Dragon brain Bridge

Dragon brain Bridge

Luxian county is the "hometown of dragon culture" and "hometown of dragon bridge" in China. There are hundreds of ancient dragon bridges in the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Luxian County, which is the largest group of dragon bridges in China and even in the world.

Longnao bridge is the largest Longdiao stone beam slab bridge in China. According to the evaluation of Chinese ancient bridge experts, longnao bridge is an ancient bridge comparable to Lugou Bridge and Zhaozhou Bridge. In 1996, longnao bridge was listed as the national key cultural relics protection unit.

Located on the Jiuqu River in the northern suburb of Luxian County, longnao bridge is the place where the ancient post road from Luzhou to Longchang passes. It was built in the Hongwu Period of the early Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 600 years. In the 43rd year of Qianlong, the emperor ordered Yongning road to be protected by longnao bridge on Jiuqu River, 90 Li north of Luzhou.

Longnao bridge, 54 meters long, has 12 piers and 13 holes. In the middle of the bridge, eight piers are carved with four kinds of auspicious animals, namely, Qilin, Qingshi, four dragons and white elephant. "Qilin guards both sides of the river, elephants drink by the river, Qingshi roars on the bridge, and the Dragon King travels with the dragon." the scene is very spectacular. It is rare in China that the profound history of longnao bridge is perfectly combined with the artistry of carving and the scientificity of structure.

Characteristics of stone bridge

Longnao bridge is an ancient stone bridge integrating architectural modeling and stone carving art. The eight piers in the middle are carved into auspicious animals with huge stones, including four dragons, two unicorns, one elephant and one lion. The Dragon carving is unique in shape, with a "Pearl" in its mouth. It is completely hollowed out and can be moved by hand. When the wind blows, the Dragon nose makes a sound. The elephant trunk is curly, the long teeth are stretched up, the fat body is drooping, and the air is natural, giving people a sense of peace and tranquility. The lion and unicorn are lifelike and have their own characteristics. The bridge is a flat bridge with stone piers and beams. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty once decreed that "Yongning Road, 90 Li north of Luzhou City, Jiuqu River longnaoqiao should be protected."

Longnao bridge is a rare ancient bridge in China, which has a huge construction project, exquisite carving, vivid and unique shape, exquisite workmanship and high artistic grade. Longnao bridge is an east-west bridge with three piers on both sides, all of which are plain without carving. The heads of eight piers (facing the upstream end) crossing the river in the middle of the bridge are respectively carved with auspicious animals in ancient folklore, including four dragons, two unicorns, a green lion and a white elephant. This layout is rare and unique in China. Its arrangement is well conceived, pleasing to the eye and natural, giving people a sense of grandeur.

Craft tradition

Longnao bridge, stone carving technology and skills are very skilled, inherited and developed the Qin and Han Dynasties and Tang and Song Dynasty stone carving technology tradition, exaggeration and realism, and the use of round carving, so that all parts of the stone bridge carving, are thick and resolute, delicate and regular, proportional, dynamic shape. It is a rare work in ancient Chinese Bridge Construction with exquisite workmanship, refined technique and vivid image. Stone carving is meticulous in detail processing. A dragon is carved on each of the four piers in the middle. The eyes, ears, mouth, nose, eyebrows, beards and horns on the dragon's head, and the armor, wings and flowing clouds on the dragon's body are bright, clear and smooth. The overall appearance is lifelike.

In the mouth of the dragon, there is a "Pearl" weighing more than 30 kg, which is carved from the whole stone by using hollow out carving technology. It can roll freely, but it can't be taken out. It's really interesting. On the left and right piers of the dragon, a lion and an elephant are carved, with a free and peaceful manner. It also reflects the ingenuity and carving skills of ancient craftsmen, especially the treatment of elephant carving, which is very skillful and ingenious. The elephant body is carved thick, the outline is concise and clear, the trunk is curled, the long teeth are tilted, the big ears are drooping, and the air is natural, giving people a peaceful and dignified feeling. On the outside, two unicorns with ribbon on their mouth, angry eyes on their mouth, and two flame legs crawling on the pier. Hoof shaped feet, a step on the book of war, a step on the sword, majestic, high momentum.

The dragon, lion, elephant and unicorn are on the top of the bridge, the tail is on the bottom, the teeth are open, the claws are on the back, and they are arranged in turn, magnificent and magnificent. If the water rises in the river and only submerges the bridge slab, these mascots only show their head and tail in the running water, just like swimming against the river, which is another wonder.

History and culture

Longnao bridge -- an ancient stone bridge

Longnao bridge is located on the Jiuqu River in the north of Yuchan street in Luxian County, Luzhou, Sichuan Province. It is a stone carving bridge with peculiar shape and beautiful layout. Longnao bridge was built in Hongwu (1368-1398) of Ming Dynasty, which has a history of more than 600 years. Because there are four ancient temples, longnao temple, Longyan temple, Guanyin temple and Yufo temple, it is named longnao bridge.

