There are quite a few famous places and historical sites in Shanxi, such as the three complete "three and a half" wooden buildings in the Tang Dynasty - Xinzhou Wutai Nan Zen Temple, Foguang Temple and Yuncheng Guangren Wang Temple.

There is a saying in the market, which is called "Looking at Shanxi for cultural relics on the ground". There are quite a lot of famous places and historical sites in Shanxi, such as the "three and a half" of the "three and a half" wooden buildings in the Tang Dynasty - Xinzhou Wutai Nan Zen Temple, Foguang Temple and Yuncheng Ruicheng Guangrenwang Temple.

Location map of two Tangfang Temples in Wutai Mountain

This time, Xiao Tanjun visited Xinzhou Nanchan Temple and Foguang Temple, which are also the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Although these two Buddhist temples have had ups and downs since their construction, their architectural shapes and colored sculptures have the same meaning. Mr. Zhao Puchu once mentioned the two temples of Nanchan and Foguang, and wrote a poem to praise them, "There are no treasures in the world in the two Tang temples."

1

Northern Wei nd year of Taihe (478 AD), Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong walked through the mountains outside the south platform of Wutai Mountain. He encountered the magical Buddha light in a hazy way, and determined that it must be auspicious signs. He then ordered the construction of a temple and set up the "Fu Guang Temple".

Fuguang Temple Plaque

Fuguang Temple (full name: Foguang Zhenrong Zen Temple) is famous for its quota, and later joined a number of temples, sinking and floating in the imperial power to promote Buddha and destroy Buddha.

overlooking Foguang Temple from the East Hall

Northern Zhou In the third year of Jiande (574 AD), Foguang Temple was destroyed by Emperor Wu of Yuwen Yong's "destroying Buddha" Buddhist temple. In the seventh year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (633 AD), it was rebuilt by Zen Master Jiedu. In the fifth year of Huichang in the Tang Dynasty (845 AD), it was burned and destroyed by Emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty. During the reign of the Dazhong period of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial court used the opportunity of the establishment of the camp, and the eminent monks were led by the sutra pavilion in front of the Great Buddha Hall (East Hall): "Built in October 20, 857 AD).

The scripture pagoda in front of the Great Buddha Hall (East Hall) and the engraved

mark the remodeling age and the donor's name

This construction during the middle age of the Tang Dynasty, not only was the monks who presided over the reconstruction selected by the court, but Emperor Xuanzong personally commended and rewarded the monks after the reconstruction of the temple. The court, local departments and senior officials and even their families directly participated in the organization and deployment of temple reconstruction, fundraising and fundraising and construction of camps.

From Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty to "seeing the auspiciousness of Buddha's light" to Tang Xuanzong "promoting the Buddha's Dharma" to lay the foundation for the royal rules of Foguang Temple and demonstrating the royal style. At this point, Foguang Temple, which "has offered more than 500 monks a day, has many houses, corridors, halls, and many merits and Buddhist rituals", has established the name of the Royal Temple in Mount Wutai.

Fuguang Temple Hall One corner

Just as the construction of Foguang Temple, which is widely supported by high-ranking officials and nobles, a mountain village temple in Lijiazhuang, Yangbai Township, more than 50 kilometers away, was rebuilt 75 years ago, and a thousand years later, it was ranked alongside Foguang Temple, becoming the "only two" remains of the ancient wooden building of the Tang Dynasty Zen Temple.

Nanchan Temple Main Hall

Tang Dezong In the third year of Li Shi (782 AD), the Lijiazhuang was crowded with people, and the monk Faxian led the villagers to rebuild the temple in the village. Although it is a mountain village temple, its statue specifications and styles meticulously imitate the style of the famous temple in Mount Wutai. This village temple, which follows the old name of "Nanchan Temple", is located in a remote and small scale and is not compiled by the prefectures and county annals. Fortunately, it escaped the catastrophe of Fanan and silently protected the safety of the land in more than ten earthquakes and natural disasters.

The stone tablet in the temple records the renovation process of later generations

Time flies, through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and until the Republic of China. After more than 20 years of investigation into China, Japanese architectural historian Sadashi Kano believed that there was no Tang Dynasty wood structure in China. If the Chinese wanted to study Tang Dynasty architecture, they could only go to Nara, Japan.

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes 61 mural "The Temple of the Great Buddha Light" in the Wutai Mountain picture

and firmly believe that "there must be Tang structures in China" Liang Sicheng , accidentally saw the photo of "The Picture of the Wutai Mountain" in Cave 61 of Mogao Grottoes from Phe and "Dunhuang Catalogue" and found the Great Buddha Light Temple. In order to prove it, in late June 1937, Liang Sicheng, Lin Huiyin and others went to Wutai Mountain to follow the map and finally found Foguang Temple in Doucun Town, and confirmed it from the engraving of the sutra pagoda in front of the hall as a late Tang Dynasty building and the only remains of the Tang Dynasty palace-level wooden building in China.

