Beidari Buddha grotto Temple

Princess Wencheng Temple

synonym

Beidari Buddha Grottoes Temple generally refers to Princess Wencheng temple

Princess Wencheng temple, also known as "Princess Jiasa Temple", is said to be built in memory of Princess Wencheng by Tibetans in Tang Dynasty. Located in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province, it is located in the "source of three rivers" in the southeast of Qinghai Tibet Plateau. It was built in the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1300 years. It is one of the important cultural relics of the Tang and Tibetan ancient roads and is a provincial key cultural relics protection unit in Qinghai Province. It has been listed as a national cultural relic protection unit.

brief introduction

Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, located in the southeast of Qinghai Tibet Plateau, is the "source of three rivers" in China, and also the world-famous hometown of Tibetan songs and dances.

Princess Wencheng temple, which has a history of more than 1300 years, is built here and has been listed as a national cultural relic protection unit.

Princess Wencheng temple, also known as "Princess Shasa Temple", is located in beinagou, 25 kilometers southeast of Jiegu Town, Yushu county. It is a grand canyon with the mountains on both sides out of sight. It stands under the blue sky of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, with picturesque pines and cypresses on the mountain and picturesque rivers on the mountain.

The Princess Wencheng temple in Tibetan style is close to the Baizhang cliff, with quiet scenery and shining roof. All the cliffs and large stones around the temple are engraved with countless sutras.

The temple has three floors, covering an area of more than 600 square meters and a height of 9.6 meters. In the center of the temple, the Buddha statue of dari Tathagata is worshipped. The temple is an ancient architecture with both the artistic style of Tang Dynasty and the characteristics of Tibetan flat top architecture.

For more than 1300 years, incense has been burning all the year round, butter lamps have been on day and night, and Tibetan and Han people have come to pay homage.

Princess Wencheng is the daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty. She married Songzanganbu in the 15th year of Zhenguan of Tang Dynasty (641).

Princess Wencheng and her party set out from Chang'an, passed through Xining, climbed the sun moon mountain, and trekked to Lhasa.

It is said that beinagou in Yushu county is the place where Princess Wencheng stayed the longest on her way to Tibet.

The Tibetan leaders and people here held a grand welcome ceremony for her. Deeply moved, Princess Wencheng decided to live more and teach the local people farming and textile techniques.

Under the cliff above the temple, there are nine huge Buddha statues in relief.

In the middle of the lotus seat is a 7.3-meter-high statue of the main Buddha. The Buddha wears a crown on his head and a gold ring hanging down to his cheeks on his ears. He is dressed in a Tang Dynasty dress. His hands are naturally crossed, and he sits cross legged in front of his abdomen. His face and facial features are upright, his eyes are beautiful, and his eyes are facing squarely. He looks dignified and steady, and his temperament is quiet and kind.

On both sides of the main Buddha statue, there are four servant Buddha statues about 4 meters high standing on the small lotus seat. Between the master Buddha and the servant Buddha, they are arranged symmetrically and coordinately, orderly, with clear distinction between the superior and the inferior, which vividly shows the distinct relationship between the master and the servant and between the master and the apprentice in ancient times, but does not reduce the identity of the Buddhist disciples.

According to the monks in the temple, many people misunderstand that what the temple worships is Princess Wencheng. In fact, it is a princess who believes in Buddhism since she was a child. In order to express her devotion to the gods, they personally led craftsmen to carve dozens of Buddha statues and many pagodas on the cliff of laigou.

The temple has become a symbol of unity between Tibetan and Han. Since then, Baigou has become a holy land in Yushu area and a Buddhist hall worshipped by believers. It is surrounded by incense and has been enduring for a long time. The local Tibetan people regard it as a "blessed place of heaven" on the Yushu plateau.

Introduction to scenic spots

Princess Wencheng temple, also known as dari Buddha Hall, was built in the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1300 years. It is located in beinagou, Batang Township, Jiegu Town, Yushu County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 20 km away from Jiegu town and 838 km away from Xining. It is one of the important cultural relics of the Tang and fan ancient road, and is a provincial key cultural relics protection unit in Qinghai Province.

Princess Wencheng Temple faces south and faces the stream. It is built on the cliff and is ingeniously designed. There is a stone tablet beside the gate of the temple, which records the history of the construction of Princess Wencheng temple. There are nine relief Buddha statues carved on the cliff directly above the temple, and the main Buddha in the middle is the dari Tathagata Buddha. The statue of Buddha is 7.3 meters high, with a vivid, dignified and kind look.

Princess Wencheng temple is on the Bank of Tongtian River, about 20 kilometers south of Shishi Town, Yushu County, Qinghai Province. It is said that it was built in memory of Princess Wencheng by Tibetans in the Tang Dynasty. Under the cliff above the temple, there are nine huge Buddha statues in relief. In the middle of the lotus seat is a 7.3-meter-high statue of the main Buddha. On both sides of the main Buddha statue, there are four servant Buddha statues about 4 meters high standing on the small lotus seat. All the sculptures are exquisite, simple and vivid, and dignified, reflecting the superb level of Tang Dynasty's carving technology. There are two living Buddha portraits on both sides of the temple. On the opposite side of the statue, there are murals painted with bamboo shoots, pomegranates, cotton, mirrors and steamed bread, recording the deeds of Princess Wencheng teaching the local Tibetan people to cultivate and spin. Facing a stream and backed by a high mountain, the temple is a place for Tibetan Buddhists and tourists at home and abroad to worship and visit.

Historical legend

It is said that after meeting with Songzanganbu at Zaling lake, Princess Wencheng climbed the majestic Bayankala mountain, crossed the torrential Tongtian River and came to the bainagou in Yushu.

Princess Wencheng is very happy that her horses can safely pass through the natural barrier of Bayan Har mountain and the ancient moat to reach the Tianhe river. She thinks that this is the result of the help of immortals. In order to express her devotion to the immortals, the princess, who has been a Buddhist since her childhood, led the craftsmen to carve dozens of Buddha statues and many pagodas on the rock wall of bainagou.

Princess Wencheng's action greatly moved the mountain god of Bayan Har mountain and the Dragon King in Tongtian River. The next day, when Princess Wencheng reached the top of the mountain, she was suddenly welcomed by the mountain god and the Dragon King.

At that time, the mountain god cut birch and cypress, woven into rainbow doors, flying over the bainagou, cleaned the mountain road, collected flowers, paved a shady avenue to the foot of the mountain. The road was full of gold pots and silver tripods, lit up piles of mulberry smoke, and the Mountain God led thousands of birds and beasts to welcome the princess. At the foot of the mountain, the Dragon King set up a tent, slaughtered cattle and sheep, prepared wine for drinking, and welcomed the princess. At the banquet, a hundred dragon girls sang and danced for her, and at the mouth of the ravine, the leaders, monks and countless people knelt down to greet her, just as they welcomed the immortals.

So far, the moving scene of Princess Wencheng passing by is spreading among the local Tibetan people. It is said that bainagou is the place where Princess Wencheng stayed the longest on her way to Tubo. Here, the local Tibetan leaders and masses held the first grand and warm welcome ceremony for the princess since she entered the Tibetan territory. Princess Wencheng was deeply moved by the hospitality of the Tibetan people. In order to thank and repay the local Tibetan people, Princess Wencheng decided to spend more time here to spread the culture of the Han people in the Central Plains to the Tibetan people.

After living in bainagou, Princess Wencheng personally led craftsmen and people to carve dozens of Buddhist statues, pagodas and important scriptures on the cliffs of the valley. The nine Buddha statues in the temple are said to be relics left at that time. At that time, Princess Wencheng also wrote 16 lines of eulogy in Chinese characters on the rock wall on the right side of the Buddha statue, and the inventor of ancient Tibetan, tunmishanbuza, wrote 18 lines of "gaqia" (explanation) on the left side. Unfortunately, most of these precious handwriting have been eroded by the wind and rain and are difficult to identify.

After Princess Wencheng left, monks and faithful men and women from far and near came to bainagou to watch and worship. Many people believed in the practice of the princess and carved Buddha statues and scriptures on the cliff. Over time, most of the rocks and stones in bainagou were carved with Buddha statues and scriptures. Later, it was said that because of Princess Wencheng's miraculous nature and virtue, all the rock cliffs and big and small stones in bainagou appeared the Buddha's Ruyi incarnation and all kinds of Buddha statues and scriptures. Some Buddha statues and scriptures could not be identified. Therefore, the local people did not dare to use the stones here easily. One year, several eminent monks from Lhasa passed by bainagou. They wanted to boil water and cook here. They went to find some stones to make a pot. However, several people ran all over the ravine, searched every stone, and found that there were different sizes of Buddha statues and scriptures carved on it. Finally, they had to give up. After returning to Tibet, these monks preached that bainagou is a truly holy place, and anyone who wants to make a pilgrimage should go to bainagou. So later, many Tibetans traveled thousands of miles to pay homage to bainagou.

In bainagou, Princess Wencheng helped the local Tibetan people learn to drive cattle to open up wasteland, cultivate and sow seeds, build walls with stones, cut wood to build houses, spin and weave blankets, chisel stones to polish, sing and dance, etc. Up to now, on the hillside opposite bainagou, there are also ridges where the princess taught people to open up wasteland for farming. Therefore, in the eyes of the local Tibetan people, Princess Wencheng is the goddess of the Bodhisattva in the sky. The objects left by the princess are precious sacred objects, so we should try our best to protect them.

Traffic information

There are many private buns and jeeps for rent in the central square of Jiegu town. Rent a car to, the whole journey back and forth more than 50 kilometers, rent 60 yuan to 80 yuan.

Address: Beida community, Batang Township, Yushu County, Qinghai Province

Longitude: 97.152654

Latitude: 32.833749

Chinese PinYin : Bei Da Ri Ru Lai Fo Shi Ku Si