A Study Of Buddhist Temples In Chin Dynasty In Hebei

At the beginning of Chin Dynasty,the Buddhist temples in Hebei were devastated by the war.After the social stability,Hebei Buddhist temples continued to develop on the basis of inheriting the profound belief of the previous dynasty.After the Chin Dynasty moved its capital to Yanjing,it developed more rapidly because of the promotion of its political status and superior geographical position.Later,with the end of the Chin Dynasty war and the transfer of political center,the development momentum gradually slowed down.In terms of geographical distribution,influenced by the economic development,traffic conditions,natural geography and Buddhist belief tradition,the Buddhist temples of Chin Dynasty in Hebei Province are widely distributed,with dense in the central and western regions and few in the eastern regions,forming two dense distribution areas centered on Zhending Prefecture and Daxing Prefecture.From the perspective of temple building configuration,in addition to the drum tower,the temple gate,Buddha Hall,Dharma hall,sutra mansions,pagoda,Buddhist stone pillar,monk hall,Vegetarian Canteen,kitchen,bell tower,abbots room,storeroom and other common buildings appeared in Hebei Buddhist temples in Chin Dynasty.Most of the temple buildings centered on the Buddha Hall,while few temples centered on pagodas and pavilions,reflecting the deepening of the Sinicization of Buddhism at that time.The architectural layout is greatly influenced by the layout of Zen temples in Song Dynasty.From the perspective of Buddhism sects,influenced by Liao Dynasty and Song Dynasty,Zen and Tantrism prevailed in Hebei during this period.The construction of Buddhist temples in the Chin Dynasty in Hebei Province is inseparable from the active participation of various groups of people,including the royal nobility,officials,ordinary believers and monks,including both Han believers and Jurchens believers.Affected by the war,social security,water and fire disasters,natural weathering,thunderstorms and so on,the Buddhist temples of Chin Dynasty in Hebei were also devastated.In addition,the temple has carried out a wealth of religious rituals,such as preaching scriptures,Buddha Bathing Festival,Ordination Conference,the big meeting of alms giving to monks and laymen,Shui-Lu rites,which play an important role in regulating social contradictions,stabilizing social order,soothing secular people,and adding interest to life.At the same time,through active activities,the temple also undertakes certain social responsibilities in the society,such as disaster relief,taking in exile,laying bridges,applying medicine to save people,storing spiritual bones and so on.In addition,the temples of Chin Dynasty in Hebei Province also carried out various business activities,such as borrowing,pawning,planting cash crops and so on,reflecting the further secularization of Buddhism in this period.Through the above investigation and analysis,we can know that the relocation of the capital Yanjing has played a great role in promoting the development of Buddhist temples in Chin Dynasty in Hebei Province,which shows that political power is an important factor affecting the construction and development of Buddhist temples,and also reflects the great influence of the political center on the surrounding areas.Among the various groups participating in the construction of temples,monks played a key role in the construction and development of temples,and the participation of Jurchens believers also reflected the Buddhist belief of Jurchens people at that time to a certain extent.The flexible conversion between the religious and secular roles of temples shows that Buddhism bears a variety of responsibilities in society and plays a unique role in social stability.The research on the Buddhist temples of Chin Dynasty in Hebei Province not only aims at a comprehensive understanding of the distribution and construction of Buddhist temples in this period,but also takes Hebei Province as a sample to grasp the development of Buddhist temples and even Buddhism in Chin Dynasty,which is also of great value to understand the early development and evolution of "culture of capital city and its environs" in Hebei Province.