We often say that artistic creation comes from real life, and now, our common ancient paintings also have corresponding reference objects.
Such as Tengwang Pavilion, Yueyang Tower, Jin Mingchi, etc., are all pavilions and pavilions that were once flourished in the painter's pen.
The buildings in these ancient paintings almost construct the Oriental Heavenly Garden in our impression, and these buildings are actually the painter's depiction of the buildings in life.
Just as we have rebuilt many buildings derived from ancient paintings, paintings also reflect real-life architectural forms.
And there is such a building, I don't know whether the painter referenced it, or the craftsman referred to the painting.
In short, it just really appears in front of you, telling you that all the paintings have their own books to follow. More than nine hundred spring and autumn, did not wash away its gorgeous.
It is hidden in a Buddhist temple,
This temple is hidden in a small city,
And this small city is located on the vast North China Plain.
Although it is not a big city, it is by no means an obscure small city.
A thousand years before it appeared, there was a general named Zhao Yun, and the name of this general was well known to everyone.
He shouted before the battle: "I am Zhao Zilong of Changshan Mountain", so that the name of the city will be bound to him forever for the next two thousand years. There is still a temple for General Zhao Yun in the ancient city of Zhengding.
Of course, the Han Dynasty title of Changshan has disappeared from the evolution of the name of later generations.
Later, the general's hometown was called Zhending and Zhengding, but it has never changed, and it is a land contaminated with heroism since ancient times.
01. Kawashuo Temple
Zhengding, fifteen kilometers north of Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, west of the Taihang Mountains, south of the Tuotuo River, formerly known as "Yannan Ancient County, Gyeonggi Barrier".
The city, perhaps, relies on the celebrity effect from ancient times, and there are always stories circulating in this North China Plain.
The soldiers and conquests on the banks of the Tuotuo River, the urban layout lined with palaces and temples, and the bricks and tiles of Zhengding are all witnesses to the majesty of North China's cities.
And Longxing Temple is the living history of the city that still exists today.
Longxing Temple was founded in the Sui Dynasty (then known as Longzang Temple), and was renamed Longxing Temple in the Tang Dynasty. The architectural pattern we see today was mainly built in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the later renovations have not changed much to the main pattern.
In the second year of Kaibao (969), Zhao Kuangyin, the grandfather of the Song Dynasty, ordered the golden body of the Great Compassion Bodhisattva to be cast at Longxing Temple, and built the Great Compassion Treasure Pavilion, with this as the main body, extending the central axis front and back, forming a large-scale architectural complex with a deep north-south depth and a large scale.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial family had given gold to rebuild many times, and the regulations were perfect. During this period, the Hall of the Six Masters of The Great Awakening was rebuilt, and statues were added, and the number of monks could reach 125. In the Ming Dynasty, in addition to repairs, the Dianshi Hall, the Jingye Hall, the Zushi Hall, the Galan Hall and so on were also added.
In the Qing Dynasty, the West Road Palace was added during the Kangxi Dynasty, and during the Qianlong Period, the tiles were rebuilt, the central axis was revised, and the statues were reshaped.
Since then, Longxing Temple has undergone many destructions and restorations, such as the Hall of the Sixth Division of Dajue, which collapsed during the Republic of China, and the reconstruction of the damaged part of the Great Compassion Pavilion after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The ruins of the Hall of the Sixth Master of Dajue also seem to tell us how many ups and downs this ancient temple has undergone, and these remains are the historical experience of this thousand-year-old temple.
02. Gyeonggi Galan
Perhaps everyone's impression of the temple is mainly concentrated in several fixed buildings, such as the Daxiong Treasure Hall, the Heavenly King Hall, the Mountain Gate, the Tibetan Scripture Pavilion and so on. This is the basic configuration of many temples, but it is not the same as the layout of the temples of the previous dynasties.
Unlike many of the temples we have seen, Longxing Temple can be described as "climactic" in the central axis of the building.
The main buildings of Longxing Temple are from the three-way single-hole stone bridge to the north, in order of the Heavenly King Hall, the Dajue Six Division Hall, the Mani Hall, the Archway Gate, the Ring Altar, the Cishi Pavilion, the Zhuanlun Tibetan Pavilion, the Kangxi, the Qianlong Second Imperial Monument Pavilion, the Great Compassion Pavilion, the Royal Library Building and the Jiqing Pavilion, the Mida Hall, the Pilu Hall, and the Longquan Jing Pavilion.
