Xiangfen statue stele

Xiangfen statue stele is located in Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province. Originally distributed in Shanhui temple and other five temples. Temple early destroyed, there are still 22 stone carvings, beautiful image, engravers wash. It was made and chiseled in Wei, Northern Qi, Sui and Tang Dynasties. The monument is 2.8 meters tall and 1.5 meters small, generally about 2 meters. The main contents are Buddha, Bodhisattva, disciple, coerced servant, heavenly king, provider and so on. There is also a room shaped niche carved in the Tang stele, with a body inside. Different times, the technology is good. In addition, there is a stone pagoda of Tang Dynasty, which is square, three stories, 2 meters high. Each story is carved with eaves. There is a pagoda brake on the top of the pagoda. It is very urgent to close the brake on the body of the pagoda. There is an arched Buddhist niche area carved on all sides of each story. The overall wheel gallery is similar to the Dayan Pagoda of Xi'an, and the carving is exquisite. It is now kept in Xiangfen County Museum.

Xiangfen statue stele

Xiangfen statue stele is located in Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province, and originally distributed in five temples including Shanhui temple. Temple early destroyed, there are still 22 stone carvings, beautiful image, engravers wash. It was built in the Wei, Northern Qi, Sui and Tang Dynasties, with the year of Zhengguang (521 AD), Tianbao (556 AD), kaihuang (587 AD), Daye (610 AD), Xianqing (656 AD) and longshuo (663 AD). The monument is 2.8 meters tall and 1.5 meters small, generally about 2 meters. The main contents are Buddha, Bodhisattva, disciple, coerced servant, heavenly king, provider and so on.

brief introduction

Xiangfen statue stele is located in Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province. Originally distributed in Shanhui temple and other five temples. Temple early destroyed, there are still 22 stone carvings, beautiful image, engravers wash. It was made and chiseled in Wei, Northern Qi, Sui and Tang Dynasties.

The monument is 2.8 meters tall and 1.5 meters small, generally about 2 meters. The main contents are Buddha, Bodhisattva, disciple, coerced servant, heavenly king, provider and so on. There is also a room shaped niche carved in the Tang stele, with a body inside. Different times, the technology is good. In addition, there is a stone pagoda of Tang Dynasty, which is square, three stories, 2 meters high. Each story is carved with eaves. There is a pagoda brake on the top of the pagoda. It is very urgent to close the brake on the body of the pagoda. There is an arched Buddhist niche area carved on all sides of each story. The overall wheel gallery is similar to the Dayan Pagoda of Xi'an, and the carving is exquisite. It is now kept in Xiangfen County Museum.

Xiangfen county is located in the central and southern part of Shanxi Province. It is adjacent to Fushan and Yicheng in the East, Xiangning in the west, Quwo, Houma and Xinjiang in the south, and Linfen in the north. In the East, there is Ta'er mountain (belonging to Taiyue Mountain range), in the west, there is Gushe mountain (belonging to Luliang Mountain range), and Fenhe River runs through the middle of the county, with a flow of 52.2 km. The eastern and Western Foothills gradually incline to the Fen River Valley, forming a trough shape of high from east to west and low in the middle. Xiji village, YONGGU Township, with the lowest valley, is 391 meters above sea level, while Taer mountain, with the highest mountain, is 1495.4 meters above sea level, with an altitude difference of 1104.4 meters. Except for the foot of the mountain and the valley, the ground elevation difference is not big, and the flat land accounts for more than 70% of the total area of the county, which basically belongs to the Pingchuan area.

structure

Stone dragon in Xiangfen statue stele

The stele, with a height of 255 cm, a width of 74 cm at the bottom, a width of 50 cm at the top and a thickness of 24 cm, is the head of a dragon. Because of its height and deep buried in the ground, it is called "rootless stele". On the top of the flame, two niches are chiseled on the front and in the middle, cloud patterns are carved on the waist, six statues of Buddha are carved on the lower line, and vows and annals are carved on the bottom.

The upper niche is sharp, creating one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas. The Buddha has a bun with big ears and a sagging cassock with double collars. The right leg is half seated, the big skirt covers the whole Buddha seat, and the lower part is n-shaped. The heart of the right hand is facing forward, the left hand is facing upward, and the four fingers are hanging on the right foot of the plate. The back is flame backlight. Two Bodhisattvas wear a corolla. Facing the Buddha, wearing a collar and silk, standing on the lotus terrace.

In the middle niche, there are two monks and one Buddha. The Buddha's ears are covered with his face and chest. The skirt is n-shaped. The flame is backlit. The two monks stand facing the Buddha. On the right side of the niche: Gongji Temple Taoist zhizang Temple Buddha.

characteristic

Judging from all the steles, the style of the stone inscriptions is very changeable. Most of them are written in square style, mainly in regular script, with the meaning of Li in between. The style of the big characters is broad and upright. You can see the elegant look of the line in steadiness. The weight of the line is harmonious, which does not appear rigid or floating. The small characters are mellow and elegant, and the regular script is also used. According to the vows in Kaiming Liang Dao steles in the second year of Zhengguang in the Northern Wei Dynasty, many steles in the early and middle period of the Northern Wei Dynasty mainly use square strokes to draw horizontally. They start and stop abruptly and forcefully. They press their feet to make full use of their strength and go away. Occasionally, they have the style of Li, and the big and small characters are scattered naturally. In addition, there are some variant characters, combined characters, increased characters, decreased characters, etc., which are rarely seen before.

