Thick war friendship, care and love connected! This is an event that the reporter participated in recently. It was carefully planned and organized by Zhao Xiangjie and Zhang Qiuyue, the conveners of Beijing Target Action, Geng Heping, Zou Xiaofei and others. Comrades from the eight regiments of the Heilongjiang Production and Construction Corps of the former Shenyang Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army participated in the event. "Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon" deeply felt after inspecting the wind-collecting activities.
On the morning of October 8, 2021, 40 group members from all directions in the capital gathered at the Anhui Building, the departure gathering place, and waited for departure. Whoever wanted to wait for the bus to travel was late, and it didn't arrive until 08:35. Facing the long wait in the cold weather, everyone was a little unhappy.
However, when the car started, seeing the heavy traffic along the line and the severe traffic jam, coupled with the witty opening remarks and sincere apologies of the organizers Geng Heping and Zhao Xiangjie, everyone quickly turned their unhappiness into The laughter of understanding... So, the next exciting and exciting journey has really kicked off...
It may also be God's reward for everyone waiting for the car in the cold early morning. On that day, it caught up with a sunny day. The bus left Beijing and drove onto the expressway. There were few vehicles along the way, and the scenery outside the window was endless. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding scenery of the Badaling Great Wall came into people's eyes one after another.
At 13:30, the Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon tour team arrived at the first stop, the famous wooden pagoda in Ying County, Shanxi after nearly five hours of driving. In order to make up for the long waiting time for everyone this morning, Zhao Xiangjie, the president of the organizer Target Action Cultural Tourism Group, changed the lunch that he had originally planned to take care of himself to host a banquet at Fengzeyuan Hotel in Yingxian County. The sumptuous dishes allowed everyone to enjoy an emotional Shanxi-style lunch after traveling.
At 14:30, the reporter walked with the team to the famous Wooden Pagoda Scenic Area in Ying County. In front of the archway in the scenic spot, the team took the first group photo after the trip. Afterwards, under the guidance of the local tour guide, they entered the scenic area. At the same time, the tour guide's vivid explanations also began to ring in people's ears.
Located in Fogong Temple in the northwest of Ying County, Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, the Sakyamuni Pagoda, commonly known as Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, is called Fogong Temple Sakyamuni Pagoda. Built in the second year of Liao Qingning (1056 A.D. in the third year of Song Zhihe), and completed in the sixth year of Jin Mingchang (1195 A.D. in the first year of Qingyuan in the Southern Song Dynasty), it is the tallest, oldest and only wooden tower in China. architecture. Together with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy and the Eiffel Tower in Paris, it is also known as the "three strange towers in the world". In 2016, Shakya Pagoda was recognized by Guinness World Records as the tallest wooden pagoda in the world.
As the oldest wooden pagoda in the world, the Yingxian wooden pagoda is 67.31 meters high, with a bottom diameter of 30.27 meters and a plane octagonal shape. Consumables for the whole tower are 3000 cubic meters of red pine wood, more than 2600 tons, pure wood structure, no nails and no rivets.
According to textual research, in the past thousand years, in addition to being eroded by day and night, four seasons, wind, frost, rain and snow, the wooden pagoda in Yingxian County has also suffered many strong earthquakes. .
According to historical records, in April of the ninth year of Dade in the Yuan Dynasty, a strong earthquake of magnitude 6.5 occurred on Datong Road, which was as loud as thunder and affected the wooden pagoda. During the reign of Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a great earthquake in Yingzhou for seven days, and all the houses beside the pagoda collapsed, but the wooden pagoda stood still.
In modern times, several major earthquakes in Xingtai, Tangshan, Datong, and Yanggao all affected Yingxian County. The wooden pagoda swayed greatly, and all the wind chimes rang, which lasted for more than a minute. After that, the wooden pagoda still stood tall. The ruthless lightning strikes and the long-term strong winds outside the Great Wall have all exerted lustful power on the wooden pagoda.
Especially during the warlord melee in 1926, the wooden pagoda in Yingxian County was shot more than 200 rounds, and the bullet marks are still visible. However, the wooden tower is strong and unyielding, and it still stands proudly, piercing the sky.
