In early winter, meet at the ancient Huiji Temple in Nanjing. You can see three thousand-year-old ginkgo trees at once.

Picture and text: Zouba Internet Cafe, Xia Qun

Autumn in Nanjing always ends later than the solar terms. I heard that it has been snowing in the north for the past few days, but when the heavy snow season is approaching in Nanjing, it just rains a few times to cool down the temperature. It has nothing to do with the snow. It has always been crisp and clear in autumn, and it seems that I don’t want to take off my autumn coat. . In this early winter when the frost is coming, the three ancient ginkgo trees in Huiji Temple in Nanjing are covered in a golden coat. They are so beautiful that they seem to light up the loneliness, wipe away the chill, and make people intoxicated.

Huiji Temple is located on Huiji North Road, Tangquan Street, Pukou District, Nanjing City, more than 30 kilometers away from the urban area. The weather was sunny on December 5th. We drove all the way from Dinghuaimen Yangtze River Tunnel to the scenic parking lot in more than 40 minutes. Walking to the stone archway at the gate of the scenic spot, I wrote four characters "Gu Huiji Temple".

Entering the scenic area, there is a small pond connected by a small stone bridge. The river water is clear and transparent, and there are green mountains in the distance.

The colorful trees on the shore nearby are reflected in the pond, creating a beautiful picture of autumn colors.

Walking along the small bridge, you will come to a stone tablet inscribed with "Huiji Temple Ginkgo Nanjing Cultural Relics Protection Unit". I could vaguely see the ginkgo tree in the distance, and I suddenly felt very excited.

According to records, Huiji Temple, also known as Ancient Huiji Temple, was built in the Southern Dynasties and was originally named Tangquan Zen Temple. During the Liu and Song Dynasties of the Southern Dynasties, Emperor Wu Liu Yuwan came to visit. During the Xiao Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, Prince Zhaoming Xiao Tong once studied here. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Tangquan Temple was renamed Huiji Temple.

At the beginning of the first year of the Northern Song Dynasty, the eminent monk Zhongjing rebuilt Huiji Yuan into Huiji Temple. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang visited Tangquan Town. Because he avoided the taboo word "tang", he converted Tangquan into a temple. The town was renamed Xiangquan Town, and Huiji Temple was renamed Xiangquan Temple.

It was destroyed by war during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty. Part of it was rebuilt during the Guangxu period, and the scale was far smaller than before. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, Mao Lin and Su Zhaokui, two people from the city, founded the "Yinghua Academy" in Huiji Temple. From then on, the sound of bells in Huiji Temple was accompanied by the silent prayers of faithful men and women, and a melodious sound. Said Shiyun.

When we come to the Ancient Ginkgo Square, we can clearly see three ancient Ginkgo trees standing in a tripod in the distance. Looking from a distance gives people a shock. It is said that this is the earliest existing ancient ginkgo tree in Nanjing, with an age of 1,500 years. According to legend, they were planted by Xiao Tong, the crown prince of Zhaoming during the Xiaoliang period of the Southern Dynasty, when he was studying here. Originally there were 4 plants, planted symmetrically. During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, there was a fire, leaving only three trees.

This is the statue of Prince Zhaoming reading.

Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties was known as the "Prince with a Buddha Heart". He sacrificed himself to enter the temple three times in his life and built a large number of temples. It was his rule that Chinese monks should not eat meat. Although his son, Prince Zhaoming, was born into an imperial family, he did not like politics. He loved literature, travel, and Buddhist culture, and wrote the famous Zhaoming Selected Works. When I traveled to Tangquan, I fell in love with Huiji Temple. After studying here, I soaked in the hot springs and made tea.

This is Xiangquan Well, also called Zhaoming Prince Well. According to legend, it was built before the Six Dynasties, and the well railings were made of reeds. After Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty changed Tangquan to Xiangquan, Zhaoming Prince Well was also renamed Xiangquan Well. The water from the well is crystal clear and never dries up all year round. Even in drought years, it is inexhaustible. It is sweet and refreshing, making tea without stains. Drinking it can cure diseases and cure diseases. The local people call it "fairy water".

Xiangquan Well is also called "Cockcrow Well" because every morning, the sound of roosters will be heard in the well, and the chickens nearby will crow. Later, because of Zhu Yuanzhang, it was renamed Xiangquan Well. Also disappeared.

Beside the Xiangquan Well, there is a stone statue, where an old monk draws water in a bucket. The spring water flows continuously from the bucket, which makes people think.

Beside the Xiangquan Well, there is a big tree in the sky. The breeze blows, and the golden tree sways and rustles with the wind; the leaves fall all over the ground, and time seems to have never passed here. The warm sun in winter, the golden The yellow ancient ginkgo trees give Huiji Temple a unique charm.

