In the summer of 1981, Shaanxi Famen Temple, a pagoda built in the Ming Dynasty, on the night of the thunderstorm, due to disrepair and erosion by rainwater, a crack suddenly appeared in the middle, causing half of the pagoda to collapse that night.
At that time, the technology was not good, and the construction of houses or whose sweet potato cellars or whatever, collapsed in special weather was very common. But the sudden collapse of the pagoda is still relatively rare, and if you want to trace it, it has been half a century since the last fall of the Leifeng Pagoda on the shore of Hangzhou's West Lake in 1924.
I don't know what the signs of the collapse of the Famen Temple Pagoda are, I can't help but think of the two emperors of the Tang Dynasty, and their collapse is very much related to the collapsed Famen Temple Pagoda in front of them.
After the Pagoda of Famen Temple collapsed without warning, the remaining half of the pagoda was demolished or repaired, and the conclusion was undecided, and the matter of the remnants of the pagoda was not resolved.
In the spring of 1985, Shaanxi decided to repair and strengthen the pagoda, and after cleaning up the cultural relics and masonry of the pagoda, experts found that the pagoda was old and had poor physical fitness, making it difficult to continue to repair.
After reporting the application to the superiors, another year later, in the autumn of 1986, people decided to demolish the remaining half, rescue the excavated cultural relics with work, and then rebuild.
After half a year of demolition and cleaning, on April 3, 1987, the working surface progressed to the foundation of the stupa. At this time, it has been 6 years since the collapse of the pagoda.
While exploring the foundation clearance, an archaeologist inadvertently found a square white jade slab with a round horned animal head carved into the slab, plus a circle of scales on the slab, speculating that it might be a dragon, and some people thought it was a unicorn.
In ancient times, artifacts that could be used with dragons or unicorns were generally related to the emperor. If the speculation is correct, this piece of White Jade Stone Slab should have been given by Emperor Yizong of Tang. Its purpose is to prepare for the retreat of thousands of treasures offered by Famen Temple in the underground palace.
History does not highly value Tang Yizong, he was emperor for 14 years, and the Tang Dynasty is gradually moving towards rout. What he did as emperor did did not seem to be as famous as the last 3 years of this piece of welcoming Buddha bones.
Tang Yizong welcomed the Bones of the Buddha, the momentum was huge, from 871 AD to prepare, until 873 to welcome into the palace, a full 3 years, from Fengxiang Fufeng to Jingzhao Province Chang'an City, along the way more than 200 miles, perennial tents and public opinion buildings, traffic and traffic, the river flowed endlessly.
In 873 AD, after the Buddha bones greeted Chang'an, the Yulin Army opened the road, the imperial court and folk bands filled the streets, the heavens were vibrating and playing, and the procession stretched for tens of miles, more solemn than the emperor's sacrifice in the countryside, and Chang'an City became an ocean of joy for a while.
However, the flowers were not red for a hundred days, and at that time, the Tang Dynasty was worried about internal and external troubles, the people were not happy, and all over the place rose up. Wang Xianzhi, Huang Chao, and other tyrants from all sides who were salt merchants had already sharpened their knives and plotted to raise troops. But Chang'an Shengle was everywhere, and there was a peaceful and prosperous world. The contrast is a bit big.
From the perspective of greeting the Buddha's bones alone, it is strange that Tang Yizong alone is not objective. Most of the emperors of the Tang Dynasty revered The Buddha, and his grandfather Tang Xianzong did this, and it was also a huge momentum at that time.
Han Yu, the head of the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, was indignant about this, and the above table "Greeting the Bones of the Buddha" was not allowed, listing the emperors of the Chongfo Emperor of the past dynasties who "did not have long luck" and "asked for blessings for the Buddha, but it was even more calamious".
The words used in the book were fierce, and Xianzong Longyan was furious and wanted to execute Han Yu, but thanks to the prime minister's obstruction, he was demoted to more than 1,000 kilometers of Chaozhou to do the history of stabbing. XianZong's meaning is very clear, send a remote area, don't let me see you boy again, leave immediately, the farther away the better.
Unfortunately, the matter of "more misfortune" really made Han Yu's words right, and after a few months of greeting the Buddha's bones, 43-year-old Tang Xianzong suddenly collapsed. This is also a meal of kung fu, said no, it is gone.
Throughout the Tang Dynasty, Tang Taizong opened the end of the Buddha bone, and there were a total of 7 emperors welcoming the Buddha bone, and a strange phenomenon occurred: but anyone who welcomed the Buddha bone to the imperial capital, and the momentum was huge, the scale was unprecedented, and the duration was very long, the end was not good.
