少林寺Shaolin Temple英文讲词导游讲解词

Shaolin Temple

Good morning! I’m a tour guide . My name is ... I’m very glad to accompany you all to visit the Shaolin Temple. I’ll try my best to make your tour an enjoyable one. I expect your support and cooperation. If you have any questions or demands, please let me know and I’ll do my utmost to accommodate your needs. Thank you!// Now I’ll talk about the Shaolin Temple briefly. Shaolin Temple, in the region of Song Mountain, Dengfeng City, Henan Province, which is only eight miles of Dengfeng and about 50 miles southwest of Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province.It is named“Shaolin Temple” because it is located in the midst of Shaoshi Mountain’s forests. Shaolin Temple is probably the most famous temple in China, not only because of its long history and its role in Chinese Buddhism, but also because of its martial arts or Wushu Chan. It is reputed to be 'the Number One Temple under Heaven'. The temple is the cradle of the Chinese Zen Buddhism and the Shaolin Martial Arts such as Shaolin Cudgel. //

Shaolin Temple was established in 495 during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) .Batuo, an Indian monk, came to Luoyang, the ancient capital, for spreading Buddhism at that period. Emperor Xiaowen was a believer of Buddhism so he decided to build the temple in the Songshan Mountains to house Batuo, who translated many Buddhist works and had a few hundred followers there.In 527，the 3rd year of the Northern Wei Dynasty Taihe Emperor’s reign，Bodhi Dharma，a 28 th Generation Buddha, arrived at Sha olin after three years’long journey．His arrival sparked the rapid growth of Zen Buddhism’s influence and popularity．Hence，Shaolin Temple is known as “the imperial sacrifices courtyard’’ throughout the Buddhist world and developed rapidly，especially after the thirteen sticks monks rescued Li Shimin, a very famous and able emperor in Chinese history．The temple won an important place in the Tang dynasty and was reputed to be the “Number One ancient temple in the world”.

For present Shaolin Temple, the ancient and mystical Buddhism has brought its name far in the world．However, Shaolin is most renowned in China and elsewhere

for its exquisite Shaolin Kung Fu．As an old saying goes，“the Chinese Kung Fu crowns the world and its source is the Shaolin Temple”．The temple is the cradle of Shaolin martial arts, which are universally acknowledged as the orthodox martial arts school in China．

The Shaolin Temple scenic area is one of the most famous tourist attractions in China．For present Shaolin Temple, the ancient and mystical Buddhism has brought its name far in the world．However, Shaolin is most renowned in China and elsewhere for its exquisite Shaolin Kung Fu．As an old saying goes，“the Chinese Kung Fu crowns the world and its source is the Shaolin Temple”．The temple is the cradle of Shaolin martial arts, which are universally acknowledged as the orthodox martial arts school in China．

The Shaolin Temple scenic area is one of the most famous tourist attractions in China．In 2000 the Shaolin Temple scenic area was designated a first batch 4A level traveling area and recognized by the national travel agency as the highest-level Chinese tourist attraction．

The Shaolin Temple scenic area consists of the Shaolin Temple, Pagoda Forest, Anc-estor’s and Second Ancestor's Mona steries, Dharma Cave, Yongtai Temple and Shaoshi Tower and other main scenic sites．

Shaolin Temple

Ladies and gentlemen，we are now approaching the Shaolin Temple．Shaolin Temple is at the core of Shaolin Temple scenic area and is the place where the deacon monks and priests carry out Buddhist religious ceremonies．It has 7 rows of rooms，covering more than 30,000 square meters．

Now we are standing in front of Shanmen, or mountain gate．The Shanmen is Shaolin Temple’s front gate and was first built during th e Qing Dynasty and was rebuilt in 1975．The Chinese characters, Shaolin Temple, were handwritten by the Qing Emperor Kangxi. Its seal, the “treasure of the Kangxi Emperor brush”, is off to the side.

The two lions beside the entrance were made in the Ming Dynasty．They are vertically engraved in Buddhist style to symbolize good fortune．There are also two stone tortoises outside，and they were constructed during the Ming Dynasty．Pay attention here，please．The figure in the palace entrance with the big stomach is Maitreya，who is the Buddha that welcomes guests．His benign smiling countenance greets you as you arrive. It is said of the Maitreya Buddha that the “the solemn grave entrance happy to look the glory illuminating，smiles welcome the coming person to pray f or heavenly blessing and infinite happiness”．

Behind the entrance palace niche is a statue consecrating the , the person who protects Buddhist Jin’gang law．He grasps the Jin’gang valuable pestle and protects the temple’s three treasures：the temple Buddha，Buddhist law，and the monks’security．

Please look around．There are many stele carvings along the entrance road’s two sides．This is the Shaolin Temple stele forest．The Shaolin Temple tablet porch is located east of the Stele forest．It not only records the te mple’s rises and declines, but also provides a valuable historical record for research on the Temple and its carving is a valuable work of art. Shaolin Temple’s stele forest and the table porch have a total of 108 pieces of stele carvings.

