Hidden money in cultural relics to workers
■Financial media reporter Xu cymbals Wang Baifeng text/picture
The sky is slightly dewy with morning light, Quanzhou Dakaiyuan Temple, flocks of white doves stop in the court, quietly listen to the faint Sanskrit sound. From time to time, they flapped their wings and flew to the roof of the main hall, piercing the night that had been silent all night.
It's dawn. A busy new day begins. On the stone pillar outside the main hall and under the Sumeru seat of Renshou Tower, several "little people" do not distinguish between day and night, day and night holding up the bucket arch and stone tower above their heads. They are jokingly called the hidden "workers" in the cultural relics. From an architectural point of view, they are "Han Fan Lifting Cuo Corner" and "Fan Zi Lifting Bucket". In ancient legends, they were also known as Totaris or the god of force.
The top of the column and the bottom of the tower are "beating workers" in the "hard brace"
Quanzhou Dakaiyuan Temple Daxiong Treasure Hall
Quanzhou Dakaiyuan Temple Daxiong Treasure Hall, facing nine rooms and five entrances, magnificent and magnificent. This was built in the Tang Dynasty in the second year of the arch (686), the successive dynasties have been repaired, and the existing building is the relics of the ten years (1637) of Ming Chongzhen. The stone pillars inside and outside the hall are also more than the Ming Dynasty Yimu came for the stone. Outside the main entrance of the main hall, on the top of 4 stone pillars, the part where the stone and the bucket arch are connected, 10 small "workers" can be clearly seen. Among them, there are 3 people on each of the 2 sticks near the gate, and 2 people on each side of the gate. Most of them were dressed in blue short shirts, green short bottoms, and blue turbans on their heads, some of them kneeling with one foot and one foot on the ground, and their hands seemed to exert all their strength to lift the bucket arch above their heads. Some of them are half-crossed, with one hand on their bodies or lightly grasping their clothes, and the other hand holding up the pillar above their heads, and the look on their faces is much more relaxed. Together with the main hall, after hundreds of years of wind and rain, they are still lifelike, vividly and silently "lifting the bucket".
A group of "workers" holding up the pillars on top of the 4 pillars on the porch of the Daxiong Hall of Kaiyuan Temple. From an architectural point of view, they are "Han Fan Lifting Cuo Corner" and "Fan Zi Lifting Bucket". In ancient legends, they were also known as Totaris or the god of force.
Outside the main entrance of the Daxiong Hall of Kaiyuan Temple, on the top of 4 stone pillars, the part where the stone is connected with the bucket arch can clearly see 10 small "workers" of different shapes.
Looking at the southwest, at the corner of the Sumeru seat of Renshou Tower, 8 "workers" are also supporting the giant tower day after day. Renshou Tower, the folk call the West Tower, when it was first built, it was a wooden tower, it was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, it was a brick for the wood, the existing stone tower was built in the first year of Jiaxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1237), it is a five-storey granite tower, 45.06 meters high. The 8 "workers" at the corner of the Sumeru seat can be described as a real stone tower with 10,000 tons. Most of them bare their upper bodies, some of them bent their knees with one foot, supported the ground on their toes, and their hands tightly grasped the clothes on both sides, as if frowning, and were using their shoulders to climb the tower; some of them pulled their clothes with both hands, raised one foot, tilted their heads as if they were taking a breath; some were half-squatting, supporting their knees with both hands, staring straight ahead with their eyes wide, as if they were holding their breath, and pushing their shoulders up hard; some shrunk their shoulders, carried their clothes, closed their eyes, and "resigned" the tower. The most special thing is a "whistleblower", who sucks the thumb and index finger of his right hand in his mouth while holding the tower, making a whistle gesture. Nearly 800 years have passed, and they are still simple and delicate, as vivid, as they were back then.
The statues of mythological figures such as "Heavenly King" and "Lux" on the west tower of Kaiyuan Temple are lifelike. The 8 "workers" at the corner of the girdle of Sumeru can be described as a real stone tower of 10,000 tons.
The statue of the "Whistleblower" is located at the corner of the west side of the Sumeru seat of the West Tower (Renju Pagoda), and the image is vivid, and it was originally a Totaris. Although he was carrying a 10,000-ton stone tower, he could still calmly suck his right thumb and index finger in his mouth and make a whistle shape.
Originated from the integration of the Maritime Silk Road culture, mostly stored in the temple stone tower
"In southern Fujian, this is called 'Han Fan Lifting Cuo Jiao' or 'Fan Zi Lifting Bucket'. Jiang Qinquan, a master of Chinese construction and a national inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of traditional folk house construction skills in southern Fujian, said that this is also a strong proof that Quanzhou in history has carried out business and trade exchanges and cultural exchanges as the "largest port in the East" and formed a diverse and inclusive culture.
