Zhuanlunzang is said to have been founded in the Southern Dynasties Liang Dynasty by Shuanglin master Fu Xi. "The Record of Master Shanhui" records:
When the great masters were in Japan, there were often many sutras, and people might not be able to read them all, so they built large-level niches in the mountains, with one pillar and eight sides, so that the sutras could not be hindered from running. The Zhuanzang... Today, all wheelzangs built in the world have statues of great masters, which actually started from this.
What are the merits of the Chakravartin? Volume 33 of " The Chronicles of the Buddha " says:
Great Master Liang Fu was worried that there were so many people in the world who had no time to recite sutras and were illiterate, so he created the Chakravartin in the Shuanglin Taoist Hall. Serve scriptures. He swore that: Those who climb my Tibetan Gate three times will not lose their body in their lifetime; those who can push one turn with confidence will have the same merit as reciting the sutra; those who can spin without counting will gain the same merit as reading and reciting it. The Tripitaka is exactly the same.
In short, the Buddhist classics are as vast as the sea, and ordinary believers may not be literate or have no time to recite the sutras. The invention of the Chakravartin can not only store scriptures and statues, but also promote Buddhism and attract believers. "Gather all The sutra is returned to the Tripitaka, so that the teachings can be circulated, and all the teachings can be carried in one round. If all sentient beings believe in it and practice it, they will not need to teach it morning and evening. They will receive the essentials of the Dharma at the snap of a finger, and their hearts and minds will be happy. "Relief of All Sufferings" (The Southern Song DynastyEarly Zongze's "Records of the New Cangdian Hall in Jingde Zen Yuan").
Such a convenient method with great merits and virtues quickly became popular all over the country after its creation. By the Tang Dynasty, it was quite common, and by the Song Dynasty, it was widely erected in temples all over the world. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, although Lunzang continued to be built, it never reached the scale of the Song Dynasty.
Today, there are a total of ten examples of wheel-carrying objects remaining in the country. According to the construction era, there are four examples in the Song Dynasty, respectively in Longxing Temple in Zhengding, Hebei, Jiangyou Yunyan Temple in Sichuan, Cave 136 in Beishan of Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing, and Pilu Taoist Grotto in Baoding Mountain. ; two examples in the Ming Dynasty, in Zhihua Temple in Beijing. and Baoen Temple in Pingwu, Sichuan; four examples from the Qing Dynasty are found in the Xumi Fushou Temple in Chengde, Hebei, the Lama Temple in Beijing, the Summer Palace in Beijing, and the Tayuan Temple in Mount Wutai in Shanxi.
1. The Wheel Collection of Longxing Temple in Zhengding
The Wheel Collection of Longxing Temple in Zhengding is the earliest existing example of the Wheel Collection.
This wheel hideout looks like a double-eaves pavilion with an octagonal lower eaves and a round upper eaves. There is a wooden axis in the middle, which is the Tibetan axis. An iron cast pin at the bottom supports the weight of the entire wheel hideout. It is placed in the Tibetan pit. In the central stone anvil, the upper part is fixed by a "well"-shaped frame built on the beams of the Tibetan hall. The entire wheel Tibetan can rotate around the Tibetan axis.
For a detailed introduction to this wheel collection, please refer to previous articles:
▲Old Shadow of the Wheel Collection in Longxing Temple
2. Feitian Collection in Yunyan Temple, Jiangyou, Sichuan
This is another wheel collection in the Song Dynasty in China, according to "Jiangyou County Chronicle" : " Feitian Hidden in Douqi Mountain . It was built in the eighth year of Chunxi of the Song Dynasty (1181); renovated in the Zhizheng period of the Yuan Dynasty (1341-1368); only this one survived during the war of the Ming Dynasty. " This Wheel Tibetan is not used by Buddhists, but Taoism Wheel Tibet.
Feitianzang looks like an octagonal wooden tower, with a shaft in the middle and iron cast bearings at the bottom. It can run when pushed by people. The eight-sided four-story building is not only built according to the general shape of the Wheel Sutra Collection, but also has exquisite Tiangong pavilions in the upper part. The lower eaves and the brackets on the flat seats are extremely exquisitely made. The wood carvings of the figures are extremely vivid, and the rest of the paintings, such as the forehead, the hollow tooth tent, and the eaves and pillars of the auxiliary steps, are also elegant and gorgeous.