Chuipu Hall is located on the west side of Stele Forest. It has 42 blocks around the corridor. It uses the clay sculpture and the woodcarving to vividly demonstrate the Shaolin Temple martial arts. These carvings illustrate Kongfu’s origins, development, repertoire, and role in national defense. They all show monk soldiers using martial arts during combat. There are 14 groups of 216 hammers spectra pictures depicting fighting techniques, such as running circles around Buddha, the eight different brocade sections, small red, scarlet, arm passing, Luo-Han, and illustrious positive fists. The actual fighting scenes shown include the 13 sticks monk rescuing Qin Wang, Xiaoshan Buddhist priest as commander-in-chief preparing to go to battle, and Yuekong master battling Japanese p irates. It is said that “After spending five minutes in Chuipu Hall, one can practice Shaolin Kung Fu.” And in fact, everybody may practice the Shaolin Kung Fu by studying and following these cast postures.

Now, we are entering and entirely rebuilt structure, the Hall of Heavenly God. The original hall was burned down in 1928 and was repaired in 1982. These two big Jingang outside palace gate are “generals Heng and Ha”. Their responsibility is to protect the Buddhist doctrine. The main hall inside has four great heavenly gods, which are also called the four big Jin’gang. Their responsibilities include monitoring the good and evil behavior of all the living creatures, helping the distressed, and bestowing blessings upon the world.

Shaolin’s central temple is Mahavira Hall and is where ceremonial Buddhist activities take place. It and the Hall of Heavenly God were both burned down in 1928 by the warlord Shi Yousan. Mahavira Hall was reconstructed in 1985．The middle statuary in the hall is the present world Buddha, the Buddha Sakyamuni, while the one on the left is the past world Buddha, represented by the colored glazed world pharmacist Buddha in the east. Over to the right is the future world Buddha, the extremely happy world Amitabha Buddha in the west. Figures of Kingnaro, the Shaolin Cudgel’s founder, and Dharma，the founder of Chinese Zen Buddhism，stand beside those three Buddhas．This placement is very different from that of other Mahavira Halls．At the feet of the pillars in this Mahavira Hall are stone lions that are more than one meter (a little over 3 feet) high．

On both sides in front of the Mahavira Hall stand the Bell and Drum Towers．The original towers were also destroyed in 1 928．They were rebuilt in 1994 and the bell is rung every hour during the morning，while a drum is beaten every hour during the afternoon. Hence, the saying “morning bell and afternoon drum”.

In front of the Bell Tower is the stele “Emperor Songshan Shaolin Temple Tablet”，also called“the Stele of Li Shimin”．It was engraved in 16th year (728 A.D.) of the Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong's reign．The frontpiece is a story written by Li Shimin describing Shaolin monks rescued Prince Li Shimin from Wang Shichong．Li Shimin later became a Tang Dynasty Emperor and personally wrote the stele inscriptions．His signature is on the fifth column to the right of the stele．The seven large brush-written Chinese characters,“the Second Emperor Wen Imperial

Handwriting”，on the stele carving is the handwriting of the Tang Dynasty Xuanzong Li Longji Emperor．The backpiece is“Li Shimin Bestows Shaolin Temple the Bai Guzhuang Imperial Book”．This book records the story of how the 13 sticks monks rescued Qin Wang and also served the historical basis for the celebrated martial art movie,“Shaolin Temple”．

Just n orth of the “Li Shimin Table” is the“Xiaoshan Master's Merits Tablet”．It records the exploits of the Shaolin Temple’s Cao Dongzong, or the 24th generation Chuanfa master and how his merits have inspired the Shaolin monks．At its back is the“All Sorts of People Tablet”；its top quarter is a pictorial depiction of Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism．The tablet reflects Mt．Songshan’s importance as a common meeting place for Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism and underscores the confluence between the three major religions．Now look north and you will see the“Qianlong Imperial Tablet”，which was engraved during the 15th year (1750 A.D.) of the Qing Dynasty Qianlong Emperor’s rule.

The palace on the east side is Kingnaro hall，which was reconstructed in 1982．Here you can see three different images of Kingnaro，the God who protects the Shaolin Temple．．

On the west side of Kingnaro hall is the sixth ancestor palace．It was reconstructed in 1982．It consecrates the Situation，Puvirtuous，and Manjusri Bodhisattvas，as well as the Goddess of Mercy．Two sides consecrate the first ancestor of the Zen Dharma，second ancestor Huike，third ancestor Sengcan，the fourth ancestor Daoxin，the fifth ancestor Hongren，and the sixth ancestor Huineng．People esteem them as six ancestors trans-formed by the Goddess of Mercy．On the west wall is the large-scale painted sculpture “Dharma turns over to the west with one shoe”．

This structure is known as Depositary of Buddhist Sutras and was built during the Ming Dynasty．It was destroyed in 1928 and rebuilt in 1994．Rare books concerning secrets of martial arts are also safely kept here．

The Depositary of Buddhist Sutras’east wing is the East Meditation Room, while the west wing is the West Reception Room. The former is used by Buddhist priests for meditation,while the latter is used for receiving guests.

