Weihui, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, is not very famous now, but its history is very profound. It has a human history of more than 3000 years, and has produced many famous figures, such as the well-known Jiang Ziya and Bigan, which are actually from here. This is also why there are many cultural relics left here, such as Bigan Temple, Xiangquan Temple, Wangjing Tower, Confucius Chime Beating Place, Jiang Taigong Hometown, etc. Among these scenic spots, Bigan Temple is the most special one. It is not only known as “the best temple in the world”, but also has the only authentic work of Confucius in the world. It is worth visiting.
Bigan Temple, located in Dunfangdian Village, Weihui City, Xinxiang City, Henan Province, is only 3 kilometers away from the urban area of Weihui. Unlike other temples, Bigan Temple is built on the basis of the tomb, and is also the first mound tomb recorded in domestic history. Bigan was originally a Weihui man. In the 13th year of King Wu of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1066 BC), Jifa, King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty, felt his loyalty and ordered people to build Bigan’s tomb here. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, in the 18th year of Taihe of the Northern Wei Dynasty (494 AD), Emperor Tuobahong, Emperor Xiaowen, also built a temple for him, which has a history of more than 1500 years.
“Since ancient times, no king who refused to remonstrate was better than Zhou, and no loyal minister was worse than Bigan”. Since the construction of Bigan Temple in the Northern Wei Dynasty, in fact, many dynasties have been awarded titles. Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty once granted the posthumous title of Bigan as a martyr, Emperor Renzong of the Yuan Dynasty once set up a monument for Bigan, and Emperor Qianlong and Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty also wrote poems for Bigan, which left many precious cultural relics in Bigan Temple Tang Taizong Li Shimin’s “Monument to the Supreme Shifu Bigan”, Qing Qianlong’s “Monument to the Emperor Bigan’s Poems” and so on. It is worth mentioning that Qianlong usually has many lines and cursive script, but this “Monument to the Emperor Bigan’s Poems” is only used as an official script.
The most precious stone tablet in the Bigan Temple is the “Confucius Sword Stele”, which is the only authentic work of Confucius found so far. In front of the Bigan Tomb behind the main hall of the Bigan Temple, there is a memorial archway of the Sun and Moon of the Qing Dynasty, and behind the stone memorial archway stands a stone tablet about 2 meters high. Although it is very old, it is rare to see the four characters “Yin Bigan Mo” carved on it. At this time, Confucius traveled around the countries and felt deeply in the tomb, so he waved his sword to cut the books into simple ones. The tablet was on the wall in front of the temple, and then moved to the tomb, At the bottom of the stone tablet, there are four vague characters, “Xuanshengzhen Pen”, which was written by Qianlong in that year. That’s why the “Confucius Sword Stele” is also called “the first tablet in the world”.
There is also a special stone tablet in the Bigan Temple, the Ming Dynasty Lin surname source tablet, which is also the only stone carving cultural relic about the origin of the “Lin” surname in China. Bigan was originally called “Zigan”, because the land was sealed in ancient Biyi (today’s Fenyang, Shanxi Province), so it was called “Bigan” by the world, because its descendants hid in the mountains and forests in order to avoid the harm of King Zhou. After King Wu of the Later Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Shang Dynasty, He gave his descendants the surname “Lin”, and Bigan is the ancestor of the surname “Lin”. Today, Bigan Temple has naturally become a Lin family temple. It is amazing that Lin Mo, the “Mazu” popular with people at the seaside, is also said to be the descendants of Bigan. The statue of Mazu is enshrined in the west side hall of Bigan Temple.
In fact, there are many stories about the Bigan Temple. The ancient brick path in front of the temple is the ancient brick of the Ming Dynasty official kiln. Each brick has a seal. Even the plants in the temple are unique, most of them are heartless “water spinach”. The unique thousand-year-old ancient cypress “Kaixin cypress” and “Pingguan cypress” are also related to the story of Bigan’s seven ingenious and exquisite hearts. Even the plaque in front of the main hall and the worship hall, which reads “righteousness for benevolence” and “loyalty for the ages”, are also related to Cixi and Guangxu, Not to mention the calligraphy stone tablets left by the emperors and generals of the past dynasties in the temple. From the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qing Dynasty, they almost covered the history of China for 3000 years, and are even more precious.
The name of Bigan can be said to be well known in China, and when the “Goddess List” was popular in that year, it was also impressive and heartrending. Although Bigan Temple is not a scenic spot in the tourist area, its location is also relatively biased, but it has a historical charm and educational significance. While understanding the historical story, you can also appreciate the beauty of ancient architecture and ancient calligraphy. You can get more at one stroke, and the ticket is only 40 yuan. With this first temple, the first tomb, and the first monument, it is worth going to visit.