Xiaozhao Temple

Xiaozhao temple is not as famous as Dazhao temple in terms of reputation and scale, and there are not so many interesting explanations from lamas, but it also has a unique flavor. It is said that Xiaozhao temple was originally built by Han craftsmen brought by Princess Wencheng when she came to Tibet, so its early architecture imitated the style of Han and Tang Dynasties and integrated the characteristics of Han and Tibetan architecture. As the temple was burned several times, most of the existing Xiaozhao temple was rebuilt later.

Xiaozhao Temple

Ramoq ê g ê NBA, known in Tibetan as "Jiada raomuke", is located 500 meters north of bakuo street in Lhasa, Tibet. It was founded in the middle of the 7th century in 641 (the year of the iron ox in the Tibetan calendar and the period of Songzanganbu in Tubo). It was founded by Princess Wencheng. Xiaozhao temple has a building area of 4000 square meters. The temple mainly houses the 8-year-old statue of Sakyamuni and many other precious cultural relics. Therefore, in 1962, it was announced as a key cultural relic protection unit at the autonomous region level by the State Council, and in 2001, it was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit.

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architectural composition

The Tibetan name of Xiaozhao temple is burning Muqi. The reputation and scale of Xiaozhao temple are not as big as that of Dazhao temple, and it is not so lively. But it's different.

Xiaozhao temple has been burned for several times in history. Most of the existing buildings in Xiaozhao temple were rebuilt later. Only the temple on the ground floor is an early building. The 10 pillars in the temple can be seen vaguely. There are lotus flowers, cirrus clouds, jewels and six character mantra carved on it. There are three floors in the main building of Xiaozhao temple. The first floor is divided into three parts: the entrance hall, the Sutra hall and the Buddha Hall. Around the corridor is the Sutra turning corridor. The wall of the corridor is painted with the Buddha statues of wuliangshou. The top floor is a Chinese style shingle, which is glittering. You can see it from all directions in Lhasa, which is magnificent.

The architectural style of Xiaozhao Temple combines the characteristics of Han Tibetan architecture. The initial temple management was also presided over by Han monks. Therefore, Xiaozhao temple is not only one of the earliest temples in Tibet, but also a symbol of the unity and friendship between the two ethnic groups, which occupies a very important position in the history of Sino Tibetan ethnic relations.

Xiaozhao temple covers an area of about 4000 square meters. The front part is the courtyard, and the rear part is the temple and its gatehouse, the turning of the Sutra and other ancillary facilities. The gate tower is three stories high: the ground floor is a spacious outline. There are 10 large columns (0.8 m in diameter) in Ming Kuo, all of which are hexagonal. There are three copper hoops on the column, and petals are carved on the surface of the hoop. The upper part of the first column is carved with complicated patterns of flowers and plants. On the head of the column are embossed with beads, "Hui" pattern, petals and continuous "six character truth". The first four rows of pillars are carved with sea water clouds and dragons. On the wall at the back of the outline of the Ming Dynasty, there are four vajras (namely the four heavenly kings) and six reincarnations (on the picture, there is a ferocious king of the Ming Dynasty holding a huge wheel with huge teeth and tusks holding the upper part of the wheel; the wheel is divided into three layers, with snake, dove and pig in the center of the circle; the inner wheel is divided into six spaces, namely six paths, and the outermost layer has 12 pictures, which are called "ten origins": ignorance, action and knowledge The second and third floors of the gate house are the monk's room and Sutra hall. Through the gatehouse is the winding corridor around the temple. Wooden mani wheels were erected on the south, West and north sides of the corridor, and murals such as wuliangshou Buddha and White Tara were painted on the wall.

The temple of Xiaozhao temple has three floors: the ground floor is divided into three parts: gate, scripture hall and Buddha Hall. In the courtyard, there are small rooms on the left and right, with blowers on the right; in the left is the side hall, with tribute colored statues made of pomegranate branches. It is said that one of the pillars has a stone tablet with Princess Wencheng's fingerprints, and the other has two Dharma painting skins. The four pillars are all big round pillars. On both sides of the big pillars and the small arches, there is a Hercules carved. Hercules are in the shape of support. There are lions, round rising clouds and vases carved on the big arches. There are two reliefs on some small arches with capitals, symbolizing lions and human figures. On the door, the head is cymbal shaped with the pattern of two dragons playing with pearls. There are six words of Sanskrit on the beams. These carvings are simple and dignified, reflecting the characteristics of the early inner lattice.

Behind the gate is the Sutra hall. The Sutra hall has 7 rooms in depth, 3 rooms in width and 30 columns. There are stone column foundations under the columns. Among them, four big columns in the middle are straight through to the second floor, and the high open skylight is supported above. The other 26 columns are 2.8m high and 0.48M in diameter. The capitals are decorated with cirrus, pearl and lotus. On the head of a row of purlins directly opposite the courtyard of the assembly hall, there were originally 28 lying lions, but there are still 27, which are full and half carved; on the abdomen, there is a base decorated with four or eight petals of lotus. Sakyamuni and a Thousand Buddhas were painted on the four walls of the assembly hall. In the south of the gate of the West rear clean room, there are sunling pagoda, the two disciples of Sharif and muqianlian, and the bronze gilded dense Vajra statue with a height of 0.4 meters, and the clay statue of jiezun gonggadonzhu; in the north, there are the auspicious Vajra, Nengren Buddha and zangbala Buddha with a height of 1 meter.

