Legend of Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in Dali

The construction of the three pagodas, in addition to Buddhism, has an important reason, that is, Dali was once a "country with frequent floods". The ancient book "Jin Bian" records: "It is said in the world that the dragon worships the tower and fears Peng. Dali used to be Long Ze, so it is a town. "

According to legend, there were three towers in ancient times, which were paved with one layer of soil and repaired with another. After the tower was repaired, the soil was dug up layer by layer, which made the tower appear, so there was the saying of "piling up the civil tower" and "digging up the tower now" When the tower was completed, the bridge was as high as a hill and as long as 10 Li.

When repairing the tower, the transportation capacity was insufficient, and the bricks were transported by goats. Now Yinqiao Village in Dali is called Taqiao Village in ancient times. According to ancient books, the completion of the three pagodas "took seven and a half million craftsmen and cost more than forty thousand yuan, which took eight years to complete". After the completion of the three pagodas, a large-scale Chongsheng Temple was built.

Extended data:

After the completion of Chongsheng Temple and Three Pagodas, the temple was well preserved. When Yuan Wuzong "issued an order", he was awarded the title of abbot and monk to protect the property of the temple and exempt from grain tax. It was renovated in the Yuan Dynasty, giving the scene of "the furniture in the temple is rejuvenated, the three pagodas stand upright, resplendent and magnificent, and the mountain building is roughly the same".

When Li Yuanyang was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, there were also "three pavilions, seven floors, nine halls and a hundred houses". At that time, there were five treasures in the temple: Three Pagodas, Giant Bell, Yutong Guanyin, Zhengbei and Fodu Tablet. When Xu Xiake arrived in Dali, he still saw the "three pagodas" in front of Chongsheng Temple, and the pagodas soared into the sky. In the west, there is a bell tower opposite the three towers, which is extremely magnificent. Behind the building is the Daxiong Hall, and behind it is the "Jade Pillar Guanyin Hall, cast in bronze, standing like a statue, three feet high" ("Xu Xiake's Travel Notes on Eight Tours in Yunnan").

It is said that the clock in the temple was built in the twelfth year of Jian 'an (AD 87 1). It is "more than a foot in diameter, but as thick as a foot" and "its reputation can reach 80 miles". "There are three towers on the clouds through the ages, and the clock on the first floor is full of wind and rain all day long" has always been popular. The rain bronze Guanyin, solemn and slim in waist, is a relic of Nanzhao. However, with the vicissitudes of life, the giant bell was destroyed in the Qing Dynasty, the Yutong Guanyin was destroyed in the ten-year turmoil, and the Taoist plaque and Buddha brand, together with the temple, have now disappeared.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple in Dali