The first time Tang Taizong greeted the bones of the Buddha, he only performed a ceremony at famen Temple, and there was no excessive activity, which can be described as decent. Wu Zetian welcomed the Buddha's bones for the third time, first to Chang'an and then to Luoyang, five years before and after, which was the longest time in history, but it was also this year that Wu Zetian first abdicated and died. The scale of the sixth Tang Xianzong was not small, and it was greatly resisted by the Qunchen, and as a result, he met the Buddha bone, and before he could play, he collapsed.
Tang Yizong was the grandson of Emperor Xianzong, and on the seventh time of the Tang Dynasty to greet the Buddha, the momentum was even greater, and it was the largest in the history of the Tang Dynasty, both the last and the largest.
Tang Yizong's welcome to the Buddha's bones this time was dozens of times more solemn than that of his grandfather Xianzong. 10 days after Shi Zai's buddha bones departed from Fufeng Famen Temple, on the eighth day of April 874 AD, they arrived in Chang'an, where Tang Yizong personally greeted him, and because he was too excited, he could not help but howl, and soaked the upper part of the dragon robe dress.
He took out a golden veil on the spot to reward the monks, and took all the old people who had watched his grandfather Tang Xianzong welcome the Buddha bones. At the same time, in celebration, all detainees were ordered to have their sentences commuted by one degree.
Next, when we arrived at the palace, all kinds of treasures were offered, and the monks rewarded them again. After finally getting things done, because his emotions had been in a state of excitement, and a little wind blew outside the palace, Tang Yizong soon fell ill, and by July 16, he was already too sick to do so, and three days later he collapsed like his grandfather. His 12-year-old son then succeeded to the throne, emperor Of Tang.
Tang Yizong and Tang Yizong rewarded and offered thousands of treasures, the most and the most abundant in the past, in terms of cultural relics value, each piece can be called a national treasure, such as the bodhisattva found in the underground palace of Famen Temple, silver and gold flowers double wheel twelve ring tin battle and so on.
The gilded bodhisattva was found in the northeast corner of the underground palace room of Famen Temple, which was then contained in a sandalwood letter, which was found to be decaying.
It is about 40 centimeters high, weighs about 4 pounds, is 21 centimeters high, is hammered and cast, has pearls all over its body, wears a crown of flowers decorated with pearls and sits on the Buddha, wears a sheep intestine skirt, kneels on the lotus platform on the left and right, and holds a silver plaque in both hands.
The Relics of the Buddha's Finger were placed on a silver plaque and welcomed into the imperial palace for the empress's concubines to worship. The silver plaque is inscribed with 65 words:
Enshrined as Emperor Guangxiao of The Wise Man, The Wise Man, The Great Sage of Ren, he honors the true bodhisattva and provides for him forever. Wishing for the holy life of ten thousand springs, the holy branches and leaves, the eight wilderness to serve, the four seas without waves. Xiantong Twelfth Year Xin Dior November 14 Emperor Yanqing Diary.
The bodhisattva base consists of 3 parts, from top to bottom: bowl-shaped lotus seat, drum-shaped corset, buckle-type bowl-type or bowl-type base.
On the outside of the bowl-shaped lotus seat, there are 4 layers of 32-petal lotus flowers carved from large to small. The upper two layers of lotus flowers have 16 petals, and inside are hand-held dharma vessels, lotus flowers, knotted bodhisattvas or shengwen tricks, surrounded by vines and branches. The lower two layers of lotus flowers with 16 petals are not carved. The thirty-two petals of the lotus flower symbolize the sixteen venerables of the Tantric Vajrapani realm, each of which will be the Mandala Gate and the Wisdom Gate.
The drum-shaped corset is carved with four kings, who hold swords, axes, towers, etc. The bowl-shaped base has a standing edge, decorated with double lotus petals on the top and carved with the king's statue on the lower eight petals. The base of the bowl is engraved with a double dragon, and the middle cross vajra pestle, representing the eight parts of the Buddhist Heavenly Dragon.
Tang Yizong originally intended to offer sacrifices to the Buddha, and to use this instrument to express the method to achieve the efficacy and purpose of offering, protecting the country, repenting of sins and eliminating disasters, and increasing blessings and prolonging life. But realistically speaking, this kind of psychological hint, which belongs more to the spiritual level, although it may have a certain effect on individuals, has little effect on reality, neither prolonging their lives, nor reversing the fortunes of the late Tang Dynasty, but allowing the dignitaries to compete for whitewashing and offerings, bringing a luxurious custom and further promoting the Tang Empire to the end.
The bodhisattva statue plaque shows the name of Tang Yizong, which is the magic instrument he offered to worship the Buddha finger relic, has a clear owner, witnesses the last time of the Tang Dynasty and the largest of the seven times the Tang Dynasty greeted the Buddha bone, it can be said that it is the highest grade cultural relics found in the Tang Dynasty, the historical value is extremely high, comparable to the American treasure, and later listed as a national first-class cultural relic, stored in the Famen Temple Museum.