Author: Pennesi
Tell us about this trip
48 hours, two days, a walk to go to the south of Chuannan to find the ancient. At the beginning of the trip, I was going to Luxian County, but I found that the beauty on the way - Neijiang and Longchang, after all, more than passed by again and again, until I went deep into it, I found out how regrettable it was to miss it.
The treasure temple by the Tuojiang River hides the imprint of the Tang Dynasty
Neijiang Sacred Water Temple
Taking the opportunity to visit Lu County, the road to Neijiang is also a wish for this city that has repeatedly rubbed shoulders. Before, I only knew that Neijiang had a Zhang Daqian, but I didn't expect that it was actually a treasure town around me. Of course, the purpose of this trip is also the Holy Water Temple, although it shares the same name as many temples in the city's mountains and forests, but it does not prevent it from becoming a unique national security.
When I went, it was just after the epidemic opened, so there were almost no visitors to the whole temple, and the concubine who guarded the door symbolically collected a dollar of incense money at the door. When I first entered the Temple of Sacred Water, it seems that it is not as old as imagined, and it is probably a recent renovation and expansion, and the temple built on the mountain, in addition to the central axis of the building, also extends to the two sides of the multiple courtyards.
According to the stone carvings in the temple, the Holy Water Temple was built during the Tang Xiantong period, and later added in the second year of the Song Dynasty, but unfortunately, it was destroyed by soldiers at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and it was rebuilt again in the Qing KangYong period, so the buildings seen now should be basically Qing Dynasty buildings.
However, just to say the temple building, in fact, there are not many highlights, which may be related to the restoration of posterity, it seems to be considered a sense of age, only the Ming Dynasty stone bridge in the release pool and the Song Dynasty scripture building in front of the Daxiong Treasure Hall, so I began to visit the Holy Water Temple when I was still a little disappointed, until I entered the cave behind the Tibetan Scripture Building, the wonderful of the Holy Water Temple slowly unfolded.
When I first entered the cave, I only felt dim, but the meaning of coolness, instantly swept away the summer heat outside the cave, very quiet, and then a closer look found that this was originally the Tang Dynasty Guanshui Zen master GuanShui enlightenment, the cave deep into a spring of water flowing out of the water, pure and sweet, the temple is also named after it. By the glimmer of light, looking at the surrounding mountain walls, there were originally many cliff statues, but they were seriously weathered, and most of them had been obscured. At this time, I suddenly realized that the real value of the original Holy Water Temple was actually in the statue of Moya, and this cave was just the beginning.
The statues of The Sacred Water Temple continued from the Tang and Song dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the most famous of which were the Statue of the Thousand Hands Guanyin in the Late Tang Dynasty and the Twelve Circles of the Song Dynasty. The former is not on the central axis, but in the Guanyin Hall on the other side, but this hall is the most active building in the Buddhist activities in the Shengshui Temple, and the phenomenon of heavy makeup in the later period is very serious, the curtain in the hall is thick, the incense is exuberant, and at that time, it was not even felt that this was a stone statue.
The latter should be on the hill behind the sutra building, when he saw a sign that read "Touch the Bodhisattva" and thought there was nothing to miss.
However, there is also a secret cliff carving in the Holy Water Temple, hidden in the Medicine Hall behind the Jade Buddha Hall, which was under renovation at that time, looking chaotic, but after going upstairs, it was like opening a new world, dozens of vivid stone carvings, the subject matter is very extensive, can be seen as a secular Buddhist collection.
Hidden in the city, a rare downtown statue in China
Xianglong Mountain Cliff Statue
Xianglong Mountain Moya statue is probably the most "hidden in the city" of the Moya stone carvings I have visited, if there is no indication of the road sign, who would have thought that next to the busy intersection next to the Neijiang Municipal Government, there is such a large-scale Tang Dynasty mid-to-late Tang Dynasty Moya statues and inscriptions, it is not too much to say that it is a "downtown stone carving", more than a thousand years of history.
Follow the steep mountain road next to the road to climb the steps, and with just over ten steps, you will enter the core area of the Xianglong Mountain Cliff Statue. Stepping into the mountains and forests is like opening up another world, and the quiet and tranquil mountain atmosphere is in strong contrast with the scene of the mountains and the rivers.
According to historical records, Xianglong Mountain was called Xiangshan in ancient times, and the Song Dynasty took over the building in front of the mountain and built the Zisheng Temple. In the 1950s, the survey recorded that the temple was in the suburbs of sanli, only the main hall was a Ming Dynasty building, the hall was heavy eaves and mountain style, three wide rooms, four deep... It is now the auditorium of the Neijiang Special Office. "However, the investigation did not mention the statue. The temple was demolished in the 1960s and a large number of houses were built in the area, and it was not until 2007 that the Cultural Relics Environment began to be renovated, and the Statue of Xianglong Mountain was really unveiled.
