More than 1300 years ago,
On the cliffs on the east side of the Fenhe River in Huozhou,
A statue of a cliff and a mountain are one,
The statue of the Great Buddha is solemn and majestic,
Statues of bodhisattvas and Guanyin are scattered throughout the cave niches of the cliffs...
Unfortunately,
Between the vicissitudes of the mulberry fields,
This cliff is no longer noticed.
Between the buckets and the stars,
More great Buddhas and bodhisattvas have "appeared",
And in the process of archaeologists digging a little bit,
It's like opening a blind box,
Surprises unfold one by one on the cliff wall,
What makes the archaeological story that it is today.
▲ Shanxi Evening News reported on January 13, 2022
There is no record in the history books The origin has become a historical mystery
Huozhou Thousand Buddha Cliff Statue is located on the cliff on the east bank of the Fenhe River, 7 kilometers southwest of Huozhou City, with a north-south direction, about 30 meters long, and the total height of the cave niches is about 11 meters. The cliff backs the mountain and faces the water, backed by Guozhuang Village in Xinzhi Town, east of the 108 National Highway (Huohou First Class Highway), only 3 meters apart, 180 meters west of the Huozhou Power Plant, the Fenhe River flows south from the west.
Speaking of its discovery, it is really a legend.
"The Thousand Buddha Cliff was founded in the Tang Dynasty, but in the local records after the Tang Dynasty, there are no records about it, and it is not until the local records of the middle and late Qing Dynasty that there are only a few records by chance. Regarding its original appearance and the reasons for its excavation, there is no way to pass the history books. Bai Shuzhang, a major participant in the project and a staff member of the Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute, told the Shanxi Evening News that the Thousand Buddha Cliffs were registered at the time of the third national cultural relics census (2007-2011) in Shanxi Province.
▲Panorama of Thousand Buddha Cliffs
Why is there no record of this mountain in the history books? Bai Shuzhang once thought about this problem, and finally found that it is close to the Fenhe River, and even in the process of excavation, the position of the smallest layer of the Cliff Statue is lower than the water level of the Fenhe River, so it is possible that between the years, the mountain has been flooded by the river, so its existence has become a "mystery".
When did the Cliff of a Thousand Buddhas "expose" its identity? At present, there is no way to verify, but Bai Shuzhang introduced that as early as before the founding of New China, the local government had opened a mountain here to build a road, and the mountain where the Thousand Buddha Cliff is located may be a "remnant" of a split into two, which is also exposed in the public eye. "No one knows when it began, and part of the Buddha's body was exposed in the mountains, and the people felt very magical." At this point, the statue of the Thousand Buddha Cliffs has been included in the immovable cultural relics database of our province. "Before 2010, only the figure of the Giant Buddha was revealed on the cliff wall, but between 2015 and 2017, the local embankment was reinforced, and the cliff body at the bottom of the Buddha and on the north and south sides was finally exposed, and the cliff body buried in the mounds and silt gradually became clear."
▲North District statue
Time turned to 2020, Shanxi Province launched a special investigation of the Grotto Temple, the investigation of the Thousand Buddha Cliffs, just when the local government is about to carry out reinforcement protection and repair projects on the Thousand Buddha Cliffs, it invited professional archaeologists to settle in and explore the original appearance of the Thousand Buddha Cliffs together.
After arduous archaeological excavations, the latest data were finally obtained, the cliff wall of the Thousand Buddha Cliffs was 11 meters high, about 30 meters long, and the area of the statue was mainly distributed within a range of 200 square meters. According to preliminary statistics, there are nearly 300 statues in more than 70 niches, and 20 memorials have been found. Archaeologists not only brought a large number of stone Buddha statues to light, but also cleaned their surfaces.
At this point, the Thousand Buddha Cliffs, which listened to the roaring sound of fenshui and were concerned with the sound of Sanskrit, were able to show their true appearance.
▲ Left: One Buddha and two bodhisattva niches
Right: One Buddha, two bodhisattvas, two disciples like a merit monument niche
The statue was excavated during the Gaowu period
The five "Eleven-Sided Guanyin" have become typical representatives
After a series of archaeological excavations, archaeologists found that the northern area of the cliff body is a dense distribution area of statues, with the Big Buddha as the main statue, and the rest of the niches are distributed in the south, north and lower parts, which can be divided into 8 layers. In particular, the statue of the main Buddha is a seated Buddha with a height of 6 meters.
