I took a battery car from Rongguo Mansion and came to Huata smoothly.
The location of Huata is Guanghui Temple.
Guanghui Temple was built in the first year of Tang Zhenyuan (785-804). In the temple, there were originally Tianwang hall, front hall, Huata, dizang hall and so on. It is a pity that the temple was dilapidated and only one Huata remained.
Huata of Guanghui Temple is also called Duobao Pagoda because Sakyamuni and Duobao Buddha are enshrined in the pagoda. Because it looks like a bouquet from a distance, it is also called the flower tower.
The Huata was first built in the first year of Emperor Dezong of Tang Dynasty (785-805) and rebuilt during the reign of Dading of the Jin Dynasty (1161-1189). The existing Huata is the rebuilt building of the Jin Dynasty.
The structure and shape of this Huata is extremely unique, occupying a place in the history of Chinese architecture. Huata consists of the main tower and four small towers embracing the main tower. The main tower is a pavilion-style tower built on an octagonal platform. At the four corners of the bottom of the main tower, there is a small hexagonal pavilion-like tower surrounding the main tower, forming a gorgeous shape with interdependent primary and secondary layers.
The main tower is 31.5 meters high and is divided into four floors. Under the eaves of each floor, there are brick-carved imitation wood bucket arches, which look gorgeous in structure.
The plane of the first floor is octagonal, with four small towers embracing one side, and steps leading to arches on the four exposed sides. The tower can be entered through the arch. After entering the first floor, go up to the second floor by the tower ventricle stairs. But now, tourists can no longer go up the building.
The plane of the second floor is also octagonal, with lattice windows on all sides, and then goes up to the third floor from the tower ventricle.
The third layer is also octagonal, but with a reduced diameter. The top of the second floor is made into a large platform. The platform is surrounded by brick railings. When visitors go up to the platform and lean on the railings, they can see the streets in the urban area and the towering Lingxiao Tower and Chengling Tower.
Each eaves corner of the third floor is carved with a statue of a strongman, and eight strongmen seem to lift the fourth floor of the tower.
The fourth floor is the sculpture of the flower pagoda, the whole body sculptures are Bodhisattvas, lions, elephants, tigers and leopards, pavilions and pavilions. The pattern adopts an eight-sided cross layout, which is varied and orderly. It is really an amazing sculpture group.
On the top of the pagoda, there is an octagonal pointed pagoda brake, crowned with a lotus orb. The entire pagoda is gorgeously decorated and unique in shape. It is the most beautiful Chinese pagoda in my country and a national key cultural relic protection unit.
It is said that Emperor Qianlong came to Guanghui Temple three times to burn incense and pay homage to the Buddha, climbed to the top of the pagoda, and wrote a plaque saying "Miaoguang Shows Teaching". It's just that this imperial pen is not known where it is now?
After watching the flower pagoda, continue to take the battery car to Tianning Temple.
The temple of Tianning Temple has also been destroyed, and there is only Lingxiao Pagoda left in the temple. After entering the door, I saw a pair of stone lions standing under the steps of the second door. According to reports, this pair of stone lions is a cultural relic of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1934, the German female photographer Hedda Morrison once photographed the pair of stone lions.
Standing on the octagonal platform, the Lingxiao Tower is a nine-storey pavilion-style tower with an octagonal plane and a height of 41 meters. The pagoda was first built in the Xiantong period of the Tang Dynasty (860-874). Later, the first to fourth floors of the pagoda were rebuilt on the remnants of the Tang Pagoda in the Song Dynasty. Brick and wood structure.
In 1966, Lingxiao Tower was destroyed by an earthquake. Later, the eighth and ninth floors also collapsed one after another. In 1981, the tower was dropped and rebuilt. In 1982, the underground palace was discovered under the base of the tower, and a number of valuable cultural relics were unearthed. Lingxiao Pagoda of Tianning Temple is listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit.
The tower is towering and tall, so it is called "Lingxiao". The body of the tower is completely made of bricks, and the outer wall is white-gray. There are arched door openings or mullion windows on the front of each floor. The door and window openings and the edges and corners of the tower wall are outlined with orange bricks. . The colors are very beautiful. Starting from the fifth floor, the height of each floor is gradually reduced, which looks light and handsome.
I remember that in Zhengding in 2009, we once boarded this pagoda. This is the transcript of that year:
"At the entrance of the tower, there was a tower watchman who was very serious. Seeing that we wanted to climb the tower, he dissuaded us and said that the stairs of this tower are narrow and steep, and there is no light, so the elderly should not climb the tower. Of course we I insisted on going, and told the administrator that our physical strength is not a problem. The administrator lent us a flashlight for lighting when necessary. I later learned that the flashlight is really useful, and not all tourists can enjoy it treatment.
