1. In 1928, Feng Yuxiang burned down the Shaolin Temple. Why did he have trouble with the Buddhist temple? 2. Which dynasty was the largest destruction and burning of Shaolin Temple in history? 3. Why did Yongzheng burn down the Shaolin Temple? 4. Did the Qing Dynasty really burn down the Shaolin Temple? Because of what? 5. Brief introduction to the incident of burning Shaolin Temple. In 1928, Feng Yuxiang burned Shaolin Temple. Why did he have trouble with the Buddhist temple?

On March 21, 1928, a fire broke out in Henan. The Bodhisattva wept, the monks were silent, and the whole world was silent, leaving only the crackling sound of the fire. The thousand-year-old Shaolin Temple was in the sky. It was reduced to ashes in the fire.

The person who set the fire was called Shi Yousan, and he was a subordinate of the then warlord Feng Yuxiang. After the Shaolin Temple was destroyed, Feng Yuxiang launched a campaign to destroy Buddhism, turning Daxiangguo Temple into a market, and destroying some temples and building schools.

There have always been different opinions on why Feng Yuxiang wanted to massacre the thousand-year-old Shaolin Temple, but many theories point to the warlord melee and the Shaolin Temple's presiding officer Miao Xing.

Bodhi has no tree, so how can it stir up dust and join in the disaster caused by war

Buddhism has existed in our country for thousands of years since it was introduced to our country in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Many poems contain descriptions of Buddhism and Buddhist temples. Of course, the sentence most familiar to most people is, "There are four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, and there are so many towers in the mist and rain."

The Shaolin Temple has gone through thousands of years of ups and downs and is still standing. The Sanskrit music of the ancient temple was once a dream in the hearts of countless people. However, this dream suddenly disappeared in the late Qing Dynasty.

There are different opinions among the people about the unprovoked massacre of Shaolin Temple. Various TV series and artistic works also pointed the finger at the Qing government for the destruction of Shaolin Temple.

In this way, the Qing government was somewhat unjust, because the emperors of the Qing Dynasty still attached great importance to the Shaolin Temple. In the fifteenth year of Qianlong, that is, 1750 AD, Emperor Qianlong personally went to the Shaolin Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings. , and even wrote a plaque for Shaolin Temple with a stroke of his pen.

Due to the praise of the rulers at that time, the Shaolin Temple was very prosperous and lively. Even in troubled times, there were many believers, but all this was ended by a fire. The fire under Feng Yuxiang burned down the temple and the scriptures. For a while, everyone was scolding Feng Yuxiang.

Although the destruction of Shaolin Temple was the work of the warlord Feng Yuxiang, it was actually inseparable from the Shaolin Temple itself. It all started with Abbot Miaoxing, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple at the time.

That was originally the most chaotic period in Chinese history. Warlords from all walks of life were vying for power and profit. You came and I went back and forth, and the smoke and war were everywhere. The entire land of China was turned upside down and filled with smoke. In an era of war, the quiet temples naturally cannot be quiet.

At this time, Miao Xing, the then abbot of Shaolin Temple, made a surprising decision. In order to protect the safety of the temple, Miao Xing joined Wu Peifu, the great warlord at the time, and became Wu Peifu's regiment leader.

Miao Xing, who became the regiment leader, naturally could not stay out of the matter. He led the monks from Shaolin Temple to form an armed force, and led the monk soldiers to fight to the death with Feng Yuxiang's subordinate Shi Yousan's troops, resulting in numerous casualties.

The angry Shi Yousan led the troops directly to the Shaolin Temple. Unexpectedly, he had a battle with Miaoxing's boss Fan Zhongxiu on the way. At that time, Fan Zhongxiu directly placed the combat headquarters in order to facilitate command. to the Shaolin Temple. Friends who won the battle burned down Fan Zhongxiu's headquarters, and the thousand-year-old Shaolin Temple became a thing of the past.

Nearly all of the Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Hall, Yama Hall, Dragon King Hall, Sixth Patriarch and other halls in the Shaolin Temple were burned to the ground. This incident caused an uproar at home and abroad. The American "Time" magazine There was even a special report on the matter.

