qingyang palace (green ram temple)

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/michaelasanda-1885409-chengdu1/

Supranumit „coşul de pâine al Chinei” Chengdu este capitala provinciei Sichuan din extremul sud-vestic al Chinei. Se învecineaza cu Tibetul,  iar minoritatea tibetană este importantă. (Provincia chineză Sichuan cuprinde azi şi o parte din fostele provincii tibetane Amdo şi Kham, Tibetul etnic tradiţional)

Chengdu a fost un important centru comercial încă de acum 2500 de ani. Aşezat pe fluviul Jinjiang, are 7 milioane de locuitori (aglomeraţia urbană peste 14 milioane)

Chengdu, formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status. The urban area houses 14,047,625 inhabitants: 7,123,697 within the municipality's nine districts and 6,730,749 in the surrounding region.Chengdu is one of the most important economic, transportation, and communication centers in Western China. Parts of historically Tibetan regions Kham and Amdo was largely incorporated into the Chinese provinces. Comprising an eastern portion of the historical Tibetan region of Kham, 51.49% of the total area of Sichuan has a substantial population of Tibetans; these areas in western Sichuan contain 1.88 million people of whom 1.25 million are Tibetans.

Marele poet Du Fu (712-770) din dinastia Tang a locuit la Chengdu într-o colibă modestă, mai bine de trei ani, şi a scris mai mult de 240 de poezii

Du Fu (712–770) the prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty, in 759 moved to Chengdu, built a thatched hut near the Flower Rinsing Creek and lived there for four years. The "thatched hut" period was the peak of Du Fu's creativity. He wrote two hundred and forty poems, among them: "My Thatched Hut was torn apart by Autumn Wind" and "The Prime Minister of Shu"

The most important building at Qingyang Gong is the Bagua Pavilion. The present structure dates back to 1882. It has stone pillars carved with the figures of dragons enclosing the life-sized statue of Lao Tzu, the mystical founder of Taoism. Lao Tzu is shown riding a buffalo in the statue.

This octagonal building sitting on a square pedestal (symbolic of the earth) rises 20m (65 ft.) and has two flounces of upturned roofs covered in yellow, green, and purple ceramic tiles.Between the roofs, each facet of the octagon has at its center a plaque of the eight trigrams set off by a pattern of swastikas, symbolic of the sun or the movement of fire. The 81 carved dragons are said to symbolize the 81 incarnations of Lao Tsu, but the number has closer associations with Chinese numerology and the belief in nine as the most "accomplished" of numbers.

Qingyang gong, Templul Caprei Verzi, cel mai vechi templu taoist din oraş

The Qingyang Taoist Temple (Green Ram Temple) is the oldest and most extensive Taoist temple in the Chengdu area.

The most emblematic building has to be the Bagua Ting (Pavilion of the Eight Trigrams)

This famous Taoist temple was first built during the Tang dynasty. Most of what you see now is actually restorations made during the Qing Dynasty. Its major structures include: Sanqing Hall, Doulao Hall, Hunyuan Palace, Eight Trigrams Pavilion, and Wuji Palace.

The temple is not overly touristy; it is an active place of worship for Chinese Taoists. You can see many people lighting incense and praying inside.

Mon ami

Qing Yang Temple is one of the largest Daoist Temples in China and one of the first 21 Daoist Temples allowed to reopen by the government in 1983.

Incense pagoda

Mon ami

Incense pagoda

Chengdu Qingyang Gong is a famous Taoist temple in southern China. Found in the 9th century, Qingyang Gong is a sprawling center of Taoist studies that still has a very active community of monks, Chinese traditional medicine doctors, music teachers, Tai Chi Chuan classes, and an excellent vegetarian restaurant.

According to legend, this is the place where Lao Tzu, the author of the Tao Te Ching descended from the heavens. The temple was first established though in the Tang dynasty around 880 AD, but was destroyed in the Ming Dynasty. Since then it has undergone many re-constructions and phases, but it has always been an important center in the birthplace for Taoism.

Incense pagoda

The temple grounds are quietly busy and there are often nuns and monks training at the Two Immortals Monastery toward the back of the temple. Two Immortals Monastery is the only Daoist monastery in southwest China authorized to certify Daoist training, initiations and the passing of lineage. There is a small teahouse on the left hand side and the ticket counter sells CD’s of the Qing Yang Temple Daoist Orchestra for 15 yuan.

Chinese Zodiac with Diagram of the

Supreme Ultimate in the center.

The spacious main hall, Sanqing Hall, is home to three statues that many Taoist believers worship. In front of these are standing two eye-catching bronze goats.

For local visitors, stroking the bronze goats here is a must as it can supposedly vanquish life's troubles and pains.

Although called a goat, one of them is actually a strange and unrecognizable creature. It is unique in that it combines features of all the Chinese zodiac animals, with mouse ears, an ox nose, tiger paws, rabbit back, snake tail, dragon horns, horse mouth, goat beard, monkey neck, chicken eyes, dog belly, and pig thighs.

Qingyang gong, Templul Caprei Verzi, dedicat lui Laozi

This temple is an ancient Taoist temple and devoted to the memory of Lao Tzu (604 B.C. - 531 B.C.), the father of Taoism.

This temple complex is still used for prayer purposes even today. Outside the entrance vendors sell almost life sized incense packs, and these are burned on alters inside as part of the worship service

Fu Lu Shou is the concept of Good Fortune (Fu), Prosperity (Lu), and Longevity (Shou). This Taoist concept is thought to date back to the Ming Dynasty, when the Fu Star, Lu Star and Shou Star were considered to be personified deities of these attributes respectively. The term is commonly used in Chinese culture to denote the three attributes of a good life. The above three symbols; Lu, Fu and Shou is called as 'Triplets of Blessings' and when  used together, it enhances prosperity, luck and longevity for the above.

Shou and Fu, the Chinese symbols for Longevity and Luck (hapiness)

În perioada celor 5 dinastii (907-960) unul dintre conducătorii statului Shu (Meng Chang) a ordonat plantarea a numeroşi pomi Hybiscus pe zidurile oraşului, care a devenit cunoscut ca „Oraşul Pomilor Hybiscus”

In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960), Meng Chang, the king of the Later Shu Kingdom, ordered the planting of hibiscus on the fortress wall surrounding the city. After this, Chengdu started being called the City of Hibiscus.

Fotografii:

Nicoleta Leu

Sanda Foişoreanu

Prezentare:

Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

Muzică: ♦ Vangelis The Tao of Love