"After a series of comparisons, starting from the era of the excavation of the Buddha statue and the appearance of the statue, we compared some Tang Dynasty Buddhist statues in China, and finally determined that the earliest era of the excavation of the main statue should be in the Tang Gao (Gaozong) Wu (Wu Zetian) period." Bai Shuzhang said that the relationship between these 8 layers is also interlocked, and at the same time reflects the different periods experienced by the statue. "The main statue represents the founding period; most of the niches on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 8th floors of the head to the feet of the Big Buddha, the excavation era is from Wu Zetian to Xuanzong Kaiyuan and Tianbao years, at this time the Thousand Buddha Cliff statue group entered its heyday, this period, the Thousand Buddha Cliff statues are larger, the number is relatively large; the 5th, 6th, and 7th layer niches have reached a period of decline, most of them were built during the Changqing, Baoli and Huichang years after Tianbao, and the statue size was small, and there was a break in the relationship between the early statues. During the Huichang period, Tang Wuzong implemented a series of 'extinction of Buddha' policies, huichang reached the peak of extinction of Buddhism in five years, and the thousand Buddha cliff statue group rapidly declined and was no longer newly built. ”
▲ Good to stomp on the statue niche of the seated Buddha
In addition, from the perspective of statue style, the theme of the Statue of the Thousand Buddha Cliffs is mostly the common one Buddha and two bodhisattvas or one Buddha and two bodhisattvas and two disciples, the main shape is pointed arch and round arch, the statue is plain and simple, and the carving is exquisite. Among them, the face shape of the Buddha statue is mostly square, the face is solemn and majestic, and the face is not lost, the neck has three silkworm knots, the shoulders are wide, and the body is round and strong. Palm prints are commonly found in the Fearless Seal, the Wish Seal, the Dharma Seal, and the Meditation Seal. In terms of clothing and clothing, more shoulder-length robes, this style of clothing, in the Tang Dynasty Zhenguan period appeared in small quantities, Shangyuan - Yonglong gradually increased, Wu Zetian period began to popular, after the Kaiyuan became the only form of Buddhist clothing. From the perspective of the statue base, Wu Zetian's late popular corset has a stem round lotus seat, the root is simplified, the robe is draped on the seat, and it is used after the kaiyuan to form a custom, and the statue of the Thousand Buddha Cliff is in line with it. Under the introduction of Bai Shuzhang, a picture of the statues was presented in front of the Shanxi Evening News reporter, these bodhisattva statues have many buns, some of the facial features are very good, some are stiff and clumsy, but the posture is plump and full, the clothes are gorgeous, and the decoration is exquisite.
However, there is a special mention of the statue here, that is, the five "eleven-sided Guanyin", which is a very important feature in the Statue of the Thousand Buddha Cliffs. "The Eleven-Sided Guanyin, alias Great Light Puzhao Guanyin and Tantric Ciju Vajra, is one of the six Guanyin of esoteric buddhism, and appears late in the Buddhist themes of our country. Judging from the current discoveries, the image of the eleven-sided Guanyin appeared in China in large quantities during the Tang Dynasty and gradually became popular after the Wu Zetian period. ”
A Thousand Buddha Cliff, with its construction age and shape, witnesses the changes in the history and culture of the Tang Dynasty and Buddhist culture, just like a thousand-year-old mirror placed on the edge of the Fenshui River, which can look back at ancient and modern times.
▲ Left: Eleven-sided Statue Niches of Guanyin, Guanyin, and Medicine Buddha
Right: Eleven statues of Guanyin
In ancient times, the Cliff of a Thousand Buddhas may have been full of people
The inscription hides the historical past
On the Cliff of a Thousand Buddhas, a total of 20 inscriptions were found, involving a relatively rich content, including chronicles, place names, personal names, official names, etc. You may wonder, what is the use of this? In fact, the existence of these inscriptions gives us the possibility of tracing history, and this is precisely the most attractive thing in the archaeological process.
