.

There are ten major landscapes in Lingshan: Qingxiao Remains: on the top of the Western Mountain.

Fengdu City: In the shadow of the west mountain, the stones around it look like a wall from a distance, and are scattered and disordered from a short distance. The southwest gate has the highest stone, commonly known as the Ghost King.

Cornucopia: In front of the mountain.

Sea Viewing Stone: On the left side of the Notre Dame Hall, there is a stone as high as ten feet tall. On a clear day, you can climb the stone and see the sea.

Black Tiger Spring: Located at the northwest foot of Xishan Mountain, it is said that this spring was dug by a tiger diversion road.

Immortal Cave: Located on the west side of Dongshan Mountain, it is high enough to sit on and spacious enough for three or four people. According to local legend, it is impervious to wind and rain.

Jade Girl Basin: On the west half peak of Xishan Mountain, there is a stone as high as the back. There is a pool of water on the stone surface. .

Eye of the Carrying Pole: At the eastern foot of Dongshan Mountain, there is a cave in the stone canopy that can only accommodate one hand. The water does not reduce or overflow. If you wipe it with a towel, it will be full of water as before.

It is said that it was caused by the pole being stuck while carrying the mountain.

Sun Bin’s cattle traces: To the west of Xishan Mountain, there are cattle traces just like on the stone surface. According to legend, they were the places where Sun Bin’s one-horned green cattle stepped.

Iron rake teeth: On the stone surface of the east mountain peak, there is a stone growing out, shaped like a rake tooth.

Our Lady of Lingshan, also known as Lingshan Old Mother and Qingxiao Yuanjun.

According to the Records of Jimo County during the Qianlong period, when the Lingshan Temple was rebuilt during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the remains of Yuanjun were excavated and a stone tablet "Yuanjun Stele" was obtained, which was used by Zhou Rupi to offer wine during the Wanli period. remember.

"The Monument of Yuanjun" records that in the fifth year of King Zhou Yuan's reign, a woman named Wang from Zhaoyuan was raised as a child by her aunt in Jinjiawan, Jimo. At the beginning of the emperor's life, he had no resentment. One day, he was collecting water in the east of the mountain. When he met an immortal, he restored his true appearance. On April 15, he climbed to the top of the mountain and sat on a big rock. He was immortalized as "Qingxiao Yuanjun". .

Later generations built a temple to worship him.

The record in "The Monument of Yuanjun" is a bit confusing. The story can be restored in our current words as follows - During the Zhou Dynasty, there was a woman named Wang in Zhaoyuan, named Shuniang. She died and was raised by her brother and sister-in-law. She was later sold to a salesman in Jinjiawan Village at the foot of Lingshan Mountain and raised as his daughter-in-law.

However, she is so ugly that she is not married yet at the age of 18.

She lived a very hard life in her husband's family, but her hard work was not recognized. Her husband's family also criticized her in every possible way, and she was ridiculed, scolded and abused by her husband's family.

But the lady is kind-hearted, works hard for the family, is filial to her parents-in-law, considerate of her husband, takes care of the housework, treats her uncle well, does her best to help the neighbors, loves women, children, old and young, and wins the favor of the neighbors. Good reviews.

One day, she went to the east of Lingshan to fetch water. On the way back, she met a man in a white robe and a white horse, who asked her if he wanted water for his horse. She agreed generously.

The man said to her: "You are the Qingxiao Yuanjun in the sky. The Jade Emperor ordered me to tell you that on April 15th, I saw clouds and mist on the top of Lingshan Mountain. Those were your former subordinates. Your family is here to welcome you to immortality, please remember." Then he took out a green towel and asked her to wipe her sweat.

Cinderella took the green scarf and wiped it, and the ugly girl turned over, and her true appearance immediately appeared, looking like a fairy.

After returning home, my parents-in-law were very surprised. After asking, they found out that the ugly daughter-in-law had turned into a fairy.

So he immediately selected the auspicious day of April 23rd to prepare his son to marry a beautiful fairy.

However, on April 15th, Shu Niang made an excuse to go out. She came to the top of Lingshan Mountain and saw fairy clouds covering the top and bursts of heavenly music, so she ascended to heaven.