The literati in Yingxian County in ancient and modern times have researched the historical origin of their place names in many ways. Ming Tianhui once explained that it was named after the echo of the two mountains of Longshou in Yanmen, which is obviously a deliberate attachment. According to the Buddhist scriptures, the sacred objects of the Buddha "respond to the way of heaven at the top, and respond to the group of sprouts at the bottom, and they are actually corresponding to the earth." "Tiandao, Qunmeng" means the gods in the sky, all living beings on the ground, and the place where the Buddha's bones and spiritual teeth appear, which is "Yingdi".
The origin of Yingxian County's ancient name "Yingzhou" is the same. A pair of Buddha teeth reappeared in the human world in Ying County, the "Yingdi", which shows a special karma here. Ying County must be the Ying County of the world, and the Sakyamuni Pagoda is of course the only place where the Buddha reappeared in the world.
Wandering in the wooden pagoda scenic area, looking up at the towering wooden pagoda under the blue sky and white clouds is very spectacular. I can't help feeling that the ancients have a high level of technology to solve architectural problems, and even modern people find it incredible.
Especially when you look closely at its architecture, you can feel the profoundness of ancient Chinese architectural art. For example, the outer eaves of the corridor at the bottom of the tower are supported by 24 wooden pillars, and each pillar on the lower floor bears 120 tons at rest. However, there is no mortar at all under the pillars, and the section of the wooden pillars directly standing on the stone foundation is truly amazing. Today people are amazed. It is said that a curious person once held a thin rope with both hands and crossed it between the stone foundation and the wooden pillar. Therefore, there are folk legends that 24 wooden pillars take turns intermittently.
Walking into the pagoda, you will face the Sakyamuni Buddha statue on the first floor, which is 11 meters high. Looking up in the pagoda, you will feel even more majestic. Surrounding it are murals of King Kong, Heavenly King, disciples, and supporters. The brushwork is delicate and vivid, which is a unique painting style of the Liao Dynasty.
The whole tower is equipped with wooden stairs, which can be climbed to each floor step by step. Each floor has a different landscape. But now, in order to protect cultural relics, it is no longer possible to climb up the stairs and overlook the scenery outside the tower. But the landscape inside the tower can still be savored and admired carefully.
In particular, the tour guide's eloquent explanation of the layers that cannot be climbed can be regarded as making up for the regret of not being able to climb the tower. On the second floor, due to the light coming from all directions, it suddenly becomes clear. One main Buddha, two Bodhisattvas and two assistants are arranged in a vivid posture.
The third, fourth, and fifth floors also have Buddha statues and Bodhisattva statues. The statues on each layer are different and have different structures. In particular, a pair of silver couplets on the third floor is well written: "If you want to see a thousand miles, pick up your clothes and try to go to the sixth floor"; the wooden couplet on the east and west sides of the outer tank on the third floor reads: "Looking down at the mulberry dry and rolling waves. Lingering like a belt, facing Hengyue Cangcangxiu peaks like a screen', revealing the refreshing scenery of mountains, rivers and trees around. The most special thing is that the Buddha statues enshrined in this pagoda are very large and the statues are very skilled. Among the countless pagodas in China, they are outstanding in terms of architectural technology, interior decoration and sculpture skills.
The group members were really lucky. When they came to visit the Wooden Pagoda in Ying County, Shanxi, they just happened to catch up with the performance of the local opera "Showing Children" in "2021 Shanxi Province's 2021 Performances of Near-Border Operas to Benefit the People". Playing children, also known as Kekeqiang, is one of the traditional operas popular with audiences in Datong, Shanxi.
"Showing children" is a opera with a tune named after its name. It originated from the middle reaches of the Sanggan River. It was active in Datong, Shuozhou, Shenchi and Wuzhai in Northwest Shanxi, and Hohhot and Baotou in Inner Mongolia. It was deeply loved by audiences. . In the Jiaqing and Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty, there was a class society activity for playing children, and it was formed at least before that. Playing children is a wonderful flower in the garden of operas in the motherland, and is praised by experts as a "living fossil in the history of drama".
