Kangxi inscription plaque story
Emperor Kangxi went south and came to Hangzhou. He traveled around the West Lake, reciting poems and inscriptions, claiming to be a merry emperor.
One day, he was going to the Lingyin to play.
The old monk in Lingyin Temple heard the news, was really surprised and happy, and hurriedly struck the bell and beat the drum, and gathered more than 300 monks in the temple. The monks put on their new kasaya, sandalwood on the head, knock on the hand, read the south no Amitabha Buddha in the mouth, and everyone followed the old monk, rushed to the stone lotus Pavilion outside the three miles road, and the Emperor Kangxi received Lingyin.
The old monk accompanied the Kangxi emperor and toured around the mountains and mountains before and after the temple. The Kangxi emperor saw Lingyin with high mountains, clear springs, shady trees on the mountain, and red flowers blooming all over the ground. It was really a good place! As soon as he was pleased, he ordered a feast to be laid in the temple.
The emperor put down the feast, can be lively! Blowing, playing, singing, all of a sudden turned this Buddhist gate into an imperial home! The Kangxi emperor wore a goat's beard in one hand, held a bottle of wine in the other, and sang poems while drinking yellow soup.
The old monk had heard that the Kangxi emperor liked to chant poems and write inscriptions. At this time, seeing the way he shook his head, he went to consult with the local officials who followed the Kangxi emperor: "Your excellency, I want to ask the emperor to give a plaque to the mountain temple, can you see?"
The governor of Hangzhou said: "Good, good, if the emperor gives you the Lingyin Temple inscribed board, even my whole Hangzhou city will be covered!"
Qiantang county magistrate also picked it up: "The emperor wine Xing is thick." If you ask him for a plaque at this hour, I think you will definitely agree."
The old monk felt confident, so he got brave and knelt before the Kangxi emperor to kowtow:
"Your Majesty, see the Buddha face of the big Bodhisattva in Lingyin Temple, and give us a plaque for the mountain temple, but also let us have a beautiful scenery!"
The old monk's request just tickled the emperor Kangxi's itch. He nodded, grabbed the pen and brush a few times, and wrote a crooked "rain" word. At this time, he was drunk, his wrist trembled a little, and he wrote very fast, and the word "rain" took up more than half the paper! The "spirit" of Lingyin Temple, according to the old writing method, there are three "mouth" and a "witch" under "rain"! There's only half a piece of paper left, and you can't do anything about it. Write a new one, how shameful it is! The Kangxi Emperor grasped his pen with one hand and his goat's beard with the other but could do nothing about it. The officials around the side knew that the Kangxi emperor could not get off the stage, but no one dared to say so, and only stood next to him in a hurry. Fortunately, there is a big bachelor named Gao Jiang village, came up with a way, he first wrote "cloud forest" two words in the palm of his hand, and then pretended to grind ink, close to the Kangxi Emperor side, secretly spread the palm. Kangxi Emperor looked, oh, these two words really save the king Bodhisattva! Unconsciously wake up half of the wine, then dilute the lake to write down "Yunlin Zen Temple" four big characters. When he finished writing, he lifted his hand and threw the brush far away.
Old monk come and open, no! How can "Lingyin Temple" be written as "Yunlin Zen Temple"? Without looking at the wind, he stammered:
"Our place is called 'Lingyin Temple', not 'Yunlin Temple'! Did the emperor make a mistake?"
Upon hearing this, the Kangxi Emperor glared his eyes and shouted, "Speak too much!" Where did the old monk dare to speak again, he had to stand next to him respectfully. The Kangxi emperor turned around and asked the officials:
"This place has clouds in the sky and forests under the ground, so tell me, is it right to call it 'Yunlin Temple'?"
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty!"
...
Listening to the officials fawning over him, the Kangxi emperor laughed with joy and ordered the plaque to be carved and hung.
At the emperor's word, the officials were busy. They asked people to replace the original plaque of Lingyin Temple, and found a flower carver to carve the four characters of "Yunlin Zen Temple" written by the Kangxi emperor on the rosewood, with a gold background, black lacquer characters, and two dragons playing beads on the edge, and hung it on the mountain gate on the spot.
Since then, Lingyin Temple has hung the plaque of the undeserved "Yunlin Zen Temple". However, the people of Hangzhou did not sell his account, although the "Yunlin Zen Temple" this plaque has been hanging for three hundred years, everyone still calls it "Lingyin Temple."