Since the Northern Wei Dynasty excavated the Wanfotang Grottoes by the Daling River, the ancient city of Yizhou has opened its Buddhist path, especially the Liao Dynasty Emperor Yelü Longxu, who claimed to be the reincarnation of Shakyamuni, built the imperial temple Xianxi Temple in the hometown of his mother Empress Xiao, which pushed Yizhou Buddhism to another climax.
The Yizhou just mentioned is now Yixian County, Liaoning, and the Xianxi Temple is today's Fengguo Temple, because of the ancestry of the royal temple, the scale of the Fengguo Temple can be described as prosperous.
Before traveling, let's first learn about the past of Fengguo Temple, which was founded in 1020 (the ninth year of Liao Kaitai), and has since been continuously expanded by the three generations of Liaojin and Yuan, forming a spectacular royal atmosphere.
Unfortunately, in the past dynasties, Fengguo Temple has experienced vicissitudes, especially the Five Great Disasters such as the Jin Dynasty Liao War, the Yuan Dynasty War, and the Yuan Dynasty Earthquake have made this ancient temple full of holes, only one Liao Dynasty Daxiong Hall has been preserved to this day, and the rest are buildings after the Ming and Qing dynasties and modern reconstructions.
Even so, the main hall of Fengguo Temple, as a rare Liao Dynasty wooden building in China, was selected as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units as early as 1961, and compared with the same batch of selected Great Wall, Mogao Grottoes, and Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum, Fengguo Temple seems to be like a tourist treasure land, not known to tourists.
Fengguo Temple to see its murals, the Qing Dynasty reconstruction of the Inner Mountain Gate can see the Qing Dynasty preserved to this day, the rich sense of asphalt paste gold method for you to show the Dragon King Buyu and other exquisite scenes.
Originally built in the Jin Dynasty and rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty, the Heavenly King Hall can be seen in the modern era to re-paint colorful murals, showing you the story of Shakyamuni's eight stages from birth to nirvana.
The most precious mural in Fengguo Temple is the mural hidden on the east and west sides of the Daxiong Treasure Hall, which is speculated to be a remnant of the Yuan Dynasty according to the Lamaist Buddha statue in the picture, of course, everyone is more familiar with it in a generation of grandmaster movies accompanied Zhang Ziyi. Although it looks a little damaged, it can still be seen that this group of murals depicts 10 Buddha statues, 5 Buddhas in the east and west, and the lines are also very exquisite.
Fengguo Temple II look at its Liao Dynasty architecture, Fengguo Temple from south to north along the central axis of the buildings are the Outer Mountain Gate, the Inner Mountain Gate, the Archway, the Heavenly King Hall, the Daxiong Hall, the Daxiong Hall, the traveler focuses on the last Liao Dynasty preserved to this day daxiong Hall.
Fengguo Temple Daxiong Hall is a nine-room wide, 48.2 meters long, five deep, 25.13 meters wide, 21 meters high five-ridge single-eaves hall-style building, with this scale deservedly become the largest single-storey wooden structure in ancient Chinese architecture, can be called the first largest hall in China.
The dou arch of the Daxiong Hall of Fengguo Temple is made of seven paved works, and the material is also the largest in ancient Chinese wooden architecture, layered on the pillars, like a blooming flower.
Because it is built on a 3-meter pedestal, it looks more magnificent.
Fengguo Temple three look at its Liao Dynasty painted sculptures, and the remains of the same period as the Daxiong Hall wooden structure are the painted sculptures in the hall, 7 large Buddhas and 14 bodhisattva statues.
Usually we see that most of the Daxiong Treasure Hall is enshrined with 3 or 5 main Buddhas, but there are 7 statues enshrined here in Fengguo Temple, which is the only case in China, and it is the first time I have seen it. These seven main Buddhas are arranged in the order of becoming Buddhas, Shakyamuni Buddha is at the end, because the Liao Dynasty and its belief in Buddhism, the emperor is the Buddha, the 7 Buddhas also represent the first five Liao emperors and their mothers, and at the end is Shakyamuni Buddha, who built the Fengguo Temple.
However, what I personally prefer is the bodhisattva in front of the main Buddha, who is about two meters tall, which is a little more worldly than the faces of these bodhisattvas in the Tang Dynasty statues, and the figure is graceful and colorful, looking like a young girl in the Liao Dynasty.
In this way, we can also understand the Liao Shengzong Yelü Longxu, who was the sixth emperor of the Liao Dynasty, because his mother laid a solid position for him, so that the Khitan reached its peak, and also signed the "Alliance of Liaoyuan" with the Great Song Dynasty, which lasted for 119 years, which is why it has the strength to build buildings with major projects, such as the famous Fengguo Temple, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, and Huayan Temple, which are the products of the alliance, showing the state of advocating Buddhism in the Liao Dynasty, on the other hand, it also shows the strength of the Liao Dynasty.
In particular, Fengguo Temple interprets the highest standard of 11th-century Chinese architecture, and even Liang Sicheng once praised it as "a thousand-year-old national treasure, a supreme national treasure, a rare treasure, and the largest Buddhist hall in the Liao Dynasty of Fengguo Temple." ”
Liaoning Yixian Fengguo Temple Travel Tips:
How to get there: From Shenyang North Railway Station Bus Station, you can take a bus to Yixian County, and after arriving, you can walk 15 minutes to Fengguo Temple. You can also take a shuttle bus from Shenyang Station to Fuxin Station, transfer to Fuxin South Station and take a train to Yixian Railway Station, then take bus No. 2 and No. 5 to Fengguosi Station.