The trip to the Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon successfully concluded the sightseeing of the wooden pagoda in Yingxian County and continued to drive forward. At 16:40 on the same day, we arrived at the second scenic spot in Shanxi, Shuozhou Chongfu Temple. Here, I was warmly received by Mr. Zhang Qingjun, Secretary-General of Shanxi Shuozhou Tourism Association. Mr. Zhang Qingjun was responsible for explaining Chongfu Temple in person.
Walking into the solemn courtyard of Chongfu Temple, Zhang Qingjun introduced to the group members that Chongfu Temple is located on the east side of the ancient city of Shuozhou, Shanxi Province, and is a national key cultural relic protection unit. Chongfu Temple has Shanmen, Tianwang Hall, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Thousand Buddha Pavilion, Manjusri Hall, Dizang Hall, Three Treasure Hall, Amitabha Hall, Guanyin Pavilion and other buildings. The buildings, statues and murals of the Jin Dynasty in the temple are well preserved, and it is an ancient temple with high historical value.
The temple was first built in the second year of Tang Linde (665), and the main hall, Amitabha Hall, was built in the third year of Jin Xizong Huangtong (1143), with a history of more than 850 years. Its buildings, statues, murals, glass, door and window partitions, plaques under the eaves, ink calligraphy inscriptions and other cultural relics of the Jin Dynasty have survived more than 800 years of cold and heat without damage, which is rare and extremely valuable.
The Amitabha Hall is the main hall and the largest hall in the temple. It is tall and spacious, with green glass trimming on the top of the hall, and the front eaves partitions and window lattices are elegant and exquisite. It is a well-preserved Jin Dynasty work in China. On the Buddhist altar, there are three seated statues of the "Three Sages of the West". On both sides of the main statue, there are four Bodhisattvas and two Vajras. These statues are all original works of the Jin Dynasty, with simple and exquisite molding methods.
The body of Amitabha Hall is located on a tall platform with a height of 2.4 meters, and there is a spacious platform in front of the base, which makes the temple tall and majestic, magnificent and magnificent. Under the eaves of the front of the hall, there is a vertical plaque of "Amitabha Hall", which is the original in the 24th year of Jin Dading (1184). The hall is seven rooms wide, 40.96 meters wide, and four rooms and eight rafters deep, 22.31 meters deep. The hall is on the top of a mountain with a single eaves, with a total height of about 21 meters.
The five rooms in the front of the hall are separated doors, and the open rooms on the back eaves and the two ends are each equipped with two large doors for visitors to enter the hall. In order to expand the internal space area, pay attention to the five rooms, and subtract the central pillars. Only two of the four gold pillars in the front groove are left, and they are moved to the middle line of the second room, which increases the space for the position of the Buddhist altar and the place where the Buddha is worshipped. This kind of pillar reduction The practice of shifting columns is a bold innovation in the history of Chinese architecture.
Walking into the Amitabha Hall, you can see the statues inside, which are distributed on the large Buddha altar with four rooms. Three Saints". On both sides of the main statue, there are four Bodhisattvas serving as threats, with their bodies slightly curved; at the two corners in front of the stage, there are two Vajras standing there, majestic and majestic, with wide-open eyes. It seems that they are fulfilling their respective legal protection duties. These colored sculptures were all created during the construction of the palace. Although they were redecorated in the Ming Dynasty, their shape, body, clothing and appearance have not changed much, and they are still treasures among the statues of the Jin Dynasty in my country.
In addition to the above-mentioned splendid palace buildings, Chongfu Temple also preserves wooden pavilion-shaped Buddhist niches, stone statues of Tang, Liao, and Song dynasties and many unearthed cultural relics. Among them, the stone statues of the Liao Dynasty and the stone pagodas and temples of the Northern Wei Dynasty are also very eye-catching.
After finishing the visit to Chongfu Temple, the first day of the Shanxi-Shaanxi Grand Canyon tour also came to a successful conclusion. In the evening, Zhang Qingjun, on behalf of the tourism industry in Shuozhou, warmly entertained all the team members in Northwest Youmian Village. After tasting an authentic Northwest-style meal, they stayed at Shuozhou Haiyuan Hotel. (Photo: Feng Ganyong)
