Introduction of Xiangtan Guandi Temple Scenic Area:

Guandi Temple is not uncommon in all parts of Hunan, but the Guandi Temple in Xiangtan City is listed as one of the provincial key cultural relics protection units and has its own uniqueness.

Xiangtan Guandi Temple, located in the 11th Street of the city, facing south, covers an area of 4,066 square meters, which was built by many businessmen in Shanxi during the reign of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, it was not only a place for offering sacrifices to Guan Yu, but also a guild hall for merchants of Lutan in Shanxi, Henan, Gansu, Shandong and Shaanxi provinces, which was called the guild hall of the five northern provinces. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the local city of Zhang Lijia's Jinshi donated money to build a large-scale "Guanmiao" in Jiuzong, and at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Guangdong businessmen built a "Guanmiao" in 12 cases, which was later called the new "Guanmiao". Later, the first two halls were abandoned, leaving this.

At the beginning of the existing Guandi Temple, there were not only palace-style buildings such as the front hall of the mountain gate, the Spring and Autumn Pavilion and the back hall, but also a pier along the river outside the mountain gate, followed by fields, vegetable gardens and ponds. Since Qing Qianlong, it has been completely renovated many times, and its scale is more magnificent. 1956, the People's Committee of Hunan Province designated Guandi Temple as a first-class key cultural relics protection unit, and it was partially renovated the following year. During the Cultural Revolution, Guandi Temple was destroyed. 1983, the provincial people's government redefined it as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit, and began a large-scale restoration, rebuilding the bell and drum tower, archway and so on.

The whole building of Guandi Temple is divided into three parts: front, middle and back. Advance and form your own courtyard. The buildings in front were the mountain gate and the stage, which were later demolished. Now the archway was rebuilt by 1986. The main entrance of the archway is written in regular script "Guan Shengdian", and the words "Heyue" and "Sun Travel" are written in regular script on both sides of the archway. There are words such as "Two Dragons Playing with Beads", "Full Moon Boy" and "Liu Hai Playing with Golden Toad" embossed on the archway. Admiralty is an accessory building, such as the Spring and Autumn Pavilion and the Bell and Drum Tower. The north and south are connected in front and back, and the east and west are blocked by towering embankment walls. The main hall is a palace-style building, with a height of 16m, a length of 24m and a width of 14m, covered with yellow-green glazed tiles and all granite abutments.

The temple is dedicated to Guan, and three couplets are engraved on the pavilion column, which are: "Heaven and earth are the best, and civil and military talents are loyal, righteous and brave;" There are several masters in ancient and modern times, and heroes look like saints. " "The righteousness is in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the auxiliary Han essence means hanging the sun and the moon; Ling Wei exists in the universe and is a powerful mountain and river. " "Help Yang Hanhou male, unite as one, straight swallow Wu Wei; The devil worships the emperor, but God is sacred, and Wei Ming is still shocking the people of China. "

The most wonderful thing about Guan Temple is that it entered the Spring and Autumn Museum. It stands on a granite pedestal one meter high, with stone steps on the front, back, left and right. There is a dragon lying on the stone steps in front of the pavilion, with a pair of huge stone lions on both sides. The giant lion is pregnant with a young lion, and the young lion is scratching his head and sticking to his ear. The pavilion is square, the eaves gallery around it is made of Qiyang white stone, and the railings are carved with simple and exquisite flowers, birds, insects, fish and animals.

The pavilion is divided into two floors, tall and magnificent. Covered with glazed tiles, resplendent and magnificent, flying eaves and walls, and flying phoenix flying on the back of animals. Inside the pavilion, a carved golden dragon hangs upside down, with a bead in its mouth and a flying look. The story of the characters is carved through the wall, just like a video history book. Climbing the wooden ladder to the veranda on the second floor, I saw a hundred rivers rushing, the streets were full of traffic and the city scenery was unobstructed. If the Spring and Autumn Pavilion is the Dragon Palace that closes the hall, then a pair of white marble hollow dragon columns in front of the pavilion are the treasures of the town palace.

Dragon columns stand on both sides of the pavilion door, with eaves gallery at the top and white lion at the bottom, 4.8 meters high and about 1.5 meters in circumference. The column is a whole, the dragon is plastic, the dragon rotates around the column, and the dragon and the column are integrated. The carved dragon, with its head held high and its tail tilted, seems to be walking on clouds, like crossing a river and hitting waves, with vivid shape and ready to go. What is particularly commendable is that the sculptor used the hollow-out technique, one scale and one claw, one beard and one bead, which was extremely delicate and delicate. All visitors were impressed by the superb skills of ancient craftsmen. According to reports, this hollow dragon column is a rare treasure in China, except for the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province.

After Guansheng Temple, it is now the workshop of a street factory, and the portal of China Unicom Spring and Autumn Pavilion has been blocked. Many tourists left with satisfaction after visiting the hollow dragon column. In fact, there are precious cultural relics on the wall behind the exhibition hall. Arriving to watch, the pavilion wall is inlaid with more than ten Qiyang stone tablets. The inscription describes in detail the reasons for building the temple, the source of expenses, the quantity of temple production and the repair process.

After careful study, it is found that no matter what the inscription says, it is related to business. Originally, from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Xiangtan gradually developed into a major commercial port in Hunan, especially grain and medicinal materials. As a result, businessmen from all provinces flocked to the city, with shops and stacks everywhere. Among them, merchants from Shanxi, Shandong, Shaanxi, Gansu and Henan provinces raised funds to build guild halls in the five northern provinces in the early Qing Dynasty as the spiritual pillar to maintain unity. That handsome man with a red beard has become the patron saint of Xiangtan businessmen, which is really different from other places.

At the beginning of the inscription "Tian Mu Monument in Five Northern Provinces", it was pointed out: "In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were still many businessmen." In the 45th year of Qianlong (A.D. 1780), it was recorded in the inscription that the Spring and Autumn Pavilion was rebuilt. At that time, there were nearly 200 merchants in five northern provinces, and the donation was more than 2 100. This shows that Xiangtan's business was really prosperous in the early Qing Dynasty. No wonder it is called "Little Nanjing".

Another Cotton Control Monument, engraved in the forty-six years of Qianlong, lists in detail the cotton market, the level of strength, trading rules and other terms, which is quite valuable for studying the economic situation in the early Qing Dynasty. The first article stipulates that "the weight of negotiation is more accurate and unified, and if it is light, it will be found out, and there will be public punishment." This shows that business reputation has been emphasized since ancient times.

1923 In the spring, China Xiangtan Underground Branch opened a civilian school in Guanshengdian, which trained many revolutionaries, so it was also a revolutionary memorial. 1984, Xiangtan Municipal People's Government established the Municipal Museum with Guandi Temple as its site, which protected and updated this ancient building.