The stairs to the tower are really narrow and steep, so narrow that only one person can pass through, and the steepness is extremely laborious. If there is no flashlight for lighting, it is really scary. Every time I reach a floor, I come out and let out a long breath. Permeable air, permeable light, sometimes, light and air are indeed equally important. Up to the fourth floor, the floor structure has changed. In the center of the tower stands a sky-reaching column made of several logs tied together. From here the columns go straight to the top of the tower. On each floor, eight radial horizontal beams are connected to the outer eaves from the columns. It is said that such a structure is the only one in the country.
Go up layer by layer until you reach the top of the tower. Looking from the tower window, I feel relaxed and happy. Back at the bottom of the tower, the administrator praised us for our good physical strength, and at this moment we were really quite proud. "
There is also a thousand-year-old locust tree in Tianning Temple, which is also a major attraction in the temple.
After watching the Lingxiao Tower, I took the battery car to Linji Temple again.
Although Linji Temple is small, its reputation spreads far and wide overseas. It turns out that Linji Temple is the ancestral home of Linji Sect, one of the five major branches of Zen Buddhism.
The predecessor of Linji Temple was Linji Temple, which was founded in the second year of Xinghe in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (AD 540). It is located in Linji Village, two miles southeast of Zhengding City. In the eighth year of Tang Xuanzong's Dazhong (854 AD), an eminent monk Yixuan came here to preside over the work. This Yixuan was originally from Nanhua, Caozhou (now Dongming County, Shandong). In order to seek the true meaning of Buddhism, he traveled all over the world and studied Buddhist theories. When he presided over the Linji Academy, he combined the Zen theory in southern China with the specific practice in the north, creatively developed the Zen theory, founded the Linji School, and created a new situation for the development of Zen.
In the eighth year of Tang Xiantong (867 A.D.), Yixuan passed away, and Emperor Yizong bestowed him the posthumous title of "Master Huizhao Shan". In memory of his mentor, his disciples built a mantle pagoda in the city called "Chengling Pagoda". Later, the temple moved along with the pagoda, and Linji Temple moved to the side of the pagoda to become the current Linji Temple. During the Dading period of the Jin Dynasty (l161-l189), the temple was rebuilt. In the twelfth year of Yongzheng (1734) of the Qing Dynasty, Yixuan was granted the title of "Zen Master Zhenchang Huizhao" by Yin frame. And on the arched lintel on the front of the first floor of the tower, a stone plaque of "Tang Linji Huizhao Chengling Pagoda" was inlaid in seal script.
Rinzai Sect spread overseas and was introduced to Japan, becoming one of the main sects of Japanese Buddhism. Japanese monks recognize Linji Temple as their ancestral home and Chengling Pagoda as their ancestral pagoda. In recent years, disciples have come to visit the ancestral pagoda many times, and the Chengling Pagoda has become a bond of friendship between the Chinese and Japanese people from generation to generation.
After 1986, buildings such as Daxiong Hall, Faru Hall, Chuandeng Hall and Shanmen Hall were rebuilt successively, making it a famous temple in Zhengding.
It's a pity that when we came to Linji Temple, the gate was closed tightly, and we were slammed once. So this time I can only see the mountain gate of Linji. The mountain gate is five rooms wide, hanging on the top of the mountain. The horizontal plaque on the gate is titled "Linji Temple", and there is a pair of couplets hanging on both sides: "Strong Lie Zongfeng, drink and disperse the clouds, Zen and moonlight;
The exposed Chengling Pagoda can be seen from outside the wall.
This photo was taken during my last visit.
Chengling Pagoda is commonly known as Yibo Pagoda, because it is made of green bricks, it is also commonly known as Qing Pagoda. It is a national key cultural relics protection unit. The following paragraph is also the record of the last visit:
Chengling Pagoda is a solid tower with dense eaves, with nine floors and a height of 30.7 meters. Under the pagoda is an octagonal stone platform, on which there is a xumizuo. The waist part is carved with various exotic flowers and birds. Then there are imitation wood brick carved bucket arches, flat seats and railings. On top of that are three layers of brick-carved lotus leaves, on which the whole pagoda rests.
The first floor of the tower is the highest. There are arched false doors on the front and flower lattice false windows on the sides. Because it is a solid tower, the doors and windows are just decorations. Make a circle at the corner to lean against. The storey height above the second floor is very short. It seems that the eaves overlap with each other, and the double eaves are densely covered, which has a special aesthetic feeling. On the top of the pagoda, there are brick-carved brake seats, and there are iron-cast Xianglun, Yangyue and Baozhu. The entire pagoda is cleverly shaped, finely carved and richly decorated, and can be called a masterpiece among the pagodas with dense eaves. It is a pity that this tower has been in disrepair for a long time, and what we see now is the new tower after the overhaul in 1985. Although the pagoda has a new look, its value is not as good as the old one.
This is the Daxiong Palace that was photographed last time. The couplets on both sides of the gate are worth reading: "If you can have all the good fruits in your heart, you will naturally grow osmanthus in autumn and grow orchid buds in spring; to make a blessing in our door, it is only a few incense sticks and a few Buddha's chant". The confrontation that is almost vernacular requires more effort.