▲The internal structure of Feitianzang (photo by Yu Lina)
There is no scripture box inside Feitianzang, but Taoist wood carvings of human figures, making it the "Flywheel Zhou Tianzang of the Eight Directions Star Officials and Spirits" made by Taoism imitating the Wheel Zang, also known as " Star Car".
▲ Feitian hides in the wood-carved Taoist statue (currently in the Li Bai Memorial Hall)
3. The Wheel of the Wheel Sutra Cave in Dazu Beishan, Chongqing
The Wheel of the Wheel Sutra Cave was carved in the middle of Fowan, Beishan, and is numbered No. 136. It is a flat The top is a large rectangular cave. The cave is 4 meters high, 4.7 meters wide and 7 meters deep.
In the middle of the cave, there is a stone carving of a wheel sutra collection, standing from the ground to the top, in the center of the cave. Although it has an axis, it cannot rotate, and it looks like an eight-sided central pillar. On the whole, it is divided into three parts: the Tibetan seat, the Tibetan shelter, and the Tiangong pavilion. The Tibetan seat is engraved with the image Mount Sumeru , with a dragon stretching freely and playing like a bead.
The lower part of the hiding place is a lotus-shaped pedestal. There is a railing carved on the side of the lotus pedestal, on which more than ten innocent children climb.
carved eight dragon pillars on it. The spaces between the dragon pillars are hollow, and the light from outside the cave can shine through them to the statues on the back wall of the cave. Above the dragon pillar are the heavenly palaces and pavilions, also with eight sides, inside which are carved pavilions, towers and other buildings.
4. Pilu Taoist Grotto in Baoding Mountain, Dazu, Chongqing
Pilu Taoist Grotto is located in Baoding Mountain . There is a stone carving wheel hidden in the center of the main wall of the cave. However, compared with the complete wheel-turning scripture collection No. 136 of Beishan, the builders of Baoding Mountain designed this place so that only half of it is visible, and the other half is hidden in the back wall.
This 5.4-meter-high wheel-turning sutra collection is based on Mount Sumeru. There is a sea of perfume in it, a dragon and a strong man protecting the collection. On top of it are the rosette, flat seat, hiding place, hidden eaves, flat seat, heavenly palace pavilion, etc. Above the pavilion is the top of the cave.
This hidden wheel is only half carved, with four dragon pillars, and flying dragons on the pillars with their heads raised and entwined. The front of the hiding place is carved with Vairocana Buddha , wearing a flower crown on his head, two rays of light shooting out of his mouth, and his hands forming the wisdom fist seal.
5. The wheel hidden in Zhihua Temple, Beijing
Zhihua Temple was built in the eighth year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty (1443). The wheel is hidden in the hidden hall of the temple and is beautifully carved.
The Tibetan seat is an octagonal Xumizuo. Each layer is carved with curly grass and lotus petals. The waist is decorated with two dragons playing with beads. The eight treasures of Buddha are carved on the eaves. This wheel has only a form, no hidden needle, and the stone base cannot rotate.
is hidden in a golden nanmu scripture cabinet. Each side has nine upper and lower rows and five columns of sutra storage drawers, totaling 360 on eight sides.
There is an exquisite multi-layered rosette carved on the top, with a Vairocana Buddha sitting facing east. The top is a mandala caisson.
6. The Wheel Collection of Baoen Temple in Pingwu, Sichuan
The Wheel Collection of the Huayan Cangdian Hall of Baoen Temple in Pingwu, Sichuan was built in the 11th year of Ming Zhengtong (1446). The wheel is more than 11 meters high from the ground and more than 7 meters in diameter. Phoebe wood. The cross-section is octagonal, with an appearance of eight edges and four floors, three bright and four dark floors, but it is actually seven floors, with each floor retracting inward, larger at the bottom and smaller at the top. It looks like a seven-level pagoda held up in the air.
This wheel Tibetan is an integral rotating wheel Tibetan, which is mainly composed of Tibetan shafts, Tibetan needles, beam and frame frames, board walls and Tiangong pavilions. The Tiangong pavilions are hollowed out and carved with exquisite craftsmanship.
7. The wheel hidden in the Yonghe Temple in Beijing
The wheel hidden in the Yongkang Pavilion has a two-story wooden octagonal pointed bottom corridor, with eight Buddhist treasures in front of it.
