Niuxin Mountain is located in Yanshi City, south of the town of Dakou, also known as Wenyin Mountain, commonly known locally as Nantaishan, 791 meters above sea level. Forty-five miles east for the Dengfeng Songshan Shaolin Temple, forty-five miles west for the Luoyang Xiangshan Longmen Grottoes, NiuXinShan just in the center. 25 kilometers southwest of Yanshi, about 40 kilometers from downtown Luoyang. Ming Hongzhi " 偃师县志" contains the origin of its name, said "ox heart mountain because the shape and color are like the heart of an ox and got its name. Said it mountain shape like a bull's heart, but also reluctantly, however, in the peak of the place, there is an ochre stone, glossy and bright, like jewelry, extruded from the lapis lazuli, the real "shape and color are like" the bull's heart.
Niu Xin Mountain stands out, proud and precipitous, magnificent, depending on the peaks like bowing down to see the ranges like drooping head, quite a solemn dignity. Qianlong " 偃师县志" on the top of the temple called Nuxin Temple Hongjiang Temple, the original Tianmen Square, bell and drum ladder, Guanyin Hall and other buildings, but now more than collapsed and destroyed, the remaining a stone memorial hall, beautifully carved, with kissing beasts, stone lions, bas-relief motifs, etc., couplets for the "Bamboo paths deep Wisdom Sunshine Three Thousand Worlds, the Lotus Terrace is clean and auspicious clouds over the four continents.
Niu Xin Mountain, about its origin, there is a wonderful legend.
It is said that back then, there was a mountain shaped like the back of a cow. The Ancestor and Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, both took a liking to this scenic mountain and wanted to make it their own territory. They met on the way there and agreed that the mountain would go to whoever arrived early. The Ancestor was fast and arrived first. He stuck his divine whip at the top of the mountain and went to look elsewhere. Guanyin arrived, saw the ancestor of the divine whip is very deflated, was about to leave, suddenly thought of an idea, then the embroidered shoes off a buried under the divine whip, and then to the mountain stream, while combing and washing while waiting for the ancestor.
The ancestor came back and said to Guanyin with a smile, "Look, I'm early, the whip is sticking out at the top of the mountain!" Guanyin pretended to look surprised and laughed: "Yo! You are late, your whip just stuck in my shoes!" The two came to the top of the mountain, and when the Ancestor saw that there was indeed an embroidered shoe under the divine whip, he knew that Guanyin had played a trick. He was furious, but couldn't justify it, so he took the opportunity of pulling out the divine whip to pick the embroidered shoe off in the process, and then left.
Just when Guanyin was pleased, she suddenly saw her embroidered shoe fall into the Yellow River in the north, and turned into a muddy shoe, and she couldn't laugh anymore. The embroidered shoes, is now Mengjin County, the town of Dongliang Village, Mengjin County, the north side of the Yellow River in the piece of riverbank. And Guanyin? From then on had to bare one foot. Besides, the ancestor angrily left, followed by the ancestor of the protection of God Wang Lingguan but do not want to eat this dumb loss. He left the foot secretly make strength, thud a few steps, the original high mountain "cow back" stomped low, "cow heart" was also shocked out. Now the top of the mountain there is a protruding stone, like a bull's heart, people will call this mountain bull heart mountain.
Later, although the people built a temple for Guanyin on the Oxheart Mountain, but higher in the south on the main peak of the Wanan Mountain built the Ancestor Temple for the Ancestor to praise him for his open-mindedness, "men do not fight with women". There is a village under the mountain called Shan Zhang, every year on February 14 of the lunar calendar for the Oxheart Mountain Temple Fair. Local people commonly known as the mountain Zhang will. Only one day time on the mountain Buddha and touch the cow heart stone people up to more than 100,000 people, can be said to be empty alleys (cow heart stone is a small ochre, said to have dispel all diseases, healthy mind, help fortune and other "special features", in the Guanyin Temple Guanyin lotus seat in front of the incense burner under).
There is Hongjiang Temple in Shanjang Village, and Hongjiang Temple in the hillside of Nuxin Mountain. We started hiking from the waist of the Hongjiang Temple, the mountain is not too high, the mountain is not steep enough, but all the way up the slope is slow, green stones all over the place, overgrown with weeds, the scenery is quite beautiful. In less than half an hour, it arrived at the temple at the top of Niu Xin Mountain.