There is also a Kaiyuan Temple in Zhengding, but due to time constraints, it was too late to go. But we have been there in 2009. An excerpt from a record of that year is used to fill in the gaps. The photos posted were also taken last time:
Kaiyuan Temple, formerly known as Jingguan Temple, was built in the second year of Xinghe in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (540 A.D.). In the 11th year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign (591 A.D.), it was renamed Jiehui Temple. During the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, it was changed to Kaiyuan Temple.
Kaiyuan Temple is now in decay, and only the bell tower, brick pagoda and Tianwang Hall are left in the temple to visit.
There is a huge camel stele in the temple. It is about 8.3 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and 2.35 meters high. There is also a remnant of a huge stele and stone carvings on the top of the stele. Judging from the top of this stele, the size of this stele might have created a Guinness record.
This monument was moved here after it was unearthed in Fuqian Street in June 2000. There are different opinions about the origin of the stele. Some people speculate that it was chiseled by An Chongrong, the Jiedu envoy of the Five Dynasties, when he conspired to rebel. Later, the rebellion failed, and the monument was smashed and buried in the ground. It was not until it was excavated thousands of years later that it was seen again.
Thinking about An Chongrong, the rebellion has not yet succeeded, but he digs such a large monument first, as if he was afraid that others would not know that he was going to rebel. It was hasty and stupid.
In other temples, the pagodas are on the central axis, and the bell tower and the drum tower are opposite each other. In Kaiyuan Temple, the tower and the bell tower face each other. It is said that this layout is unique in the whole country.
The tower of Kaiyuan Temple is called "Xumi Pagoda", and the local people also call it the Wild Goose Pagoda. The Wild Goose Pagoda was first built in the tenth year of Zhenguan in Tang Dynasty (AD 636). It is square in plane and has nine floors. The tower is 40.82 meters high and is entirely made of bricks. There are stone statues of wrestlers at the four corners at the bottom of the Sumeru Pagoda. King Kong is glaring, and the shape is very vivid.
There is a palace of heavenly kings under the tower. The single room has a wide surface and hangs on the top of the mountain. It looks like a small bungalow.
Corresponding to the Wild Goose Pagoda on the west side is the Bell Tower on the east side. There is no exact record of when the bell tower was first built, but it is estimated that it was built in the late Tang Dynasty. It was repaired in Ming and Qing dynasties. In 1988, the bell tower was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. In 1990, the restorative reconstruction was carried out.
The bell tower has a single room with a wide surface, a single eaves and two drops of water, and a double-storey pavilion. It is 14 meters high. There is a concave well in the middle of the bottom floor, which is opposite to the bell mouth above. A big clock hangs on a wooden frame on the second floor. The bell is 2.9 meters high and the bell mouth is 1.56 meters in diameter. The shape is simple and dignified. The amazing thing is that the bell and the bell tower are a mechanical whole, and the stability of the bell tower is maintained by the weight of the big clock. According to the local people, when the bell falls, the building will collapse.
According to reports, in 1952, Professor Hua Luogeng came here to inspect the bell tower. It took more than eight days to calculate the relationship between the stress structure of the building and the weight of the big clock. Hua Luogeng first said: "This clock can't be heavier or lighter, and the wooden structure, length, thickness, and radiation direction of this building can't be any worse. It's built in this way, hung up in this way, and the weight of the clock happens to be the same. Not at all, but it is as strong as a very wonderful nail." It is said that the mechanical structure math problem between the building and the clock has not yet been solved.
I don't know if such legends are a bit exaggerated.
Finally, we came to the south gate of Zhengding Ancient City.
Zhengding Ancient City Wall has a history of more than 1,600 years. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the city wall was built of earth, and in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, it was changed to stone. In the Tang Dynasty, it was re-expanded into an earthen city. In the Ming Dynasty, it was corrected and designated as Zhengdingfu. The existing Zhengding City Wall is the remains of the Ming Dynasty City Wall.
The most spectacular parts of Zhengding City Wall are the four city gates. The east gate is called Yingxu, which was later changed to Huancui, the south gate is called Changle, the west gate is called Zhenyuan, and the north gate is called Yong'an. Later, only the south gate remained, while the west gate and north gate had collapsed, and the east gate was demolished due to road construction. The South Gate Tower and the 50-meter city walls on both sides, as seen now, were restored in 2001 with an investment of 3.99 million yuan.
Ascending the tower, you can overlook the street view in the ancient city. Four of the ancient pagodas are faintly visible. I also wanted to watch the night view of the ancient city after dinner here. Unexpectedly, the weather was not beautiful, and it began to rain. So it was worth taking a taxi back to the hotel. In this way, the one-day visit is over. The next day, according to the itinerary plan, I took the high-speed train back to Taiyuan. Officially started the trip to Shanxi in early summer.