The burning of the Shaolin Temple, a tragedy in the war years

The person who burned down the Shaolin Temple was Shi Yousan. There is no doubt about this matter. After all, relevant history books and historical materials have proved this. a little. However, whether it was Shi Yousan's private decision to burn down the Shaolin Temple, or whether it was an order issued by Feng Yuxiang, there is still debate to this day.

Shi Yousan's evaluation in history has not been high. Many people call him a "house slave with five surnames". He has been engaged in conspiracy and opportunism all his life. Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei, Zhang Xueliang and others are all He was his godfather. Later, during the Anti-Japanese War, he became a traitor. He really had no backbone at all.

In the 15th year of the Republic of China, Shi Yousan was a subordinate of Feng Yuxiang. At that time, the Guangzhou Revolutionary Army began the Northern Expedition. The Northern Expedition was in full swing. As a local warlord, Feng Yuxiang was originally the target of crusade, but this man was quite arrogant and national. integrity.

In July of the 15th year of the Republic of China, Feng Yuxiang announced his separation from the Beiyang Warlords and officially joined the National Revolutionary Army. The main enemy they had to face at that time was Wu Peifu, and when Feng Yuxiang led his troops to Gong County, Henan, Miaoxing had already defected to Wu Peifu, which naturally aroused Feng Yuxiang's dissatisfaction.

As early as the beginning of 1927, Feng Yuxiang, who was preparing to move to the Central Plains, had already launched a large-scale campaign to exterminate Buddhism. When he first entered Henan, Feng Yuxiang set his sights on Kaifeng Prime Minister, known as the first temple in Henan. The temple was planning to ask the temple to actively donate funds, but the abbot at the time did not buy it. Feng Yuxiang directly led the troops into Xiangguo Temple, which was changed to Zhongshan Market.

When the news came, in order to curry favor with Feng Yuxiang, the local powerful people in Henan almost all responded to Feng Yuxiang’s suggestion. Almost all the temples in Henan were destroyed and were not spared. Buddha statues, temples, and countless monks were expelled.

From this point of view, a large part of the reason why Shi Yousan burned down the Shaolin Temple may be to please Feng Yuxiang. After all, Feng Yuxiang is very unfavorable to Buddhism. In addition, the person who fought with them at that time was the Shaolin Temple. It is not surprising that the monks set fire to the Shaolin Temple in anger and to please their superiors. After all, Shi Yousan is an opportunistic villain.

Many people also say that the burning of the Shaolin Temple was originally an order given by Feng Yuxiang. Feng Yuxiang himself is a devout Christian believer and does not like Buddhism very much. Coupled with the strategic needs of the war, Feng Yuxiang became angry from shame. It is not impossible to order the Shaolin Temple to be burned down.

In fact, in the final analysis, the tragedy of burning the Shaolin Temple is just a common tragedy in the war years. Under the cover of the nest, are there any eggs left? The entire nation is living in dire straits and filled with gunpowder smoke, and wars are raging across the Central Plains. Although Shaolin Temple is a peaceful place for Buddhism, how can it enjoy peace when the nation is in danger?

So the burning of the Shaolin Temple sounds a bit scary, but when you think about it carefully, it is just an ordinary tragedy. All the horrors in the war years are normal, and there is bloodshed and sacrifice every day. Fires shot into the sky and smoke filled the air. Even if Feng Yuxiang hadn't burned down the Shaolin Temple, someone else would have.

The Shaolin Temple did not disappear because of the war

For the Shaolin Temple, 1928 may have been the disaster that Buddhism emphasizes. The fire burned down all the buildings in the Shaolin Temple. A large number of precious cultural relics and 5,480 volumes of Tibetan scriptures were reduced to ashes. This was perhaps the most terrifying hardship for the Shaolin Temple since its existence.

Bodhi shed tears. Perhaps he had thought of the disaster a thousand years ago. In 574 AD, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty ordered the extermination of Buddhism and banned the spread of Buddhism. The Shaolin Temple was severely damaged during that period. After a long period of history, the Shaolin Temple developed into a prosperous place. During the Tang Dynasty, it even had the reputation of being the most famous temple in the world.

