Feixian Pavilion

There are 14 cliff sculptures of Tang and Song Dynasties carved on the rock walls of Pujiang River and Linxi River in Pujiang County, Chengdu, with Feixian Pavilion having the largest number. In the sixth year of Yongchang reign of Empress Wu Zetian (689 AD), there were 92 niches and 777 cliff sculptures.

Feixian Pavilion is a historic site with a history of more than 2000 years, belonging to the provincial cultural relics protection unit. The most ornamental and research value is the cliff statues of the Tang and Song dynasties. There are 777 statues in 92 niches, most of which are Buddhist statues. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, a general named "Mogong" made an expedition to Yunnan and returned triumphantly to garrison here. Seeing the beautiful mountains and waters here - "the wings of the dragon and the Phoenix, and the water around the mountains", he abandoned his official position and lived in seclusion. Later, he flew away across the crane, and later generations built a statue to sacrifice him. This pavilion was called "Feixian Pavilion". Feixian Pavilion is built by mountains and rivers, which is composed of arch bridge, Mountain Gate, Yanyan Pavilion, lingxu Pavilion, Feixian Pavilion and Mogong terrace. There are a large number of cliff statues on the cliff of Feixian Pavilion, most of which were carved in the heyday of Tang Dynasty. These statues are exquisitely made and beautifully shaped, especially in niche No. 9. There are several statues of Tang Dynasty, which are included in the complete works of Chinese art.

Feixian Pavilion

Feixian Pavilion, a cliff statue with a history of more than 2000 years, is a national key cultural relic protection unit. It is located on the cliff of Pujiang River and Linxi River in Pujiang County. In 689, Empress Wu made 777 cliff statues in 92 niches. At present, there are 87 niches of cliff sculptures, including 68 niches in Tang Dynasty, 1 niches in Five Dynasties, 7 niches in Song Dynasty, 1 niches in Ming Dynasty and 10 niches in Qing Dynasty. There are more than 550 statues of Buddha, Bodhisattva, heavenly king, strongman, Vajra, Yasha, Feitian, etc.

Historical origin

Feixian Pavilion is the largest and best preserved one of the 14 cliff stone sculptures along Pujiang River and Linxi River from Han Dynasty to Tang and Song Dynasty. In the sixth year of Yongchang (689 AD), Empress Wu Zetian built 777 cliff Buddha sculptures in 92 niches of Feixian Pavilion, which is not only one of the places where the Buddhist cliff sculptures of the Tang Dynasty are still preserved in Sichuan Province, but also contains many traces of Taoism and western region culture. In 1961, it was approved as a provincial cultural relics protection unit in Sichuan Province, and in May 2006, it was announced as the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Why is this place called erlangtan? Besides Xingguan, Xuanwu and Erlang were the most popular Taoist figures in Song Dynasty. Xuanwu originated from the primitive star worship, and later became the northern God. Erlang's origin is very complicated, including Li Bing Erzi, Zhao Yu, Yang Jian and many other sayings. At that time, the common people could not tell who it was, and it gradually became a place name combined with legend.

According to the records of Pujiang County annals and inscriptions, there was general Mo Gong from Henan Province in the Han Dynasty. When he triumphed in the southern expedition, he lingered on seeing "the wings of the dragon and the Phoenix, the water around the mountain". He abandoned his official position and built a castle for the later generations to worship him. Feixian pavilion was built by mountains and rivers. From Tang Dynasty to Ming Dynasty, it was called Mogong hall, Mofu courtyard, Xinxiang courtyard and Guanyin Pavilion. In the Qing Dynasty, it was called Feixian Pavilion, also known as biyunfeng.

When "Feixian" became a place name, it implied that no matter how deep the influence of Buddhism was, the local religion achieved the people's sustenance of "Feixian" by moistening things silently. Pujiang was once the seat of the twenty-four rulers of wudoumi Taoism, and the Taoist statues in Feixian Pavilion declared the believers' pursuit and desire to change their destiny for longevity and happiness. Just as Wu Hong, an art historian, said, Sichuan's art statues had been occupied by the Taoist "wudoumi" in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

Characteristics of cultural relics

The statue of Feixian Pavilion is carved according to a hill. The flowing water of erlangtan encapsulates the hill as an island, just like the immortal "plucking green onions on dry land". The statue is carved on Acid Red Sandstone on both sides of the mountain. Red sandstone is very easy to be weathered, but on the one hand, the ancients dug the rock to form a protective layer on the top of the cave, and on the other hand, many huangjueshu and shanteng curled down from the top of the statue, which not only formed a natural cave top, but also grasped the rock. Therefore, after thousands of years, its style has not changed, and the original color can still be seen in many shrines. During the Wenchuan earthquake, although there was a strong earthquake in Pujiang, there was no stone falling from Feixian Pavilion, which showed the ingenuity of the ancients.

Most of the cliff statues in Sichuan are from Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty, especially from Song Dynasty. There are relatively few statues in the Five Dynasties, but Feixian pavilion has 17 niches, 256 statues and 4 niches inscribed on the statues. The carvings are fine and well proportioned. Round carvings and high relief carvings are often used. From the early buns to the later buns, the clothes have Indian or Gandhara styles, both of which are "sinicized" to varying degrees.

