Grandmother Temple

Grandmother Temple

The Grandmother Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Fifteen li northeast of Mengcheng, on the north bank of the Meng-Su Highway, stands a temple — the Grandmother Temple. It was built during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty (

627–649 AD). At that time, the Tang Dynasty had just been established and the realm was beginning to stabilize. To consolidate their rule, the rulers used Buddhism to numb the will of the people. Across the country, large-scale construction projects were undertaken, and numerous temples were built. The general Yu Chijingde stationed his troops east of Banqiao Bridge in Mengcheng at Bijixiang. He dispatched people to build many temples in Mengcheng, and the Grandmother Temple was one of them.

Mount Tai is the foremost of the Five Great Mountains. At the top, in the Bixia Palace, there is a temple called the Grandmother Temple of Mount Tai. After this temple was built, it was also named the Grandmother Temple of Mount Tai. Its original location was 400 meters east of Wuzhai, in Yangwa. In 1990, someone digging soil there unearthed a well made of bricks.

They also

dug up an earthenware jar. It is speculated that it might have been used by monks for fetching water. Later, after many years, the temple fell into disrepair and was destroyed. During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, when Mengcheng was under the jurisdiction of Fengyang Prefecture, through the efforts of monks soliciting alms and donations from local dignitaries, the temple was rebuilt 200 meters south of present-day Wuzhai. To commemorate those who donated to the reconstruction, the names of the contributors were carved on stone tablets on both sides of the temple gate. These tablets still remain today.

At that time, the Grandmother Temple covered an area of 100 mu. To the south was the front main hall, guarded by stone lions. On the east and west sides, there were three wing rooms each, with a stone drum on each side of the gate and a stone tablet on each of the side walls. In the center of the temple stood a statue of the Goddess of Mount Tai (Grandmother), serenely seated on the Child Hill. On the eastern side of the hill hung a large bell, which rang incessantly throughout the day. The eastern room housed statues of the Three Sisters of the Child-Giving Goddess. On the back wall of the temple was a colorful painting depicting the "Journey to the West" scene of flooding the Golden Mountain Temple, with each figure in the paintings vividly rendered as if they could step out of the frame.

Every year on the fifth day of the third lunar month and the fifth day of the tenth lunar month, temple fairs were held. These fairs featured exciting performances such as opera, qinshu storytelling, and acrobatics. People came from all directions to attend the fair.

Many devout men and women entered the temple to burn incense and pray for blessings. The temple remained filled with the fragrance of incense and the sounds of bells and chimes all day long. Vendors and literati added to the lively and bustling atmosphere of the fair.

In the late Qing Dynasty, when Miao Manzi captured Mengcheng, the Grandmother Temple suffered another catastrophe but was later rebuilt. In 1940, when the Japanese army took Mengcheng, the Grandmother Temple was burned to the ground, and many cultural relics were destroyed or looted. It was rebuilt again in 1942.

The last monk in the temple was named Wu Rang.

He was from Bozhou. He had a large flesh tumor on the left side of his neck, and people called him the “Two-Headed Monk.” He and his disciple rang the bell and chanted scriptures every day, and their voices could be heard from afar.

During the Cultural Revolution, the Grandmother Temple was destroyed, and today very few valuable items remain. Even so, every year on the fifth day of the third lunar month and the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month, people still come from far and wide to attend the temple fair. However, it has become a fair without the temple and is far less lively than before, leaving behind many regrets.

On the fifth day of the first lunar month and the fifteenth day of the tenth lunar month, people still come from far and wide to attend the temple fair, but it has become a fair without a temple, nowhere near as lively as before, leaving behind many regrets.