新见丹阳明代妙觉寺《寺田永传》碑文考略OA

The stele inscription Temple Fields Forever transmitted from the Miaojue Temple in Danyang during the late Ming Dynasty is a crucial physical historical source for the study on the temple's historical evolution,temple land system,and legends surrounding Emperor Jianwen.It holds significant value in regional history,religious history,and the study on historical chronology.The inscription records how a monk named Hongxiu and a local resident Zhang Danian rebuilt the Miaojue Temple and donated temple lands.Through textual research,the inscription's colophon dated"the fourth month of the Gengshen year,Taichang First Year"is confirmed to refer to the 48th year of the Wanli era(1620),reflecting a local chronological discrepancy from official regulations amid political transition at the end of the Ming Dynasty.Combined with documentary analysis,it is known that the Miaojue Temple was originally established during the Yuan You period of the Song Dynasty,destroyed by fire in the early Jiajing reign,and finally restored by the end of the Wanli era.The temple lands mentioned were located in present-day Lingkou Town,Danyang City.Furthermore,the legend recorded in the inscription,claiming that Emperor Jianwen fled to the Bixia Palace of Miaojue Temple and took monastic vows,exemplifies the construction of local historical memory during the Ming and Qing periods,offering a folk narrative perspective on the long-debated question of Emperor Jianwen's fate.