Later, believers raised money and built the Lingshan Temple in the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Another version of Lingshan Mother

There are many legends about Lingshan Mother, and there is another version called "The Legend of Lingshan Mother", which is included in Jimo Culture Network.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was a family named Li in Malan Village, Pingdu. Both parents were dead, leaving only the brother and sister to live.

My younger sister is Li Shuniang. She is ugly and has big feet. She also suffered from smallpox when she was three years old, leaving a pockmarked face. She is really unattractive.

When Shuniang was nine years old, his brother was eighteen.

In the autumn of this year, his brother got married and started a family.

Not long after my sister-in-law came in, I thought my sister-in-law was useless, ugly and stupid.

On the 12th day of the fourth lunar month of the year when Shuniang turned eighteen, when she got up in the morning, her sister-in-law gave them two wooden buckets and asked her to fetch water. If she couldn't fetch water, she would not be allowed to eat.

This bucket has a round top and a sharp bottom. It cannot stand on the ground.

The lady went out with a bucket, shedding tears. The bucket couldn't stand on the ground. How could she get water from the well? When you come to the well, you have to jump into it.

At this moment, an old man with a white beard appeared behind Shu Niang. He held a whisk and raised it gently towards Shu Niang, and Shu Niang retreated.

Just listen to the old man say: "Who can live without worries? I know about you. Go home. Someone will definitely come to marry you today." The old man turned to the opposite side of Shuniang. , brushed the lady's face and feet with a whisk, and disappeared.

After Shu Niang returned home, she cried again.

When I cried, I felt my face was hot and the soles of my feet were hot. After a while, the pockmarks on my face were gone and my feet became small and delicate.

Shu Niang was wondering when she heard drumming playing on the street. She went out to take a look and saw a sedan parked in front of her house. A man came down: "My young master asked me to take Miss Li home." Marry him."

When Shu Niang's sister-in-law heard that a young man wanted to marry an ugly girl, she hurriedly brought the man to her home and called Shu Niang to meet her. When she saw that Shu Niang had become handsome, she was heartbroken. She was also puzzled, but she still said: "I am a girl who is like a flower and a willow, with clever hands and a smart mind. I raised her since she was a child. I don't know what your young master is like." The man replied: "My young master's surname is Jin. It's from Jinjiawan Village at the foot of Jimo Lingshan Mountain. Guanyin Bodhisattva entrusted a dream to my young master, asking Taishang Laojun to come as a matchmaker and tell him not to marry anyone other than Miss Li.

Taishang Laojun has already met me this morning. On the same day, Shuniang came to Jinjiawan and got married to Mr. Jin.

On the 15th day of April in the lunar calendar, which was the fourth day of Shu Niang’s wedding, the young master and Shu Niang returned to their parents’ home together, and Shu Niang continued to be busy.

Before leaving, she picked up a full tank of water for her sister-in-law, inserted a circle of wooden prongs densely around the water tank, and said to her sister-in-law: "I can't come here often in the future. I've got water for you. As long as the wooden pegs in this water tank don't move, the water in the tank will be enough for you to eat for a lifetime." As the young master and Lady walked back, her sister-in-law put the water in the tank. The wooden prongs on the side were pulled out, and the water in the tank poured out like a fountain. In a short time, the water flooded Malan Village.

After the leader of the village asked what was going on, he sent a fast horse to chase Shu Niang. They drove him to the east end of Lingshan Mountain and chased Shu Niang.

Shu Niang got out of the car and understood what was going on. She faced the southwest and looked up at the sky and said, "I can't let my mother's family suffer." As she said that, she saw a white cloud coming from the distant sky with the sound of wind. On the top of the sedan, a tornado swirled down, flying sand and rocks. People watched vaguely as the whirlwind flew towards the top of the mountain.

After the wind passed, I looked for Shu Niang again, but I didn’t know where she was.

People were so anxious that Shu Niang was gone. When they found the top of the mountain, they saw that Shu Niang was sitting on a rock facing south, with a string of Buddhist beads hanging on her chest, growing kindly and peacefully. Fell asleep.