Walk on the narrow bridge deck and touch these auspicious animals through 600 years of time and space. At the same time, eight auspicious beasts raised their heads and opened their mouths to the upper reaches of the river, as if they were roaring at the same time. Four giant dragon heads are in the middle, and the two in the middle are especially huge, one male and one female, two unicorns in the west, white elephant and green lion in the East.

More than 600 years of wind and rain has not changed the strength and fortitude of auspicious beast, nor has it obliterated the exquisite and delicate carving. Look at the roaring moment of the dragon head, every wrinkle from the tip of the nose to the forehead, the protruding eyes are vivid and full; the Dragon horn and dragon ear have beautiful and smooth lines; even the mane behind the head can be counted one by one! The dragon's beard is a lace like decoration around the dragon's mouth and a circle of flame. Look at the scales of the dragon's body. Along the beautiful curve of the dragon's body, it gradually becomes smaller from beginning to end. The dragon's body is decorated with beautiful lines and round cloud patterns. The dragon is flying not only on the water, but also in the sky! It is particularly surprising that no two of the four dragons are exactly the same. Even the dragon's ears, whiskers, scales and even the clouds on the dragon's body have changed.

Longnao bridge is an ancient stone bridge integrating architectural modeling and stone carving art, which has high historical value, artistic value and scientific value. Longnao bridge inherits and carries forward the traditional stone bridge construction technology of Qin, Han, Tang and Song dynasties. The carving axe is generous, the line is flexible, the shape is simple and dignified, the shape is vivid and natural, the arrangement is exquisite, the eye is pleasing and natural, and the style is magnificent.

Exquisite cultural relics

Longnao bridge is not the "three bridges in China". Longnao bridge is a national key cultural relic protection unit. It is one of the first two national treasure level cultural relics selected in Luzhou, so it has attracted special attention.

Longnao bridge is 55 meters long, 1.90 meters wide and 5.30 meters high, with 15 piers and 13 holes. The two piers at the East and West ends of the bridge are plain without carving, and the eight piers in the middle are carved with four dragons, one elephant, one lion and two unicorns. Pier head upstream, chisel water, in order to kill water potential.

There are 30 stone beam slabs in total, each of which is 3.70M long, 0.95m wide and 0.60m thick. Each section is arranged in parallel by two slabs in the notch of the pier, so that the bridge deck is smooth and the stone beam does not slide left and right, so as to increase its stability. All the components of the flat bridge do not need tenon and mortise connection. They are built by using the weight of the stones themselves. Each stone bar weighs about 6.8 tons, and the self weight of the four layer stone bar is 27.2 tons. Plus the weight of the stone beams and slabs, the weight of each unit of the bridge has exceeded 30 tons.

Longnao bridge is famous for its exquisite stone carving art. The stone carvings of longnao bridge are arranged on the eight piers in the middle. Among them, there are four piers, each of which is carved with a dragon; then it is separated from the east to the west, with a lion on the West and an elephant on the East; on both sides of the piers close to the lion and the elephant, Kirin is carved. On the back of the stone carving animals, stone slabs on the bridge deck are placed. The upstream of the bridge is the head, and the downstream of the bridge is the tail.

The stone sculptures of dragon, unicorn, lion and elephant on the bridge are of different sizes, and the main head sculptures are: Unicorn head weighs 5.5 tons; lion head weighs 4.2 tons; No.1 dragon head weighs 5.6 tons; No.2 dragon head weighs 7.5 tons; No.3 dragon head weighs 6.3 tons; No.4 dragon head weighs 5.8 tons; elephant head weighs 4.4 tons; Unicorn head weighs 4.4 tons.

Major events

There are three types of bridges in ancient China. One is suspension bridge, one is stone arch bridge, one is beam slab bridge. In the early stage, the suspension bridge was dominated by vines, and later developed into a cable bridge. The Luding Bridge, which was passed by the Red Army during the Long March, was world-famous. The famous stone arch bridges in China and the world are Zhaozhou Bridge and Lugou Bridge, which are famous for their long history, architectural science and related major events. Longnao bridge is the first bridge in China.

Why is longnao bridge the first bridge in China? Longnao bridge is an epoch-making work in the history of bridge construction, which gets rid of the monotonous and dry situation in the history of beam slab bridge construction. It started the artistic architectural style of Liangban bridge, and reached the peak level from the beginning. It is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese bridge architecture from simple and practical to artistic and flashy without breaking away from the practical value. It is the leading cultural bridge with cultural expression and practical value in ancient China, which develops and enriches Chinese bridge culture. It turns people's daily traffic road into an art road and a national cultural appreciation road. It integrates stone carving art modeling, scientific construction and social changes. It has profound connotation of the times and national cultural characteristics. In the history of architecture, the bridge has entered the stage of appreciative Road culture from a simple means of road transportation, and longnao bridge bears the symbolic significance. This significance is not in the bridge itself, but in the cultural significance of the bridge.

Legendary allusions

The legend of longnao bridge: the longnao bridge on the Jiuqu River in Luxian county can be found in Luzhou

Chinese PinYin : Long Nao Qiao