The temple is now called NiuXinShan Temple (also known as HongJiang Temple, WenYin Temple), which was built during the WanLi period of the Ming Dynasty, and was rebuilt in the fifth year of the QianLong era. The original Tianmen, bell and drum ladder, Guanyin Temple and other ancient buildings, but unfortunately, now more has collapsed, the current temple buildings are rebuilt in recent years.
Temple door since ancient times, most of the south, the temple is an exception, the temple door facing north. Along the steep stone stairs up, visible first door, there is a horizontal stone plaque, on the book: the first day door. The first corridor is dedicated to the four great vajra, a grimace. And then along the stone level up, up to the second door and corridor, enshrined in the four heavenly kings, a foot on the brat, the image of the majestic.
After the second door and the corridor, you can see the only remaining ancient stone tablet in the Niuxinshan Temple, ancient color, is a very precious cultural relics, which is also the most intact existing stone tablet in Yanshi City.
It is all engraved with large lapis lazuli, buckle and become. The height of 6.1 meters, 5.2 meters wide, the middle door is 2 meters wide. The whole pagoda has 3 flower back, 4 kissing beasts, more than 40 relief designs such as Plum Deer Dedication, Crouching Cow to be plowed, Phoenix auspicious clouds, dragons and phoenixes, 8 stone lions, 22 arches, 4 banners, 2 couplets. The roof of the workshop is a hermitical structure, flower back, kissing sales, eaves, arches support each other, superimposed, buckle, become one.
All the carvings on the plaque, as large as the roof, stone pillars, Sumeru, small to the characters, birds and animals, flowers and plants, there are moving and static, different sizes, beautiful modeling, lifelike, smooth lines, the knife method is pure, known as the masterpiece of the art of stone carving in the Qing Dynasty.
Many of the stone carvings on the pagoda are chiseled mortise and tenon, joints have a line of plate-shaped iron plates to hold each other, so that the entire structure of the pagoda is tight, all in one. The front of the square forehead has "Guangji boundless" four Yu, side couplet "Bamboo Path deep wisdom sunshine three thousand worlds, lotus pure auspicious clouds fulfill the four continents";
The back of the square forehead has "South Sea Cihang The font is old and spicy, should come from the hand of the calligraphy world. According to the examination, the stone workshop was built in the twenty-fourth year of the Qianlong era (1759 A.D.) In 2006, it was included in the fourth batch of Henan provincial cultural relics protection units list.
The courtyard stone monument quite a lot, one of the "reconstruction of the Guanyin Hall and then molded the golden body of the monument," the inscription is still clearly visible: "Feniu eight hundred, the branches of the longitudinal. Only the lone lift Wenyin, born with a strange stone, color ochre, shaped like a cow's heart, take the spirit of heaven and earth, the essence of the sun and moon. The world can touch it to cure all diseases, increase longevity, good luck and peace. There is a temple of Guanyin in the upside down, and it is very effective in seeking answers. Near and far, the guests come and go, since ancient times, the incense flourished."
It is said that the Ox-Hearted Mountain got its name because of the Ox-Hearted Stone. Every year in February of the lunar calendar, during the Ox-Heart Mountain temple fair, a day on the mountain to touch the Ox-Heart Stone can be up to more than 100,000 people. Looks like, as this inscription contained, this ox heart stone is some magical, mysterious, and even be deified. Could it be that this is related to the Oxheart Mountain resides in the center of the mystery?
Through the corridor and on the three steep stairs, to the highest part of the mountain, Guanyin Hall is located here. Inside the enshrined Guanyin sitting on the lotus platform of Goddess of Mercy, is more than five meters high, the demeanor is peaceful, amiable. The Guanyin in the center is slightly taller than Manjushri and Puxian on both sides. Legend has it that the cow's heart can get rid of all kinds of diseases, health and wisdom to help wealth is located under the incense burner in front of the bodhisattva. Because of too many people touching, it has long been slippery.