The story can be traced back to Tang culture. Jiang Qinquan said in detail that during the Tang Dynasty, the traditional red brick houses in southern Fujian were known for their noble, exquisite and gorgeous "red bricks and white stones double slope curves, bricks and bricks into the stone swallowtail ridge", and the folk called it the official-style "palace up" building. At that time, such an architectural style, prosperous national strength and developed economy brought great self-confidence to the people of southern Fujian. They went to Southeast Asia to start a business, make a living, and do business, commonly known as "going to the South Seas". With a spirit of love to fight and dare to win, and the traditional thinking of Hokkien people returning to their roots, many of them will return to their hometowns when their careers are successful. When they return to their hometowns, they are called "Fanke", and at the same time, a considerable number of them will bring back maids, similar to today's "Filipino maids", which were called "Fanzai" at that time. Most of the "Fanzai" came from the Nanyang region, and after following the master to Quanzhou, they were mostly engaged in manual work and hard work. As a result, the images of "Han Fan Lifting the Corner" and "Fan Zi Lifting the Bucket", which reflected the social form of the time, were vividly borrowed and used in the architecture.
In addition, there is also a saying that with the development of maritime trade in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties, many Arabs, Persians, Indians and other foreigners came to Quanzhou with trade and trade, and they also brought many exotic cultures. For imported products, Quanzhou people also call them "Fan", for example, the Hindu temple is called "Fan Buddha Temple", and tomatoes are called "tomatoes". But no matter what you say, it fully illustrates the diversity and inclusiveness of Quanzhou's local culture at that time.
However, "Han Fan Lifting Cuo Corner" and "Fan Zi Lifting Bucket" are more common in temples or stone pagodas, and ordinary houses are relatively rare. Only a few "Fanzilou" are occasionally used, "Most of the owners of 'Fanzilou' are 'Fanke' who have returned to their hometowns in Nanyang, and their acceptance of 'Fanzi' is also relatively high. Jiang Qinquan explained.
"Totaris" means that Lux holds the building stable
They are also known as totaris or lishen. Because of the limitation of space, Totaris are generally short in stature, and the 8 wrestlers of Renshou Pagoda are about 40 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide. After nearly 800 years of wind and rain, some of them have been blurred by weathering, but most of them are still vivid, and their clothes and forms are still faintly recognizable. They either kneel or half-squat, many bared teeth and angry eyes, their upper bodies are bare, their muscles are developed, their demeanor and posture are different, and they seem to exert upward force, and silently hold up the giant tower with their heads, shoulders or hands on all sides of the base of the tower.
Lux is the god of Hercules in Buddhism, so in ancient times, the image of Lux was generally carved at the base of the building or the four corners of the eaves of the house, especially the tower, which means that the building can be stable with the support of Vajra Lux. Renshou Pagoda Sumeru, the foot of the Gui is covered with lotus flowers, the waist is divided by the pillar, and the corner is decorated with the god of force. The statue of the god of power is carved in high relief using a single piece of stone, and the back is connected with the waist of the Sumeru seat. The statue is exquisitely carved and vivid, and none of the movements, forms, or even muscle lines on the body are the same.
The East and West Twin Towers of Quanzhou are the treasures of ancient Chinese stone architecture, representing the highest level of stone architecture skills in China and even Southeast Asia in the Song Dynasty. As part of the stone carvings of the West Tower, Totaris has also experienced many typhoons and earthquakes of magnitude 8, and still stands with the tower. It is no wonder that the people of Quanzhou always say that "standing like the East and West Tower, lying like the Luoyang Bridge".
The role is more to decorate the pluralistic traditional culture into an important connotation of southern Fujian architecture
But in fact, to say how much of a role "Han Fan Carries the Cuo Corner" and "Fan Zi Lifting the Bucket" play in the construction, Jiang Qinquan smiled and told a joke he made. He said that when he was young, his family built a house, and the workers wanted to do a little more work every day, but the days were short, and they always had to call it a day a day. Naively, he held a bamboo pole to the top of the sun, hoping to keep the sun, "The bamboo pole tops the sun, just like 'Han Fan carrying the corner'".
"No wood is not carved, no stone is not carved. Jiang Qinquan said that this is a true portrayal of typical traditional buildings in southern Fujian, and the role of "Han Fan Carrying Cuo Jiao" and "Fan Zi Carrying Bucket" is also more about decoration. The red brick house is a symbol of their success and wealth, and it is also imprinted with their experiences and emotions. Just like the ancient houses of Shishi Yongning, most of the owners are overseas Chinese who have achieved overseas careers, and a considerable part of the buildings are Western-style "foreign gray buildings" and "Fanzi buildings", and another type of local style "Huanggongqi" traditional red brick houses, there are also many exotic colors and marine styles. For example, the entrance of the three-arch coupon of Gong Tianci's residence and the imported tiles inlaid on the mirror wall, the Yuhuangtou residence built two Western-style hills on the door of the double-sided house, and the stone relief of "Han Fan Carrying the Cuo Corner" or the wood carving seat of "Fanzi Lifting Bucket" appeared in many large houses.
"The experience of Jinjiang has a historical origin, a lineage, Quanzhou people dare to be the first, have foresight, have a mind, but also a long history. Jiang Qinquan said that this allows Quanzhou people to accept the integration of various cultures with a broader mind, and boldly "take China as the foundation, and the West as the Chinese use" in architecture. Diversified traditional culture has become an important connotation of the construction technology system, and the exquisite wood carving and stone carving skills are no longer general decorations, but are closely related to the modeling structure, architectural culture, and artistic and cultural performance of southern Fujian architecture, and shine in the traditional building construction technology system of southern Fujian.
Editor in charge: Huang Donghong