Overview of Pingyao Qingxu Temple:

There are ten buildings in Qingxu Temple, with three courtyards in front and back. On the central axis, there are archway, mountain gate, Dragon and Tiger Hall, Sanqing Hall, Chunyang Palace and Jade Emperor Hall. The gate arch of the Guanyuan gate is erected on two pillars and is stabilized by eight-shaped fork pillars. There is a plaque inscribed on the 36th year of Qianlong's reign. Both the Dragon and Tiger Hall and the Sanqing Hall were built in the Yuan Dynasty and rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty. The Dragon and Tiger Hall is five rooms wide and six rafters deep. It adopts a unique structure of cantilevered beams and hanging columns. The east and west corridors below the hall are divided into two statues of green dragon and white tiger, which are 5 meters high. Mi, with strong bones, glaring eyes, holding a halberd and sword, with a brave expression and a good body. It is a work of the Ming Dynasty. There are images of blue dragons and white tigers on the wall. The abstract shape of the white tiger is quite unique. This group of statues is a rare masterpiece among Yuan sculptures. The Sanqing Hall was rebuilt on the north side of the central courtyard during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It is five rooms wide and 11 rafters deep. It has five ridges and six beasts resting on the top of the mountain. , there is only one Mongolian stele on the west side of the hall that records the construction of the hall in the Yuan Dynasty. There are three ear halls on the east and west sides of the main hall. In front of the Sanqing Hall, there is a building with a rolling shed roof built on the high platform, which is the Xian Hall. There is a clay sculpture of Lu Dongbin on the upper floor of the pavilion, also known as Chunyang Palace. Chunyang Palace was rebuilt in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. It was a late era and was well decorated. There are nearly 30 steles from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties remaining in the temple. They are treasures for studying Taoist historical sites and calligraphy art. There are eleven auxiliary halls in the east and west of the central courtyard, and a small stele room on the left and right of the passage in the courtyard. After the Sanqing Hall is the backyard, with three cross-shaped arch kilns for statues of Zhenwu and two attendants. There were originally five Jade Emperor Pavilions on the top of the kiln, surrounded by corridors. They were built in the Ming Dynasty and destroyed by fire in the late Qing Dynasty. There are two corridors in the east and west of the backyard, each with five cave dwellings and a front corridor, which were used as a kitchen and reception place for guests. The Dragon and Tiger Hall is the mountain gate of Qingxu Temple and was built in the early Yuan Dynasty. In the eyes of Taoists, the mountain gate symbolizes the three realms. Stepping into the mountain gate means jumping out of the three realms, free from the troubles of the world, and able to practice quietly.

The Dragon and Tiger Hall at Shanmen is a Yuan Dynasty style building. It is five rooms wide and four rafters deep. It is huge in size. The columns are arranged in a regular manner, with obvious tapers and obvious inclination angles. The stigmas have scroll brakes and the columns have a clear surface. The materials used for the columns are huge, giving people a grand and heavy feeling. The eaves are paved with brackets and brackets on four sides, and the gaps are mixed. The structure is thick and the shape is beautiful. The beam frame has four rafters, and the four corners of the beam frame are placed with angled beams on the second-floor wellhead beams. The "suspended beam and hanging column method" is used to support the flat beam and the rear end of the old corner beam. This local architectural technique has caused many people to stop and think deeply; This approach not only saves materials, but also expands the indoor space. At the same time, it also reflects the flexibility and bold innovation in the architectural style of the Yuan Dynasty.

The shape of the roof is the top of a hill, also called a nine-ridge top. The "kissing beast" at the junction of the main ridge and the vertical ridge can not only connect, but also decorate the roof, and more importantly, express people's feelings. A beautiful wish - "creating water to extinguish fire". The alternating glazed tiles and gray tiles on the roof look elegant and elegant. It can be seen that the use of glazed tiles can increase color changes and enhance the magnificent, solemn and elegant artistic effect of the building. The tiles and dripping water on the eaves can't help but remind people of rainy days. The aesthetic conception of "people resting in the house under the steps of raindrops"; the eaves have far-reaching eaves, which affects the indoor lighting, so they fly up from the four corners of the roof, like flying wings, making the heavy roof appear more vivid, powerful, elegant and light. The entire Dragon and Tiger Palace gives people a powerful, rough and straightforward feeling, just like the character of the Mongols who swept across Asia and Europe. The architectural beauty and human yearning form a perfect picture here, achieving "the unity of nature and man".