Shaolin Temple survived the disaster of 574 AD and will still survive the disaster of 1928. All it needs is an opportunity, an opportunity for peace.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially since the 1980s, the country has promulgated new religious policies. Today’s world is an open and diverse era, and Shaolin Temple has a unique religious charm and cultural connotation, especially in terms of external exchanges.

So the country ordered the Shaolin Temple to be rebuilt. Now the Sutra Pavilion of the Shaolin Temple has been listed as a national key protection unit for ancient books. The Shaolin Temple will also appear in the eyes of the world with a new look.

The Shaolin Temple is a memory that spans thousands of years. In 1991, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, Shi Yongxin, led the monk group to visit Japan and discovered 48 photos of the Shaolin Temple before it was burned down at the Bodhidharma Temple in Kyoto, Japan. According to this The batch of photos redefined the overall layout and architectural style of the Shaolin Temple, and the ruins of the past became a thing of the past.

The Shaolin Temple is no longer just a cultural symbol of Buddhism. It has become a new national symbol for the Chinese people. It has endured for thousands of years and can still stand upright after the vicissitudes of life. Here is what it contains A kind of perseverance national spirit.

More than half a century has passed, and a new spring breeze has blown in the valley of Songshan Mountain, blowing away the smoke of the past, the decadence and the trauma left by the war, Shaolin Temple In the surrounding martial arts training grounds, Shaolin Kung Fu once again entered the eyes of the world, and even went to the world.

Although the Shaolin Temple is a peaceful place for Buddhism, it has always had an inseparable relationship with society. It has been in war years and peace times. Today, the Shaolin Temple has gradually moved towards a commercial model.

Abbot Shi Yongxin of Shaolin Temple said when faced with doubts from others: "Only development can have status, only status can have influence, and only development can be worthy of the Buddhist holy land of Shaolin Temple. The status of the ancestral court of Zen."

In fact, the choice between "rebirth" and "joining the world" has always troubled Shaolin Temple. From the war era to the peace era, it has become a legend with the world's reveries and legendary stories. A dream that exists in the hearts of Chinese people? In which dynasty was the largest destruction and burning of Shaolin Temple in history?

The largest fire that destroyed the Shaolin Temple in history was probably the burning of the Shaolin Temple during the warlord war in the spring of 1928, which was called the "Two Eighth Fire Disaster".

Introduction to "Twenty-Eight Fire Disaster":

1. Cause: Around 1928, Fan Zhongxiu, the warlord of the Wu Peifu Group entrenched in Henan, started a fierce battle with Feng Yuxiang's general Shi Yousan. Fan Zhongxiu once stationed his troops in the Shaolin Temple, so on March 15, Shi Yousan defeated Fan Bu and directly occupied the Shaolin Temple.

2. Destruction: According to records, Fan Zhongxiu’s remnants and the Shaolin Temple monks had already fled, and three friends set fire to the Dharma Hall. The next day, all the palaces including the Heavenly King's Hall, the Main Hall, the Kinnara Hall, the Sixth Patriarch's Hall, the Yama's Hall, the Dragon King's Hall, the Bell and Drum Tower, the Xiangji Kitchen, the Storehouse, the East-West Zen Hall, and the Throne Room were all burned to the ground. For a time, the Shaolin Temple was blazing with flames and thick smoke billowing. The monks who were hiding in various places looked at the tragic situation of the temple in the mountains and fields, but they were unable to go to the rescue. They were all heartbroken. After Shi Yousan's troops left the Shaolin Temple, all the monks in the temple hurriedly returned to the temple to put out the fire and save the buildings such as the Thousand Buddha Hall, Bodhidharma Pavilion, Abbot Hall, Shanmen, Ksitigarbha Hall, and Baiyi Hall.