The statue of the Thousand Hands Guanyin Shrine is the largest statue in Xianglong Mountain, the statue is nearly 8 meters high, the volume is huge, majestic and gorgeous, all of which are chiseled from the original rock as a whole, especially the details such as arms and magic tools, but unfortunately the face is restored in recent years, and the "perfect" interpretation of what is the sense of violation. Later, I learned from the information that on the cliff wall on the right side of the statue is also engraved an inscription of the third year of the Southern Song Dynasty Chunxi (1176), indicating the construction time of the Buddha statue, but it was not paid attention to at that time.
The periphery of the Senju Kannon shrine is the main statue area of the Xianglong Mountain Cliff Statue, although the Buddha shrine is dense, but the scale is not large, according to the cliff form excavated in different positions, but the weathering of the year, most of them only have the outline, can not be recognized.
One of the relatively clear ones is the statue of Guanyin to the right from King Vishaman.
There is also a figure of a horse on the mountain road, and the horse looks very fat and interesting.
There is also a shrine protected by a pavilion on the mountain road, which is for Amitabha Buddha, 4 meters high, but the Buddha's face is seriously weathered and the arms are also mutilated, but the lines of the clothes are still smooth and bright, and you can still get a glimpse of the exquisite skills of that year. At that time, I did not notice that there was an inscription on the left side of the statue, and later my brain added: "Respect... A shrine of the Buddha, the disciple Zheng Zhong made a wish, and the family was clean and healthy without disease... October 1 of the first year of the Guangming Dynasty", indicating that the construction time of the statue should be the Tang Dynasty.
There are also dozens of niches around the statue of Amitabha Buddha, but they are also vague and the subject matter is difficult to discern, one of which is suspected to be the theme of the Ten Kings of Jizo, but no relevant introduction has been found.
Behind the statue of Amitabha Buddha there is a pool of water, which is not clear, it is also quiet, and the surrounding cliffs have preserved cliff inscriptions from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China. The most famous stone carving of Xianglong Mountain is Zhang Daqian's poetry stele, Mr. Returned from Japan in 1921, at the request of the abbot of Zisheng Temple, it is said that it is the earliest calligraphy inscription of Zhang Daqian found in China so far, but due to the reflection of the glass, it is really difficult to see the contents inside.
At the end of the Statue of Xianglong Mountain, there is actually a fine Western Pure Land Statue, depicting the ultimate goal pursued by the Pure Land Sect, and at that time, for some reason, it was a pity that the ghost made the god miss it.
Why did this place become the "hometown of China's stone arches"
Longchang Stone Arch Tourist Area
Leaving Neijiang all the way south, the next stop is Longchang, known as the "hometown of China's stone arches". Stone arches are actually not uncommon, as a very important type of architecture in traditional Chinese architecture, it has become the spiritual carrier of the centuries and the lifelong pursuit of the ancients.
The reason why Longchang is named "the hometown of stone arches" is that the number and scale of its preservation and exquisite craftsmanship are rare in the country. According to the "Chronicle of Longchang County", there were once as many as 69 stone arches in Longchang City, and there were 171 temples in The Town of Shanmen.
Unfortunately, only 17 have been preserved in Longchang, most of which were built during the Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng years of the Qing Dynasty, spanning more than 300 years. Of the 17 stone arches, 13 are concentrated in Longchang City, and the remaining 4 are scattered in the Longchang countryside. Longchang Stone Arch not only embraces the four types of "loyalty, filial piety, festival and righteousness" in the world, but also has four types: Baishoufang, Zhenshanfang, Shanmenfang and Ornamental Fang.
Time relationship, this time only visited the stone arch group located in Longchang Nanguan, is also one of the most concentrated areas of stone arch in Longchang city, where a total of 6 stone arches stand, from west to east are Guo Yuluan Gongde Fang, Shu Chengxiang Baisheng Fang, Jie Xiao Zong Fang (a total of 2), Li Ji Shou De Zheng Fang, Jue Luo Guo Huan De Zheng Fang, among which there are also 3 dezheng ancient stone monuments of Dezheng in the shade of the Temple, Zheng Tong Ren and Anti-Riot An Liang.
