Ladies and Gentlemen,
After a long hard and exhausting climb, here we are in the summit tour area of the mountain. The next spot we’re going to visit is Bixia Temple, a famous Taoist temple on the summit. Look, there it is. It’s on the other end of the Heaven Street. Shall we go? But before we get there, lets’ have a quick view of the picturesque surroundings along the way.
This area is known as the summit tour area of Mt. Tai, and it is a wonderful part of the mountain, which is called a heavenly world. That gate we just stepped in is called South Heaven Gate and the road we’re now walking along is called Heaven Street. How do you feel now? Do you feel that “the sun is nearer and cloud’s lower”, and “ everything around is at your feet except for the sky”?
There are many spots of interest here, including Yuhuang Summit, Bixia Temple, Sunrise View Peak, Sea Pointing rock, Inscriptions on Daguan Peak, and so on. Also enjoyable on the summit are the top four good views of Mt. Tai, i.e. sunrise in the east, sunset glow, ribbon-shaped Yellow River in Distance, jade plates in rolling sea of cloud.
Well, Bixia Temple is coming near, now. Isn’t resplendent bathing in golden sunshine? It was first built in the Song Dynasty, and was rebuilt and renovated for many times during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was originally named Zhaozhen Temple and got its present name since the Qing Dynasty. It is composed of four gates, three halls, dancing house, drum and bell towers, imperial tablet pavilions, incense burner pavilion. It is divided into two courtyards with a gate between, occupying about 3,900 square meters.
According to Daoism, almost everything has a god, for example, the sun, the moon, wind, rain, thunder, wealth and even the door. These gods are enshrined in Taoist monasteries and temples. Their icons are also found in many homes, especially those in the countryside. For example, people worship the God of Wealth in the countryside in hope of achieving big fortunes. The God of Door is supposed to be able to keep away demons. Well, enshrined in this temple is a female statue named Bixia Godness. Then why do people worship her? We know that in the Dai Temple at the foot of the mountain, there is another God named God of Mt Tai. Since the Song Dynasty, Bixia Gldness has gradually taken the place of the God of Mt Tai as the most powerful immortal. She at first was in charge of sons and heirs. Then her power included control of weal and woe, poverty and health. She could cure people of illness and get rid of disasters at the petition of her disciples. So her powerfulness drew numerous men and women from thousand miles away to pray and pilgrimage in her front. So Bixia Godness became the most powerful and major God of Mt Tai. And Bixia Temple now is a precious treasure among the ancient constructions on high mountains with its fine structures and layout.
Now ladies and gentlemen, here we are in front of the south gate of Bixia Temple. Let’s step in. You can see there are also another two gates, the east one and the west one. The second story built on the south gate is called singing and dancing hall, and the east one is called the bell tower, this is the drum tower. The main structures are in the north courtyard, shall we move on?
Ok, here we are. The biggest building in the middle is the Great Hall. It is divided into five rooms. And it’s 24.7 meters long, 15.1 meters wide, and 13.7 meters in height. It has single extending eaves with traditional Chinese wooden structure. That two inscribed board were written respectively by Kangxi and Qianlong, two famous emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Because it is cold and windy on the summit of the mountain, all the tiles were made of iron or bronze. Now, have you paid attention to the bronze tiles on the roof? There are exactly 360 rows of bronze tiles on the roof, which stands for the 360 days of a whole year on Chinese lunar calendar. Enshrined in the middle of the hall is Bixia Godness, who looks kind and dignified. She’s in green blouse, red skirt and golden ornaments. All these colors were popular in old China. Beside the main hall are two other smaller ones, the east one is for Eyesight Godness, and the west one is for the Godness in charge of sons and heirs.
Also in this courtyard we could see other smaller buildings. Look at the two double-eave pavilions, in the east is the imperial stone tablet of Qianlong. The inscription means renovating Bixia Temple. In the west is the tablet on which inscribed a poem written by Qianlong.
That incense burner opposite the gate was built in the Qing Dynasty. Enshrined in it is also a bronze statue of Bixia Gldness. And beside are two bronze tablets built in the Qing Dynasty. The left one was built in 1615, on it records how the pavilion was built. The right one was built in 1625, and on it records the history of Bixia Temple.