It is worth reading that the No. 60 niche has 10 statues, with a total height of 1.28 meters and a width of 1.85 meters. Pilufo was wearing a crown, a partial shirt, a bare right shoulder and a Baochuan on his right arm. There are two disciples and two Bodhisattvas on the left and right. Inside and outside the niche, there is a supporter on the left and right. On the right side, the supporter is a woman with a bun on her head, a small sleeve shirt, a long skirt on the floor and big shoes on her feet. Inscribed as: "Yongchang six years (AD 689) in May, for the Emperor (Tang Gaozong) empress (Empress Wu Zetian) jingzaorui like a niche." The statue of Buddha in niches No. 60 was sent to India to copy in Tang Dynasty. It is the earliest Bodhi statue in Sichuan Province, which plays an important role in the study of the spread of statue of Buddha.

It is said that the back screen of the Buddha's seat is embossed with "six utensils" of strange birds and monsters, and similar statues are also found in the Bodhi Ruixiang cave of thousand Buddha cliff in Guangyuan. Wu Zetian worshipped Buddhism and Taoism, and valued Ruiying. According to the book of Dayun Sutra, which was written by Salmonella Huaiyi and Francois, Wu Zetian was born under Maitreya, so the wind of making Maitreya Buddhism prevailed. It can be said that the cliff of feixiange has left solid evidence for history.

American scholar Angela Foucault Howard pointed out in her work the statue of flying fairy Pavilion in Pujiang: "the Baoguan Buddha and its throne in Pujiang originate from the Polo model. Indian statues arrive in Sichuan, via Myanmar and Yunnan Sichuan craftsmen use their own understanding to deal with foreign models in order to adapt to local tastes. Sichuan art has never been a passive mirror in accepting foreign influences. "

Folklore

The story of Feixian Buddha

It is said in Volume 13 of the famous places in Sichuan written by Cao Xuequan in Ming Dynasty: "South fifteen Li, Mo fo town. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, general Mo conquered the southwest and returned here to study Buddhism. In front of the Buddha platform, the stone sheep tiger is still there, and the residents often get gold and silver from it. "

This legend about gold and silver is deeply believed by the common people. In the whole cliff statue of Feixian Pavilion, located in niche 8 beside the highway, is a 5-meter-high sitting full-length statue of Maitreya Buddha, with a low and polished bun, his right hand touching his knees, and his left hand lying on the legs of a semicircular stone platform. The statue is solemn and well proportioned. This is where many people make and return their wishes. Naturally, it has become the most popular place for local incense. The statues of Giant Buddha are very common in Sichuan cliff grottoes. The statues are the spatial focus of their respective grottoes. The Giant Buddha represents a kind of spatial logic and a kind of dignity that must be looked up to.

Ye Xiuquan, a 67 year old villager, told me that in the old days, the most common occupations for men in this village were masons and porters, while the rest were mostly tea farmers. It is said that several porters went to Ya'an to pick tea and spend the night in front of Feixian Buddha. It rained heavily at night, and a porter dreamed of the words of Feixian Buddha: "thousand Dan Dan, ten thousand Dan Dan, can't be a pot under my leg." what do you mean? At daybreak, the porter climbed up to Feixian Buddha and poked it under his arm. He poked a hole and a golden duck came out and fluttered away.

But a hole under the armpit of the Buddha is not the way. This man got sick and said that the Buddha had a dream: ask him to repair the Buddha and clean everything around him. When he did, he naturally recovered. It is said that during the cultural revolution, the rebels destroyed some small Buddha statues, but no one moved the flying Buddha. In my opinion, the villagers call it the flying immortal Buddha, which also contains the envy of mogongfeixian, but they also put such sustenance on Sakyamuni.

Today, a thick root twists in front of the Feixian Buddha's chest, becoming a natural place for believers. The cliff is supported by two huge wooden pillars on both sides of the Buddha statue. Instead, the path is deepened. The light at the top of the cave is very dark, so it is difficult to see where the Buddha's eyes are

The metaphor of grandma loumi

According to the "Pujiang County annals" and the existing inscription in the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), Yan Yan Yan, the general of the Shu Han Dynasty, followed the Marquis Wu of Zhuge in his southern expedition and triumphed. He admired the rare scenery of Shixiang lake and imitated the legacy of the flying fairy Pavilion in the Western Han Dynasty. He also ordered the craftsmen to chisel stone lions and stone elephants to make them strong and grand. Finally, they succeeded in riding stone elephants. So, is the stone lion carved in Feixian Pavilion in imitation of this? The common people said that the lions used to be a couple. One of them ran to the east gate to steal wheat and was caught, so only one of them was shouting at the air and calling for his companions.

On the hillside of the Jade Emperor Temple above the stone lion is one of the eight sceneries of Feixian Pavilion. The mother-in-law has no hands and has a high bun, but her face still has the characteristics of Bodhisattva's gradual popularization in China, gentle and compassionate.

According to the book of Chinese folk literature in Pujiang County, Sichuan Province, the husband of loumi's mother-in-law is Chen douhu, who is also known as loumi's father-in-law. They have a poor family and fight for a living in the rice market. Later, father-in-law loumi died. One day, she went out to cut pig grass. She didn't know why there was a fire in the house. As a result, the house and cage were covered

Chinese PinYin : Fei Xian Ge