Longchang Stone Arch exquisite craftsmanship needless to say, personally feel that in addition to the intricate production of jiuxiang stone arch is yds, looking at the whole of Sichuan, Longchang stone arch is absolutely top level, the stone arch here is mostly three doors, four pillars, three eaves and five drops of water archway structure, although it is made of stone, it is built with imitation wood structure, plus shallow body, deep body and even hollow carving technique, the whole archway is full of profound cultural connotation and ingenious artistic charm.
Of course, what impresses people more is the story behind the stone arch, it can be said that each stone arch carries the entire spiritual world of the people who set up the arch: such as Guo Yuluan's charity and charity, Shu Chengxiang's hundred-year-old style, Li Jishou's Baojing Anmin, Jueluo Guohuan's integrity and honesty, and the filial piety of many filial piety... Each archway has its own history, and you need to read it slowly to understand the true meaning of its existence.
In addition to the stone arch, now this area of Nanguan has become an antique street, although it is inevitable that there are some cookies, but it carries the fireworks of Longchang, the quiet and leisurely atmosphere, which is the daily life of playing cards and drinking tea around the ancient street, and there is a towering Longchang Pavilion, although it is not an antiquity, it is appropriately immersed in the streets and alleys of the passage of time, as if everything has not changed.
hot spring! hot spring!
Luxian Tianzhan Hot Spring Resort
In fact, I have never thought that Luxian is so beautiful, if it were not for this temporary decision to go to southern Sichuan to find the ancients, I probably would never know this small city hidden in southern Sichuan, in fact, the holiday atmosphere is not lost in Dujiangyan and Mount Emei, all the way is a lake and mountains, the environment is beautiful.
In particular, the Luxian Tianzhan Hot Spring Resort hotel stayed this time not only has a pure natural hot spring, but also is next to the Luxian Song Dynasty Stone Carving Museum, and between them is the Neihu Park of the Seti River, which is only a 10-minute walk. The hot spring is similar to the Qingcheng Road Hot Spring, there are a variety of different medicinal small bubble pools, enjoy the privacy at the same time, but also can completely relax the mood, the only complaint is that the mountain side mosquitoes are really a little bit much.
This treasure museum offers a glimpse into the real Song Dynasty
Luxian Song Dynasty Stone Carving Museum
Last night's rain was endless, but fortunately it finally stopped in the morning, and when I walked out of the room, I felt a little cool and fluttering, sweeping away yesterday's sweltering mood. On the second day of Luxian's visit to ancient times, the first stop was the Luxian Song Tomb. As one of the major archaeological discoveries in the country in 2002, the Luxian Song Tomb is the largest known song dynasty stone carved stone tomb group in the country, with about 500 tombs, which have been found in 19 towns in Luxian County.
Therefore, it is not realistic to punch all the Luxian Song tombs, not to mention that the tomb excavation site has basically been buried, so the best way to open the Luxian Song Tomb is to visit the Luxian Song Dynasty Stone Carving Art Museum, and this museum built based on the Luxian Song Tomb is really more exciting than imagined.
Why I think this museum is particularly shocking, because the entire exhibition of the museum does not have a sense of tomb ghost, but through the wind and dust of history, the secrets buried deep underground are displayed in a modern way, creating a vivid life scene in the Southern Song Dynasty.
The secret buried for thousands of years is the stone carvings in the tomb that embody the aesthetic concepts and carving skills of the Song people, including samurai, servants, four gods, opening doors and tricks. The samurai class is mainly dominated by men with weapons in their hands, which is a bit like the image of the king in Buddhism, flowing and dynamic. The Luxian Song Tomb also unearthed the only female general statue in China.
The waiter class is very realistic, or holding a fan, or holding a pot, or holding a fruit plate, and a square table full of food or a chair in a vacant seat, like the plot of a costume TV series.
The four gods are mainly representing the orientation of the green dragon, white tiger, suzaku, Xuanwu, of which the green dragon and Xuanwu image is easier to identify, the white tiger and the suzaku are a little different from the imagination, personally feel that the white tiger is more like an enlarged version of the rat, suzaku is like a dwarf version of the donkey with wings.
The opening door category is an enduring theme in tomb culture, especially women opening the door. In space, the door seems to be closed, and the narrow distance between the door and the door is just separated from the world inside and outside the door. This door is the boundary between this shore and the other shore, the bridge between the present and the next, and the Song people's understanding of life and death has the color of primitive religious belief.
In addition to the above type of stone carvings, I also saw a lot of stone carvings of flying images in the museum, and I used to think that only Buddhist grottoes like Dunhuang would have the image of flying heavens, but I did not expect that flying heavens were also a kind of prayer for ascension to heaven.