There are also four clay statues of the heavenly king on both sides of the entrance of the clean room. The last part is the Buddha Hall, with 2 columns inside and no column foundation, covering an area of 23.5 square meters. The surface of the column is wrapped with hemp rope and then smeared with 2-3cm mud, which may be a measure of anti-corrosion and fire prevention. The lotus throne is carved on the stigma, but there is no decoration on the small Dougong, which has obvious early characteristics. The murals on the four walls are mostly line drawing, sitting cross legged, with smooth and vivid strokes. The walls of the hall are all built with big stones and small stones, with a thickness of 1-1.3 meters. In the hall, there are bronze gilded immovable Vajra Buddha and clay statues of eight followers brought by Princess Longzun of Nepal, as well as two statues of fury and zongkaba.

The back and both sides of the temple are enclosed, narrow and high, with the characteristics of early layout. In front of the second floor of the temple is the monk's house, in the middle is the patio of the great Sutra hall, and behind the patio is the main hall for offering Buddhas, with six columns for the empress of sanjeru, the sixteen Buddhas and scriptures; inside there is also a main hall, with eight columns, for the eight Tathagata, the pharmacist, and the Buddhist scriptures of ganzhur, and in the north for the salvation Tara and other Buddhas. In front of the third floor of the temple, there are 6 rooms for Dalai Lama to visit the temple. The rear part is the Jinding hall, with the door facing east, covering an area of about 54.5 square meters. There are eight bright pillars in two rows, and small windows on the left and right. There is a narrow outline around and behind the hall, surrounded by wooden railings. Jinding is Han style, Xieshan style, supported by Dougong; Jinding's vertical ridge end is covered with Jiemo fish head, which is a set of animals. The murals and columns of doors and windows in the hall are of Tibetan style, reflecting the ingenious combination of Tibetan and Han architecture.

The last part is the Buddha Hall, which has two columns and no column foundation. It is 4.35 meters long from east to west and 5.4 meters wide from north to south. After wrapping the surface of the column with hemp rope, a layer of 2-3cm mud is applied, which may be a measure of anti-corrosion and fire prevention, while the part more than 3m of the column is not covered with mud. From the place where the mud peels off, it can be seen that the fine hemp rope is still strong, while the big column is rotten. There is a simple lotus throne carved on the stigma, but there is no decoration on the arch of the stigma, which seems to be an early decorative feature. The murals on the four walls are all black with oil smoke. On the inner wall of the door frame, there are still some lines depicting Buddhist images, such as Zen meditation seal, ground finger seal and fearless seal. The strokes are smooth and vivid. The gate of the hall is made of iron net, and the walls of the hall are made of big stones and small stones. The walls are 1-1.3 meters thick. In the hall, there are the bronze gilded immovable Vajra Buddha brought by Princess Chizun of Nepal, as well as the statues of eight disciples of clay sculpture, two angry warriors and zongkaba. There are closed corridors at the back and on both sides of the hall. The corridors are narrow and high, and the layout is very distinctive.

The front part of the second floor of the temple is mainly the monk's house, in which the Kanbu house is located in the suite in the center. The central part is the courtyard of the Sutra hall, and behind the courtyard is the hall for offering Buddha. There are six pillars in the hall, and the open hall with bright pillars. There are two small doors on the left and right of the hall, which are for sanjalu Wang Jiabu, sixteen elders and scriptures.

Historical evolution

The establishment of Xiaozhao temple is closely related to the marriage of Princess Wencheng and Songzanganbu. In 641 A.D., "the king of Tang took the statue of Buddha, treasures, golden and jade bookcase, 360 volumes of classics, and various gold and jade ornaments as the dowry of Princess Wencheng. And to There are 300 kinds of divination classics, 60 kinds of construction and engineering works, and so on They carried Buddhist statues, mules and horses with treasures, silk, clothes and daily necessities

In 634 A.D. before Princess Wencheng entered Tibet, King yangshuvamo of Nepal married his daughter Princess Chizun to Songzanganbu. Chizun also brought a statue of Sakyamuni, Mahayana Buddhist classics, various exquisite crafts and craftsmen with her when she entered Tibet. Shortly after entering Tibet, Princess Wencheng helped Princess Chizun build the Jokhang Temple. "At the same time, many skilled craftsmen from the central plains were recruited to build the ramoga Shenbian temple.

It is said that when Princess Wencheng came to Tibet, the statue of Sakyamuni was sent to Tibet by two men, Jiajia and Rujia, with wooden carts. At today's Xiaozhao temple, the wooden carts sank in the sand and had to be supported by four columns covered with white silk. The learned and Buddhist Princess Wencheng learned from her almanac that this is the place where the Dragon Palace is located. She decided to put the Buddha statue of Sakyamuni here and build a temple to worship it. She thought that this would deter the Dragon demon and make the country prosperous. The whole building of Xiaozhao temple was successfully completed in one year. Afterwards, King Songzanganbu of Tibet held a grand feast to open up the scene.

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