It is said that there is a circular earth pit under the runner hide, and there are iron pillars inserted in the shaft groove in the pit to support the hidden shaft, so the runner hide is also in a whole rotatable shape.
8. The Zhuanlunzang of the Summer Palace in Beijing
In front of Wanshou Mountain in the Summer Palace , there is a place for emperors and empresses to worship Buddha and recite sutras. The main hall is a two-story pavilion with the Zhuanlunzang as the front.There are double-layer octagonal pavilions on both sides, and there is a wheel hidden in each pavilion.
▲Picture source @鐥和武老
There are pits in the two pavilions, and the "iron goose platform barrel" supports the hidden axis, and the wheel can be rotated. The external form is one-story lower and three-story upper, octagonal pavilion style, divided layer by layer.
▲Picture source @鐐和武老
9. The Wheel Collection of the Xumi Fushou Temple in Chengde, Hebei
▲See the watermark in the picture source
The Xumi Fushou Temple in Chengde also has a wheel collection, with a three-story and eight-sided pavilion. It is said that if there is a pit underneath, it is of the rotatable type.
10. There is a Hua Zang World Zhuan Lun Zang in the Sutra Collection Pavilion of Wutai Mountain Ta Yuan Temple. It has a very special shape.
This wheel has thirty-three octagonal floors, about ten meters high, with a larger top and a smaller bottom. The top floor has a circumference of three feet and eight feet, and the bottom floor has a circumference of two feet and two feet. There are several small grids on each floor. Place the scriptures. The turntable is installed at the bottom and can be moved by pushing it. There are 1,000 small wooden Buddha statues in the pavilion, and there are sutra bookcases on the second floor.
This wheel collection is said to have been built by Master Hanshan in the Ming Dynasty, but researchers mostly classify it as a wheel collection in the Qing Dynasty.
▲Picture source@老 Pig的故事
The above are ten wheel collections that have been preserved in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties in China, including traditional wooden wheel collections and stone carving wheel collections. Among the wooden wheel collections, only one in Zhihua Temple cannot rotate.
In addition to introducing these survivors, we also introduce two cases of the wheel zodiac that have disappeared but there are still images:
The Southern Song dynasty wheel wheel collection of Jingguo Temple in Hechuan, Chongqing
From the old film, this wheel zodiac has "Tietai Tongzi" has an inscription on it, "It has been five years since Chou Qiandao in the Song Dynasty (1169) and it was established in Jiashen on October 2nd." It is hidden in an octagonal pavilion with double eaves, and the outer trough columns are wrapped with dragons. There is a Tiangong corridor on the Tibetan cover, which is consistent with the French style.
▲Image source @鱼雁江南
According to Gong Tingwan’s article "The Wheel of the Wheel of the Southern Song Dynasty in Hechuan Jingguo Temple", the wheel of the wheel was dismantled by the local commune during the "Four Qing Dynasty" movement and made tables and stools for the local primary school.
Beijing Pudu Temple Zhuanlunzang
Pudu Temple is located on the east side of Nanchizi Street in Dongcheng District, Beijing. In the Ming Dynasty, it was the Chonghua Palace in the Imperial City Dongyuan . It was destroyed in the late Ming Dynasty and rebuilt into the residence of Prince Regent Prince Rui Dorgon in the early Qing Dynasty. After Dorgon's death, he pursued the king's title and handed over the palace. In the 33rd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1694), the southern part was rebuilt into Depikku, and the northern part was rebuilt into Mahaggala Temple. It was rebuilt in the 40th year of Qianlong's reign (1775) and renamed Pudu Temple. Now the temple only has the mountain gate and the main hall Ciji Hall.
▲The Wheel Collection of Pudu Temple in the "Publication of the Lama Temple" Circle stone sculpture.
▲See watermark for picture source
Judging from the old photos, there are statues of gods supporting the zodiac under the Tibetan seat. The hiding place is a pavilion with double eaves, the upper eaves are round and the lower eaves are octagonal. The outer trough pillars are wrapped around dragons. There is a door on each side, and in front of the door is a small wood-carved and gilded longevity Buddha. There is a Tiangong pavilion on the top of the Tibetan cover, which is magnificent.
It is said that the wheel of Pudu Temple was later collected in the Yonghe Temple, but it is not known whether it still exists.
▲ Taken by Japan North China Transportation Co., Ltd. around 1940, source @weightless beams and columns