Jade Toad Mountain, the last splendor of the Bashu Grottoes
Jade Toad Mountain
From Luxian to Yutou Mountain, although the distance is not far, but the road up the mountain is potholed, for novices, the lane is still a bit narrow, the wrong car needs to be extra careful.
The mountain gate of Jade Toad Mountain is halfway up the mountainside, and there is no end in sight. Although Jade Toad Mountain is not very famous in China, it is a veritable "Pearl of Southern Sichuan", winning with Mountain You and Shi Qi, and completely losing to Emei and Qingcheng. Of course, the reason why I visited here is because this mountain contains a national security, the Jade Toad Mountain Cliff Statue.
It takes about 20 minutes to hike from the mountain gate to the jade toad mountain cliff statue, and the steep mountain road makes people almost no breathing place, and it is sweaty in summer.
There are more than 400 Ming Dynasty cliff carvings in Yutou Mountain, which can be regarded as the last glory of the Bashu Grottoes. According to historical records, from the second year of Jingfu in the Tang Dynasty, Yuantong Temple was built on Jade Toad Mountain. Every year, the Guanyin Festival, pilgrims and tourists from all over southern Sichuan gather here, the grand occasion is unprecedented, so the Jade Toad Mountain is also known as "Little Treasure Peak". Unfortunately, Yuantong Temple was destroyed during the Qing Dynasty, leaving only the exquisite statues on the cliffs, and the theme is mainly Buddhism, and some are Taoist or secular statues.
The largest niche is the 19th niche "Thousand Hands Guanyin" statue, nearly 6 meters high, concave in the rock surface of half a foot, with 11 heads, 36 hands, each hand of the law enforcement device, each hand engraved with eye qing, like a peacock opening screen, but the face details are more destroyed, it seems that it is not kind enough.
On the lower right side of the Statue of Guanyin is the 24th niche "Nine Dragon Bath Prince", although this niche is not large, but the scene of Shakyamuni's birth is portrayed in three points, especially the nine dragon hollow carvings, the knife technique is exquisite, exquisite and transparent.
However, my favorite is the 16th niche, "Enlightenment Map", the craftsman who created it is too personal, he did not use the usual closed-eye double-plate Buddha sitting posture, but a kind of contemplation leaning against the cliff and leaning on the legs, like you and me in reality. What is more interesting is that most of the caves built on the cliffs are to make full use of the space and arrange the cave niches densely, but here a large mountain body is deliberately left blank for the "Enlightenment Map", which seems to be more in line with the Zen meaning of the Enlightenment.
In addition to the cliff where the Statue of Guanyin is located, the 5th niche" of the slightly farther away niche, "Shakya DharmaTu", is also worth a closer look. In the 4-meter-square niche, there are 56 statues carved, of which Shakya Buddha sits on a lotus in the middle, surrounded by bodhisattvas, arhats, and gods.
There are also some grottoes in Jade Toad Mountain that are completely integrated into the mountain color, such as the Mountain Gorge, which is originally a forced mountain stone canyon, quiet and deep, verdant, but full of statues and inscriptions, which reminds me of the garden of the ancients, and integrates interest and faith in the landscape.
As for the legend of Emperor Jianwen, I personally feel that it is more like the meaning of the appendage of posterity, just in terms of statues, it is far from what I saw before.
Deep in the mountains, an ancient temple, a glimpse of the model of the Sichuan Inner Bucket Arch
Luxian Yuantong Temple
Leaving the Jade Toad Mountain is already afternoon, a pot of delicious meat bean flowers, starting the afternoon visit to Lu County. However, the first stop was accidentally punched and failed, and the Dragon Brain Bridge, which was most expected, encountered the rising water of the Jiuqu River, which actually submerged the entire bridge underwater.
So I temporarily changed the route to The Qu Manor, and on the way, you can punch in the newly promoted Guobao Yuantong Temple. Say that it is a national security, but more like a rural wild temple, after navigating to the farmland deep in the hills on the mobile phone, it actually shows that the destination has arrived, but looking around, there is no trace of the temple, so I have to continue to move forward with a hard scalp, fortunately, I found a farmer not far away, and I asked to know that the Yuantong Temple is nearby, but hidden in the top of the hill, no wonder how to see it has not been found.
So under the guidance of the villagers, I finally found the path up the mountain, the humble national security monument, just in the farmland under the mountain, and it was easy to miss it if I didn't pay attention. The mountain road is not far, after a few turns to reach the Yuantong Temple, but the temple door is locked, do you want to eat the closed door soup?
