LIANLI tower of Kaihua Temple

LIANLI tower of Kaihua Temple

Kaihua temple LIANLI tower is at the foot of Mengshan mountain, 17 kilometers southwest of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. Built in 551 A.D. in the second year of Tianbao in the Northern Qi Dynasty, the temple is carved with Buddha statues on the cliff. It is more than 60 meters high and has a grand scale. It is as famous as Longshan Tongzi temple. There are brick pagodas, brick temple and several iron Buddhas in Song Dynasty. The two brick towers are square, and their bases are connected, so they are called LIANLI tower.

brief introduction

Kaihua temple LIANLI tower is at the foot of Mengshan mountain, 17 kilometers southwest of Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province. Built in 551 A.D. in the second year of Tianbao in the Northern Qi Dynasty, the temple is carved with Buddha statues on the cliff. It is more than 60 meters high and has a grand scale. It is as famous as Longshan Tongzi temple. In the first year of Renshou (601), a high Buddha Pavilion was built

It was renamed Jingming temple. Both emperor Gaozu and Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty paid homage here and changed their name to Kaihua. In the first year of Chunhua in the Northern Song Dynasty (990), two brick pagodas, Shijia and Tathagata, were built. There are brick pagodas, brick temple and several iron Buddhas in Song Dynasty. The two brick towers are square, and their bases are connected, so they are called LIANLI tower. Above the waist seat is a square tower body, with a semicircular arch on the front, a flame-shaped surface, and hidden grass and petals. The top of the pagoda is exquisitely carved with pavilions and pavilions. The top of the pagoda has octagonal eaves and pearls. It is beautiful in appearance and beautiful in carving. It has not only the ancient and simple style of Tang Dynasty, but also the fine carving method of Song Dynasty.

survey

LIANLI pagoda of Kaihua temple is located on the West Mountain beam of old Sidi village in Luocheng street. It was built in the first year of Chunhua (990) of Northern Song Dynasty. The two tombs, facing east, were the relics of Xiasi Temple of Kaihua Temple founded in the Northern Qi Dynasty. Brick single layer, the plane is square, the total height of about 11 meters, two towers similar to the same shape, 1.7 meters apart, under the base, commonly known as "LIANLI tower". The base is 1 meter high and made of stacked blocks. It is 3.3 meters wide and 2.5 meters high, with a green stone gate on the front. The lintel of the south tower is inscribed with "incarnation Buddha relic tower", and the North Tower is inscribed with "dingguang Buddha relic tower". The remaining three sides have a false door, half open, with straight lattice false window. The upper part is made by overlapping. The eaves of the pagoda are 0.5 meters high, up to 1 meter high. The top of the pagoda is retracted layer by layer. The pagoda is octagonal pavilion like. It has the characteristics of the transition from Tang Dynasty to Song Dynasty. Its structure and shape are unique in China. In June 2004, it was announced by Shanxi government as a key cultural relics protection unit at the provincial level.

In the Song Dynasty, the Buddhist dharma was carried forward, and the Golden Buddha relic pagoda, the incarnation Buddha relic pagoda, the brick pagoda, the temple and the temple were built in the south of Mengshan Buddha

It is composed of several iron Buddhas. The two three brick towers are square, and their bases are connected, so they are called LIANLI tower. Above the waist seat is a square tower body, with a semicircular arch on the front, a flame opening surface, and hidden grass and petals. The top of the pagoda is exquisitely carved with pavilions and pavilions. The top of the pagoda has octagonal eaves and pearls. It is a transitional form of Tang and Song Dynasties, which has high cultural and artistic value.

Kaihua Temple

Kaihua Temple: 17 kilometers northeast of Gaoping City, Shanxi Province, on the hillside of the relic, with dense pines and cypresses, the road turns back to the peak, and the temples and pavilions are hidden in the shadows of the mountains and trees. This is a famous Buddhist temple - Kaihua temple.

Kaihua temple was founded in Tongguang period (923-926 A.D.) in the late Tang Dynasty. It was initially named Qingliang temple. In the sixth year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty (1073 A.D.), after the construction of the main hall, it was renamed "Kaihua Temple".

There is a pavilion style gate in front of the temple, which is called Dabei Pavilion. The main hall built in the Song Dynasty is in the center of the temple. The other things, such as the auxiliary hall and the back hall, are either dilapidated and need to be repaired, or they have collapsed, leaving only the foundation. Under the East Wing tower, there is a spring trickling out, which makes the temple unique and elegant. In the temple is preserved the "zezhoushe" in the fourth year of the Song Dynasty (1110)

The inscription on the monument is composed of Cui Jing's collection of Wang Xizhi's words, which is of great value in the art of calligraphy.

characteristic

The preservation of murals in LIANLI tower is different from each other. The east wall is seriously damaged. Some of the pictures have been blurred. Some of them have been painted by later generations. They are Buddhist stories in the form of comic strips. The other two murals are well preserved.