In the inscription of the Cliff of a Thousand Buddhas, there is the word "Zhongshu Sheren Zheng Han". According to investigations, "Zhongshu Sheren" was a civilian official position, and during the Sui and Tang dynasties, it was zhongshu province that was in charge of the edict, that is, it was drafted, most of which were held by literary seniors, and "Zheng Han" was a personal name, which was recorded in some ancient books. Next to it, there is the word "Taiyuan". Therefore, archaeologists have also had their own speculations, "Is it that Zheng Han came to the Thousand Buddha Cliffs on his way to Taiyuan, so he donated niches and made inscriptions?" In addition, among the official names engraved on the cliffs are the words Shi Shi, Shangzhu Guo, County Lieutenant, Du Zhi, Judge, Deputy General, etc.; the place names include Jinyang County, Anbian County, Jinzhou, Taiyuan, etc. The chronology is even more complicated, from the fifth year of the new century, the eleventh year, the third year of Tianbao, the fourteenth year, and then to the second year of the growth celebration, the second year of the Bao calendar, the first year of Huichang and so on. Bai Shuzhang's doubts also aroused the curiosity of the Shanxi Evening News reporter: "According to the location of its discovery, the Thousand Buddha Cliffs should have been located in the mountains in ancient times, why did it attract many people to worship the Buddha and donate shrines here?" Is it because it's more important? Does it belong to the Buddha statue excavated under the auspices of the royal family? ”
In this regard, Bai Shuzhang said that the Thousand Buddha Cliffs are not royal projects, but its geographical location is more important. In some history books, when Tang Taizong raised an army, he attacked all the way from Taiyuan to Chang'an, and Huozhou belonged to the place where it was necessary, crossing the Hanxin Ridge to reach Huozhou, and then through Hedong to Reach Chang'an. At that time, Li Shimin met the Sui Dynasty defender "Song Laosheng" in Huozhou, and the two sides confronted each other for a long time, and Li Shimin's army could not defeat the other side. Just when he was in a hurry to get on the fire, at night he dreamed that the local mountain god in Huozhou gave him a dream and taught him a Buddhist mantra, saying that as long as he chanted this mantra to fight, he would surely win a great victory. "This story may be a bit of a joke, but it tells us that this is the place that must pass from Chang'an to Taiyuan." The Tang Dynasty was the capital of Chang'an, and Taiyuan was the capital of the north, so Huozhou was not only a place where soldiers and families had to fight, but also an important transportation route. When Buddhism was greatly promoted in the Tang Dynasty, the Thousand Buddha Cliffs must also become a place where believers worshipped and incense flourished. ”
This is the charm of archaeology, which can make cultural relics and monuments reappear after a thousand years, and also discover history and explore the original appearance of things through cultural relics.
The story of the Cliff of a Thousand Buddhas is far from over. It is understood that after the archaeological excavation, the local department of Linfen will quickly strengthen and protect its original site.
▲Remember
Expert reviews
Zhang Qingjie, archaeologist and researcher of Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute:
There are more than 480 grottoes and cliff statues in Shanxi, ranking second in the country, and little excavation and cleaning of the grottoes has been done before, such as the Taiyuan Tongzi Temple Grottoes and the Taiyuan Xishan Giant Buddha, but the scale is limited.
The scale of the statue of the Thousand Buddha Cliffs in Huozhou is relatively large, and more than 70 niches have been cleared at present, and the number of years has reached more than 20 places, and there are many important inscriptions, involving many important official positions and people of different identities. The discovery of the five eleven-sided Kannon was of great help in investigating and studying the popularity of the Eleven-Sided Kannon in Buddhism at that time.
▲ The main statue of the Great Buddha
Linfen Huozhou Thousand Buddha Cliff Statue and Cave Front Ruins
Excavation units: School of Archaeology, Peking University, Shanxi Institute of Archaeology, Huozhou Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism
Project Leader: Wei Zheng
Excavators: Bai Shuzhang, Wu Junjie, Yin Xuming, Cui Jiabao, Mei Renhua, Wei Guoping, Shi Jitong, etc
Wen | Shanxi Evening News all-media reporter Sun Yiqiong Wu Shuai
Photo | Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute
Poster production | Shanxi Evening News all-media editor Zhao Mandi
The copyright of the image belongs to the original author or institution
Edited | Shanxi Evening News All-Media Editor Nanlijiang
Audit | Fang Tianji
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