Under the eaves are two colorful sculptures with Yuan Dynasty style; East Green Dragon and West White Tiger. They are the patron saints of Taoism. They not only protect the temple, but also teach people to convert to Taoism. They are 5 meters tall, with round faces, glaring sword eyebrows, flaring noses, weapons in their hands, and hands spread out. Their large size and stretched heat show their burly and vigorous spirit, and their demeanor of swallowing up mountains and rivers complements each other with the colorful ribbons flying around them. The contrast further reflects the samurai's heroic and restrained spirit and his exuberant spirit, which enhances the appeal and vitality of the work. It is as if the person standing in front of us is no longer a cold clay warrior, but a living, flesh-and-blood door god samurai. The word "Chunyang" in Chunyang Palace is the name of Dongbin, and "gong" refers to the palace dedicated to gods. Chunyang Palace was named after enshrining Lu Dongbin.

Chunyang Palace is built on a high platform at the end of the corridor in Guanzhong. It is three rooms wide, with a six-purlin rolling shed style, hanging on the top of the mountain, with a shack in front, a bracket with five steps, double arches, and a collection of tweens. The roof is decorated with complicated official colors and gorgeous colors. The overall style tends to be small and light, but there are a few The beauty of flexibility.

There is a shrine in Chunyang Palace. Lu Shen, who is golden in shape, made of clay, and has an immortal air, is sitting in the shrine. Because Lu Zu was so high up, people had to look up to appreciate his appearance, which also reflected people's admiration for Lu Dongbin. According to the "County Chronicle": Lu Dongbin once had the Qingxu Temple manifested in the Qing Dynasty, leaving the miraculous traces of "One heart and two people with benevolence" on the pillars of the Yuhuang Pavilion. Therefore, the magistrate of the Qing Dynasty added this exquisite and elegant building Chunyang Palace is dedicated to Lu Zu. For thousands of years, the incense here has been endless, especially on April 14th every year, Lu Xian's birthday, there are even more pilgrims, which greatly shortens the distance between the quiet Taoist temple and the noisy world.

The couplet outside Chunyang Palace: "One yuan of Tao Qi is far beyond the world, and thirty achievements are always accompanied in dreams", which expresses the peaceful and transcendent pursuit of Taoism. Stone lions and Taoist talismans of the Qing Dynasty, Duan Outside the palace, the house is guarded to avoid evil spirits.

The entire palace has become one of the main buildings of Qingxu Temple, one of the witnesses of the Taoist cultural system, and an example of studying Taoist culture.

Sanqing Hall is located behind Chunyang Palace, with a width of 5 rooms and a depth of 9 rafters. It has a single eaves resting on the top of the mountain, four eaves and brackets with five steps, and a bunch of intervening spaces. The inner and outer eaves and brackets are made the same way. There are sculptures of dragons and phoenixes hanging on the wall of the arch, as if they are flying or moving. The roof of the hall has a square center of colored glass and trimmed edges. There is an inscription between the beams and beams in the hall, "Rebuilt in the 28th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1600)". There were originally statues of "Sanqing Zhenren" and "Twenty-eight Constellations" on the altar.

There are 3 East and West Halls on both sides of the Sanqing Hall, which were originally dedicated to the "Three Officials", "Four Saints", "Five Mountains" and "Four Dus"; there are 11 East and West Corridor Halls each. During the period, it was built on the top of a hard mountain and was originally dedicated to the "Mother of Nine Heavens", "Jiu Yaoxing Lord" and "Seventy-Four Divisions". In the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), the statues in the ear hall and corridor hall were destroyed.

In the Sanqing Hall, there is a transparent spiritual stele, originally called the Mongolian-Han stele, with a height of 205 cm, a width of 90 cm, and a thickness of 23 cm. It is a work of the Yuan Dynasty and has been around for more than 700 years. history. There are texts engraved on both sides of the stele, recording Genghis Khan's great achievements. The text on the front is recorded in the Phasiba script used in the early Mongolia; the back is a translation of the record on the front of the stele in Chinese regular script, so it is called the Mongolian-Han stele. The texture of this stele is made of agate stone. The surface of the stele is smooth and translucent, and it is cool to the touch. Many religious men and women who are sightseeing touch it and feel a strange divine aura. This is undoubtedly a good spiritual comfort. , so it is commonly known as the "Touling" monument. According to expert research, there are only a handful of such monuments preserved. It is not only a good spiritual support for believers, but also an extremely precious physical material for studying Mongolian history and culture.