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Post by chefying on Aug 22, 2015 17:15:00 GMT
I was there on the 9th day of the 9th month - a day known as Chong Yang 重阳 festival. Chong = repeat/double, Yang = male force as in opposite of Yin. More precisely, I was there on the 9th day of the intercalary 9th month - on certain years, a certain lunar month is repeated so as to re-synch it to the solar calendar.* In other words, it was the double double Yang festival. The vendors were out in force outside the Chong Yang Gong that day. Girl selling fried twisted dough fritters
Lady selling prayer paraphernalia - observe the fake RenMinBi in the foreground used as offerings to the Gods. Old man selling vegetables - I remember he sat immediately left (when facing) the Temple * The moon takes about 354 days to revolve around the earth (lunar calendar) while the earth takes 365 days to revolve around the sun. The lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. So, approximately once every 3 years, an extra month (intercalary month) is added to the lunar year to bring it more or less in synch with the solar year.
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Post by siuyiu on Aug 22, 2015 21:09:22 GMT
chefying so... no marked grave for lin chaoying, then.
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Post by chefying on Aug 23, 2015 14:40:02 GMT
chefying so... no marked grave for lin chaoying, then. Alas, that is so. I don't think she was a real character anyway.
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Post by siuyiu on Aug 23, 2015 14:41:16 GMT
chefying so... no marked grave for lin chaoying, then. Alas, that is so. I don't think she was a real character anyway. the ancient tomb sect is supposedly pretty anti-social, so who knows.
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Post by chefying on Aug 23, 2015 15:09:25 GMT
I am fast running out of photos to post. I need to dig through my photo collection of wuxia related places to continue.
Any financial contributions to fund another wuxia based trip to China is most welcomed! (joke)
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Post by chefying on Aug 24, 2015 13:53:07 GMT
I reviewed my photos, and according to this photo in this post, in 1161, Wang Chongyang "became a hermit practicing and exercising Taoism in the "Living Dead Tomb" 活死人墓 in Nan Shi Village 南时村 (now Cheng Dao Gong 成道宫), ZuAn 祖庵, Xi'an 西安. By the looks of it, the Living Dead Tomb is not too far away from the present day Chong Yang Gong, both being in the same county. However, is it definitely not just outside/beside Chong Yang Gong as per the author, Jin Yong. This also means that the tomb in my photo was not related to Living Dead Tomb. That tomb was purely constructed for Wang Chongyang himself. As a by the by, according the the description in this plaque. Wang Chongyang's tomb was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. It was rebuilt in 2006 through the efforts of fellow Taoists - I presume from China. In fact, much of this Chong Yang Gong was actually enlarged via donations from Eight Immortal Palace, another Taoist temple in the outskirts of Xi'An city's East Gate.
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Post by chefying on Aug 24, 2015 15:09:22 GMT
Wang Chongyang of Chong Yang Gong has an interest in the Eight Immortal Temple/Palace. It was said that Wang Chongyang met one of the Eight Immortals in the Eight Immortal Palace and thus learned Taoist secrets. This is the entrance to the Eight Immortal Palace. This Taoist temple is located outside of the Eastern Gate of Xi'An. Entrance of the Eight Immortal Temple The plaque explaining the origins of the temple.
The closeup of the English version
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Post by chefying on Aug 24, 2015 15:12:30 GMT
This one is from the inside of the temple, and is much easier to read.
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Post by chefying on Aug 26, 2015 16:33:52 GMT
The explanation above describes how Empress CiXi stayed in this Temple when she had to flee Beijing for Xi'an during the sacking of Beijing by the Alliance of Eight Armies. The room in which they stayed had been described in this post. But more on this later. There is a bridge between the entrance of the temple and the main hall of the Eight Immortals Temple, called Meeting of the Immortal Bridge. Meeting of the Immortal Bridge This is the plaque explaining the story behind the bridge. Along the balustrade are carved auspicious objects. In this picture can be seen - a child (blessing visitors with children), a pomegranate (fertility - lots of seeds) and a peach (longevity) Details on the balustrade of the Meeting of the Immortal Bridge
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Post by chefying on Aug 27, 2015 16:30:10 GMT
This is the main prayer hall of the Eight Immortal Temple. Truth be told, after a while they look very similar. Facing outwards, on the left side is the depiction of Green Dragon, and on the right side is the White Tiger. The Green Dragon and the White Tiger are spirits guarding entrances (not to be mistaken for the Door Guardians - they are a totally different entity). The Green Dragon 青龙 Qing Long is also the spiritual representation of the East, while the White Tiger 白虎 Bai Hu is the spiritual representation of the West. Meanwhile, North is Black Tortoise 玄武 Xuan Wu while South is Red Bird 朱雀 Zhu Que. Green Dragon White Tiger The hall has many beautiful wall paintings of deities and heavenly figures. This is a closeup of a small section of them.
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Post by chefying on Jan 5, 2016 15:40:42 GMT
The rooftops of Wudang Shan... Wudang and Taiji is inseparable, and it was said that Zhang Sanfeng was inspired by the sight of a crane and a snake fighting; from this, he created Taiji style of martial arts. There was an article in the newspaper in Oct 2015 which had the picture of a crane type of bird fighting with a snake. The picture was taken in south Africa. I do not believe there were records of Zhang Sanfeng travelling to South Africa.
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Post by atumiwa on Aug 10, 2019 15:11:32 GMT
how about Peach Blossom Island that's is real place right?
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Post by kyc on Aug 17, 2019 3:10:02 GMT
how about Peach Blossom Island that's is real place right? Don't think it's a real place.
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Post by atumiwa on Aug 18, 2019 3:29:54 GMT
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Post by kyc on Aug 18, 2019 7:00:27 GMT
I'm surprised that it's a real place. The name sounds a bit generic.
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