Xibi is generally divided into three groups, and the composition is also in the form of comic strips. In the middle - group is the picture of saying, which depicts the stories of the sun and moon lights in the Western Pure Land, such as the Buddha stories, the Chinese color bhiksuni stories, the stories of humiliating the prince and the stories of the Runner King sacrificing his life for the Buddha. The story of Huase bhiksuni is the most wonderful. The story told in the Buddhist Scripture is that Huase bhiksuni suffered misfortune. Her husband was bitten to death by a poisonous snake, one child was drowned by a flood, the other was eaten by a tiger, and she was also taken away by robbers to become her wife. The robber was soon captured and executed by the government, and she was buried alive as the robber's wife. Fortunately, she did not die. Later, she was enlightened by Sakyamuni, converted to Buddhism, and finally freed from suffering. The scene of execution ground in the mural shows the execution of Huase bhiksuni and her robber husband, but it gives Chinese local customs and content. In the painting, an official riding a white horse and wearing a red robe and an official wearing a green robe are surrounded by a group of followers

Ni and her robber husband were shackled, and the executioner pushed to the pit. Two other executioners with shovel hands were preparing for execution. This section of the picture is only 20-30 cm square, but many characters in the picture have different expressions. The complex plot is vividly depicted, which can be compared with the exquisite scroll character sketches at that time. On the south side of Xibi is the story of Sutra "the prince Bensheng is mentioned by Xuge". The northern group is also the story of Buddhist scriptures, which depicts the stories of "good friend Prince Bensheng" and "bright King Shetou Bensheng".

In the northern mural, there are stories such as "Mrs. Lu's skill", "all mention of becoming a monk" and "the change of the pure land in the west". In the lower part of the mural, there are portraits of men and women supporting each other. The inscription written by Guo Fa is also here. The scenes of giving birth to children, begging for fire, cutting flesh to save mother, blinding eyes, exile in a foreign country, reunion at home and so on are all so vivid. In the painting, the palace nobles, officials and scholars, monks and Taoists, farming, weaving, fishing and herding, merchants and peddlers, and even thieves and villains are all the features of social life in Song Dynasty. The figures are vivid, the paintings are neat, resplendent, and the artistic appeal is very strong.

Cultural characteristics

Taiyuan quyi originated earlier. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, rap art had a rapid development in Taiyuan. At that time, mainly popular in the urban area of Taiyuan city are: singing lotus, writing fast on the blackboard, singing big drum words while playing, singing ditty and storytelling.

In Taiyuan earlier quyi performance, it seems to count the number of Taiyuan lotus fall. The traditional repertoire of lianhualuo in Taiyuan is mostly popular historical stories and folk legends familiar to local people. The long ones are biography of five women in the Tang Dynasty, wanhualou and beating the challenge of Hu Yanqing; the short ones are fighting between young couple, little widow going to a new grave and husband and wife Geshui, etc.

Nowadays, in Taiyuan, there are various forms of Quyi, including speaking, singing, playing and playing.

natural environment

Li Shuang pagoda, which is called "Sakya Tathagata relic pagoda" in Yi Zhi, is a brick single-layer two base pagoda. The base of the two pagodas is connected, so it is called LIANLI pagoda. It is also rare in China. It was built in the first year of Chunhua in the Northern Song Dynasty (990) and has a history of 1017 years. It has not been rebuilt. It is the oldest tower in Taiyuan. The site of Kaihua temple, Tiefo temple, Longwang temple and Yujia bridge at the foot of the mountain have been restored. In front of the Kaihua temple, LIANLI pagoda is located in a peach forest of several tens of acres. After flowering, it emits bursts of fragrance, making every person who looks at the Buddha far away like a fairyland in a different world. The common desire of urban people for blue sky and green earth always finds a moderate balance. Mengshan Giant Buddha and Kaihua Temple satisfy the infinite desire in people's hearts. Last year, Jinyuan completely closed three coal mines and more than 10 quarries in Mengshan, protecting and conserving water sources. From the front Temple of LIANLI pagoda or the back temple where the Great Buddha is located to the bottom of Kaihua ditch, a 5-mile long river has been built into the water system of the scenic spot. The mountain path is surrounded by lush trees, thick shade to avoid the sun, small streams and flowing water. There are two waterscape rockeries and two small wooden houses on the road. It is a natural oxygen bar for tourists to relax and relax.

history

There is a small lake in the mountain pass. Once the lake is clear, it is one of the eight scenic spots in Taiyuan county. Go west for 400 meters

In the first year of Renshou (601 A.D.) of Sui Dynasty, it was renamed Jingming temple. Both emperor Gaozu and Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty came here to pay their respects and changed their name to Kaihua. In the second year of Kaiyun in the Late Jin Dynasty (945 AD), five storeys and 130 rooms of Dage were rebuilt. The temple we see now is basically rebuilt. In front of Kaihua temple is LIANLI tower. About 50 meters away from Kaihua temple, the two brick towers connected by their bases stand out. The two towers, built in 551 A.D. in the second year of Tianbao in the Northern Qi Dynasty, are more than 60 meters high and are as famous as the Tongzi temple in Longshan. Because the base is connected, it is called LIANLI tower. Carefully appreciate, beautiful shape, carved beautiful, girdle seat is a square tower body, the front is a semicircular arch, flame shaped surface, hidden volume grass and petals. The top of the pagoda is exquisitely carved with pavilions and pavilions. The top of the pagoda has octagonal eaves and pearls. The two pagodas are of the Tang Dynasty

Chinese PinYin : Kai Hua Si Lian Li Ta