Recorded by Daojian Master
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the historical overview of Buddhism on Jinfeng Mountain, this interview was conducted with two individuals who are very familiar with Jinfeng Mountain. One is Ren Changwen, the father of Ren Qilin from Jinzhu Village, who is seventy-six years old and has been the village chief for thirty-four years, often dealing with the monks of Jinfeng Mountain. The other is Ren Faqi, from the third group of Jinzhu Village, who is in his fifties and has taken Master Xingzhong as his godfather, often working beside the monk. This article is based on the interviews with the two men.
Master Xingzhong, also known as Wang Xingzhong, was called "Master Xingzhong" by the villagers. Ren Changwen clearly remembers that this person was about one meter ninety tall, standing on the ridge like an old pine tree, with his back always straight. He spoke with an accent that was not quite Sichuanese and not entirely Mandarin, "It sounded strange, but pleasant." No one really cared where he came from; Ren Faqi said, "At that time, the production team didn't care about these things. The radishes he grew were fresh, the vegetables he cooked smelled good, and together we drank well water, just like family."
On the eve of liberation, Master Xingzhong and his mother, Fang Shi (originally named "Fang Mincai," specific real name unknown), came to Jinfeng Mountain and, introduced by Master Tai Xu's friend Chen Mingshu, sought refuge with Master Deshen, the abbot of Jinfeng Temple. Fang Shi was arranged to stay in the Yun'an where Chen Mingshu had stayed for one night, which was a two-story building rebuilt by the powerful Xie family in Nanchuan, with beautiful scenery and a view of the clouds rising and falling over Jinfeng Mountain. Master Xingzhong was quiet and particularly filial, taking care of his mother diligently while practicing daily. Not long after, the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan, and the mainland of China was liberated, leading to the monks of Jinfeng Temple being forced to disperse. Master Xingzhong and his mother were left without support, temporarily building two "Bangbang'er houses" in Jiaochanggou, with wind blowing from all sides. Ren Faqi, when he was a child, often saw Master Xingzhong digging in front of the house while cutting grass, with five acres of radishes growing up to knee-height. "Later, when the forest farm was converted into Fenghuang Temple, they called him to grow vegetables, and when County Head Wu came to inspect, he said, 'This master is honest, the vegetables smell good.'" Ren Qilin's father added that Fang Shi was over eighty but could still go out to pull grass, "One time it rained, he carried the old lady into the house, that big guy bent over, afraid of jolting the elderly lady."
These two, mother and son, are always wrapped in a layer of mystery. People in the village privately say that the Fang family must have seen the world, "speaking slowly, their gestures of handing things are different from those of farmers," and some have spread rumors that the Fang family is a relative of Chiang Kai-shek; as for Master Xingzhong, it goes without saying, his stature and posture, "the elders say he looks like a bodyguard." Coincidentally, Wu Haiqing who lived in Mingfo Cave, whom Ren Faqi calls 'Uncle', is said to have been a guard for Chairman Mao, having carried Mao across the river in his early years and usually helping the Chairman with his horse. "Isn't it strange?" Ren Faqi slapped his thigh, "One is rumored to be related to Chiang Kai-shek, and one has a real connection with Chairman Mao, and in the end, they both became monks at Jinfeng Mountain, often gathering together to bask in the sun and share a bag of tobacco leaves, happily."
But these legends cannot compare to the reality of life. Master Xingzhong could treat heart disease. Ren Faqi's uncle was once writhing in pain in bed; he climbed the mountain in the dark to collect medicine, made it into a paste and applied it to his chest, "It didn't cost a penny, and he even left a bowl of radish soup to drink." More than a dozen households in the team recognized him as their godfather, "Not for any gain, but because he would lick the grains of rice clean from his bowl, and if he saw someone begging with meat, he was willing to cut off half a piece of his own preserved meat."
At that time, during the movement, occasionally someone shouted to "struggle" against Master Xingzhong, saying he was "of unknown origin." Ren Qilin's father remembers that once Zhao Jinsheng and a few people made a fuss, trying to push him into the chicken coop, "My brother and I quickly stopped them, and Captain Zhang came over to scold: 'He has treated your family, have you forgotten?'" In the end, he just read a paragraph on the platform, and when he came down, Aunt Li secretly handed him a hot sweet potato, "He held it, smiling with a face full of wrinkles."
Wu Haiqing's situation was similar. Someone dug up old accounts, saying he "was once a monk for the Kuomintang" (in fact, he was a Red Army soldier who got lost during the battle in Zunyi and left home to avoid the Kuomintang), wanting to take him for criticism. Hearing this, Master Xingzhong grabbed a hoe and walked towards Mingfo Cave, standing at Wu Haiqing's door without saying a word. That big guy stood there like a mountain, no one dared to approach. In the end, after Wu Haiqing finished reading the "confession letter," when he came down, Master Xingzhong pulled out a vegetable dumpling from his pocket, and the two squatted at the wall corner sharing it. Wu Haiqing's Dharma name was Haichao, and at the end of his life, he called his adopted daughter to his side, cutting open the yellowed collar, which contained a handwritten letter from Chairman Mao that he had quietly kept, feeling that he had not taken good care of the Chairman and had repented his entire life in practice.
Life went on slowly like this until Master Xingzhong passed away first, estimated to be in his seventies. Ren Qilin's father went to help arrange things, "He had an old scripture under his pillow, the paper had turned yellow, and there was a photo of his mother from her youth, dressed quite elegantly." Three months later, Fang Shi also passed away, and all the villagers attended. The men carried the coffin, and the women scattered freshly picked wild chrysanthemums at the grave. "The road was steep, and the big guys took turns carrying it, no one complained of being tired," Ren Qilin's father said, "No matter who he was before, here, he was Master Xingzhong who treated us and grew vegetables, a good person."
Now the radish fields on the mountain have long been abandoned, and the 'Bangbang'er house has collapsed, but every time Ren Faqi goes up the mountain, he can still remember the image of Master Xingzhong standing on the ridge, a big guy, bent over, holding a hoe, with sunlight shining on his back, bright and clear.