I observed carefully and found that the three ancient ginkgo trees all have famous names. This ancient ginkgo tree is called "supporting the sky and overturning the earth".

I saw that this ancient ginkgo tree has many branches, escaping horizontally, flexing and circling, with scarred scales. The tree is 24.7 meters high, with a diameter of 7.4 meters. It has old dry frost skin and luxuriant branches and leaves. It is surrounded by It is a group of milk trees gathered in several circles. It has a unique style. It is named because its trunks are high and support the sky, covering the sky and the earth. Every summer, the dense shade of the trees covers more than half an acre of the ground, providing a place for thousands of people to enjoy the shade.

Perhaps when you stand under the tree and look at the unique features of its branches, you will immediately understand how appropriate the name "supporting the sky and the earth" is.

Not far from the ancient ginkgo tree that "supports the sky and covers the earth", there is also an ancient ginkgo tree. It is said to be the elder of the three ginkgo trees, named "Millennium Drooping Breast".

I saw this ancient ginkgo tree growing in a circle with old branches. The tree is 20.2 meters high and 7.45 meters in diameter. Seven or eight people hug it. There are seven aerial roots on the branches. The largest gall is long. 2.14 meters, the maximum diameter of the aerial root is 30 centimeters, shaped like a giant bamboo shoot, and the skin is like bluestone.

These seven breast galls are like huge hanging galls on the naked and old torso of a mother who has gone through many vicissitudes of life, making people feel infinite admiration and mystery. The name of "Millennium Drooping Breasts", that is, It comes from this.

One leaf falls and the world knows autumn. Pick up a golden leaf, feel the charm of late autumn, listen to the whispers of fallen leaves and the earth, and enjoy a quiet time in the winter afternoon.

This is the third ancient ginkgo tree to the west of the Yanshou Palace. It is called "Resurgence from Lightning Strike", also known as "One Line of Sky".

This tree is 23.9 meters high and 4.7 meters in diameter. The biggest difference between this tree and the previous two trees is that its trunk is straight and towering, like a pillar holding up the sky, looking proud and abrupt.

During the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, a thunderstorm destroyed half of the trunk of this tree. A few years later, it miraculously slowly recovered. Now the tree trunk is hollow. If you look up close to the part that was struck by lightning, you can also see the wonder of "a line of sky". According to local folklore, a long time ago, if you looked up at the "line of sky" on a rainy day, you could see the Tathagata Buddha statue and the Buddha's light.

When a generation of grass saint Lin Sanzhi came to visit, he was amazed by three ancient ginkgo trees and wrote more than 500 words of "Ancient Ginkgo Line", which can be called the pinnacle of grass saint calligraphy. It has become a treasure of the town hall, allowing Huiji Temple to leave a good story in the literary world. The poem was carved into a stele and erected in the temple.

The inscription is as follows:

"Ancient Ginkgo Journey"

Lin Sanzhi

There is a rare ginkgo in the Yinhuiji Temple in Tangquan Town. Rui.

There is one strange creature in the east corner of the temple, and two in the west corner of the temple.

The elder Weiwei Bo's lineage, the middle one Yongmu Gong's rank.

Uncle Xiu Rong is even more strange, standing alone and lonely.

The raging branches are as high as the sky, and the shades are thick and fragrant.

The dead skin of the flesh is corroded by the freezing rain, and the drops of cold green are dripping from the breasts.

The desolate and seclusion forces me to forget the years, and the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty will be determined after birth.

Unfortunately, Mr. Xin and Xizai could not record this in detail.

Recalling the temple’s grace and grace in the past, it is clear where the rest of your travels will be.

On a good night, I can hear the sound of reading, and in the garden I think of spring grass.

Times have changed, people have changed, and only Lao Muxu’s business remains.

Thousands of years of Russian love are so drunk that Handan wakes Lu Sheng from sleep.

I am lucky to be a useless talent, but I am not jealous of my axe.

The ancient Gan people have three generations of utensils, and the broken tiles are frightening for nine dynasties.

Huanghaoxianxuan jumps like a fox, and the green phosphorus blurs the ghost.

The wisteria withered in the sky, the sorrow of life, the rise and fall of mountains and rivers shed tears.

Those who look at it before will know how far it is, and those who look behind it will know what is coming.

I sigh deeply at the tree today, and leave a few lines of nostalgia for the past.

Read Mr. Lin’s poems and savor them carefully. Perhaps ancient and valuable trees are “living fossils” that carry the memory of the city. An ancient tree is a witness to a period of history and a record of a culture; an ancient tree is a history of the development of the natural environment; a famous tree is a vivid record of a period of history.

At this time, standing under the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree, I look up at the branches, which are draped, escaping horizontally, flexing and circling, with scars and scales. In a sigh and a snap of the fingers, the years pass by like water, and the ancient temple and the old Tree, everything is quiet.