3. In addition to the temples, countless Shaolin treasures were destroyed by the fire, including the "Fifth Grade Tree Ancestor" who was granted the title of "Fifth Rank Tree Ancestor" by the emperor in the temple, scriptures, woodcut editions of "Shaolin Temple Chronicles", Wei Qi The statue stele, Bodhidharma's shadow stone on the wall, etc. were not spared. This fire was the most disastrous disaster suffered by Shaolin Temple since the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It is said that when Chiang Kai-shek came to visit Shaolin Temple afterwards, he had to express his anger that "the third friend of his is too bad." In the years before the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to frequent wars and poor people's livelihood, Shaolin Temple could only maintain the mountain gate.

Additional two other damages:

1. Zhou Wu’s method of destruction

Not long after Yuwen Yong, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, became emperor, he found that large areas of the country’s fields were uncultivated. , the treasury was also empty. At this time, a Chengdu monk named Wei Yuansong who returned to secular life and Taoist Zhang Bin came to Emperor Wu, suggesting that "the province's temples should reduce the number of monks and return to secular life." Emperor Wu then ordered the ministers to debate Buddhism and Confucianism , which of the three Taoist religions is superior and which is inferior, in order to abolish Buddhism. But contrary to expectations, many ministers in the court believed in Buddhism, and the discussion ended in nothing.

In 574 BC, he once again convened the ministers and asked the Taoist priest Zhang Bin to debate the merits of the two religions with the Shaolin Temple monk Zhixuan in person. The monk Zhixuan argued hard, and even Emperor Wu himself could not use it. Monk Zhixuan surrendered. In anger, Emperor Wu ordered the abolition of both Buddhism and Taoism, and forced all the more than two million monks and Taoists in the country to return to secular life. The temples and pagodas were distributed to the princes and nobles, and the property was distributed to the ministers. In this top-down campaign to destroy Buddhism, Shaolin Temple bore the brunt of the impact. Buddha statues were destroyed, pagodas and temples were smashed, and the monks were scattered. Some disappeared from the secular world, some hid in the mountains and forests, and some fled to the south of the Yangtze River. In the blink of an eye, only a desolate scene was left in the Buddhist resort that used to be crowded with pilgrims.

2. Destruction of Buddha in Huichang

During the Huichang period of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, there were several civil wars in the country. In order to escape the heavy corvee, people became monks and entered temples one after another. Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict, the content of which was exactly the same as that of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, asking monks and nuns to return to secular life. According to the book "Buddhism in China", more than 4,600 large temples and more than 40,000 small temples were demolished across the country at that time, and more than 260,000 monks and nuns returned to lay life. It can be seen from the numbers and the way of destroying temples that Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty was far more extreme than Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. This extermination movement had a great impact on Chinese Buddhism and was called the "Huichang Extermination Movement."

Why did Yongzheng burn down the Shaolin Temple?

The reason why Yongzheng burned the Shaolin Temple was because the Shaolin Temple sent out the Heaven and Earth Society to burn the Shaolin Temple, and the main role of the Heaven and Earth Society was to fight against the Qing Dynasty.

The Shaolin Temple is divided into North and South Shaolin. Among them, the North Shaolin helped Li Shimin conquer the country in the late Sui Dynasty and received a commendation from Li Shimin who burned the Shaolin Temple. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, when the Japanese pirates were overflowing, the North Shaolin helped Qi Jiguang fight against the Japanese pirates and also received a commendation. The burning of Shaolin Temple was praised by the then emperor Wanli Emperor.

And south Shaolin. In the late Song Dynasty, he helped Yue Fei resist the invasion of the Yuan Dynasty and made great achievements. At the same time, like Northern Shaolin, he helped the government fight against Japanese pirates. However, in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the Tiandihui was established, setting off a vigorous wave of anti-Qing and Fuming movements in society. Cause social unrest.

So what the Shaolin Temple did in the early Qing Dynasty had shaken the rule of the Qing rulers and was not conducive to social stability. Therefore, Emperor Yongzheng ordered that all 25 doors of the Shaolin Temple be burned down, and all the monks were killed. He rushed to the then agricultural province to work in farming.

In fact, religious issues have always had a prominent impact during the changes of dynasties. Since the introduction of a large number of foreign Buddhism in the Tang and Song Dynasties, temples in various places have become places of refuge for those who violate laws and disciplines. A large number of social instability factors and idlers have taken refuge in the Shaolin Temple and engaged in illegal and disciplinary activities in the name of religion.

