Ting Song Pavilion

Ting Song Pavilion

Ting Song Pavilion

Beneath the Datong Hall of Huishan Temple, next to the Ting Song Stone Bed, there is an ancient ginkgo tree with a trunk diameter of 1.91 meters and a height of 21 meters. Legend has it that it was planted by the Huishan Temple monk Puzhen (courtesy name Xinghai) in the early years of the Hongwu era during the Ming Dynasty, and it has survived for over 600 years. Its dense foliage provides ample shade and vibrant life. During the Tang Dynasty, there were two Six Dynasties pines in Huishan Temple, each so large that one could hug them, lush and verdant. Beneath the pines lies a naturally formed large rock, 1.99 meters long, 0.87 meters wide, with a solid and smooth texture in dark purple. The flat surface of the stone tilts upward at one end like a pillow, resembling a natural stone bed. Sitting or lying on the stone allows one to quietly listen to the rustling of the pine trees. During the Tang Dynasty’s Dali period, Li Yangbing inscribed the two characters “听松” (Ting Song, meaning “Listen to the Pines”) in seal script, and thus the “Ting Song Stone Bed” got its name. The late Tang poet Pi Rixiu, after listening to the pine waves here, wrote a poem: “The thousand-petal lotus once held sweet fragrance, / The golden temple halfway up the mountain shines upon the square pond; / At dusk before the hall, the high wind rises, / Pine seeds patter one by one upon the stone bed.”

It is now listed as a Wuxi Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit. In 1984, Feng Qiyong inscribed the plaque “Ting Song Pavilion.” The Ting Song Stone Bed also has a folk legend: During the Song Dynasty, after being decisively defeated by Yue Fei, Jin Wushu fled and took temporary rest on the stone bed. Suddenly, the sound of the wind rustling and the pine waves roaring, like ten thousand galloping horses, made him think the Yue Family Army was chasing him. Terrified, he rolled off the stone bed, and in his haste, pressed a palm print and three fingernail marks into the edge of the stone. To this day, the marks remain visible. The area around the mountain gate is the vast recreational ground of the Kangxi and Qianlong eras. To the east of the main gate stands a stele inscribed by Emperor Qianlong, hence the name Imperial Stele Pavilion. In front of the Imperial Stele Pavilion are the Song Dynasty Golden Lotus Bridge and Golden Lotus Pond. The so-called golden lotus refers to a type of bright yellow lotus that bloomed abundantly in the pond. Tang Dynasty’s Pi Rixiu wrote in “Inscription on Huishan Temple”: “The thousand-petal lotus once held sweet fragrance, / The golden temple halfway up the mountain shines upon the square pond. / At dusk before the hall, the high wind rises, / Pine seeds patter one by one upon the stone bed.” According to the Ming Dynasty’s “Huishan Record” by Shao Bao, the golden lotus flowers were introduced to the temple by monks from the Western Regions, and only three such lotuses existed in the world (nationwide): one on Mount Hua, one on Mount Lu, and one at Huishan. Unfortunately, as time passed, “the golden lotus pond water soaks with moss, / the thousand-petal lotus no longer blooms.” In reality, these lotuses were truly called “pond-lily” or “Nuphar lutea,” which were relatively common in the Jiangnan region in earlier times.