The Hanging Temple, a mysterious and ancient building, hangs quietly on the cliff face that is more than 60 meters high, and has been baptized by wind and rain for more than 1,500 years, but it has always stood tall. Located in Hunyuan County, Datong, Shanxi Province, it literally hangs in mid-air, far from the ground. Over the years, it has endured numerous natural disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, and rain erosion, but it has always stood tenaciously on top of the cliffs.
The Hanging Temple, with its 41 halls, is a puzzling question. From a distance, the ground floor of the pavilion seems to protrude from the façade of the cliff, as if it were hanging from the cliff. Such an architectural marvel, the way it is supported, is undoubtedly the focus of attention.
Between the two three-storey pavilions of the Hanging Temple, it is connected by an ancient plank road. In the Hengshan area, there is a folk song: "Hanging Temple, half a day high, three horsetails hanging in the air." The "horsetail" here refers to the red standing timber that connects the pavilion to the plank road. There are a total of 30 of these standing trees, divided into three groups, each of which is more than a dozen meters long. They seem to support the entire Hanging Temple, giving people a strong visual impact.
However, there is controversy as to whether these standing timbers actually played a supporting role. Chang Xuewen, who has worked in the management office of the Hanging Temple for more than ten years, initially believed that these standing trees were the key to supporting the Hanging Temple. But a fortuitous discovery made him wonder about it. He found that the standing timbers could be shaken, and they were not very large, no more than 10 centimeters in diameter. Can such standing timber really support a pavilion with a lifting capacity of tens of tons?
Zhao Sijing, a member of the Beijing Folk Artists Association, has visited the Hanging Temple several times, but he did not find the existence of these standing trees in his early photographs. Therefore, he suspects that the standing timbers have no actual supporting effect.
So, if it weren't for these standing trees, how would the pavilions and plank roads of the Hanging Temple be supported? Archaeologists have found that beams are buried under each pavilion and plank road. These pieces of wood, which are about 50 centimeters in diameter, seem to have grown out of rocks. The exposed part of these beams is about a meter or so, and there are plank corridors on top. Not only the corridors, but also the entire pavilion plinths are pressed directly on these beams.
According to statistics, there are 27 such beams in the Hanging Temple. These beams are probably the key to supporting the entire pavilion. But what is confusing is that the Hanging Temple is surrounded by towering cliffs, how are these beams erected?
In the 80s of the last century, archaeologists found two rows of square stone holes in the steep rock face in the southern part of the canyon. These stone holes are lined up along the cliffs, as if telling the wisdom and courage of the ancients. Mr. Luo Zhewen, an expert on ancient architecture, deduced from the arrangement of these stone holes that this is a wooden jack, which is likely to be a remnant of an ancient plank road. In order to transport supplies on the cliffs, the ancients dug these stone holes, inserted beams into them, and then paved them with wooden planks to form a plank road for passage. Luo Zhewen believes that the beams of the Hanging Temple were also inserted into the stone holes in a similar way, which played a supporting role.
However, there are still questions about the length and load-bearing capacity of the beams. Judging from the existing beams, their diameters are in good agreement with the stone holes. However, it is estimated that the length of the beam may be only about two meters. Luo Zhewen believes that the length of the beams must be more than two meters, and the one meter that is currently exposed is only a small part of it, and most of the beams are still hidden in the cliffs. If these beams were really only two meters long, the entire pavilion would have fallen into the abyss.
In addition, the experts also conducted further investigations into the standing timber on the side of the building. They found that the standing timber under the boardwalk could indeed be shaken, and there was no support. But the standing timbers on the side of the building were completely different, they could barely move, and seemed to be holding up to the beams. Do these standing timbers also play a supporting role?
The tallest building of the Hanging Temple, His Royal Highness Sanguan, has a total of 22 standing logs. The upper ends of these standing timbers support the beams, and the lower ends are pressed tightly against the rocks. Together, these standing timbers and beams form a powerful support system that ensures the suspension of the pavilion and the safe passage of pedestrians. Luo Zhewen believes that this kind of support method of beams and standing timber is widely used in ancient architecture, showing the outstanding wisdom of ancient craftsmen in the mainland.
The Hanging Temple has a long history, and the earliest three surviving stone Buddhas date back to the Northern Wei Dynasty in 500 AD. This means that the Hanging Temple is at least 1,500 years old. For modern people, it is difficult to imagine how the ancients could have carved stone holes in stone walls without explosives and complex construction machinery. Experts deduce that craftsmen of those days were able to accomplish this difficult task with just a few simple iron tools. Today, the beams of the ancient plank road no longer exist, but the traces of these stone holes are still clearly visible, witnessing the wisdom and courage of the ancients.
So, how did the ancients stick the beams firmly into the caves, and how did they survive millennia? It's still a mystery to be solved. But in any case, the ancient architectural wonder of the Hanging Temple is worth our in-depth study and exploration. It is not only a treasure of ancient architectural techniques in the mainland, but also a symbol of human wisdom and courage.
In the 90s, the conservation agency tried to replace some of the beams of the Hanging Temple, but was surprised to find that these beams could not be easily pulled out of the stone holes. After an in-depth investigation, the experts revealed the mystery: it turned out that all the beams had undergone a special treatment. One end of them is driven into wedges, which, once inside the cave, prop up the beams and make them firmly embedded in the stone wall. The principle is similar to today's expansion bolts, and the deeper the wedge is inserted, the more firmly the beam is fixed.
As we all know, wood is not eternal, it has its own life span and will gradually corrode. Considering that the Hanging Temple is more than 1,500 years old, one cannot help but wonder: have these wooden structures undergone some kind of change? According to a stone tablet in the temple during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the last repair of the wooden structure of the Hanging Temple is more than 140 years ago. Although the beams have cracked, surprisingly, they have not decayed. The key to its longevity lies in the special treatment process.
Zhao Sijing, a member of the Beijing Folk Artists Association, shared his insights: "The wood of the Hanging Temple has been soaked in tung oil, which effectively resists the erosion of insects and ants, so that it is still firmly rooted in the rock for thousands of years. Moreover, the wood used is a local specialty, hemlock, which excels in construction, shipbuilding and vehicle construction. ”
According to the stone monument in the temple, the craftsmen of the time first arranged the beams, and then used the wood at the foot of the mountain to create the wooden components needed for each building. Once all the components have been made, the craftsmen move them to the top of the mountain. Once at the top of the mountain, they use ropes to lower workers and components down the mountainside, which they then assemble to form a free-standing structure. When all the individual buildings were completed, the work did not end there, and the craftsmen also had to lay plank roads to connect the individual buildings into a single whole, thus forming the Hanging Temple we see today.