In the inscriptions of the statues, the art of different ages and styles is very obvious. During the Zhengguang period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Buddhism was very popular. The sculptors were devout and generous, and the engravers carefully carved the statues, which made the stone carvings of this period have excellent pictures and pictures, exquisite carving, vivid expression, strong writing, showing the style of the transition from Hanli to regular script.

Buddha statue

Buddha statue

The Buddha statue is solemn and dignified, the Bodhisattva is beautiful and quiet, the disciples are obedient, and the donors are devout. There is also a room shaped niche carved in the Tang stele, with a body inside. Different times, the technology is good. In addition, there is a stone pagoda of Tang Dynasty, which is square, three stories, 2 meters high. Each story is carved with eaves. There is a pagoda brake on the top of the pagoda. It is very urgent to close the brake on the body of the pagoda. There is an arched Buddhist niche area carved on all sides of each story. The overall wheel gallery is similar to the Dayan Pagoda of Xi'an, and the carving is exquisite. It is now kept in Xiangfen County Museum. In the Paleolithic age, Chinese ancestors used sharp tools to carve stones with high hardness. The Neolithic relief stone head unearthed from yuanyangchi is inlaid with white bone beads in its eyes, nose and mouth. Figures and animals carved in white marble were unearthed from the Shang Dynasty site in Anyang, Henan Province, with a height of about 30cm. Some of them were carved with long square grooves on the back as the components of architectural decoration. In addition, small stone carvings of cattle, bears, tigers, birds, cicadas, turtles and other images were also unearthed, with simple and heavy shapes and patterns such as cloud and thunder patterns carved on the Yin line. After the northern and Southern Dynasties, due to the reverence of Buddhism, large-scale stone Buddha statues appeared in Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi, Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, Maijishan Grottoes in Tianshui, with a high artistic level. During this period, small stone carving crafts also developed. In the Tang Dynasty, monks in Fuzhou temples carved local Shoushan stones into statues of Buddha, censers and rosary beads as gifts to pilgrims. Green stone carvings in Huian, Fujian, are used for the architectural decoration of temples, such as dragon pillars and stone lions. Han white jade sculptures in Quyang, Hebei Province were also famous in the Tang Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the variety of stone carvings gradually evolved from stone figurines and Buddha statues to small handicrafts, seals and stationery. In Ming Dynasty, talc carving was popular among the people. In the Qing Dynasty, the folk stone carving had a great development, and the skill became more and more exquisite.

history

Liangdao statue stele of Northern Wei Dynasty was originally Shanhui temple in Gaoyu village of northern Tibet. According to Taiping county annals, Shanhui temple was rebuilt in the second year of Tiantong of Northern Qi Dynasty. When it was built is unknown. The statue stele was chiseled in the second year of Zhengguang of Northern Wei Dynasty, and the temple was rebuilt 45 years after it was excavated. According to the general rule, it should be built at least several years earlier than the stele. At the same time, it can be clearly seen that the statue has a round face, a forward leaning head, a long and thin neck, and a kind look. They all have fearless and willing seals. The folds are heavy, the hem of the Buddha's clothes is overlapped in an arc, covering the whole Buddha seat. The bottom of the Bodhisattva's skirt is made with a sheep's intestines pattern. Buddhism and Taoism are the main stream of religion in the Northern Dynasty. Although the struggle has not stopped, zhicang temple, the Taoist of Gongji temple, is enough to show that the folk worship Buddhism and Taoism is also sincere. As the vow in the stele says: those who are good at building happiness know the bitterness of hell, while those who are really beyond understanding know the happiness of heaven.

evolution

The Han nationality of Xiangfen statue stele has always been able to assimilate, transform and naturalize foreign things. On the basis of inheriting the decoration characteristics and developing traditional skills, they have made foreign things take root and tiller, adapted to the local climate, radiated new life, and gradually "stand out". The southern and Northern Dynasties witnessed the unprecedented development of Buddhism in China, and the casting of Buddhist statues flourished. At the same time, due to the spread of Buddhism, the combination of Western art factors and Chinese traditional art, a new artistic style appeared, especially in the performance of the images of Buddha, Bodhisattva, Vajra, strongman and supporter. The correct depiction of the proportion of body shape, facial expression and the treatment of clothing and clothing can be given, which has become a Buddhist art with oriental characteristics.

Xiangfen is located in Hedong. During the Northern Dynasties, Xiangfen played an important role in geography, economy, military and culture. In order to consolidate its dominant position, the rulers of Wei, Qi and Sui and Tang dynasties used Buddhism to ease people's resistance. They did not hesitate to build temples and cast Buddhist statues with a large amount of money, leaving many brilliant stone carvings for modern people. For example, Liangma temple in beichai, Shanhui temple in beigaoyu village, yunshou temple and Lianguo temple in Liancun village, and cliff statues in chekou village. The stone sculptures of Buddha in the Northern Dynasties generally have strong foreign colors, such as: high nose, deep eye socket, tall body, peculiar costumes, big ears in the stele, open front, bare right shoulder and so on, which are obvious patterns of the two regions, and gradually changed to the Han form in the late period. They are basically sinicized. Stone carving in the Wei and Tang Dynasties is a mature period of stone carving art in China. Its form and style have been completely Han nationality. The proportion of body shape is closer to moderate, and it can further express muscles, bones and emotions. His face is plump, comfortable and lively.

distribution

Dingcun culture in Paleolithic Age

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Fen Zao Xiang Bei