At this moment, Ma Lan’s water also disappeared.

In order to save the elders in her hometown, Shu Niang ascended to heaven just four days after being a daughter-in-law.

On April 15th of the following year, her mother’s family came to celebrate Shu Niang’s first anniversary after her ascension to heaven. An old man said that his hometown was hit by a hailstorm and asked Shu Niang for help in disaster relief. Shuniang appeared and said: "This year's hailstones were left by Bald-tailed old Li when he passed by Malan when he returned to his hometown in Jimo every five years. From now on, I will ask him to walk through Fushan, cross Haiyang and pass by the water, with only Feng Shui." .

In the autumn, Lao Li will go back and pass through Malan, so you should burn more incense on the ground." Such things gradually spread, and more and more people came to the mountain to seek treatment. .

A man in Xisanquanzhuang Village accidentally pierced his eye bag rod into his stomach. There was no way to treat it at the time. When he went up the mountain to make a wish and bent down to kowtow, the pipe rod fell out of his stomach.

Later, these things were spread to ten, ten, and hundreds of people, and everyone for thousands of miles knew that there was a spirit in Lingshan.

Li Shimin allocated money to build the Lao Mu Temple

When Li Shimin became emperor, Shu Niang was highly admired by the people, and they gave him the honorific title "Xian Tian Lao Mu" and The monks discussed it and used alms to build a temple for the Immortal Mother.

Because Li Shimin was saved by a Shaolin Temple monk, he had a good impression of the monk. He heard that the local monk in Lingshan was building a temple for the Immortal Mother.

He sent General Yuchi Jingde (namely Yuchi Gong), the general who conquered the east, to allocate money and food to build the Laomu Temple in Lingshan.

So at that time, the words "Supervised by Jingde for three years" were engraved on the beam head of the Laomu Hall.

The fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month is also designated as the temple fair day.

On the day of the temple fair, people from Jinan in the west, Yantai in the north, Qingdao in the south, and Donghai Cliff in the east start walking here half a month in advance. The entire Lingshan area is crowded with people within a radius of 10 to 20 miles. : Those who push carts, carry burdens, sing operas, play fighting games, buy livestock, sell cans, big-headed dolls with stilt legs, sesame oil and fruits, you can get whatever you want.

A scholar in the Qing Dynasty once said, "The horses are carried on April Mountain in Lingshan." The local name is "The horses in April Mountain are carried up." I couldn't hold it, so I carried it over my head.

Later, in order to prevent the Fairy Mother from being lonely, people invited Daibai Old Mother, Wusheng Old Mother, Baizi Old Mother and Shiren Old Mother from other places to keep the Fairy Mother company.

These five old mothers, with the Immortal Mother as the top one, are collectively called the Lingshan Old Mother.

The Lingshan Temple Fair has a history of more than 2,000 years

In 1992, in order to promote national culture, the Lingshan Town *** organized relevant units to rebuild the Lingshan Temple on the original site, and added the Taishan Laomu Hall in the east side hall. , the West Side Hall was restored to the Three Girls Hall.

At the same time, the original damaged Jade Emperor Temple and Guanyin Temple were restored.

The renovated temple still maintains the style of the original temple.

The Jimo Lingshan Temple Fair originated in the Zhou Dynasty and has a history of more than 2,000 years.

Nowadays, Lingshan has become a famous tourist attraction in Qingdao. On the fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month every year, there is an endless stream of people coming to attend the temple fair, and it has gradually become a folk cultural resort.

“The Jimo Lingshan Temple Fair is held every year on the 15th day of the fourth lunar month.” According to Director Wang of the *** Propaganda Office of Jimo Lingshan Town, it is said that Lingshan Old Mother (Qingxiao Yuanjun) and Taishan Old Mother (Bixia Yuanjun) ) are sisters. In the Jimo area, wherever the Lingshan Laomu Temple is built, there is a Taishan Laomu Temple.

People designate the Lingshan Temple Fair on the 15th day of the fourth lunar month every year, the day when my mother became an immortal. It is the largest and has the largest number of participants among the dozens of temple fairs in Jimo.