Zhangye Big Buddha Temple
Since Zhang Qian carved out the Western Regions and opened the Silk Road, this long land passage from Chang'an (present-day Xi'an), through Gansu and the Western Regions (Xinjiang), to Central Asia and West Asia, and connecting Mediterranean countries, has served as an important link connecting China and the West. China is the homeland of silk, the export of goods is the most representative of silk, in the trade carried out through this route, the goods transported to the west with silk products have the greatest influence, hence the name "Silk Road".
The Silk Road was a historical trade route across Eurasia, and Buddhism was inseparable from the Silk Road, playing an important role in the introduction of Buddhism into China. Along the Silk Road, there are many cave statues, each of which has a very representative big Buddha, starting from Chang'an, there are the Big Buddha of Binxian Big Buddha Temple, to the Big Buddha of Wushan Laxiao Temple, and then to the Great Buddha of Gangu Yongming Temple, Guyuan Meru Mountain Big Buddha, Tianshui Maijishan Big Buddha, Yongjing Bingling Temple Big Buddha, Wuwei Tiantishan Big Buddha, Zhangye Ganzhou Big Buddha Temple Nirvana Reclining Buddha, Shandan Big Buddha Temple Sitting Buddha, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes Big Buddha. These giant Buddha statues, with kind faces and different shapes, the highest one is more than 30 meters, the lowest one is more than 10 meters, they are sitting, standing, or lying down, there are clay sculptures, stone carvings, stone clay sculptures, wooden clay sculptures, half-stone and half-clay sculptures, can be described as a variety of shapes, meteorology.
Most of the Buddhist caves along the Silk Road are located in places with convenient transportation and abundant water sources. This not only facilitates the exchange of believers between east and west, but also facilitates business travelers to pray for blessings nearby. The big Buddhas on the Silk Road are especially the Hexi Corridor, with a large number and the most exquisite statues, walking in the distant Hexi Corridor, the silent and speechless sight engulfed the yellow sand of the ancient road, believers and merchants in temple after temple, in front of grottoes, looking at the compassionate Buddha, could not help but admire. In the Buddhist mind, the Buddha statue is a symbol of goodness, the embodiment of beauty, and the embodiment of virtue.
Zhangye ancient called Ganzhou, located in the middle of the Hexi corridor on the impact fan basin, south by the Qilian Mountains, north across Longshou, Heli mountains, "the country open arms, to the Western Regions", the narrow corridor extends a silk road, across Central Asia, making Zhangye become an important town at the intersection of Chinese and Western cultures. Zhangye is known as "Saiwai Jiangnan" and "Golden Zhangye", and there is a poem praise: "Don't look at the snow on the top of Qilian Mountain, mistakenly recognize Zhangye for Jiangnan", Zhangye has two big Buddhas, one is the sitting Buddha sitting in Shandan, and the other is the reclining Buddha lying quietly in the Ganzhou Big Buddha Temple.
"Shandan West Shili Fort, there is a soil Buddha sitting on the mountain, thirteen zhang high, ears can accommodate people, nails are wide, with a fifth-level pavilion guard, it is also great." These are a few sentences from the poem "Shandan Tu Buddha" given by Wu Tongchun, a native of Runan, Henan, when he was an official in Gansu, and in a few words, he said the greatness of this giant Buddha. Shandan Great Buddha Temple, also known as "Tufo Temple", is located 5 kilometers west of Shandan City at the foot of Mount Wanggao, the temple was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty (425 AD), more than 1500 years ago, Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen inscribed the temple with a plaque "Tu Buddha", from which the Tufo Temple got its name.