937 Overview of Foguang Temple when Liang Sicheng inspected in

937, Liang Sicheng was in the main hall of Foguang Temple in Wutai Mountain

There was another unexpected surprise during the surveying and mapping of Foguang Temple in Foguang Temple. Lin Huiyin found a vague ink trace under the beam of the East Hall. The Chinese characters from more than a thousand years ago can be vaguely identified: "Ning Gongyu, the female disciple of the Buddha Hall," and the same words are also on the stone scriptures of the Tang Dynasty at the entrance of the hall, and the date is engraved: the eleventh year of the Tang Dynasty Dazhong.

The words "Female Disciple Buddha Hall Lord Ning Gongyu" are clearly visible on the stone scriptures of the Tang Dynasty

"The donor is a woman! And this young architect was the first to discover the rarest ancient temple in China, and it was also a woman. It was obviously not a coincidence." In the memories that followed, Liang Sicheng exclaimed excitedly. Two equally beautiful women met in this glorious temple more than a thousand years later.

Lin Huiyin and the statue of "The Lord of the Buddha Palace Ning Gongyu"

Compared with the discovery process of Foguang Temple, the discovery process of Nanchan Temple seems much smoother.

953, when archaeological experts and relevant people went to Wutai County to learn about the repair of Wutai Foguang Temple, they were told that the main hall of Nanchan Temple in Lijiazhuang was a Tang Dynasty building and was destroyed and needed to be repaired in an urgent manner. After many surveys, measurements and discussions, the ink book inscribed on the "House of the Tang Dynasty " written on the beams of the Great Buddha Hall, finally confirmed that Nanchan Temple was a Tang Dynasty building. An unexpected surprise that happened in an accident caused Nanchan Temple to be hidden for thousands of years to fall into the eyes of the world.

Cold and lonely Nanchan Temple The wooden pearls of the Tang Dynasty

At this point, the two Tang Temples finally gathered, and the royal temple and the Shanye Village Temple were brought together, opening up the discussion and research on the ancient architecture, paintings and sculptures of the Tang Dynasty Zen Temple.

2

Mount Wutai, the Manjushri Taoist temple among the four major Buddhist temples in China. Mount Wutai is the residence of Manjushri . The Huayan Sutra "The Residences of All Bodhisattvas" is the Huayan Sutra. Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, Mount Wutai has been one of the important centers for the research and dissemination of Huayan theory.

Mount Wutai Temple Group

Avatamsaka Sutra writes about the world of Vairocana Buddha Huazang and the "Great Wisdom" Manjushri Bodhisattva and "Great Practice" Samantabhadra Bodhisattva . Therefore, people respect Vairocana Buddha (Dharma Body of Sakyamuni Buddha), Manjushri Bodhisattva and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva as the "Three Saints of Huayan".

top: East Hall of Foguang Temple Buddha altar Buddha statue color sculpture distribution map

Lower left: East Hall Buddha altar Buddha altar color sculpture lower right: Amitabha Buddha color sculpture group

In the Tang Dynasty, Mount Wutai was not only Huayan Town, but also an important national temple for Buddhist Tantra.In the second year of Yongtai in the Tang Dynasty (766 AD), the founder of Tantric Buddhism, Bukong Sanzang, requested the construction of the Jinge Temple in Wutai Mountain by Li Yu, Emperor Daizong of Tang Dynasty. According to Tantric Buddhism, Manjushri had the power to break the formation and surrender the enemy. Therefore, when building a Tantric Buddhism temple with Jinge Temple as the core, Bukong Sanzang replaced "wisdom Manjushri" with or also used "protecting the country Manjushri" based on the classics translated by Tantric Buddhism and the actual situation faced by the Tang Dynasty, becoming the "God of War" that Buddhism protects the country and the country of the Li Tang Dynasty, and was praised by the emperors and the court.

A new combination of the lion riding manju and the lion driver in armor is also named "New Style Manjushri" compared with the early "Manjushri and Assistant Picture" with a group of relatives.

New style Manjushri - the image of a lion wearing armor

Nanchan Temple is less than 70 kilometers away from Jinge Temple. When Nanchan Temple was rebuilt in the third year of Jianzhong in the Tang Dynasty (782 AD), it was only 16 years after the imperial construction of Jinge Temple by Emperor Daizong of Tang Dynasty. It is reasonable to imitate the theme of the "National Taoist Temple".