Some of these buildings can be taken out as the main halls of many temples.
It is this sense of compactness in the pattern, overlapping and orderly, and the distinction between primary and secondary orders, which creates a kind of ups and downs on the tour for the entire Longxing Temple, so longxing Temple can become an important example of the architectural layout of Buddhist temples in the Song Dynasty.
But in contrast, we do not experience the sense of deterrence of entering the church in eastern architecture, which is due to the unique courtyard layout of Chinese architecture, which allows the emotional expression of the building to be extended from the single building to the cooperation of the entire building complex.
The solemn hall does not appear alone, but becomes the climactic part of the transition. If church is an accent, then Chinese hospitalization is actually like a song.
When we actually walk into this monastery, it is like entering a symphony, there is a beginning, there is a foreshadowing, there is a climax, there is an end. "Initiation", "agility", "solemnity", "afterglow" and "nature" have their own responsible persons.
Among them, those responsible for "solemnity" are mainly a group of courtyards surrounded by the Altar of Precepts, the Ci Pavilion, the Zhuanlun Pavilion and the Great Compassion Pavilion.
This group of courtyards, dominated by the Great Compassion Pavilion, pushes the temple's pilgrimage to its climax and is the tallest part of the temple.
Even if this group of buildings does not have any religious function attached, and the view is simply provided by the building, it is also oppressive.
So who is responsible for "smart movement" before feeling the solemnity?
03. Feige Xiangdan
The Mani Hall, located in front of the courtyard dominated by the Great Compassion Pavilion, is located in the first half of the central axis, with the Hall of the Sixth Division of the Great Awakening in the south and the archway gate in front of the altar in the north.
The temple is arranged on a 1.2-meter-high brick foundation, and there are treadways on all four sides for entering the temple.
Its unique shape makes it one of the most agile in the entire courtyard. The agility here does not mean that the Manichaean architecture itself is very strange, but that the architectural style of the Manichaean Temple is the most beautiful.
While maintaining the overall tone of the Longxing Temple architecture, the Manichaean Temple is the most varied.
Of all the inscriptions in the Temple of Manichae, the most important is the inscription of the fourth year of the Song Emperor. It confirms that the Temple was built in that year and resolves the long-standing academic debate about the age of its founding.
The Mani Temple was built in the fourth year of the Northern Song Dynasty (1052), 969 years ago, and is the only one of the four existing Song Dynasty wooden buildings in Longxing Temple with a clear date.
- Roof -
Unlike many large halls, the Manichaean Temple needs to start with the roof, and the roof style determines that its overall structure is different from the traditional main hall.
The green glazed tiles on the top of the heavy eaves are cut off, and in the middle of each of the four sides of the hall, there is a mountain flower in the forward of the mountain-style hugging house, which is overlooked from the air as a cross-shaped shape.
In fact, the summit of the mountain and the top of the heavy eaves are very common, and the Mani Temple has added a prelude to the main hall on all sides, which makes the hall appear thick and not dull, gorgeous and unique.
The Book of Verses describes, "like a bird, like a bird flying", if used in this hall, it can be regarded as a vivid description.
- Column net -
In order to support such a roof, the structure of the pillar network of the Manichaean Temple is also very clever. The main hall column net is called the "sub-order Zhou Za gold box bucket bottom groove" type.
The main hall column network is divided into three circles inside and outside, and the interior space is divided into inner and outer grooves:
The outermost ring of the column mesh is used to support the lower eaves;
Gold columns on the outer side of the central circle are used to support the upper eaves;
Eight gold pillars in the inner ring are used to support the beams and roof as load-bearing pillars.
Under the layout of this column network, the temple can form a spacious inner room with a width of seven rooms (about 33 meters) and a depth of seven rooms (about 27 meters).
In addition, it also includes three south hugs, and one each of the east, west and north sides.
Such a layout allows the main hall to add more interior layout possibilities on the basis of conforming to the Construction French.
- Beam Frame -
The arrangement of the column network also puts forward no small requirements for the beam structure, and the raised beam structure described in the Song "Construction of the French Style" is the main structure of the Manichaean Temple.