Ok, everybody. So much for Bixia Temple. We have seen the statue of Bixia Godness, the three main halls, the imperial pavilion and tablets, the bell and drum towers. Shall we move on to the next spot?Ladies and Gentlemen,
After a long hard and exhausting climb, here we are in the summit tour area of the mountain. The next spot we’re going to visit is Bixia Temple, a famous Taoist temple on the summit. Look, there it is. It’s on the other end of the Heaven Street. Shall we go? But before we get there, lets’ have a quick view of the picturesque surroundings along the way.
This area is known as the summit tour area of Mt. Tai, and it is a wonderful part of the mountain, which is called a heavenly world. That gate we just stepped in is called South Heaven Gate and the road we’re now walking along is called Heaven Street. How do you feel now? Do you feel that “the sun is nearer and cloud’s lower”, and “ everything around is at your feet except for the sky”?
There are many spots of interest here, including Yuhuang Summit, Bixia Temple, Sunrise View Peak, Sea Pointing rock, Inscriptions on Daguan Peak, and so on. Also enjoyable on the summit are the top four good views of Mt. Tai, i.e. sunrise in the east, sunset glow, ribbon-shaped Yellow River in Distance, jade plates in rolling sea of cloud.
Well, Bixia Temple is coming near, now. Isn’t resplendent bathing in golden sunshine? It was first built in the Song Dynasty, and was rebuilt and renovated for many times during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was originally named Zhaozhen Temple and got its present name since the Qing Dynasty. It is composed of four gates, three halls, dancing house, drum and bell towers, imperial tablet pavilions, incense burner pavilion. It is divided into two courtyards with a gate between, occupying about 3,900 square meters.
According to Daoism, almost everything has a god, for example, the sun, the moon, wind, rain, thunder, wealth and even the door. These gods are enshrined in Taoist monasteries and temples. Their icons are also found in many homes, especially those in the countryside. For example, people worship the God of Wealth in the countryside in hope of achieving big fortunes. The God of Door is supposed to be able to keep away demons. Well, enshrined in this temple is a female statue named Bixia Godness. Then why do people worship her? We know that in the Dai Temple at the foot of the mountain, there is another God named God of Mt Tai. Since the Song Dynasty, Bixia Gldness has gradually taken the place of the God of Mt Tai as the most powerful immortal. She at first was in charge of sons and heirs. Then her power included control of weal and woe, poverty and health. She could cure people of illness and get rid of disasters at the petition of her disciples. So her powerfulness drew numerous men and women from thousand miles away to pray and pilgrimage in her front. So Bixia Godness became the most powerful and major God of Mt Tai. And Bixia Temple now is a precious treasure among the ancient constructions on high mountains with its fine structures and layout.
Now ladies and gentlemen, here we are in front of the south gate of Bixia Temple. Let’s step in. You can see there are also another two gates, the east one and the west one. The second story built on the south gate is called singing and dancing hall, and the east one is called the bell tower, this is the drum tower. The main structures are in the north courtyard, shall we move on?
Ok, here we are. The biggest building in the middle is the Great Hall. It is divided into five rooms. And it’s 24.7 meters long, 15.1 meters wide, and 13.7 meters in height. It has single extending eaves with traditional Chinese wooden structure. That two inscribed board were written respectively by Kangxi and Qianlong, two famous emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Because it is cold and windy on the summit of the mountain, all the tiles were made of iron or bronze. Now, have you paid attention to the bronze tiles on the roof? There are exactly 360 rows of bronze tiles on the roof, which stands for the 360 days of a whole year on Chinese lunar calendar. Enshrined in the middle of the hall is Bixia Godness, who looks kind and dignified. She’s in green blouse, red skirt and golden ornaments. All these colors were popular in old China. Beside the main hall are two other smaller ones, the east one is for Eyesight Godness, and the west one is for the Godness in charge of sons and heirs.
Also in this courtyard we could see other smaller buildings. Look at the two double-eave pavilions, in the east is the imperial stone tablet of Qianlong. The inscription means renovating Bixia Temple. In the west is the tablet on which inscribed a poem written by Qianlong.
That incense burner opposite the gate was built in the Qing Dynasty. Enshrined in it is also a bronze statue of Bixia Gldness. And beside are two bronze tablets built in the Qing Dynasty. The left one was built in 1615, on it records how the pavilion was built. The right one was built in 1625, and on it records the history of Bixia Temple.
Ok, everybody. So much for Bixia Temple. We have seen the statue of Bixia Godness, the three main halls, the imperial pavilion and tablets, the bell and drum towers. Shall we move on to the next spot?