The temple of Baiyi Nunnery in Lufeng County, Yunnan

An introduction to Baiyi Nunnery must mention the Peiyuan Palace in Lufeng. The Peiyuan Palace in Lufeng was initially built during the Tianqi period of the Ming Dynasty, originally a family temple built by Wang Xigun, the Minister of Rites and Grand Scholar of the East Pavilion. Wang Xigun, originally from Huayin, Shaanxi, followed the Southern General Fengchuan Hou Fu Youde and Xiping Hou Muying into Yunnan in the 14th year of Hongwu due to his merits, and was awarded the title of 'Right Guard Army Crown Belt General Flag', leading the army to settle in Lufeng. Wang Xigun followed his father's advice to study hard and made great progress in his studies. In the 43rd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, he became a scholar in the Yimao examination. In the second year of Tianqi, he went to the capital for the court examination, became a scholar in the Renxu examination, was selected into the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi, and was appointed as a reviewer and compiler. At the time of his father's death, the emperor allowed him to return home for burial, and he mourned at home according to the regulations, advocating the construction of the 'Flying Rainbow Bridge' (Fengyu Bridge), which was convenient for the people to travel. It was at this time that the Peiyuan Palace was built, with the Lanxi Ancient Ancestral Hall built inside the palace. The ancestral hall is a place to worship the ancestors of the Wang family. There is also a school in the palace. The nine rooms of the temple are meant to represent the return of the nine to the truth. The temples are respectively the Lingguan Temple, the Ancestor Temple, the Thunder God Temple, the Three Officials Temple, the Gods Temple, the Dou Father Dou Mother Temple, the Guanyin Temple, the Three Pure Ones Temple, and the Jade Emperor Temple. In the third year of Yongli, his son Zi Ji petitioned the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites approved the 'excellent mourning', conferred the posthumous title of 'loyalty and integrity', and later added the posthumous title of 'literary and resolute', 'granted sacrifice and burial', and erected a stone stele on the Gongji Mountain Ridge 15 li south of the county town. The tombstone has been damaged. The ancient post road of Lufeng, the 'Shi Yun Nunnery' stone gate natural barrier, erected the 'Former Residence of Ming Dynasty Grand Scholar Wang Wenyi' stone stele, which still exists today. Later, due to the chaos of Shadingzhou, many of the Wang clan were killed, and the Peiyuan Palace was also destroyed. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Wang Jingting, a descendant of the Wang family, rebuilt it, but it was destroyed by war. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Wang Wuji, the sixteenth generation descendant of the Wang family, led the descendants of the family to rebuild it. Until the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was destroyed due to the 'Four Olds', and the property was divided into private residential land. After the policy of religious freedom was restored, the Baiyi Nunnery was rebuilt. Wang Yingke, the seventeenth generation descendant of the Wang family, found more than thirty old Taoist priests and began to prepare to restore the scriptures and revive the Peiyuan Palace Cave Scripture Association, and also participated in the construction of the Baiyi Nunnery. By 1991, the Daxiong Hall and Guanyin Hall of Baiyi Nunnery were completed, and the Taoist congregation of Peiyuan Palace began to carry out religious activities in the Guanyin Hall of Baiyi Nunnery. In 2006, due to the fact that the Baiyi Nunnery in Lufeng was an open place for Buddhism, various changes occurred, and the Taoist congregation of the Peiyuan Palace Dharma lineage was also forced to leave the Baiyi Nunnery. After leaving the Baiyi Nunnery, the Taoist congregation vowed to restore the ancestral temple at the old site of the Peiyuan Palace in the Dabeichang of Lufeng, but the ancestral temple has been occupied by five households, and the relocation cost is high, so it has not been restored at the original site. Later, with the help of believers, a simple hall was built in Dongsheng Xiaokang Village, Dajing Street, Jinshan Town, Lufeng County, to carry out religious activities. In 2013, it was built into a brick and wood house, with the Three Pure Ones Hall, Three Officials Hall, Gods Hall, City God Hall, Earth Master Pavilion, Kitchen, etc. built.