Starting from the county seat of Shandan, bathed in the soft morning sun, walking in the vast Hexi corridor, you can see a group of magnificent buildings in the distance, and a high-rise building is particularly conspicuous. Half an hour to the square in front of the Big Buddha Temple, the Big Buddha Temple sits west and looks east, backed by the high mountain, in front of Yinglongshou Mountain, on the left side of the Qidian Reservoir, on the right with Qingquan Putian, the terrain in front of the temple is flat, the vision is wide, the reservoir is clear and blue, lingering, more and more Foshan color, the victory of the land. The temple is divided into a vestibule and a backyard, and the main building, Daxiong Treasure Hall, is an all-wood structure, glazed tile-roofed pavilion, 39 meters high, with steep cornices, majestic and magnificent. Inside the 35-meter-tall clay statue of Shakyamuni's sermons, the big Buddha has his legs crossed, sitting upright, with a serene demeanor, two palms facing outward, one palm five fingers up, one palm five fingers down, and his eyes are kind. The lotus base is 3 meters high, the passage of "Guanxi Cave" is about 1.7 meters high and 10 meters long, the big Buddha has a realistic shape, beautiful posture, smooth lines, lifelike, Buddha's hands, feet, chest and face are framed with pure gold leaf, golden light, extraordinary temperament, majesty, kindness, solemnity, for the world's largest indoor sitting Buddha, by the Buddhist community at home and abroad high-level people praised as "the world's first indoor sitting Buddha". The Great Buddha quietly gazes at the sentient beings in front of him, and visitors stand in front of such a tall Buddha statue, instantly feeling the smallness and humility of life.
There is a local story that there is a family of three brothers who seek Buddha and the true scriptures. When they reached Liangzhou after hardships, the eldest said that the two virtuous brothers would go first, and I would continue to travel west after finishing my business here. So the eldest stayed in Liangzhou, and the second and third continued to travel west. After arriving in Shandan, the second elder said that he was a little tired and wanted to rest before hurrying, so he asked the third brother to go first, and he waited here for the eldest brother to go to Xitian together. But the second eldest who rested in Shandan couldn't wait for the boss, and after standing for a long time, he really couldn't hold it and could only sit down and wait. When he arrived at Zhangye's old three looking forward to the stars and the moon, he didn't see the two brothers coming, and he had to fall asleep and wait when he was tired. After that, the three brothers turned into Buddhas in Wuwei, Shandan and Zhangye. Wuwei's eldest brother is now the Tiantishan Station Buddha; The second eldest of Shandan became a sitting Buddha; The third elder became the reclining Buddha of the Zhangye Big Buddha Temple. Folklore is often a convergence and combination of public opinion, this story alludes to some veins and clues of Buddhism in the east on the Silk Road, Buddhism was introduced to the Central Plains from the west, but this story set off from the east to the west, and the westward journey to obtain sutras and the eastern transmission of Buddhism seem to have some kind of magical coincidence in the underworld.
There is also a big Buddha in Zhangye Ganzhou Big Buddha Temple, but this is a reclining Buddha, on the 1.2-meter-high Buddha altar in the middle of the main hall, the big Buddha head rests on the lotus platform, facing the west side lying on the side, eyes are half-closed, lips slightly opened, the statue is plump and beautiful, and the posture is pleasant and peaceful. The whole reclining Buddha is 34.5 meters long, 7.5 meters wide at the shoulders, 4 meters in ears and 5.2 meters in foot. The statue is a wooden clay sculpture, painted with gold makeup, with a gold face, and a large "swastika" character on the chest, which means "auspicious sea and clouds" in Sanskrit. At the head and foot of the reclining Buddha, there is a statue of Brahma and a statue of Emperor Shi Tian, and the female body is held high, and the streamers are fluttering; The male statue has a majestic face and a crown belt. On the back is a statue of ten great disciples, and eighteen Arhat group statues are sculpted on the north and south sides of the hall. The whole group of statues is beautifully shaped, the proportions are coordinated, the lines are smooth, the demeanor is natural, dignified and peaceful, and lifelike. The six-armed Vajra above the reclining Buddha is indigo blue, his hair is red, his head is crowned with a skull, his feet are stepping on white lotuses, and the flames are burning around him, and there is a rainbow light on the top, and the waves are gushing around; Look closely at his hand, holding the treasure bottle in the upper left hand, copying the long snake in the middle left hand, holding the treasure umbrella in the upper right hand, holding the sword with a spike in the lower right hand, and holding the treasure orb in the second middle hand. This King Kong has the charm of Han land, but also has the style of Daxia, Mengyuan atmosphere, and Tibetan heritage. Because the Great Buddha Temple was built by Western Xia, later influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, and rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, it integrates the elements of various Buddhist schools, so it is unique.
