Natural tower

Natural tower

Natural tower, tower name. The construction of "natural tower" has something to do with "Mr. Yin and Yang". The place where the tower was built was considered to be low-lying, so the tower was built in order to change the situation of mountains and rivers and bring prosperity to the local area. However, he also thinks that the cause and effect of the rise and fall of one place is so complicated that it can not be easily changed by human resources? The building of the tower is not without the suspicion of making it strong. So I figured out the name of "natural tower" to show that the building of the tower is a natural and interesting thing!

brief introduction

The natural tower is located on the North Bank of the Yangtze River in the southeast of Yichang City, Hubei Province. According to the 1999 edition of Yichang City annals, culture and cultural relics, "the natural tower is located on the North Bank of the Yangtze River in the southeast of Yichang city. It is said that it was built by Guo Pu in the Jin Dynasty when he lived in Yiling, but it was abandoned in the Ming Dynasty." Guo Pu, whose name is Jingchun, was born in Wenxi (now Shanxi) of Hedong in Jin Dynasty. He is a famous writer and exegetist. Because of the celebrity effect, the natural tower has gradually become the landmark of Yiling ancient city.

Historical legend

According to the legend of the natural tower in the book of Jin, Guo Pu is good at five elements, astronomy and divination. At that time, he was a well-known "Mr. Yin Yang". It is said that after Guo Pu came to Yiling, he inspected the terrain of Yiling and found that the terrain of Yiling was low and "lack of soil", so he made people transport the soil to Zhongzhou by car. Then he built two earth platforms according to the back angle of yin and Yang, so as to offset the defect that the mountains and rivers did not conform to the five elements, and used the soil to sacrifice the moon, so as to make it suitable. "Yichang Fu Zhi" says: "Er Yatai is in suotang street in the northwest corner of the city. According to the book of pictures, there is a bright moon platform beside and a bright moon pool in front of it. Therefore, Laoqian said that the old city of xiazhou was the place where Pu lived. According to the situation of mountains and rivers, the five elements were assigned. The central part of the city was low, and the tude was weak. Because it was suitable for the back of yin and Yang from niantu to xiazhou, the town of ertai was specially built. " This is the origin of "Erya Mingyue" and one of the "eight scenes of Yiling".

Start and rebuild

In the late years of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty, Wen Anzhi (from Yiling, 1582-1659) thought that the original pagoda was low in body, narrow in treasure, and in disrepair. He was willing to donate generously to demolish the original small pagoda and build a tall and magnificent natural pagoda. When everything was ready and construction was about to start, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself and defeated King Li Chuang. The Qing troops were on the outskirts of Yichang. But Wen'an had no choice but to stop building the tower and leave Yichang for Guangxi, Eastern Sichuan and Western Hubei

He was engaged in the activities of anti Qing Dynasty and restoration of Ming Dynasty, and finally he was defeated and exiled. He failed to realize his wish to build a huge tower.

In 1745, the taxi people of Donghu county (now Yichang City) donated money to rebuild the natural tower at the base of the original tower. However, due to the shortage of funds and limited craftsmanship, the tower was built and collapsed repeatedly, and only the second level of tower foundation was built. It was not until the spring of 1790 that more than 10 people, including Xu Jingye, Wang Yongyan, Lu Hongru, Qin Yongtai and Zhang Wenwen, donated money to rebuild the natural tower. Xu Jingye studied the building knowledge of Ming and Qing Dynasties, hired technicians to repair towers, and came to the site to solve all kinds of difficult problems. With the active support of the broad masses of scholars, more than 100 architects and craftsmen were invested in the construction of the natural tower. After three years, it was finally completed. The existing natural tower is an ancient building rebuilt in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty.

Sanyudong management office introduces the natural tower with such a vivid text on its website. It is made of brick and stone, with eight edges and seven layers. It is about 42 meters high. The eaves come out layer by layer, and there are Dou Gong decorations under it. Octagonal tower base, there are eight stone Vajra negative tower, vivid. On the ground floor, the gate of the pagoda faces the river to the west, with three characters of "natural pagoda" carved on the stone forehead, two dragons playing with pearls and cloud patterns decorated on the border; on the gate, there are Carvings: "jade pillars towering over the river, Weizhen Jingmen 12; Wenfeng Linghan watch, xiongdangshu road 3000." There are 145 stone ladders circling to the top. When you climb the top of the tower and overlook Yichang port, the sails and masts are like a forest; when you face the Wulong mountain, the five peaks are facing each other, green and dripping, like five dragons winding along the river. When the morning sun rises, the shadow of TA Guang mountain is reflected on the river, just like a giant steel whip, pressing on the five dragons, so it is also known as "whipping the five dragons".

Prosperity and decline

During the construction of the pagoda by Xu Jingye and others, Buddhist residents and monks in Donghu County asked Xu Jingye and others to build a temple beside the pagoda. After obtaining permission, they built a temple beside the natural pagoda. There are many pavilions and pavilions, such as Zen hall, zhaifang, Seng tongue, reception room, etc., as well as gardens and fields, covering an area of more than 30 mu, of which only the tower, hall and affiliated houses account for more than 10 mu, which is named "natural tower temple". The gate of the temple faces northeast, and there is a broad passage with a width of nearly 10 meters and a length of more than 30 meters. Both sides of the passage are planted with pine, cypress, camphor tree and other trees, and the garden in the courtyard is planted with various flowers.

Ming Pei, who was the magistrate of East Lake in the Qing Dynasty, said: "the more Kui is ugly, the tower will be built in early summer Besides the temple, all the Buddhist seats in the temple are majestic, and the pavilions, pavilions, flowers and trees are magnificent. Those who come to visit the temple are known as resorts. "

Since its completion, the natural tower has become an important scenic spot and tourist attraction in Yichang. In addition, the natural tower is also an important ancient navigation mark of the Three Gorges. At night, there are guiding lights for sailing ships on the seventh floor. A citizen who is familiar with the natural tower told reporters that the geographical location of the natural tower is very strange. You can see the pagoda whether you take a boat upstream or downstream. However, on the eve of liberation, the natural tower was destroyed by the Japanese army and the Kuomintang, and gradually declined. After the fall of Yichang in 1940, the natural Pagoda Temple and its gardens were seriously damaged by the Japanese army. By 1945, when Yichang was restored, there were two remaining temples with a construction area of about 500 square meters and more than 20 mu of rural land, which were cultivated and managed by monks of Yichang Buddhist Association.

In 1947, the Kuomintang sent the Xuebing sect to occupy part of the temples, and used the field as a training ground to destroy trees and flowers at will. Because the presiding monks smoked opium, they were lazy to work and manage, so that the number of tourists to the natural tower decreased sharply, and even declined.

On the eve of liberation, the temple of the natural pagoda was destroyed and became a ruin. The countryside was desolate and the weeds were overgrown, showing a desolate scene. Only the remaining natural pagoda still stood by the Yangtze River, safe and sound. A citizen who has lived near the natural pagoda for a long time told reporters that in the 1950s and 1960s, when he was young, he and his childhood playmates often came to play in the pagoda. At that time, there were many stone Arhats with various images on the base of the pagoda, carrying the pagoda, and a bronze man on the top of the pagoda. But in the 1960s and 1970s, these precious cultural relics were destroyed.

Protection and repair

In September 1962, the natural tower was announced by Yichang municipal people's government as the first batch of key cultural relics protection units. Due to historical reasons, the natural pagoda and natural pagoda temple property were occupied by other units, only about 50 meters around the base of the pagoda were preserved. In September 1986, in order to protect the natural tower from damage, a wall was built around the base of the tower. In December 1992, the natural tower was announced as the third batch of cultural relics protection units by the people's Government of Hubei Province. In 1995, the natural pagoda was under the management of sanyudong management office, and a natural pagoda cultural relics management office was established, and special personnel were assigned to look after the natural pagoda.

Around 2001, Yichang City decided to use the straight line when planning and designing the extension of Yanjiang Avenue. However, in the construction plan, if the Riverside Avenue passes the natural tower, it will bring a variety of threats to the natural tower of the provincial cultural relics protection unit. The vibration of large machinery will cause damage to the tower during construction. After the road is put into use, accidents such as traffic accidents will also pose a threat to the tower. Under the advice of experts, Yichang city adjusted the 700 meter section of Yanjiang Avenue extension, changing the section from a straight line to a curve. As the relocation involves more demolition costs, route extension and other issues, the investment will increase by 10 million yuan. At present, the side line of the sidewalk in the extension section of Yanjiang Avenue is about 50 meters away from the natural tower, which ensures the safety of the natural tower.

In early October, the first phase of the natural Tower Scenic Area Project has started construction. The natural Tower Scenic Area will take the natural tower as the main space, with the help of the riverside green belt left by the construction of the Riverside Avenue, rebuild the natural tower temple, tower forest, and build the mountain gate, archway, corridor, stilt, one Pavilion, and then build the ground Heritage Museum, the Three Gorges folk custom building and other pavilions, which adopt the style of Ming and Qing Dynasties, not only the scenery is pleasant, but also let people review the history.

At the end of 2006, the maintenance project of natural tower will start soon. According to Xiao Chengyun, director of Sanyou cave management office, the maintenance of the natural tower mainly includes body maintenance, lighting engineering and lightning protection measures; during the maintenance, the existing wall will be removed, and a hexahedral tower will be built around the tower foundation. On the street side, a 9-meter-wide step will be built for pedestrian sightseeing; protective repair will be carried out on the tower, and lightning protection facilities and lights will be installed. It is expected that by the end of August 2007, a brand new natural tower will appear in front of the public. However, director Xiao also said that due to the long history of the natural tower, there will be certain restrictions on visiting the tower.

mural

(background)

In March 2009, the bottom of Yichang natural tower was rebuilt as Baoqi Hotel, and calligrapher and painter He Dong drew eight scenes of Yichang for the hotel.

Sanyou cave is located in the middle of the cliff of Xiling mountain, 7km north of Yichang city. In the fourteenth year of Yuanhe period of Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi, his younger brother Bai Xingjian and poet Yuan Zhen visited this cave together, so it got its name

Chinese PinYin : Tian Ran Ta