As Mr. Liang Sicheng said: "The structure of the beam frame is relatively clean and lightweight, and the structure, fork hand, hump, and so on at the stack of each frame are mostly in line with the "Construction of the French Style". ”
First of all, look at the inner beam frame of the main hall, the inner gold pillar is connected by the forehead and the beam frame, which constitutes the main wooden frame of the upper part of the Manichaean Temple.
The inner and outer gold columns are connected by milk pygmies, and the main beams in the center form a wooden frame structure of the upper eaves of the temple.
The lower eaves and the outer gold column are also connected with milk, so that the lower eaves wooden frame and the upper eaves wood frame together form a complete and stable wooden frame system.
If the Manichaean Temple is regarded as the organizational structure of a company, then the upper and lower beams can be roughly understood as the company's superior and subordinate levels, and the inner and outer circle column network can be understood as the company's core and external docking departments.
From top to bottom, from the inside to the outside, relaxed, calm and introverted, the most core part is used for the pillar, while the outermost layer is used for arching and guarding inward, the superior drives the subordinate, and the subordinate is also in an orderly manner in their respective posts.
With such a structure, we can only feel that the ancients more than nine hundred years ago have reached a very high technical level. This technique is also not a dogma, but is perfectly integrated with the function and art of the main hall and complements each other.
- Bucket Arch -
The bucket arch is the Song dynasty to create the French paving, and this important component is vividly reflected in the Manichaean Temple.
In terms of dosage, the upper eaves, lower eaves, and inner groove arches totaled one hundred and twenty-seven flowers. Among them, there are sixty-seven flowers in the lower eaves, thirty-eight flowers in the upper eaves, and twenty-two flowers in the inner groove. It can be said that it is not stingy at all about the laying out of the arch.
In terms of materials, the bucket arch is still huge, and comparing the Mani Temple with the ming and qing dynasty buildings of later generations, it can be said that it is almost not on the same level.
According to the classification, there are as many as twenty different styles, but in general, the bucket arches selected are all made by five shops. These pavings are used in three different positions according to their respective functions, namely stigma paving, tween paving and corner paving.
The upper and lower eaves are all single copy single down, and the inner eaves are double copied. The tweens and column head parts were also paved with 45-degree oblique arches, which constituted another feature of the structure of the Manichaean Temple.
Photo: Li Wenbo
The various types of bucket arches in the Mani Temple are selected, which not only have indispensable functions in load-bearing, but also the emergence of tween bucket arches and the emergence of diagonal arches, all of which indicate that Song Dynasty architecture has paid more attention to the beauty of appearance.
- Roofing -
The wooden frame supports the main structure of the main hall, so the skeleton needs to be filled with "flesh and blood".
Sixteen convex corners and eight concave corners are formed between the temple and the four sides of the temple, with windows between the arches, and an Angle door between the arches, and the rest of the places are filled with thick walls.
The overall roof is very heavy, which causes the light exposure of the interior area of the main hall to be artificially modified.
No matter how the seasons change throughout the year, the light can only shine on Baoxia and some areas. This allows you to walk into this hall, in the narrow part of the hut, the light is enough not to be dim and invisible.
The wide space in the hall is deliberately made to block the dark place of direct light, which ensures the mystery of the Shrine in terms of atmosphere, and also allows the entire hall to maintain a majestic religious atmosphere.
- Proportions -
Harmonious proportional relations are also indispensable. The mellow Architecture of the Song Dynasty has changed from a majestic Tang structure to a more decorative temple style, fading the heroism of the Tang Dynasty, but still retaining a stable structural style.
The pillar head still has a roll brake, and the side feet and the rise can still be seen in the architectural characteristics inherited since the Tang Dynasty.
In terms of beams and frames, the Manichaean Temple is not as gentle as the Tang Dynasty architecture, but relatively tall. However, this height is not as steep as the Beijing Taimiao Temple and the Taihe Temple, but ensures a spacious eaves and a comfortable roof ridge.
In this regard, Mr. Liang Sicheng once said: "The kind of pictorial Xiao Taki and the solemnity of the ancient movement really make people feel indescribable. Especially in terms of three-dimensional layout, this Manichaean temple is majestic and can be regarded as the best of art, and it is also unique in Chinese buildings. ”
04. The law is solemn
Looking at the furnishings inside the main hall, returning to its own function, the nine inner grooves in the hall are statues of the Song Dynasty, the statues of one Buddha and two disciples, and the Ming Dynasty statues of Manjushri and Puxian and the two bodhisattvas.