Because the temple has a large number of homeless people and monks who are not helpful to society. When they get together, they want to rebel and destroy social stability. Therefore, it is understandable that Emperor Kangxi ordered the Shaolin Temple to be burned down. After all, this shook the rule of the feudal rulers.

Although current film and television dramas regard the Tiandihui as a righteous anti-Qing and restoration activity, for the people at that time, it undoubtedly destroyed the environment in which they lived and worked in peace and contentment. Did the Qing Dynasty really burn down the Shaolin Temple? Because of what?

No, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty respected the Shaolin Temple.

In the forty-third year of Kangxi (1704), Emperor Kangxi wrote personally to the Shaolin Temple (originally hung in the Tianwang Hall, later moved to the mountain gate), and the precious tree Fanglian (originally hung in the Main Hall, later burned by fire) Two square plaques.

In the thirteenth year of Yongzheng (1735), Emperor Yongzheng personally viewed the temple planning map, reviewed and approved the plan, rebuilt the mountain gate, and rebuilt the Thousand Buddha Hall. This major repair and reconstruction of Shaolin Temple cost nine thousand taels of silver.

In the fifteenth year of Qianlong's reign (1750), Emperor Qianlong visited Shaolin Temple in person, stayed overnight in the abbot's room, and wrote many poems and plaques.

Extended information:

Shaolin Temple is a prestigious Buddhist temple in my country, a prestigious ancestral temple of Zen, and the birthplace of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at Wuru Peak of Songshan Mountain, 12 kilometers west of Dengfeng City. It is one of the main core scenic spots in Songshan Scenic Area.

The Shaolin Temple was built in the 19th year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 495). It was built by Emperor Xiaowen to settle the Indian monk Batuo. Because it was built in the dense forest of Shaoshi in Songshan Mountain, it was named "Shaolin Temple" .

In the third year of Xiaochang in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 527), the eminent Indian monk Bodhidharma came to Shaolin and spent nine years facing the wall of a natural stone cave in Wuru Peak of Shaoshi Mountain, where he first introduced Zen Buddhism. So far, Shaolin has been called the "ancestral court of Zen". In the early Tang Dynasty, the Thirteen-stick monks including Zhijian and Tanzong of Shaolin Temple made contributions to the Han Dynasty during the campaign of Qin King Li Shimin against Wang Shichong, and were praised and rewarded by the rulers of Li and Tang Dynasties.

During this period, due to the strong support of the imperial court, Shaolin Temple developed rapidly and won the reputation of "the most famous temple in the world". Shaolin Kung Fu has also been famous since then. It reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty.

During the Republic of China, the warlord Shi Yousan set fire to most of the buildings in the Shaolin Temple, destroying a thousand-year-old foundation. After the founding of New China, with the care and support of the party and the country, the Shaolin Temple regained its glory, especially the 1982 movie "Shaolin Temple", which made the Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Kung Fu popular around the world, becoming a top tourism product in Henan and even the world.

Since the establishment of the temple, Shaolin Temple has become world-famous for its Zen, martial arts and medicine. One of the first batch of "4A-level scenic spots", it receives more than 1.5 million tourists every year. It is a veritable tourist pearl of the Central Plains and a tourist attraction in China.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Brief introduction to the incident of burning Shaolin Temple

In the early years of the Republic of China, there were more than 200 monks in Shaolin Temple and more than 1,370 acres of land. difficult.

In the fifth year of the Republic of China (1916), Wang Yunhua renovated the Kinnara Hall; in the eighth year of the Republic of China (1919), monks renovated the Baiyi Dashi Hall and Ksitigarbha Hall, but these were small-scale repairs.

At this time, the warlords were fighting in a melee, and the warriors were attacking Qin, Mu, and Chu; bandits were raging and rogues were robbing and fleeing, but the temple monks only thought about the safety of the temple. At that time, monk Yunsong Henglin (1865-1923) contributed to the peace of the temple, but it also sowed the seeds of disaster.

