Xingjiao Temple Pagoda

Xingjiao Temple Pagoda

Xingjiao Temple Pagoda, located in the Xingjiao temple on the Bank of Shaoling in Chang'an District, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, is the relic tomb pagoda of famous figures in the history of Buddhism Communication, Tang Dynasty eminent monk master Xuanzang and his disciple peep Ji and Xinluo disciple Yuance.

Xingjiao temple is one of the ancestral halls of Dharma xiangzong (also known as Weishi Zong and Cien Zong). Xingjiao Temple Pagoda is the tombs of three ancestors of Weishi Zong. It plays an important role in the history of Buddhism Communication and Sino Indian cultural exchange. It is the oldest existing Pavilion style Pagoda in China, showing the development of Buddhism and its influence on the Korean Peninsula after it was spread to Chang'an along the silk road.

On March 4, 1961, Xingjiao pagoda was announced by the State Council as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. On June 22, 2014, at the 38th UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting held in Doha, Qatar, Xingjiao Temple Pagoda, as a site of "Silk Road: road network of Chang'an Tianshan corridor" jointly applied for World Heritage by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, was successfully included in the world heritage list.

Historical evolution

In 664, Xuanzang died in Yuhua temple and was buried in Bailuyuan, Southeast of Chang'an.

In the second year of Tang Zongzhang (669), the pagoda was erected at the present site for the burial of Xuanzang's spiritual bone.

General chapter three years (670) built the temple, the full name of "the Tang Dynasty to protect the country Xingjiao temple.".

In the first year of Yongchun of Tang Dynasty (682), the pagoda of peeping foundation was built.

In 828, the temple was rebuilt.

In the third year of Dahe of Tang Dynasty (829), the tomb tower of peephole was rebuilt. It was built in the first year of Yongchun (682) and rebuilt in the third year of Taihe (829).

Long live the first year of Tongtian (696), the body was buried in the North Valley of Xiangshan temple in Longmen and the east ridge of Fengde temple in Zhongnan mountain.

The earliest repair of the pagoda of Xingjiao temple was in 821, the first year of emperor Mu Zong's Changqing reign. At that time, the monk FA Po Tan Jing, who was in charge of the repair of the pagoda temple, had a small scale. The second repair was carried out in 828, the second year of Taihe reign of emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, a monk Yilin planned to build Xuanzang Pagoda in Anguo temple. At the same time, he prepared stones to engrave inscriptions. But before the pagoda was finished, Yilin passed away. Before his death, he told his family members to ask him to look for celebrities to write inscriptions. In the fourth year of emperor Wenzong of Tang Dynasty (839), Liu Ke made a pagoda inscription and inlaid it in the north wall of the lowest floor of the pagoda. In July 830, the fourth year of the reign of emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty, he moved to the plain to see the pagoda. During the war at the end of Tang Dynasty, Xingjiao temple was attacked by fire and the pagoda was stolen. After the Song Dynasty, there were many repairs.

In 1115, the fifth year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty, master Guangyue, the RenWang monk of Longxing Temple in Tongzhou (today's Dali in Shaanxi Province), separated part of the relic and its offerings from the shangyuance pagoda on the east ridge of Fengde temple and buried them in the east of the pagoda of Chuangshi in Xingjiao temple. The style, shape and scale of the round measuring tower are exactly the same as those of the peeping tower. TA Ming was compiled and written by Gong Shi Song Fu. In the construction of yuancha pagoda, "the old and new pagoda will be built at the same time" (see the preface to the inscription of the relic pagoda of Dade yuancha master in Ximing Temple of Dazhou). In the inscription of yuancha tower, it is also recorded that after the completion of the tower, "Jinlun Baoduo, with double towering layers, stands as if it were illusory, with wide verandas in its lower rings, worshipping the Zhou Dynasty with statues, and attaching to the left and right And before the pagoda, the six couplets in the hall of creation and repair were completed. "

Whether the Xingjiao temple and Lingta were repaired in Yuan Dynasty is unknown. At the top of the gable in the northwest corner of jinfatang, there is a square yuan stele. The length of the stele is 65cm, the width is 45cm, and the thickness is 13cm. On the stele, there is an inscription on the exposed part of the stele, which is "Liu Zhizhou, the official of Fengzheng" In the early days of the Yuan Dynasty, the military commander of the capital of soldiers and horses, the grand master Qin. It's possible that one side rebuilt the monument.

During the reign of emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1862-1874), the temple was destroyed by fire. Only the Xingjiao Temple Pagoda and the tomb pagodas of Xuanzang's disciples, jueji and yuancha, survived.

In 1922, the temple was rebuilt and the main hall was built.

After the earthquake in 1925, the top of the pagoda of Xingjiao temple was destroyed and damaged. The monks repaired the relic pagoda and the pagoda of Xingjiao temple. In the autumn of 1930, General Zhu ziqiao, the veteran of the 1911 Revolution, came to Shanli pagoda to get the relic. He vowed to rebuild it. In the autumn of 1931, construction began. One month later, the Three Pagodas of Xuanzang, peeping base, Yuance and the second floor of the bell and drum were restored. In 1934, because the Japanese invaders attacked Nanjing, the Nationalist government proposed to build Xi'an as its capital. Due to the unusual decision of the central government to build Xi'an as its capital, the reconstruction of Xingjiao temple and relic tower was put on the agenda. This repair is obviously not a simple Buddhist event, but has an extraordinary purpose. "Either advocating the construction of Zhou mausoleum to revitalize Chinese culture, or advocating the construction of Maoling mausoleum to show the martial spirit of the Chinese nation, all show that the people of our country are fighting against the root to save the country.". "He also spared no effort to advocate the construction of the pagoda of mercy, to build the Buddha Dharma to save the people's hearts, and to set aside the root of anti governance.".

