The water level of the Yangtze River continues to drop, and a huge rock shaped like a turtle near the south bank of the river is exposed. Citizens rushed to hear the news, or took a group photo from afar, or went straight up to the boulder to find out at zero distance... For a time, the crowd of people who came to watch on the bank of the river under the East Water gate bridge actually embraced the hall.
I believe that many citizens and tourists are still impressed by the aforementioned scene that occurred in May 2020, and the charm of the "Turtle Stone" and the Dragon Gate Hao inscription on it can also be seen. What does the Longmen Hao inscription, which is more often submerged under the river, contain? The official interpretation is coming - on August 30, the Chongqing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology officially announced the latest investigation results of longmen hao inscriptions and statues.
Overlooking the "Turtle Stone" of Longmen Hiroshi when the water is dry
There are 3 inscriptions and statues on the "Turtle Stone"
On August 26, the Chongqing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the South Bank District Cultural Relics Management Institute conducted an investigation of the longmen Hao inscription and statue, and after on-site investigation and surveying and mapping results, it was shown that there were 2 niches (including 2 statues of Moya) and 1 inscription on the boulder commonly known as the "turtle stone" by the public, all of which were in the Qing Dynasty.
Niche No. 1
Niche No. 2
"When we went this time, we felt that the entire moraine, as well as the inscriptions and statues, were exposed to the water even higher than in the previous dry period." Xu Jin, deputy director of the Public Archaeology Center of the Chongqing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, told upstream reporters that they walked directly to the "turtle stone" along the stone beam that had been exposed to the water and connected to the shore.
According to reports, the inscription and statue of Longmen Hao have actually been registered and recorded as cultural relics points as early as the third national cultural relics census (June 2007 to December 2011), but due to the technical means at that time, it has not been able to record them accurately and comprehensively as this time.
Xu Jin said that according to the results of this survey and mapping, the No. 1 niche on the stone is 1.8 meters high and 1.5 meters wide, and the left and right niches are engraved with a couplet "Looking up at ciyun and relying on the vulture ridge, often watching the Haoyue illuminated the dragon gate", and the horizontal connection is "the other side of the same landing", and the niche is a standing statue of a monk, wearing a monk's robe, and his hands are folded.
Niche No. 2 is 1.8 meters high and 1.65 meters wide. Inside the niche is a real portrait of Cihang, knotted on a lotus seat, wearing a flower crown on his head, holding a net bottle, and engraving on the left and right couplets "Coast driving Cihang Xinglong sensing east and west, clouds emerging the truth downwind incense sent to the north and south", horizontal joint engraving "Qingfeng Haoyue", the era is the Qing Dynasty.
In addition to the two niches, there is another stone carving that reads "Respond to Every Request" with the inscription "In the ninth year of Tongzhi (1870 AD), april 24 Nichiren." ”
It is not difficult to see through the on-site mapping photos that even if it is sunk underwater for a long time and has been baptized by the river, the two most eye-catching statues are still clearly detailed. Like the monks standing like huge earlobes in Niche No. 1, the realistic folds of monk's robes, the three-dimensional layers, and the overlapping fingers of Cihang Zhenren in Niche No. 2, etc., all give people a lifelike feeling.
Cultural relics and archaeologists are measuring and taking pictures of the statues
It is intended to bless the safety of the boat and avoid disasters
Citizens who have previously climbed the "Turtle Stone" or carefully observed the relevant pictures should remember that the two niches mentioned above and their corresponding statues are facing the heart of the Yangtze River. Combined with the content, its excavation has the meaning of blessing the safety of the past ships, avoiding disasters and praying for blessings.
Specifically, Xu Jin said that in the couplet "Looking Up to Ciyun Yi Vulture Ridge, Changguan Haoyue ZhaoLongmen", "Ciyun" and "Vulture Ridge" are Buddhist terms, and most of the various meanings they contain are also closely related to Buddhism, Buddhist temples, and Buddhist holy places. "For example, we have two Ciyun Temples in Chongqing, one is the Ciyun Temple in Zouma Town, Jiulongpo District, after the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Chongqing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted archaeological investigation and excavation of its site in 2012; There is also the Ciyun Temple in the South Bank District, which is not far from Longmenhao, and is now a key temple in the country. The "Dragon Gate" in the Lower Lian is naturally related to the Longmen Haoyue, which was once known as one of the ancient "Twelve Views of Bayu".
The "Cihang" in the couplet of the No. 2 niche, "Coast driving Cihang Xinglong sensing east and west, cloud emerging truth downwind incense sent to the north and south people" should refer to Cihang Zhenren, which is closely related to the worship of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Xu Jin said that Cihang Zhenren sits on the waterway path, and its meaning of blessing peace is obvious. The "sensing the east and west" and "incense sending to the people of the north and the south" in the couplet are also such blessing beliefs.
Similar inscriptions and statues are a major feature of Chongqing
In Xu Jin's view, the entire Longmen Hao inscription and statue can be described as very chongqing characteristics. First of all, it is part of the famous ancient "Twelve Views of Bayu" in the "Longmen Haoyue". And "Longmenhao", a place name that has been well known to the people of Chongqing, is actually special enough in itself.
Longmen Hao during the Republic of China period
Xu Jin mentioned that according to the "Shu Dao Yicheng Record" written by Wang Shichen, the Shangshu of the Punishment Department during the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, "The boat landed on the shore from the Dragon Gate, and the Dragon Gate, the Riverside Stone, interrupted like a gate, commonly known as the Dragon Gate." Hao, the Ba people call the small port hao. Here , "Hao" refers to the narrow waters of the river separated by long moraines. On the south bank of Longmen Hao, from Yandian Bay down to Wildcat Creek, there are two huge moraine stones for miles, with broken stones, like a natural stone door about five or six meters wide that Haokou opens. The Water in Haowai River is turbulent, and the Water Inou is not alarmed, which is a good port suitable for ships to dock. At night, when the moon is in the sky, the reflection enters the calm mirror-like Hirochi, which is the beauty of the "Dragon Gate Haoyue".
"It is a representative of the small and medium-sized grottoes in the Chongqing area." Xu Jin said that it is particularly worth mentioning that similar to the Longmen Hao inscription, statues, as well as such dry water grottoes as the cliff statues on the Beam of the Buddha of Banan, can be said to be a major feature of Chongqing. Recently, many dry water grottoes have been exposed, and timely development of surveying and mapping records and current observation records is also a way of protection. "As we all know, Chongqing's waterways and waterways are very rich, and the ancients left stone carvings on many sections of the river on the stone beams and Jiangxinzhou. This is rare in other regions. This is also a key to the inscription and statue of Longmen Hao becoming a cultural landscape. ”
Longmen Hao inscription and image mapping modeling Wang Mingzhi
According to reports, after the survey collected detailed and accurate data, the Chongqing Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology also carried out close-up photogrammetry and three-dimensional modeling for Longmenhao's inscription and statue. Xu Jin said, "With modeling, the overall environment is definitely more accurate, and the use of digital measurement technology is the requirement for the archaeological report of the grotto temple to reflect the survey results comprehensively, scientifically and systematically, and has positive significance for the production of surveying and mapping results such as the general plan of the ruins, the plan, the section, and the detailed map of each wall." "This survey and mapping also further improves the relevant data and data of the city's cave temple survey."
Upstream news reporter Qiu Jinyi Courtesy of Chongqing Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology