Clock tower of Kaiyuan Temple

Yuansi bell tower is located in Zhengding County, Hebei Province. Kaiyuan Temple bell tower is an early ancient building in northern China, which occupies a very important position in the history of Chinese architecture. Kaiyuan Temple was first built in 540, the second year of Xinghe in the Eastern Wei Dynasty. It was rebuilt in 898, the fifth year of qianning in the Tang Dynasty. The temple was destroyed and abandoned in the early years. Now there is only a bell tower and a brick tower. Among them, the plane of the bell tower is square, with three rooms in width and three rooms in depth. The two-story Pavilion style hilltop is covered with green tiles. The building is 14 meters high and covers an area of 135 square meters. The bell tower, with its strong Dougong and simple style, has the architectural heritage of the Tang Dynasty. There is an ancient bell hanging upstairs. It is said that it is a relic of the Tang Dynasty. It is 2.9 meters high, 1.5 meters in diameter, and 15 cm thick. It has a strong shape and a loud voice. Now the clock tower of Kaiyuan Temple has been set up as a national key cultural relic protection unit for tourists to visit.

Zhengding Kaiyuan Temple bell tower

synonym

Kaiyuan Temple bell tower generally refers to Zhengding Kaiyuan Temple bell tower

Zhengding bell tower is located in Kaiyuan Temple, so it is called Kaiyuan Temple bell tower. Kaiyuan Temple, located in the west of the South Road of Dashizi street, Zhengding ancient city, Hebei Province, was originally named Jingguan temple in the second year of Xinghe (540 A.D.), renamed jiehui temple in the eleventh year of kaihuang (591 A.D.), and renamed Kaiyuan Temple in the Tang Dynasty. There are bell towers, brick pagodas and ruins of the temple. The main hall of the temple is the Dharma boat hall to the north and the south. There is a Dharma boat in the middle and a statue of Cihang Pudu on the boat. The west side of the main hall is the brick tower, and the east side is the bell tower. This kind of plane layout of tower confrontation is only one example in China.

historical origin

Buddhist temple architecture in Tang Dynasty. In Zhengding County, Hebei Province. Founded in the second year of Xinghe in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (540 AD), it is named Jingguan temple. In the fifth year of qianning (898 AD), it was rebuilt and renamed Kaiyuan Temple. The temple was destroyed in its early years, and now there is only one bell tower and one brick tower. The bell tower was built in the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the only existing example of the bell tower in the Tang Dynasty.

Cultural relics protection

In 1988, the State Council of the people's Republic of China announced it as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

The exact date of the bell tower's construction has not been found, but from the analysis of the structural materials and production techniques, it should be a relic of the late Tang Dynasty. In 1988, the bell tower was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in China. In 1990, the landing gear was restored.

Brick wood structure

The bell tower opposite to Sumi tower is a two-story Pavilion. It is 14 meters high and of brick wood structure. The first floor is surrounded by brick walls. The door opens to the West. It is composed of two separate structural layers, with a total area of 170 square meters.

The bell tower is a two-story pavilion with a square plane and a single-layer hilltop style. There is a round well in the middle of the room, opposite to the bell mouth on the second floor, which probably resonates. Along the north wall there are stairs leading to the second floor. The second floor is a wooden structure, with doors on all sides, which are connected with wooden railings and platforms. The upper floor is ventilated and transparent, shading and avoiding rain, which probably ensures that the bronze bell is not rusty and the wooden frame is immortal.

The bell is 2.9 meters high, 1.56 meters in diameter and 15.5 cm thick. There is no inscription on the body of the bell, which is simple and elegant. The clock of the bell tower is integrated with the building, and the center of gravity is on the clock. If the clock falls, the building will be destroyed. It is a wonder of the world that such a large copper bell is hung on an unimportant clock tower and has not fallen for a thousand years.

Architectural features

In the lower layer, Dougong is big and powerful, and the architectural structure is concise. The techniques of making column, Fang and Dougong basically keep the architectural characteristics of Tang Dynasty. Two hills and back eaves masonry wall.

The front eaves have double leaf doors in the open and secondary rooms, and the open door is larger than the secondary door. The inner and outer columns are of the same height. The columns have lateral legs and legs. The four corner column is a plain square column foundation, and the other eaves columns and inner columns are all lotus petal column foundations. The stigma is rolled and killed, and the stigmas are connected with the appendix forehead, without the Pu Bai Fang, and the appendix forehead does not protrude from the corner column. Eaves column 12, small octagonal.

The inner column is round. The inner and outer columns were connected by milkvetch and grass vetch. The cross section ratio of the beams is close to 1 ∶ 2. The inner and outer capitals are made of Dougong, and the outer eaves are made of Dougong, which is 25.5 × 17 cm in diameter.

The first tiaohuagong intersects with mudaogong. Mudaogong is covered with three layers of single timber column head brace. Mudaomangong is engraved on the first layer of column head brace. The first tiaohuagong supports Ruhe, and rulongtou forms the second tiaohuagong. There is no need to make the Dougong directly support the substitute wood and the eaves brace on the Huagong. There is no need to pave the second layer of column head brace between the two layers. The inner groove Dougong is basically the same as the outer eaves. On the Dougong, a long strip of ceiling is constructed by steep foot rafters and covering rafters, forming a low dark layer between the ceiling and the floor.

