The rolling hills of the Qilian Mountains contain breathtaking natural beauty and cultural treasures. In the midst of this magnificent mountain range, there is a temple that rises high above the cliffs. The temple's hall is cleverly embedded in the many caves carved out of the cliffs, which is known as the Horseshoe Temple.
On October 18th, the online theme activity of "Millennium Grottoes, Ingenuity Inheritance" came to the Zhangye Horseshoe Temple Grottoes to explore the art treasure house on this cliff.
The Horseshoe Temple grottoes are famous, but it is difficult for tourists to imagine that this Buddhist cultural temple, which has been lit for thousands of years and is famous at home and abroad, was originally founded by a scholar.
The story begins in the distant Western Jin Dynasty. After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the northern region fell into a division that lasted for more than a hundred years. The gentry and scholars of the Central Plains went south one after another to avoid the chaos. However, at this time, the Hexi Corridor has become a rare place of tranquility.
According to historical records, the Former Liang regime promoted agriculture and education in the Hexi region, attracting many Central Plains scholars to take refuge in the northwest and settle in the Hexi Corridor. Among them, the famous Confucian Guo Yu also came to the Linsong Shallot Valley in the south of Zhangye City, which is the area of today's Horseshoe Temple.
It's like a paradise. According to the Book of Jin, Guo Yu "dug a grotto and lived" here, intending to live in seclusion and teach apprentices for life, so as to preserve the first-line context of northern Confucianism in troubled times. Some scholars have verified that the grottoes excavated by Guo Yu and his disciples should be in the area of the North Temple of the Horseshoe Temple. After the establishment of Beiliang, Fuqu Mengxun vigorously excavated grottoes, shaped Buddha statues, and established the Horseshoe Temple, which opened the history of the rise and fall of this temple for more than 1,600 years.
The Horseshoe Temple Grottoes are backed by the majestic Qilian Mountain, facing the vast Hexi Corridor, on the cliffs of 100 meters high, the grottoes are like a pagoda embedded in the mountain, exuding a mysterious and solemn atmosphere. The name of "horseshoe" originated from the 44th year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1565) and the "record of rebuilding the horseshoe temple". Folklore has it that when the Pegasus descended to earth, he landed on a rock here and stepped on a hoof print, from which the temple got its name; It is also said that the Tibetan king Gesar left a horseshoe print here during his northern expedition. This legend adds a touch of legend to the Horseshoe Temple, making it a popular destination for tourists and culture lovers.
Today's horseshoe temple grottoes belong to the national key cultural relics protection units, by Shengguo Temple, Puguang Temple, Thousand Buddha Cave, upper, middle and lower Guanyin Cave and Golden Pagoda Temple seven places, distributed in an area of more than 100 square kilometers, is one of the Buddhist holy places of Hexi Corridor, early to Han Buddhism, after the Yuan Dynasty Tibetan Buddhism flourished here, Tibetan is called "Zhuoma Rangxiang" in Tibetan, meaning the place where the Bodhisattva naturally appears.
As an important historical and cultural treasure on the Silk Road, the Horseshoe Temple Grottoes are an outstanding representative of early cave art in mainland China. Its cave shapes, statues and murals all show unique national characteristics and Western customs, which is a strong proof of the cultural exchanges between the East and the West, and between Han and Tibet.
The majestic snow-capped mountains set off the 33-day grottoes of the Horseshoe Temple, like a holy realm. The seven-storey grotto is closed from the bottom to the top, and it looks like a pagoda from a distance. And because it is extremely high and steep, just like the thirty-three heavenly kingdoms on the top of Mount Meru described in the Buddhist scriptures, it is named "thirty-three days".
Walking into the grotto, it is as if you have traveled through time and space, and you can feel the exquisite skills and profound artistic cultivation of ancient craftsmen. The statues in the grotto are lifelike, the murals are colorful, and despite the baptism of the years and the erosion of wind and rain, people can still appreciate the glory and magnificence of the year.
Wen · Tu丨 Rushing News reporter Wang Xiajing