"Hongluo Temple" is a common name of "protecting the country" in Ming Dynasty, which comes from a folk story. Up to now, there are several versions of this story, but it is said that the jade emperor's two daughters came here and became two huge red snails living in Luohong Lake. The different versions lie in the different reasons for the lower bound of the two fairies: whether they crave the scenery of the world, love the feelings of the world, or shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the people from fire and water. The original name of Hongluo Temple has been forgotten. On the contrary, this common name with amorous feelings is accepted by the Buddhist and human circles. Perhaps this also implies that Hongluo Temple will once become a gorgeous world of mortals and sink into endless human fireworks.
In the early years of Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong adopted a "soft policy" towards ethnic minorities according to the moral in The Doctrine of the Mean: asking about politics, that is, "being soft means returning from all sides, and being pregnant with princes means fearing the world". This is the first time since the Han Dynasty that the policy of "giving priority to war" has been changed to "giving priority to peace". With the help of Li Shimin, more than 8,000 northern minorities moved to Taogushan in Huairou. The Tang Dynasty allocated funds to expand Hongluo Temple on a large scale, hoping that Hongluo Temple would bless the royal family, so as to achieve the goals of national prosperity, people's safety, national harmony and world unity.
In the second year of Jin Dading (A.D. 1 162), Wan sent the most authoritative abbot of An Temple at that time to Hongluo Temple to preside over it, to show that the Jin Dynasty was kind and benevolent, and the Jin Dynasty ruled like a Buddha. The Buddhist monk Jue Buddha has been lecturing in Hongluo Temple for many years with a grand ceremony.
During Genghis Khan's period in Yuan Dynasty, in order to protect Hongluo Temple, a "List Monument" was printed and placed on the temple gate wall under the code name of "Dazhazha". The List of Historic Sites concludes that Hongluo Temple is a royal temple and a place to pray for the longevity of the royal family. People of all colors are not allowed to disturb this temple unreasonably. The boundaries of temples, land and trees are fixed, and it is not allowed to occupy or cut down.
In the Yuan Dynasty, Zen Master Yunshan was a high-ranking monk who presided over Dasheng 'an Temple, a royal temple, and was often summoned and consulted by the emperor. At that time, Yunshan held the rank of Doctor Rong Lu, and was the political adviser of the emperor, who often answered the emperor's inquiries about current affairs. In the 12th year of Yuan Dynasty (AD 1352), the emperor granted Master Yunshan the right to return to the Old Hongluo Temple. After Master Yunshan went to Hongluo Temple, he used the gold and silver treasures given by the past dynasties and raised some money from the society to repair Hongluo Temple again.
Because Hongluo Temple is the birthplace of Buddhism in the north, the resident temple of Shifang, and the temple where monks study Buddhism, many monks come here to study. Therefore, there are temples in Ganjian Valley on the west side of Hongluo Temple, which are called "Twenty-four Temples and Seventy-two Temples", all of which are the lower houses under the jurisdiction of Hongluo Temple.
In the second year of Ming Yingzong Orthodox (A.D. 1437), princess royal princess royal, the eldest sister of Yingzong, got married, and the royal family overhauled Buddhism for the wedding ceremony and invested in rebuilding Hongluo Temple. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen, a British emperor, came here to burn incense. After seeing the Buddha's top glow, he thought it was an auspicious image to protect the country and was very happy. He personally gave the temple the name "Protecting the Country and Blessing the Temple", which is still engraved at the entrance of Hongluo Temple. Zhu Youxiao, Emperor Xizong of the Ming Dynasty, gave Hongluo Temple a "big bronze bell of the apocalypse" in the fifth year of the apocalypse (AD 1626). It has a history of more than 370 years and is now hidden in the Daxiong Hall of Hongluo Temple. On the big bronze bell, the emperor inscribed Zhong Ming: Regent Dourgen entered the Hongluo Temple to protect the Qing Dynasty, inscribed "Great Bright Hidden" in his own hand, and hung it in the Daxiong Hall. The back plaque was lost with the demolition of the main hall. In the thirty-second year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1694), Emperor Kangxi presided over the Hongluo Temple and set up a throne in the mountain pavilion on the west side of the bamboo forest in front of the temple to enjoy bamboo. Huairou county magistrate Wu Zuoshi's Bamboo Slips: ... There are three strokes in 610, and officials are specially instructed to count them ... "This reflects the scene when Emperor Kangxi enjoyed bamboo. In order to protect the temple property of Hongluo Temple in Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty, a "Four Monuments" was set up in front of Daxiong Hall, in which eight directions of Hongluo Temple were delineated. This monument still stands in front of the Great Hall of Hongluo Temple.
During the Jiaqing period of Qing Dynasty, Master Ji Xing founded the Pure Land Dojo in Hongluo Temple to promote Buddhism and save the world. The master worked hard to keep the temple frugal, raised a lot of land as a permanent plan, and created and implemented the "Futian system". At that time, Hongluo Temple owned about 360 hectares of land, which was distributed to farmers for farming at low rent. The low rent charged by Hongluo Temple is used for personal use, and the rest is used for doing good for the people. In addition to the "Futian system", a "porridge farm" was set up in the temple to help the poor; Every year on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, I send packages of white flour to the poor nearby. Open a pharmacy to process Guanyin Pujidan, quit medicine and save lives. The three charitable acts of "abstaining from porridge, closing the face and applying medicine" have also formed a system and have been adhered to for a long time. Hongluo Temple implements the "Futian System" and "Three Kindnesses", which maintains the peace of one side and benefits the people of the other side.
Empress Dowager Cixi also visited Hongluo Temple in the late Qing Dynasty, and praised the magical "bamboo forest", "ancient ginkgo" and "rattan wrapped pine" landscape behind the main hall. When viewing the panoramic view of Qinglong Mountain Temple in the south, we found that Hongluo Temple is surrounded by mountains and hidden by auspicious clouds, which is a treasure trove of geomantic omen. Empress Dowager Cixi made a wish, and Hongluo Temple, where incense was flourishing, blessed the Qing Dynasty and rewarded it. Cixi inscribed the two characters "Fu" and "Shou" and hung them in the living room of the east lateral courtyard of the temple. Shortly after her return to the palace, she sent someone to bring two important treasures, "Four Jade Screens" and "Jiuqu Lotus Lantern". There is a jade screen in the living room, and a lotus lantern is hung in front of the statue of Sakyamuni in the center of the Hall of Ursa Major.
After liberation, Hongluo Temple was once converted into a school. The core building of the temple, Daxiong Hall, was demolished on 1972. A large number of cultural relics, utensils and Buddhist scriptures stored in the temple were lost, and most of the buildings in the cultural relics protection area were in disrepair. Since 1990, Hongluo Temple Scenic Area has been under protective development and construction, and temples, Luohan Garden and Kannonji have been gradually restored and repaired. Open up tourist routes, plant a lot of trees and flowers to beautify the environment, and constantly increase and improve tourist facilities. At the same time, it also invested heavily in rebuilding Shanxi Temple, Huang San Temple, Chaoyang Temple, Tianxi Temple and Shengquan Temple on the west side of Luohong. The integration of traditional cultures such as Confucianism and Taoism in China supplements and extends the Buddhist culture of Hongluo Temple, and the integration of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism forms the unique cultural tourism connotation of Hongluo Temple in Luohong.