Tang Buddha statue group centered on Sakyamuni Buddha

The one riding a lion on the left is the new Manjushri, and the one riding the elephant on the right is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva

Jinge Temple has experienced "Huichang Dharma Difficulty" and "Five Dynasties of War", and there are only the remains. The main statues of Vairocana Buddha and Manjushri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in the main hall of Nanchan Temple have become the earliest color-shaped statues of the "Three Saints of Huayan" that have been seen in the Central Plains.

"The upper body is wearing a cross-collar middle garment, and a spiral-shaped chest guard and abdomen armor, and a T-shaped armor between the chest and abdomen. The serious and resolute expression is the earliest "Manjushri" statue in the "Manjushri" that has been produced in the past. The group statues composed of "Manjushri" and his family members Shancai Boy and King Khotan (the lion driver) have become the earliest produced at home and abroad. The remains of the "New Style Manjushri" statue.

Tang Dynasty Lion Manjushri Color Sculpture in the main hall of Nanchan Temple

5 years later, Foguang Temple, as a royal temple, also made a new breakthrough in balancing imperial power and Buddhist principles. It was at the time of Pure Land Sect Mi The faith of Tuo and Maitreya is flourishing. The East Hall is juxtaposed between the two Bodhisattvas of Manjushri Samantabhadra , namely Sakyamuni, Maitreya and Amitabha, forming the "New Three Ages Buddhas", representing " All Buddhas of the Ten Directions and Three Ages ".

Foguang Temple East The Buddha statues and Buddha statues of the main hall,

. The Buddha Shakyamuni in the middle, Amitabha Buddha on the left, and Maitreya Buddha on the right,

together form the "New Three Worlds Buddha"

"New Three Worlds Buddha "It is a harmonious combination of the two Pure Lands of Maitreya and Amitabha in the Tang Dynasty, the two Pure Lands of Huazang, the two worlds of Sapo, and the two worlds of Tantric gold and fetus. It reflects the national will and policy of the Tang Dynasty to encourage Buddhism to "coexist multiple sects".

Vairocana Buddha (Shakyamuni) Ni Buddha Dharma Body) Tang Sculpture

. This combination of statues of Vairocana Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha Dharma Body), Maitreya Buddha, Amitabha Buddha Manjushri, and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva was basically fixed in the east hall of the Buddha Guang Temple, and was inherited and developed by later generations. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had spread to the Central Plains, South China and the southeast coast, becoming important for local Buddhas to convert, receive precepts, meditation, repentance, and recommendation of ancestors. The venue for the event.

As the highest ruling class strengthens the "national will" manifestation in Buddhist statues, the temples gradually unified the regulatory styles from official construction to civil construction, while Nanchan Temple silently retains a trace of freedom of statues due to its unwelcome village temple status.

The statue of Nanchan Temple's Weishou Bodhisattva holding hands with the Dharma Protector King

At present, there is a group of rare statues in China on the altar of the main hall of Nanchan Temple, namely the statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva holding hands with the Dharma Protector King . The two of them have a kind face, a peaceful expression, and are content.

Manjushri Bodhisattva statue group, in the circle is the boy Shancai

This side of the Bodhisattva, sculpts the statue of Shancai, folded his hands and bowed his ears, and listened with both faces of Manjushri riding the lion and holding hands. According to research, this group of statues describes the plot of the "Fifty-Three Paramitas" of the boy Shancai in the "Avatamsaka Sutra" of the Buddha's mother, namely the biological mother of Prince Sakyamuni, , Lady Maya . Mrs. Maya set an example and talked about the love and compassion of the vast and boundless mother, and the heavenly king who held hands with Mrs. Maya should be the biological father of Prince Sakyamuni Suddhodana .

The theme of Shancai's visit to Mrs. Maya integrates Buddhist compassion and Confucian traditional filial piety. It is an evolution of the localization of Buddhism and is very popular in the Tang Dynasty, but this evolution that dares to show in the statues of the Buddha altar is indeed rare. To a certain extent, it also reflects the ethical concept of strongly mixing Buddhism and Confucian and respecting Buddhism and filial piety.

3

South and Southern Dynasties layout, using or improving the old temples of the Grand Mansion or Gongfu as Buddhist temples, the pattern of "the front hall is the Buddhist temple, and the back hall is the lecture hall" appears. After entering the Tang Dynasty, the shape of the Buddhist temple lecture hall continued to develop according to the needs of offering sacrifices to Buddha and preaching.

Plant picture of Foguang Temple painted by Liang Sicheng

Fuguang Temple is the largest existing Tang Dynasty wooden structure building in China, and it is also an isolated example of the remaining wooden structure building with the scale of the palace palace and the temperament of the royal palace.