Zhangye Ganzhou Big Buddha Temple was founded in the first year of Yong'an (1098 AD) of Chongzong of Western Xia, which lasted five years and was completed in the third year of Zhenguan of Western Xia (11103 AD). It is known as "stuffing the famous brake, the victory of the Buddha country". The temple is lined with ancient buildings, towering ancient trees, green grass, and beautiful environment. The aristocracy of Western Xia is not far away, from the distant capital Xingqing Fu (Yinchuan, Ningxia) to burn incense and worship Buddha, and the Empress Dowager of Western Xia, who believes in Buddhism, often goes to the Great Buddha Temple to live and worship, set up a dojo here, fasting meeting, and incense is flourishing for a while.
Genghis Khan led the Mongol Iron Horse across Eurasia, destroying many countries, and Western Xia was not spared. The murderous Mongol soldiers destroyed the city, burned documents, and robbed the royal tomb, wanting to erase Western Xia from history, but the Mongols who believed in Tibetan Buddhism did not dare to act rashly on the Great Buddha Temple, so that this royal temple that was originally Western Xia was preserved intact, and the Mongolian Empress Beji lived in the Great Buddha Temple, and here was born the ancestor Kublai Khan, and after the death of Empress Beji, the coffin was also buried in the Great Buddha Temple.
In the thirteenth century, the Italian traveler Marco Polo traveled around Ganzhou and came to the Great Buddha Temple several times, recording this splendid temple in the "Travels of Marco Polo".
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang set up a monk division in Jingshi to control Buddhist affairs in the world, and set up a monk department in Zhangye to manage religious affairs separately. In the ninth year of Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1411 AD), he gave the temple to Baojue. In the tenth year of the Ming Dynasty (1445 AD), Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen awarded 345 scripture scrolls, 685 letters, and 3584 edicts printed in the five-year palace edition to the Dafo Temple. The Tibetan scripture pavilion contains more than 6,000 Buddhist scriptures bestowed by Emperor Yingzong of Ming, and the scriptures are well preserved, and the scriptures written in gold and silver powder are the most precious.
Behind the temple there is a Thousand Buddha Pagoda, commonly known as the Earth Pagoda. The tower is 33.37 meters high. According to legend, the ashes of Shakya Sakusheng. The whole tower consists of three parts: the base of the tower, the body of the tower and the phase wheel. The base of the tower is 23 meters long on each side, with 13 sections in total and a canopy diameter of more than 4 meters, surrounded by 36 copper tiles and 36 fringed wind chimes. The pagoda has a unique shape and similarities with the white pagoda of Beijing Miaoying Temple. It is one of the five elements of Zhangye, and a small tower is built in the four corners of the first and second floor pedestals, which has a unique style and is rare in China.
Since the establishment of Western Xia, Zhangye Ganzhou Big Buddha Temple has a history of more than 900 years through the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Dafo Temple is a scenic spot in Zhangye, the name of the ancient Silk Road, and a landmark building of the historical and cultural city of Zhangye, and a beautiful business card of Zhangye.
The "Ganzhou Fuzhi" contains: "Ganzhou or ancient Ganquan name, Xiongnu gold casters worshiped the sky here, that is, took the name of Ganquan." It can be seen from this that the Hexi Corridor already had the custom of worshipping Buddha during the Xiongnu rule, and Buddhism from the west naturally took root and sprouted in this rich land, blossomed and fruited, and gradually entered the Central Plains.