Fortunately, there is a family on the mountain, a question to know that the temple key is in their home, after a difficult communication, the aunt opened the temple door for us, but she should have thought that we came to burn incense, and has been selling us all kinds of incense wax.
Yuantong Temple was built in the first year of Ming Zhengde (1506), rebuilt in the 36th year of the Wanli Calendar (1608), and repaired in the fourth year of Qing Guangxu (1878), and is an ancient architectural temple with a wooden and stone structure. Probably because of the maintenance in recent years, the temple as a whole looks new, but fortunately, the beams, bucket arches, etc. should be the original objects of the year, so you can still glimpse some of the shadows of the old time.
Looking at the information, Yuantong Temple originally had three major halls, but at present only the front hall, the middle hall and the right wing room remain, the scale is not large, especially the cartoon texture sculptures inside, it is also speechless, less than 5 minutes can be completed, visual inspection is only the middle hall There are still some points to see, and the door also says "Here is a dangerous room, it is strictly forbidden to enter"...
Look at the introduction, the middle hall of The Yuantong Temple is a relatively high level in the village temple, the building surface is 12 meters wide, the depth is 11 meters, the height is 9 meters, it is a double eaves mountain roof, a beam-type roof truss, and the rafters are supported by bucket arches around the eaves, and the bucket arch is a total of sixty French-shaped systems for the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it is estimated that the preservation is relatively complete in the ancient buildings in Chuannei.
In general, the luxian Yuantong Temple is still relatively general, if it is in Shanxi, it may be difficult to even evaluate the county bao, so you can come to see it along the way, and it is a bit unnecessary to go on a special trip.
The largest manor in southern Sichuan, a different magical castle
Wych's Manor
Qu's Manor is farther than expected, it takes about 40 minutes by car from Luxian County, and it is difficult to imagine that a manor of this scale is hidden in such a remote township.
To tell the truth, there is no expectation for this manor before going, after all, the fame of the Dayi Liu Manor in Sichuan is far above it, but the first sight of the Qu's Manor is deeply attracted - this is a high-walled watchtower-style manor, completely unlike the courtyard connected courtyard residential style that you usually see, more like the complex of Fujian's enclosure + Chuanxi Diaolou, of course, the wall is still familiar with the Chuannei residential style.
Qu's manor was founded in the Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty, starting from Qu Yingxuan, who was the governor at that time, and the descendants continued to improve and repair it, and by the time of his grandson Qu Hengsheng, he became a large landlord on the rich side of Luzhou, and the manor also reached its peak, covering an area of more than 30 acres, with more than 180 rooms and a fire brick wall of 8 meters high, which strictly barricaded the noisy world from the wall.
In the manor, the central building complex built during the Daoguang years adopts a symmetrical layout of the central axis, and the inner theater building combines the Western-style gallery and the Chinese-style stage to form a soft and solemn overall silhouette; the white walls, green bricks, and dewa, the tone is fresh and elegant; the carved beams and cornices show the graceful beauty and restrained temperament of the land of Bashu.
The entire complex has 48 large and small flower halls and patios, mainly decorated middle halls, layout left and right flower halls, bedrooms, accounting rooms, study rooms, box rooms, indoor and outdoor spaces are harmonious and beautiful, can not help but lament the unique ingenuity of the owner of the manor in space treatment, and its layout just highlights the late Qing Dynasty and early Minchuan region of the dignity and inferiority, the order of the elder and the young, the difference between men and women, the distinction between inside and outside and other patriarchal ethical ideas.
The decorative details of Qu's Manor are also particularly interesting, whether it is brick carving, wood carving, stone carving, clay sculpture, painting, etc., there is a low-key gorgeous feeling, rich and exquisite, but it will not make people feel particularly eye-catching and cumbersome. Personal favorite is still the stage in the manor, the combination of Chinese and Western cultures is just right: just look at the window, the bottom is composed of all squares, and the top of the window is both arched and spire-shaped, like a wisp of exotic wind.
However, the manor makes me most interested in the tower, after all, climbing the tower, you can overlook the entire manor, but several towers are not open, the iron general locked the door, it is also a pity, but standing under the tower, you can still see the bullet holes upstairs, these remnants of the past war, but also witnessed the fierceness of the bandits in the 50s of the last century, even such an easy to defend and difficult to attack "castle", can not change the pace of the times.
Friends who want to go need to pay attention to the fact that the opening hours of Qu's Manor are more special, only open on weekends and holidays, not most museums are closed on Mondays a week.
Bidding farewell to Qu's Manor, this search for the ancients in southern Sichuan has also come to an end, and I hope there is still a chance to meet you through time!