: Surveying and mapping sectional view of the East Hall of Foguang Temple

: The exquisite Tang Dynasty wooden building inside and outside the East Hall

The inner and outer pillars of the East Hall are the same height, and the "sacred space" and "secular space" are obviously separated. It is the spatial pattern of the highest-level hall-making hall-making-the golden box bottom groove, filling the Buddha statue in the inner groove, and the inner groove ceiling elevation is higher than the outer groove, thus forming the central high-rise Buddhist altar space and surrounding corridors in a horizontal manner, perfectly setting off the core position of the Buddha.

The Buddha worship space in the East Hall not only includes the interior, but also extends to the outdoor high platform, and even makes full use of the surrounding natural landscape.

Exterior view of the East Hall

Foguang Temple forms the front yard – back yard – the east hall three levels. Entering from the mountain gate, the mountain gate, the Manjushri Hall and the Jialan Hall are the front yard; the arched cave door and the wings on both sides are the back yard. The east hall is on the high platform, facing east and west, and close to the cliff behind it.

Looking up at Foguang Temple from the mountain gate

From the bottom of the mountain to climb up the steps to the temple. After worshiping Buddha in front of the main hall, turn around and look back, the vision is wide, and the scenery of the valley is full of scenery. It can be said that the spatial relationship inside Foguang Temple, superimposed on the ground pattern, creates a layered spatial perception, and the inner courtyard - high platform - distant mountains, forming a complete "visual" spatial aesthetic.

Fuguang Temple from the exterior of the main hall

Inner courtyard-high platform-distant mountains, forming a complete spatial aesthetic

China's "official" and "civilian" buildings are basically the same type, only divided into small, traditional and simple", and are in line with the Chinese system (system) " differential pattern ". Therefore, the little tentor has worshipped the Foguang Temple where the "officials" and went to the Nanchan Temple where the "minister" was not as good as the hall standards like the rules and regulations of , but it should also have the interest of a village, perhaps like the halls of a wealthy family, and it is unknown.

But when comparing the scene and the old photos at the beginning of discovery, they were completely different! Imbalance! Incomparable!

After investigation, it was found that the Nanchan Hall had been "de-mounted and overhauled" in the 1970s, and the "Tang-style restoration" was carried out in reference to the decoration of Foguang Temple. The Nanchan and Foguang Temple are related to each other, which is extremely embarrassing.

The old appearance of the hall in the 1950s

"From the old look, the main ridge and hanging ridge of the hall are low, with a glass ridge in the middle of the ridge, and the chubby kiss on both sides is a sword handle. At that time, it was believed that ' ridge big kiss and hanging beast were pieced together and installed with general style components of the Qing Dynasty', experts felt that 'it was only part of the building. The simple tile, but without a twill, will make the earliest existing Tang Dynasty hall in my country inferior, and finally decided to create a set of Tang Dynasty-style tile beast pieces. ’ Therefore, the ridge brake was abolished. The twill tail was used to refer to the Bohai Kingdom Tang Dynasty twill tail, the lintel line of the Big Wild Pagoda in Xi'an, the Tang Dynasty line of the Tang Dynasty twill carving Buddhist temple at the head of Qinglian Temple in Jincheng, and the Tang Dynasty hall twill tail in the Dunhuang murals, Hanging fish , Bofeng was created in the style of creating a style of creation in the Song Dynasty…” There are many "repairs" such as lengthening eaves, dismantling and replacing doors and windows, creating a magical wooden structure imitating Tang Dynasty imitating Song Dynasty .

The main hall was rebuilt in the 1970s

The roof has a deliberate Tang Dynasty elbow-tail shape

The main hall's main hall's main hall's main hall's original structures

To this day, the "descending overhaul" of Nanchan Temple is still a case in the restoration of ancient buildings.

Comparison of the hall color sculptures before and after the theft of the Nanchan Temple

The offering Bodhisattva on the lotus seat was robbed, and his whereabouts were unknown

999 Nanchan Temple was robbed, and the Buddha statue in the hall was dug up as a chest, the treasures in the abdomen were stolen, and the back of Manjushri Bodhisattva was also stolen. Two "palace kids" offering Bodhisattva were sawed and kidnapped, and the king of Khotan (the lion driver) was also broken and kidnapped from his heels, and his whereabouts were unknown.

999, the color sculpture of the lion-controller of Manjushri Bodhisattva was stolen

Only two sawn heel ruins

Nan Zen and Buddha light, and the two temples have countless stories. They are like two dazzling pearls, reflected in the north and south, embedded in the holy realm of the Buddha Kingdom of natural creation.

Foguang Temple, which is famous for its colorful Tang Dynasty colored murals and exquisite Tang Dynasty wood structures, and Nanchan Temple, which is famous at home and abroad for its long history, simple and solemn Tang Dynasty architectural art. The two Tang temples have traveled thousands of years and returned to each other in a different way, leaving behind precious worldly treasures for future generations.

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