Henglin, a native of Songzhai, Yichuan County, with a common surname of Song, entered the temple Yan Ran in the first year of Guangxu (1875). In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), he became the Secretary of the Monk Association of Dengfeng County. In addition to practicing Zen, he also practiced boxing and had superb martial arts. Due to local unrest, the county government appointed him as the "General Commander of the Shaolin Temple Security Group", which was a local militia. He had no choice but to "use the heart of a Bodhisattva as the face of Vajra", purchase firearms, and train monk soldiers to prepare for danger. In the autumn of the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920), there was a drought and famine, and bandits emerged in droves. Heng Lin led a militia group to fight dozens of bandits in Dengfeng County, Tizigou, Baiyugou and other places, killing many "meat tickets" and winning every time. Once, the bandit leaders Zhu Baocheng, Niu Bang, Sun Tianzhang, Duan Hongtao and others jointly attacked Luzhuang Town, Gong County at night. Tianjiang was discovered at dawn and fled to the southwest. The nine district militia groups of Gong County pursued closely. The bandits passed the Yanshifu store, and the militia groups from the 14th and 15th districts of Yanshi County also joined the pursuit. The bandits fled to Aoziping, west of Shaolin Temple, and were intercepted by the Shaolin Temple militia led by Heng Lin, and most of them were eliminated. A lot of guns and ammunition were seized in this battle, and they were all hidden in the Shaolin Temple.

Heng Lin became famous because of his bravery and skill in fighting. Bandits did not dare to invade the environment, and dozens of villages around the temple were able to live and work in peace and contentment. At that time, Zhang Fengtai, Chairman of the Henan Provincial Government, awarded Henglin a certificate and medal, and presented a plaque of "Weiling Pu Quilt" to the Kinnara King Hall of Shaolin Temple to express his gratitude to Shentu. Heluo Daoist Yin Yan Lunru also presented a plaque with the name "Shaolin Living Buddha" to express Henglin's contribution to suppressing bandits. Henglin is humble and harmonious to the people.

On the second day of October in the twelfth year of the Republic of China (1923), Heng Lin died of illness due to overwork. He was fifty-nine years old. In the spring of the following year, more than 300 people from Dengfeng, Gongxian, Yanshi and Linru counties raised funds to erect a monument in memory of Henglin. After Henglin's death, his disciple Miao Xing (1891-1927) took over the duties of Dengfeng County Monk Association Secretary and Shaolin Temple Security Regiment Chief.

Miao Xing, whose courtesy name is Haowen and whose common surname is Jin, is from Xiewan Village, Linru County. His family is poor. At the age of eight (1898), he joined the Shaolin Temple Henglin as his teacher. He learned boxing and martial arts since he was a child, and his skills are outstanding. , nicknamed "Golden Arhat". In February of the 14th year of the Republic of China (1925), the "War of Hu Han" broke out in western Henan. Liu Zhenhua of Shaanxi sent Han Yukun to lead his army into Henan to fight with the Henan governor Hu Jingyi to compete for Zhongzhou. Fan Zhongxiu of the Hu tribe sent Lan Shixun to mobilize Li Shenya, a fool stationed in Yanshi, to defect. When the stupid Cui Jihua retreated from Mi County, Miaoxing led his troops to help Li Shenya attack Cui Jihua, greatly supporting Fan Zhongxiu. Since then, the relationship between Miaoxing and Fan Zhongxiu has become closer.

In July of the 15th year of the Republic of China (1926), the Guangzhou Revolutionary Army began the Northern Expedition. In September, Feng Yuxiang (1882-1948) announced his separation from the Beiyang warlords and participated in the national revolution. Wu Peifu joined forces with Zhang Zuolin (1875-1928) to attack Feng Yuxiang, but was defeated by the Northern Expeditionary Army. In the spring of the following year (1927), Feng Yuxiang occupied Xi'an and cooperated with the Northern Expedition to attack Henan. In February, the first regiment led by Miaoxing was ordered to go to Zhengzhou and then transferred to Wuyang. On March 6, in a battle with Ren Yingqi's tribe, Miaoxing was killed at the age of thirty-seven. In June, the body was transported back to Shaolin Temple by disciple Ti Xin and buried on the hillside northeast of the temple.