This is the Shaolin Temple abbot／abbess court and is where the abbots live．Emperor Qianlong once stayed here when traveling to Mt．Songshan．A Yuan Dynasty clock is on the east side and its purpose is to sound the alarm during emergencies．

This pavilion is named Dharma’s Pavilion or Lixue Pavilion, which means“Standing in the snow” in English. It says：After Buddha Dharma came to China，many Chinese Buddhists wanted to be his followers，and Shengguang was the most prominent of them．He always followed him whenever and wherever he went and whole-heartedly served Buddha Dharma．But Dharma didn’t want to accept Shengguang as a disciple．Shengguang didn’t lose heart and became even more steadfast．On a snowy night，he begged as usual with Bodhidharma outside, standing in the knee-high snow．The master set forward a prerequisite：he would not meet his demand unless it would snow in red flakes．Shengguang drew out the sword and cut off his left arm and stained the snowy ground．Bodhidharma was so moved that he passed his mantle, alms bowl and musical instruments on to Shengguang and gave him a Buddhist name of Huike．He was regarded as the second founder of the Zen sect. Emperor Qianlong wrote a phrase on a plaque in commendation．The Manjusri Palace is located on Dharma Pavilion’s east side and consecrates the Manjusri Bodhisattva．Everyone please follow me to visit the highest most holy Shaolin Temple hall．

All right, everyone，now we are in the last hall，Pilu Hall, also called the Thousand Buddha Hall．It’s also Shaolin Temple’s main highlight and was built during the Ming Dynasty．The hall is 20 meters high and covers over 300 square meters, making it Shaolin Temple’s largest Buddhist hall．It consecrates the Pilu Buddha in the center of the palace．Look at the floor．There are 48 pits in 4 rows on the hall’s brick floor：that’s where Shaolin monks used to stand and practice Kung

Fu．Those pits are called“Zhanzhuangkeng”in Chinese．It is said that they are the footprints left by monks when they practiced Shaolin Martial Arts. We can know how wonderful they were from these foot pits.

So until now, the visit of the Shaolin Temple is almost over．I think you may have some questions about the temple, or you want to take some photos．So, please do remember, you have half an hour．After half an hour we will gather at the Front Gate Hall, and make sure you’ll be there on time．And then we are going to the Pagoda Forest．

Pagoda Forest

Now, we come to the Pagoda Forest，the Temple’s graveyard for Buddhist dignitaries through the ages．Its total area is 14,000 square meters．In 1996, the State Council included it in China’s national cultural relic preservation program．There are 240 towers made in bricks and stones in the Pagoda Forest dating back to the Tang，Song，Jin，Yuan, and Ming Dynasties．The Shaolin Temple’s Pagoda Forest is the oldest and largest one in China．On average, the pagodas are less than 15 meters (about 49 feet) high．The layer and the shape of a pagoda depend on many factors，such as one’s Buddhist status, attainment and prestige．

The Ancestor’s and Second Ancestor’s Monasteries

Outside the temple we continue walking to northwest, and then we will take a look at two monasteries, named the Ancestor's and Secon d Ancestor’s Monasteries．The first monastery is built by a Dharma disciple to commemorate the Dharma’s nine years of meditation in a cave．It has a big hall supported by 16 stone pillars on whose shafts are exquisitely carved warriors, dancing dragons and phoenixes．The second monastery is a nursing home of the second ancestor Huike who cut his left arm in order to show his sincerity to study Buddhism from Dhama．Four springs created by Dharma to make it possible for Huike to easily fetch his water are in front of the monastery．They are called“Spring Zhouxi” and each has its own distinctive flavor．

Dharma Cave

The cave we see next is the Dharma Cave. In this cave Dharma patiently faced the wall and meditated for 9 years．Finally, he reached the immortal spiritual state and created the Buddhist Zen．The cave is seven meters deep (about 23 feet) , three meters high (about 9.8 feet) and 3.5 meters wide (about 11.5 feet) . Many stone inscriptions are carved on both of its sides．There is a Meditating Stone in the cave．It is said Dharma’s shadow was reflected upon the stone and embedded on it, due to his long period of meditating in the cave．Unfortunately the stone was ruined during wars. Shifang Chanyuan

After passing the Dharma Cave, we come to the Buddhist Living Quarters for transient monks, which were called“Shifang Chanyuan”．It is on the south bank of the Shaoxi River opposite the temple．First built in 1512 of the Ming Dynasty, it was renovated during the Qing Dynasty．The quarters are noted for the simple and distinctive design. It collapsed in 1958 and then was repaired in 1993.

Shaolin Temple Wushu Training Center

Now we are going to Visit the Shaolin Temple Wushu (Martial Arts) Training Center．Its beautiful environment provides a perfect backdrop practicing the Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu．Shaolin monks have been practicing Kung Fu for over 1,500 years．The system was invented by Dharma who taught the monks basic methods by which they could improve their health and defend themselves．These martial art performances show the true Chinese Shaolin Kung Fu．For example, Tong Zi Gong, performed by teenagers, is a kind of martial art to train one’s flexibility and strength．Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of our visit to the Shaolin Temple．Thank you for your cooperation．Hope to see you again here．Thank you．Goodbye!