In 1956, the top of Xuanzang tower was strengthened and lightning protection device was installed.

In 1975, the construction of temple walls and drainage, slope protection works.

After 1983, rescue measures were taken against the South tilt of Xuanzang tower. The south slope of the tower was built with brick and stone cement, the surrounding of the tower foundation was spread with cement bricks, and underground drainage channels were built.

In 1992, the government of Shaanxi Province announced the protection scope of the pagoda of Xingjiao temple. The records and archives of cultural relics of Xingjiao pagoda and the security system of the temple have been established.

In 2006 and 2012, Xingjiao pagoda, as one of the heritage sites of the "Silk Road", was included in the preparatory list of China's world heritage.

Architectural pattern

overview

Xingjiao Temple Pagoda is located in the Xingjiao temple on the Bank of Shaoling, about 20 kilometers south of Xi'an city. Xingjiao temple, also known as the "Great Tang Dynasty national defense Xingjiao Temple", was built in 664, the second year of Emperor Gaozong's general chapter of Tang Dynasty. It is dedicated to the memorial of master Xuanzang, a famous translator and traveler of Tang Dynasty. Later, his disciples, peep Chi and Yuan Chi, also died here, accompanied by the pagoda. Xingjiao Temple became the head of the Eight Temples in Fanchuan of Tang Dynasty and one of the eight patriarchal families of Chinese Buddhism.

Xingjiao Temple Pagoda is located in the West Cross courtyard of Xingjiao temple, which is also called Ci'en pagoda courtyard. The "Three Pagodas" have a history of more than 1300 years. Among the green cypresses and bamboos, the three pagodas stand in the shape of "pin".

The pagoda of Xingjiao temple is not only the relic pagoda of Xuanzang, but also the general name of the Three Pagodas of Xingjiao temple, which are the most ancient pavilion style pagodas in China.

Xuanzang stupa

In 664, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty passed away in Yuhua Palace (now in Tongchuan, Shaanxi Province). Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty buried the cremated remains in Bailuyuan on the East Bank of Chanshui in the eastern suburb of Xi'an in accordance with Xuanzang's last words of "choose a secluded place in a mountain stream, not near the temple".

Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, had great respect for Xuanzang. It is said that he often shed tears when overlooking the pagoda on Bailuyuan in Hanyuan hall. For the sake of the health of the holy body, Empress Wu Zetian of Emperor Gaozong ordered that Xuanzang's remains be buried in Shaolingyuan, south of Chang'an, in the second year of Zongzhang (669), and a temple be built the next year as a memorial. The newly built Buddhist temple is named "the Tang Dynasty temple of protecting the country and promoting education". In the later Tang Dynasty, suzong inscribed the word "Xingjiao" on Xuanzang's relic pagoda, implying the great rejuvenation of Buddhism. From then on, the Buddhist temple was named Xingjiao temple.

Xuanzang relic tower is made of limestone and stone, which is made of single layer. The tower is square outside and round inside, simple in shape, moderate in proportion, solid and simple. All the towers are built with bricks. The height of the tower is 21 meters. The plane is square, five levels, pavilion style. The side length of each layer is 5.2 meters. The upper layers are gradually retracted, and the harvest is large. Therefore, the tower is stable and firm. Under the tower is a low platform.

On the south side of the first tower, there is a brick arch and a square room, where a statue of Xuanzang is worshipped.

The wall of the tower above the second floor is made of Fangmu structure, and each side of each floor is divided into three rooms by four octagonal leaning columns. Under the eaves, brick is used to build the most concise bucket arch, which is rarely seen in other buildings. The first and third layers of bricks are picked out with water caltrop teeth, and the bricks from the upper to the eleventh layers are picked out layer by layer, and then brought in layer by layer. The overhanging eaves brick is enlarged layer by layer, which makes the folding curve curve inward, and the eaves corner is decorated with wind chimes. This is the artistic feature of the overlapping tower eaves in Tang Dynasty. Each layer has larger overlapping eaves and more brick layers, which shows the meaning of Pavilion tower. At the top of the tower, there is a huge square tower brake. The brake seat is a four petaled lotus, on which the bowl, lotus petals, vase and pearl are supported. Each layer is solid and cannot be boarded.

Like the pagoda of Famen Temple, there may be a thousand year old underground palace under the pagoda of Xuanzang's tomb. After he returned from India, the treasures he brought back may be hidden in the underground palace under the pagoda. According to historical records, in the 19th year of Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan reign, Xuanzang returned from India and brought back a large number of Buddhist relics, hundreds of Baya Sanskrit scriptures and eight gold and silver Buddha statues. In order to worship and collect the Buddhist scriptures, gold and silver Buddha statues, relics and other treasures brought back, with the approval of the imperial court, Xuanzang designed and built Xuanzang's tomb tower himself. But no one knows where the treasures Xuanzang brought back are. Wang Yarong, director of the Institute of religious studies of the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences, believes that there is an underground palace under the ancient pagoda. Therefore, it is speculated that the underground palace of Xuanzang's tomb tower is likely to contain the treasures that Xuanzang brought back. Xie Shoutao, director of Xuanzang's tomb tower custody, said that relevant departments had detected the internal structure of Xuanzang's tomb tower, and ground penetrating radar had detected the site of Xuanzang's tomb tower

Chinese PinYin : Xing Jiao Si Ta