The original meaning of pagoda is tomb, "saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda". Pagoda refers to pagoda, which is literally translated as "blocking slope" in Sanskrit. When the stupa was first introduced into China from India, it was translated into Buddha Map and Round Tomb. It was not translated into "pagoda" until the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and it has been in use ever since.
Fangshan ancient pagodas are mostly located in dense forests with lush vegetation and trees. Among the rows of urban buildings, only the Haotian Pagoda stands tall and faces south. It is located in the east of Fangshan Liangxiang, on a mountain as red as blood and as hot as stone. This hill is commonly known as Liao Shigang, because "the stone is as red as a meteor and can make a fire".
Inferred from its name, Haotian Pagoda may be related to Emperor Haotian in traditional culture. Haotian refers to the Taihao Fuxi family, and later generations also call it Di Qing Taihao Fuxi (the God of the East). There are other sayings about the name of Haotian Pagoda.
Photo by Wang Dongzhi, the tomb of Meng Liang Jiao Zan around Haotian Pagoda.
Haotian Pagoda is also called multi-pagodas and multi-pagodas, and local residents are used to calling it Liangxiang Pagoda. In history, Fangshan Haotian Tower is the most representative and largest pavilion tower in Beijing.
Before Buddhism was introduced into China, pavilions were very common in China. Pavilion tower comes from tall and multi-storey pavilions in traditional buildings in China. Pavilion tower imitates the shape of a pavilion and builds it into a multi-storey pavilion. There are many floors and stairs leading to each floor, and there are tower doors and windows outside. Pavilion towers are common in the vast area south of the Yangtze River, but not so common in the north. The earliest pavilion tower is a square pavilion tower built by Baima Temple in Luoyang. When Buddhism was introduced into China, in order to adapt to the traditional habits of China, pavilions and memorial buildings came into being.
Haotian Tower looks tall and magnificent, simple and vigorous, and the whole tower looks bright and elegant. The tower is a hollow five-story pavilion with brick and wood structure, with a total height of 45.438+07m(20 14 professional surveying and mapping of Beijing Jianzhu University) and an octagonal plane. On the base of Mount Sumi, there are carved tiles. On the kǔn Gate (a door in Buddhist architecture with a hollow decorative style), there are carved standing and sitting Buddha statues, and on the door there are carved lions. There are cloisters on each floor of the tower, and there is a lookout in the corridor for people to climb up and watch. It is said that it also served as a military lookout during the confrontation between Song and Liao Dynasties. The details of the tower include Buddhist niches and reliefs in Liao Dynasty style, such as Buddha statues and lions and beasts with their heads held high, with different shapes and delicate techniques. Accordingly, some data were recorded as Liao Tower. According to Records of Liangxiang County in the 13th year of the Republic of China (1924), "Many pagodas were built on Liao Shigang in the Sui Dynasty. North Wangjing division, south Zhuolu, at present. Tang Wei Chijingde was rebuilt, commonly known as Haotian Pagoda. " Is it Liao Tower or Sui Tower? Some scholars speculate that Haotian Pagoda was built in Sui Dynasty and rebuilt in Liao Dynasty, so it is generally considered as Liao Dynasty Pagoda.
As the saying goes, there is a temple in the tower and a tower in the temple. In front of the steps of Haotian Pagoda in Fangshan, it is the original site of Fa Temple. Because this temple has been destroyed for a long time, there is no trace left now. Now, a courtyard has been built on the right platform in front of the tower, and the main wing of the courtyard has been turned into "Faxiang Temple Buddha Hall".
Among many ancient pagodas in Beijing, the shape of Haotian Pagoda is not only extremely rare, but also closely combined with the story of Yang Jiajiang, which is the most widely spread. The story is probably like this: Yang Ye, a famous Song Dynasty star, that is, Yang Jiye in the novel, fell into the encirclement of the Liao army in World War I, was shot by the Liao general, fell off his horse, was captured, and died of hunger strike (some people say that he bumped into Li Lingbei, that is, the science tower, and died heroically). Yang Ye's bones were placed in Hongyang Cave under Haotian Pagoda in Youzhou, which was guarded by Liao. One night, when Yang Ye's two loyal generals, Meng Liang and Jiao Zan, went to steal bones, the Liao soldiers guarding them found out. Give Yang Ye's bones to take away first, make an appointment to meet the place, and lead a group of Song Bing to patrol. At this time, it rained heavily and the soldiers' torches were put out. Meng Liang took off his flashlight and threw it at the opposite side. Suddenly, the whole position turned into a sea of fire, and I didn't want Jiao Zan to be among them, so I was burned to death. The next day, Meng Liang buried the bodies of Yang Ye and Jiao Zan. Meng Liang was ashamed of focusing on praise, so he drew his sword and committed suicide. His blood stained the cemetery. Later, people will be buried together with him, calling it "Meng never leaves the focus, and the focus never leaves Meng." After continuous deduction by later generations, the operas "Meng Liang Stealing Bone" and "Li Lingbei" were formed.
Yang Ye's heroic deeds were passed down as a much-told story. Not only in the Song Dynasty, but also in the Liao Dynasty, Yang Ye Temple was built in Gubeikou, Miyun as a memorial. In fact, historically, Yang Jiajiang has never been to Beijing. Folk artists in the Song and Yuan Dynasties put the story of Yang Ye's buried Haotian Pagoda into a drama and put it on the stage. In the Ming Dynasty, people compiled this story into Romance of Yang Jiajiang and Biography of Yang Jiajiang, which was widely circulated among the people in the form of novel stories. People admire Yang Jiajiang's name and attach a legendary story to show their respect for loyalty.
In recent years, with the in-depth study of Haotian Pagoda, it is said that Haotian Pagoda is actually the former site of Haotian Temple (Long 'en Temple) in Shijingshan District, where Yang Jiajiang's story happened in zaju. But strangely, after hundreds of years of circulation, people attached this story to the Haotian Pagoda in Fangshan. Regardless of the evolution process, the legendary stories of heroes add a strong sense of loyalty to Fangshan Haotian Pagoda.
During the period of 1997, the local government renovated Haotian Pagoda, so the rocks there were red, and the story of Yang Jiajiang was widely circulated. The local government has built a new tomb of Jiao Zan and a bone-stealing cave in Meng Liang, which together form a brand-new Haotian Park. Because the story of Yang Jiajiang is deeply rooted in people's hearts, the roads in this area have been renamed Haotian Street, the downtown park has been renamed Haotian Square, and Haotian School has been built under Haotian Tower, which has become an important symbol of Fangshan New Town.
(Wang Dongzhi)