Under the very little light and shade of the inner groove, the seated statue is solemn.
In the middle is the statue of Shakyamuni, the statue of the disciple Gaya on the east side, and the statue of the disciple Ananda on the west side. On both sides, Manjushri and Puxian two bodhisattvas sit on the lotus throne of the girdle of the girdle.
Photo: Li Wenbo
On the north side of the inner trough back wall, a painted mountain is carved through the wall. This large hanging mountain statue is mainly composed of three parts.
The arhats on both sides of the rocks are meditating, and the protector god steps on the auspicious clouds. In the middle of the picture is an upside-down statue of Guanyin in the middle niche of the Hanging Mountain.
Guanyin's head is slightly to the right, and her body is slightly forward. A pair of eyes with deep wisdom under his thin eyebrows looked down slightly, which formed an emotional exchange with the worshipper when he looked up.
Her personified appearance made the whole hall and even the whole temple filled with a warm and kind human spirit.
This artistic breakthrough has made religious concepts blend with secular life and achieved perfect artistic results.
Mr. Lu Xun admired this artistic treasure very much, and in 1923 he bought this photograph at the Yamamoto Photo Gallery in Beijing, and regarded it as a masterpiece of Buddhist aesthetics and displayed it in his bookcase.
Photo: Li Wenbo
In addition to the statues, the walls of the temple are painted with frescoes.
Si Bao Xia depicts the Buddhist protector god "Twenty-Four Heavens", and the inner wall of the eaves wall of the temple depicts the story of the Buddha.
It depicts the whole process of Shakyamuni's birth, monastic asceticism, enlightenment, and nirvana, called the "Diagram of the Origin of Shakyamuni".
05. The best in art
This hall can be regarded as one of the few Song Dynasty buildings with a large volume.
Fortunately, in the entire Longxing Temple complex, there are still many relics of the Song Dynasty, such as the Zhuanlun Pavilion and the Zhuanlun Collection, the base of the ruins of the Six Divisions hall of the Great Jue, and so on.
Since its completion, the Temple of Manichae has undergone a relatively comprehensive renovation from 434 to 22 years of Myeongseonghua. More than two hundred years later, major repairs were carried out during the Qing Kangqian period. In the 24th year of Qing Daoguang, the bureau frame and tile roof of the upper cornice ridge were renovated.
The restorative restoration of the drop frame from 1977 to 1980 was the most thorough of all the restorations and restored the Temple to its former glory.
The changes in Longxing Temple over the ages actually reflect the fate of China's ancient buildings on the surface. Dynasties rise and fall on this land, temples are destroyed, and why not communicate with the home country?
And like the paintings depicting these buildings, some of them we can still walk into, while others have fallen into the dust of history forever.
The wheel of history rolls forward, and at the forefront is our thinking, and we strive to innovate and integrate with the times.
At the end of the way are these ancient buildings.
Maybe we can go fast, but it is precisely because of these buildings that have stagnated in history that we have a complete history book and course of five thousand years.
There are thousands of buildings
This series of popular science articles on ancient architecture
Take stock of the ancient treasures of China
We will bring to you the treasures you have overlooked
bibliography:
History of Chinese Architecture, Liang Sicheng
"Zhengding Longxing Temple" is compiled by the Cultural Relics Depository of Zhengding County, Hebei Province
"A Preliminary Study on the Artistic Characteristics of the Mani Temple Murals of Longxing Temple in Zhengding, Hebei Province" Ni Chunlin
"Taking Hebei Zhengding Longxing Temple as an Example to Discuss the Architectural Design Characteristics of Buddhist Halls" Chen Rao
"Hebei Province Zhengding Longxing Temple Mani Hall Found Song Emperor You Four Year Inscription" Li Zheyuan
-END-
Copywriter 丨 YuHan
Cartographer 丨Yu Han
Modeling rendering 丨Ma Lei
Image from
Xie Yuhan Li Wenbo
Special thanks
Model of the Temple of Manichae by Ma Lei
Zhengding Longxing Temple cultural relics protection unit