China News Service, Quanzhou, October 18 (Reporter Sun Hong) In the world heritage city of Quanzhou, Fujian, the Tonghuai Guanyue Temple, which is full of incense, is one of the most prestigious places for folk belief activities in southern Fujian. It is divided into Hong Kong, Macau and Southeast Asia. countries.
Recently, during a routine inspection at the Guanyue Temple in Tonghuai, Quanzhou, a large bell was found to be cast in the thirty-second year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1604).
The reporter learned from the news briefing held on the 18th that the ancient bell is an iron bell, with a total height of 120 cm, a diameter of 70 cm at the bell mouth, a body thickness of 5 cm, and a weight of about 350 kg. It has a history of 418 years.
The ancient bell is now collected in the exhibition hall on the third floor of the Tonghuai Cultural Center of the Guanyue Temple in Tonghuai, Quanzhou.
Photo courtesy of Quanzhou Tonghuai Guanyue Temple
"Previously, the ancient bell has been hung on the beam on the left side of the main entrance of the Tonghuai Guanyue Temple." Chen Qingyuan, chairman of the Guanyue Temple in Tonghuai, Quanzhou, said that the inscriptions on the front of the ancient bell are "In the City Yingchun Gate", "Guanwang Temple Bell" and "Wanli Thirty-two" In March of the year, the words such as "Good luck Hitachi" are still clearly visible.
According to reports, Yingchun Gate is one of the ancient city gates in Quanzhou, located near Tumen Shuiguan.
According to Wanli's "Quanzhou Prefecture Records Volume 4 Regulation Records Shangdi Pool", in the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, "the Deji Gate was destroyed, and Xiong Ruda was guarded to rebuild it. , Yu is still famous."
That is, in 1558, Xiong Ruda, the prefect guarding Quanzhou, rebuilt Deji Gate after a fire broke out at Deji Gate, and renamed Tonghuai Gate to Yingchun Gate, Nanxun Gate to Tongjin Gate, and other gates still retain their original names.
According to research by many cultural relic experts in Quanzhou, Tonghuai Guanyue Temple already existed at the current site, called "Guanwang Temple", so there is no doubt that the bell was originally Tonghuai Guanyue Temple.
Experts also found that Li Guangjin, a great writer of the Ming Dynasty, recorded in his famous book "Jingbi Ji", Volume 8, "Inscriptions on Steles", that he once wrote an inscription for the bell of the Guanwang Temple. Years old, people in the metallurgy are the bells."
The inscription on the front of the Ming Dynasty ancient bell of the Guanyue Temple in Tonghuai, Quanzhou is clearly visible.
Photo by Sun Hong
In addition, the ancient bell is highly consistent with the age information of the "Guan Zhuangmiaohou Temple Bell" contained in "Quanzhou Tonghuai Guanyue Temple Temple", and it can be basically confirmed that the bell is the ancient bell recorded in the historical books.
At the briefing meeting, Wu Youxiong, professor of Quanzhou Normal University and founding president of Quanzhou Municipal Folk Belief Research Association, He Zhenliang, director of Quanzhou Confucian Temple Cultural Relics Protection Institute, and Chen Pengpeng, member of Fujian Provincial Cultural Relics Appraisal Group and former director of Quanzhou City Cultural Relics Protection Research Center, spoke to Quanzhou respectively. The ancient bells of the Ming Dynasty in the Guanyue Temple in Tonghuai were used to evaluate the beliefs and customs of Emperor Guan, as well as the expression of cultural relics and the evaluation of the value of cultural relics.
"The ancient bell of the Ming Dynasty is the earliest known precious cultural relic in the Tonghuai Guanyue Temple." Chen Pengpeng pointed out that according to Li Guangjin's inscription on the inscription on the Tonghuai Guanyue Temple "there is no bell", it can be seen that the Ming Dynasty ancient bell was the first one in the temple. The bell is larger than the common iron bell.
Time flies, the ancient bell and the Tonghuai Guanyue Temple have spanned more than four centuries together. Every year, festivals and important events are marked by the ringing of the bell. Today, the bell is still loud and lingering.
The inscriptions on the ancient bell of the Ming Dynasty in the Guanyue Temple in Tonghuai are corroborated with the records in "Quanzhou Fuzhi".
Photo by Sun Hong
The ancient bell is now collected in the exhibition hall on the third floor of the Tonghuai Cultural Center, Tonghuai Guanyue Temple, Quanzhou, and is available to believers at home and abroad with the same appearance and different ways.
Guan Gong belief is widely spread at home and abroad and has become one of the representatives of Chinese national culture. Tens of thousands of Guan temples scattered around the world play an important role as bridges and links in cultural exchanges.
"The soul returns to Yuncheng in Shanxi, the head rests in Luoyang, Henan, the body lies in Dangyang, Hubei, the mind is fixed in Dongshan in Fujian, and the spirit is in Quanzhou and Tonghuai", a sentence connects the five major temples of China with special historical origins.
In order to further promote Guan Gong culture, protect and develop the national intangible cultural heritage list "Guan Gong Faithful Customs", the "Five Guan Temple Cultural Pilgrimage Tour" initiated by the Guanyue Temple in Tonghuai, Quanzhou and organized by the Ancestral Temple of Guandi in Jiezhou, won the praise of the brothers. Guanmiao's positive response.
The first batch of China's "Five Guan Temple Cultural Pilgrimage Tour" will set off from Quanzhou in November this year.
"This is the first case of resource integration in the integrated development of Guanmiao culture and tourism in China, which is of great significance and far-reaching influence." Chen Qingyuan said.
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