It has been rebuilt many times

The upper beam frame has been renovated many times in later generations and has been changed into Ming and Qing style, with columns forked on the Dougong on the lower column head. The eaves column is higher than the inner column, with no Dougong and no curl on the column head. The inner column is small octagonal, with Dougong on the column. Seven purlins and six rafters. A bronze bell, 2.6 meters high and 1.55 meters in diameter, is hung on the top. According to the local records, the bronze bell is called a thing of the Tang Dynasty. Roof grey tile, tile ridge, both ends of the tail. In 1988, the bell tower was rebuilt, and the upper structure was restored according to the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty.

The mystery of textual research

In the spring of 1952, Professor Hua Luogeng and two foreign mathematicians came to Zhengding to see the bell tower. They came back early and came back late every day, rolling all over the earth. It took more than eight days. From the perspective of geometry, they did not calculate the relationship between the force structure of the building and the hanging method of the clock. Mr. Hua Luogeng was full of emotion and said excitedly, "no matter how heavy the clock is, no matter how light it is. No matter how long, short, thick and thin the wooden structure of the building is, no matter how poor the radiation direction is. When it's built and hung like this, it happens that the clock has no weight at all, but it's as strong as a wonderful nail. " Mr. Hua Luogeng said at that time that it was a mathematical geometric mechanics problem in the history of World Architecture and world mathematics, which has not yet been solved and revealed by later generations. Fifty years later, the mathematical problem of mechanical structure between the building and the clock is still unsolved.

In the spring and April of 1933, Professor Liang Sicheng, a famous Chinese architect, risked war and chaos to inspect the ancient buildings in Zhengding. He said that the bell tower was an unexpected result of his trip. In 1966, after the beginning of the "Cultural Revolution", Liang Sicheng, who was criticized, was also very concerned about the protection of the bell tower. On the morning of May 16, he called Zhengding cultural security office, asking him to take down the gate of the Tang Dynasty to protect the bell tower.

Main relics

The exact date of the bell tower's construction has not been found, but from the analysis of the structural materials and production techniques, it should be a relic of the late Tang Dynasty. In 1988, the bell tower was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in China. In 1990, the landing gear was restored.

Related Legends

The clock falls and the ship leaves

The bronze bell and the hall of the French boat are built together. There is a legend that the bell falls and the boat leaves. The bronze bell of Kaiyuan Temple in Zhengding is washed down from the upper reaches of Hutuo River. It's the "father-in-law" bell. The "mother-in-law" bell is still on the mountain. When there is a mountain torrent, the mother-in-law bell will call the police, and the father-in-law bell will resonate. The people in Zhengding quickly gather to fight the flood and ensure the safety of one side. In case of flood, the bell will land, the boat will leave, and people will escape by boat.

Although the bell sounds melodious and vibrates everywhere, the bell rings and falls are all connected with disasters, so people want to hear it but are afraid to hear it.

Lucky clock

People who often visit or live in Zhengding know that the clock tower of Kaiyuan Temple is now called lucky clock. "How thick is the clock in Kaiyuan Temple?" After going to Kaiyuan Temple, some people may ask. "One. (open your thumb and middle finger (or pinkie) to measure the length) "everyone would answer. But the width of this one is indefinite. Everyone's one is different. Why do we get the same answer? The reason for this lies in the fact that in the past, the Hutuo River was flowing all the year round. Unlike now, it was full of sand at a glance. Every summer in the rainy season, the Hutuo River is flooded, and the flood is rolling down from the upper reaches. As soon as the Zhengding section burst, in order to prevent flooding, the clock was made. This clock was originally a pair, which was used for alarm. One in Kaiyuan Temple and the other in the mountains of Jingxing. At that time, the two bells were guarded by special personnel. When the mountain torrent broke out, the bell watchers in Jingxing would ring the bell, and the Kaiyuan Temple bell would ring immediately. People knew that the flood was coming, so they organized people to guard the river embankment. Now the clock in Jingxing mountain has disappeared, leaving only the clock in Kaiyuan Temple. So this clock is very finely cast. The thickness can not be seen, which is the slope of the clock along the streamline transition is particularly good. No matter who goes to measure with his hand, he will think that he has reached the edge. That's why people say clocks are thick.

Background

The bell tower of Kaiyuan Temple is located in Kaiyuan Temple. Kaiyuan Temple is located in the west of the South Road of Dashizi street, Zhengding ancient city, Hebei Province. It was originally named Jingguan temple in the second year of Xinghe in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (540 A.D.), changed to jiehui temple in the eleventh year of kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty (591 A.D.), and changed to Kaiyuan Temple in the Tang Dynasty. There are bell towers, brick pagodas and ruins of the temple. The main hall of the temple is the Dharma boat hall to the north and the south. There is a Dharma boat in the middle and a statue of Cihang Pudu on the boat. The west side of the main hall is the brick tower, and the east side is the bell tower. This kind of layout of tower confrontation

Chinese PinYin : Kai Yuan Si Zhong Lou