Niuxin Mountain, although named for the magical Niuxin stone, it is rich in another kind of stone - green marble can not be ignored. There is an important ancient quarry 2 kilometers northeast of Niuxin Mountain, where the green marble has a clear texture and exquisite texture, and has been famous for a long time. Mr. Xu Jinxing, a famous scholar in Luoyang City, said that in the Song Dynasty, the imperial court had sent people on a large scale to quarry stones near Nuxin Mountain, tens of thousands of people at the most. Gongyi Song Mausoleum a lot of stone people, stone animals, stone pillars, stone monuments, etc., the stone used are taken from here.
The stone can't be said to be the most human. Ancient poems depicting the beauty of Niuxin Mountain, the most famous when the "Niuxin Mountain Zhuang hermit hiding repair place", the author of the Ming Dynasty Ministry of Public Works Minister Du Qian. In his poem, he wrote:
How many times does the bird road sound like an ape,
Half the sky is a quinoa stick and the sun sets on the peak.
It is difficult to get up in the clear time to smoke and Xiaxia addiction,
long day empty left stone ravine trail.
A stream of blue water, a stream of moonlight,
A thousand feet of green roses, a thousand feet of pines, a thousand feet of pines.
Brasenia schreberi does not wait for the wind to blow in the fall,
but it is still possible to wash the ears and hang a ladle.
The left side of the hall is the God of Wealth Hall, which is dedicated to the God of Wealth Guan Gong. On the right side is the Sixth Ancestor Hall, which enshrines the Sixth Ancestor of Zen Buddhism. Guanyin Hall after the change of the Pavilion is enshrined in the change of the old mother of change in charge of heaven and earth and living creatures. After the Pavilion of Changes, the Anyang Palace is dedicated to Old Mother Wu Sheng. A small side hall on the left hand side is the Hall of White Clothes, which is dedicated to the White Mother. There is a pool on the side of the hall with no name. However, the pool water is not frozen all year round, and winter warm like spring summer cool bone.
Behind the mountain, there is a path to the viewing pavilion three hundred meters away. Standing on the viewing pavilion can be a full view of the mountains of the stretch, you can also look back at the majesty of the bull's heart. Behind the mountain there is Shuanglongshan National Forest Park. The mountains are covered in the lushness of the mountains.
At the foot of the mountain rest, see a small house standing on the roadside. Friends said that this is a tea nunnery, nunnery wall also set a stone tablet. The inscription for the "mother's last words", the content of a lot, I browsed through the once did not remember too clear, to go home to a great deal of effort to find out the relevant information. It turns out that this Chaan is a nearby villager Li Tianxing mother's last words to follow the construction of the building. Probably in order to pass on from generation to generation, never forget it, it will be his mother's last words carved on the monument, inlaid in the wall.
The inscription reads as follows:
My son listen carefully to my words, and remember things at home.
In the old society, your father died early, leaving behind a daughter and five boys.
The mother and child suffered from hunger and lack of food and clothing.
Since the birth of his five daughters-in-law, the family has been united and peaceful.
It's not easy to live a life of life, you have to be the first to build bridges and mend roads.
It's hard to live a life of loyalty, filial piety, righteousness and morality, so don't be greedy for liquor, sex and money.
It's easy to open your mouth but hard to close it.
The first thing you need to do is to get your hands dirty.
The businessman is in front of you, so be consistent with your words.
The night of the day, you can stay in your home, and your children and grandchildren will be able to pass it on to their children and grandchildren.
When your mother dies, you should make it simple, not wearing hemp or mourning.
No burning of paper, no burning of money, and no ostentatious display of food.
The children and grandchildren are in charge of the house, and they work hard to save money.
The tea ceremony was held under the Oxheart Mountain.
A gentleman who walks on the road will be able to relieve his dry mouth and live up to his mother's words.
Now, in my eyes, the deceased old lady and her filial son, like the temple in the mountains of those statues of Buddha with Buddha nature, this simple and dilapidated tea nunnery like Shaolin Temple Abbot is spending millions of dollars to be rebuilt as a temple of the sacred. This inscription is not to save the soul of the people inside the "cow heart stone" it?
A flower is a world, a leaf is a Buddha. The Buddha is everywhere, in my heart, in your heart, in everyone's heart.
What is Buddha? I thought that goodness is Buddha, nothing else!
Photography : Batu, hereditary condenser Text : Dofu