Thousands of years of life and generation, the temple's incense has always been very strong. In the process of the eastward transmission of Buddhism, Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Zhangye and Wuwei, located in the Hexi corridor, have large populations and developed economies, and will naturally become gas stations and boosters for the eastward transmission of Buddhism. After the "Yongjia Rebellion", the Central Plains fought endlessly, the people did not have a good life, and the song "Qin Zhongchuan, blood has no wrists, only Liangzhou (Wuwei) leans on the pillar view." "In the whole of northern China, only the Hexi corridor is relatively stable. Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang in the Hexi Corridor, as relatively prosperous and stable areas, naturally become ideal places for building temples and opening caves. Bai Shouyi said in the Outline of the General History of China: "The center of Buddhism in the north, during the Sixteen Kingdoms, was in Former Liang and Northern Liang. "Zhangye used to be the capital of Northern Liang, so the Buddhist culture is very rich and widespread.
Zhangye is located at the crossroads of the Silk Road, becoming a place where Buddhism must be introduced, an early place where Buddhism became popular, and a place where Buddhism flourished, and its superior geographical location has made Zhangye and Buddha culture indissociable. After Buddhism was introduced to Zhangye, it was revered by the rulers. After the combination of Buddhist culture and Confucian culture, its influence spread throughout Zhangye. Especially during the Wei and Jin dynasties, Buddhism was widely spread in Zhangye, and during the reign of Monson of Confucianism, Buddhism, and re-education, senior monks from other places also came to Zhangye to give lectures, and a generation of senior monks Morosh had been active in the Hexi corridor for 17 years. In the third year of Tang Zhenguan, Master Sanzang went to Tianzhu to obtain scriptures and lecture on scriptures in Zhangye, and Buddhism flourished. Many Buddhist pioneers and a large number of followers appeared in Zhangye, opening caves to build Buddhas, building temples and towers, and to this day, you can also see stupas all over the city and countryside in Zhangye.
Buddhism has a natural connection with art, art uses the rich imagination of Buddhism to make up for the lack of traditional historical officials, and Buddhism also promotes the innovation and development of art. Buddhism has had a huge influence on painting, sculpture, and architecture. Successive dynasties have opened caves to make statues, built temples, painted a large number of Buddhist stories of Buddha country, meridian stories, Western Elysium, Buddha statues, flying sky and other Buddhist theme murals, reflecting the superb skills and rich imagination of ancient painters, in Zhangye Ganzhou Big Buddha Temple can now see "Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Journey to the West" and other exquisite murals. There are many large-scale Buddhist temple buildings built in Zhangye in various historical periods, such as Wenshu Temple and Horseshoe Temple in the Five Liang Dynasty, Muta Temple in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Big Buddha Temple in the Western Xia Dynasty, Xilai Temple in the Ming Dynasty, etc., with different architectural forms.
The grotto statues on the Silk Road from high nose and deep eyes, burly body to the Northern Wei "beautiful bone clear statue", Western Wei "vivid charm", to the Northern Zhou and pay attention to "simple and thick", Sui and Tang dynasty, the construction of Buddha statues has reached a brilliant peak, but also "full of charm, both form and god", in the process of statue making, in order to achieve respect for the Buddha, people often compare with each other, can be proud of building a giant Buddha, think that building a big Buddha is the best respect for the Buddha. As a result, there are the most representative Buddhas in each place to demonstrate their shocking power.
The rolling waves of the Black River are ringing with the sound of camel bells, majestic Qilian is verdant and competes to show Buddha light and universal sentient beings. The two big Buddhas in Zhangye sit and sleep, each with its own characteristics, and have become the geographical coordinates, cultural heritage, historical monuments, publicity business cards, and tourist famous brands of Jinzhangye. The two big Buddhas have witnessed the past and present here, and it is a responsibility and an opportunity to interpret Zhangye, an important town on the Silk Road, and admire such a huge Buddha statue; It is an honor, but also a baptism of the soul, a purification of the soul, let us touch the history of Buddhism in the way of pilgrimage, let us feel the essence of Buddha culture with a pious attitude.