Xinmin Evening News reporter Zhu Yuan
Longhua Pagoda, which enjoys the reputation of "crown of the pagoda", was built in the second year of the Taiping Revival of the Northern Song Dynasty (977 AD), and is the best-preserved brick-hearted wooden eaves pagoda of the Song Dynasty in Shanghai. Although the ancient pagoda has experienced major damage such as lightning strikes and wars for thousands of years, it has been preserved under the restoration and protection of generations of people. In October last year, scaffolding was erected around Longhua Pagoda, which attracted the attention of many citizens. After 9 months of maintenance, the majestic and quaint Longhua Pagoda has returned to people's vision.
Pictured: LongHua Pagoda Xinmin Evening News reporter Li Mingzhen photo (the same below)
Standing on the renovated Longhua Square, looking up is the Longhua Pagoda hidden in the light, echoing the Aesthetic Minimalist design of the Song Dynasty, reflecting the entire ancient pagoda in the shallow pool, evoking the artistic conception of the old "Qiujiang Pagoda Shadow", and the rows of ginkgo trees sprinkle a golden yellow, retaining the hurried footsteps of passers-by. Compared with the Song Dynasty relics preserved in the suburbs and suburbs of Shanghai, Longhua Pagoda, which is only 4 kilometers away from Xujiahui, is the most familiar and intimate Relics of the Song Dynasty that "lives" around people.
Today's "journey to find the Song Dynasty", you may wish to start from the side of the "search".
After suffering, its "heart" is still the same
Longhua Pagoda, also known as "Bao'en Pagoda", is said to have been built by Sun Quan to repay his mother's favor, and later destroyed by soldiers. According to the Chronicle of Yunjian ( Yunjian Zhi ) , in the second year of the Taiping Revival of the Northern Song Dynasty ( 977 AD ) , Qian Li , the King of Wuyue , ordered Zhang Rentai to build a temple and pagoda. In the third year of Zhiping (1066), Emperor Yingzong of Song gave the plaque of "Kongxiang Temple", rebuilt the Great Buddha Hall, restored the pagoda, and Longhua Temple was renamed Kongxiang Temple. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the temple was destroyed, while the pagoda survived.
Pictured: Longhua Pagoda has eight sides and a total of seven floors
The over 1,000-year-old Longhua Pagoda has eight sides and a total of seven floors, counting from the ground floor of the corridor to the spire, with a total height of 41.03 meters. The Longhua Pagoda that people can see now was restored in 1954 under the guidance of cultural relics experts, so that its style shows a typical Song Dynasty loft-style tower, and most of its brick heart (also known as the "tower heart") has also survived since the Song Dynasty.
Due to the need for cultural relics protection, Longhua Pagoda is not open to climb the tower, but around the tower, you can still see the wind bones of Song Dynasty architecture from the cornices that can be selected from the outside of the bucket arch. Su Xinbao, the chief designer who presided over the maintenance of the latest Longhua Pagoda, pointed to the Longhua Pagoda that had just completed the "whole body maintenance" behind him and said: "The most significant thing is the eaves of the tower, the eaves are far-reaching, if you get closer, you can find the Song-style brick arch forehead and the Mandarin duck on the eaves corner, and the eight eaves corners of the tower hang the wind duo, that is, the copper bell." "When the whole city is gradually quiet in the evening, walking by the tower, you can occasionally hear the brass bell being caressed by the wind and making a fine and crisp jingle bell.
Pictured: The eight cornices of the tower are hung with wind doves
The outer eaves of Longhua Pagoda were once restored to the appearance of the Jiangnan Pagoda of the Qing Dynasty at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and its "return to basics" benefited from an overhaul in the 1950s. That restoration project, under the guidance of Mr. Liu Dunzhen of Nanjing Institute of Technology (now Southeast University) and Mr. Chen Congzhou of Tongji University, was that during the restoration process, people found the Song-style brick arch forehead and mandarin duck arch in the eaves corner of the tower, and the Song Dynasty Wadang under the tower, with the proportion and detail characteristics of the tower, it was confirmed that the existing Longhua Pagoda was built in the Song Dynasty.
Although it has been destroyed by soldiers twice, and has encountered lightning and war, the Longhua Pagoda, which has endured hardships, no matter how its face changes, its "heart" is still the same. As the design team understood in the process of research - it is a "heart" that has been passed down from the "Song" to the present and has lasted for thousands of years.
Pictured: Long Huata's "heart" is still the same
The whole old is as old as ever, and the life is prolonged
The ancient tower is like an old man, and it is natural to maintain it properly to prolong life. Before formulating the maintenance plan, the design team went through a large number of historical materials, and coincidentally, the overhaul in the 1950s was also responsible for the repair and design of the Shanghai Civil Hospital of East China Construction Group. Longhua Tower's maintenance plan demonstration was officially launched in one year, which can be described as cautious and cautious. Su Xinbao said: "Longhua Pagoda is a man-made building built thousands of years ago, how to combine modern technology and traditional craftsmanship to achieve the ideal balance is a task to be completed by today's people." ”
The whole old is the same, naturally can not make a big fuss, but to "refined" nursing. From the tower brakes, tiles, roofs, ridges, ruyi, bucket arches, paint, railings, to the paving tiles on the walls and floors... In order to make the pagoda show its Song style, the engineering team will focus on the maintenance of the tower top tower brake gourd with gold leaf, roof scar repair, heavy paint and demolition of the tower body "proliferation" light, "not only to let the ancient tower retain the simple and simple meaning of the Song Dynasty aesthetics, but also to wipe off the dust and frost for it, and to renew its appearance." ”
Pictured: Longhua Pagoda
The maintenance involved 13 maintenance items and 10 traditional crafts, including small green brick paving, tower railing renovation, ridge repair, etc. In order to avoid unnecessary wear and tear caused by the bearing of the ancient tower, the engineering team set up a completely independent scaffolding around the tower, like a golden bell cover, which was protected for easy repair, but did not focus on the main body of the tower. This scaffolding alone took 4 months. The wooden component "Beauty" adopts the traditional southern Cantonese lacquer, specially invited non-genetic inheritors to adjust the formula according to the temperature and humidity of Shanghai, and after a layer of brushing with two paints, it is like adding a protective film to the wooden component, corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, acid-resistant, heat-resistant, water-insulated, and full of special luster.
The tower brake gourd at the top of Longhua Tower, the last time it was repaired with gold leaf was in 1984, before maintenance, it was mottled and rusty, and the gold leaf was seriously defective. To make the tower brake gourd shine again, it is necessary to reattach the gold leaf. In the past, the gilding process was used, considering that this process required mercury, and mercury evaporation would disperse toxic substances to the air, so it was replaced by gold. The gold leaf used in the gourd is extremely light and fine, with a thickness of only 0.01 microns and a weight of only 0.0285 grams per sheet. Paste gold leaf, first covered with paper, light brush and then blow a breath, gold leaf will be attached to it, if this breath is blown lightly, gold leaf is not firmly attached, blowing heavy will be scattered in the air, just like cosmetic surgery, extremely test the craftsmanship of craftsmen.
Pictured: The pagoda brake gourd at the top of longhua pagoda is pasted with gold leaf, which tests the craftsmanship of craftsmen
Guta looks back at the world for a thousand years
Before Shanghai was a county and just a tidal flat, Longhua Pagoda was already towering. Originally, it was the "guiding light" for fishing boats in this area, and in the hearts of fishermen who ate the sea by the sea, the pagoda could not only guard one side, but also protect peace. With the development of civilization and the change of years, this beach is also a sea of mulberry fields. Guta look back, the world is a thousand years! Liu Jie, a professor in the Department of Architecture of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, has led students to observe and inspect Longhua Pagoda many times to understand the architecture of the Song Dynasty, in his view: "Architecture is a witness to the historical changes of a city, its craftsmanship represents the development of science and technology, and its style represents the height of artistic aesthetics." "From Longhua Temple, Longhua Pagoda, and then Longhuapu, Longhua Village, Longhua Township, Longhua District, Longhua Town, every year in the third month of the lunar calendar, peach blossoms bloom, and the lively temple fair has also begun, pilgrims, merchants, customers and flower admirers flock to the city. He Yuan, a citizen who once lived nearby, still remembers the scene of being brought to the temple fair by his grandmother when he was a child, although later when his grandmother's family was demolished, she also traveled far away to study, but often remembered the Longhua Pagoda that could be seen from a distance by opening the window: "I also found out because of the recent 'Song Search Fever' that it was actually the 'Song Dynasty Emissary' that has survived to this day." ”
With the development of Xuhui Riverside, a large number of old public houses from Longhua Pagoda to the river have been demolished, and old neighbors have scattered things, but they will always return to Longhua Pagoda to gather together. Chen Meifen, who has lived in Longhua for decades, now moves to Pudong with her son, and will return to Longhua once a month, go to Longhua Temple to incense, and then meet with old neighbors. It was only in the past that the grandmothers would meet in the small hotel, and after the reconstruction of Longhua Square, their stronghold was changed to starbucks diagonally opposite the ancient tower. "Speaking of Longhua's great changes, it is really big, and now there are theaters and movie theaters here, and the houses are built like foreign countries." Chen Apo pointed to the newly built Longhua Square opposite and said: "Now this place has become a square, and a lot of ginkgo trees have been planted, and half of this square used to have an antique mall with a corridor, selling snacks and tea." "But no matter how it changes, it will not be directionless." The old neighbor next to him laughed and said, "Long Hua Pagoda is always here!" ”
Reporter's Note 丨 Seeing History and Looking to the Future
On the day of the shooting of longhua tower, the shooting once gave the photographer a headache, because no matter from which angle the tower was photographed, there would be a "big crane" or a new building under construction "destroying the picture". However, on second thought, this is not exactly the unique landscape of the ancient tower in the rapidly growing city. This is an ancient pagoda that "lives" in the present, and the city is changing rapidly around it, living under its care.
Now walk under the Longhua Pagoda and look around, you can see both the history and the future. Under the tower, there is the Longhua Temple, a thousand-year-old temple, and the longhua Martyrs Cemetery, the place where heroes and martyrs carry the red cultural genes. To the east, there is the Xuhui Riverside with a strong artistic atmosphere, the Long Museum of Art, the West Bund Art Museum, and the Dome Art Center, which has not yet been completed but has staged many experimental works. At the side of the tower, there are modern buildings, including the Shanghai Peking Opera House and the "Zhou Xinfang Theater Space", which inherit the essence of the country, and the Duoyunxuan Art Center, which integrates museums, art galleries and Dolby cinemas. If you go north along Tianyaoqiao Road, it is Xujiahui, the most prosperous in the southwest corner of Shanghai.
The ancient Longhua Pagoda, just like the watchman of this land, the sun rises and sets, the bucket turns to the stars, let the scenery at the foot of the tower change and change, it has always been in a simple and upright posture, standing on the banks of the Pujiang River, listening to the hopes and wishes in people's hearts, carrying people's hopes and beliefs in the future, from the Song Dynasty to the present, endless life.
Longhua Temple
Address: No. 2853 Longhua Road
Environmentally friendly travel: Metro Line 11 and Line 12 can be reached at Longhua Station
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