Shima Temple

"A little Jasper of Chinese Grotto Art"

Shima Temple

Shima temple is located in Shima village, 15 kilometers southwest of Xiyang County, Shanxi Province. Shima temple was first called Luoying temple. After the completion of the Grottoes in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was named Shifo temple. In the Tang Dynasty, it was said that Li Shimin gave a pair of stone horses and changed their name to Shima temple. During the Xining period of the Northern Song Dynasty, corridors and temples were built around the statues. Later, the statues were expanded many times in the yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

history

It used to be a small scale group of cliff statues with stone carvings as the main body. Later generations built houses according to the statues and built pavilions, which became the layout of Buddhist temples. In the Song Dynasty, it was named Shousheng temple. Because there was a pair of stone horses in front of the temple, it was commonly known as the stone horse temple. In Shima temple, there are about 1000 stone statues. Among these stone carvings, 66 are larger than 5 meters, smaller than 5 cm and higher than 1 meter. Among them, the statues of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern Qi Dynasty account for about 70%, and the rest are works of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

Architecture

Shima Temple scenic spot is located in Shima village, Dazhai Town, Xiyang County, 8 kilometers away from Dazhai tourist area, with a development area of 4.45 square kilometers. Shima temple is a religious building complex with stone sculptures and temple buildings. It was built in 534 A.D. and has a history of 1470 years. There are three grottoes, 178 niches and more than 1300 statues in the temple. The largest one is 5 meters and the smallest one is 5 cm. The sculptures are beautiful and refined. They are similar to the statues in Yungang and Longmen Grottoes. They are called "small jasper of Chinese Grottoes art" by Chinese and foreign Grottoes experts and are the second batch of key articles in Shanxi Province Protection unit.

development

The temples of the "land reform" and "Cultural Revolution" were destroyed, and all kinds of wastes flourished. In 2004, the county Party committee and the county government fully implemented the strategy of "rejuvenating the county through tourism", and Li Zhiheng, member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC and a private entrepreneur, invested heavily in the development. In line with the development concept of "borrowing Dazhai brand, playing national flag and making ecological articles", Shima Temple scenic spot highlights the characteristics of stone culture and Buddha culture, and strengthens the personality of ecological tourism. In addition to renovating the original temples, it also focuses on "one temple, one river and two mountains" to build "one forest, six pavilions and eight sceneries", so that Shima Temple scenic spot can truly become a religious center in the surrounding areas of Shanxi and Hebei provinces Religious pilgrimage sites, leisure resorts, eco-tourism park.

build

Since the start of construction in September 2004, the Shima Temple scenic spot has invested more than 18 million yuan, including 11.7 kilometers of tourist road, more than 600 mu of scenic area greening, more than 50000 trees planting, 1000 meters of river regulation, more than 3000 square meters of temple buildings such as Shanmen, Daxiong Hall, Guanyin hall, Yuhuang temple, bell and Drum Tower, ancient stage, etc. the first phase of the project has been completed, and the May Day of 2006 officially came to an end Opening to the outside world. The second phase of the project is under construction, mainly including artificial lake, Dawang temple, amusement park, ecological park and other tourism projects, with a total investment of 60 million yuan, which is expected to be completed in 2010.

Literary description

Shima temple in Xiyang

Author: Er Yuehe

There is a Xiangyan temple in Nanyang, a white horse temple in Luoyang and a stone horse temple in Xiyang. I was born in Xiyang, I lived in Luoyang when I was young, and I lived in Nanyang when I was old.

Baima temple is the ancestral hall of the world. It is the first temple in China built by the emperor of the Han and Ming Dynasties when he woke up and ordered to dream of Western saints. This is the introduction of top-level culture. Xiangyan temple was the refuge of Xuanzong after the Tianbao rebellion of Tang Dynasty. He had been hiding in it for seven years, but Shima temple in Xiyang was neglected because it was far away from the hub city.

We drove to see the temple. In fact, it's only a short distance from Xiyang. The green hills outside the window are shining with the bright color of emeralds, and there is a small river, or "stream" embedded in the middle. It's winding and leisurely, and it'll be there in a moment.

My first impression is that the temple is not very large in scale, but it is very beautiful and free and easy. The whole temple is naked on the hillside by the stream. The smaller the bridge, the wider the steps, and you can walk up the steps. The temple's main building, Yuyu, pavilions, pavilions and pavilions, are just like those piled up with building blocks that have been playing for a long time. I've seen a lot of temples, but it's hard to figure out how they are different from other temples?

New? No. This temple is an old brand and old qualification. The stele in the temple records that in 534 ad, the third year of the Yongxi reign of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the construction of Buddha statues, three caves, more than 100 niches, and more than 1500 stone Buddhas have been sitting here for nearly 1500 years, gazing at the green mountains on the other side of the stream. Its "cultural qualification" goes beyond all Tang temples.

This temple was built on the basis of the situation of the mountain and built by layers of temples. In fact, the temple wrapped the grottoes of the Northern Wei Dynasty with temples. Soon the monks will be stationed, and they will be enlightened. An entrepreneur named Li Zhiheng made money by digging coal and cooperated with Xiyang County Government to make the broken walls and halls that had been abandoned for decades look like this. It's not very big, but it's very broad, bright and elegant.

However, as far as I know, all temples are called "Jungle". It should be said that the first few modifiers are taboo in general temples. Temples should pay attention to deep, ancient and quiet, lush forests and bamboos. When the sky is sunny and sunny, "the flowers and trees in the Zen house are deep" and the sky is cloudy, then "the building is in the misty rain" - that's right.

All of a sudden, I realized that where is "different from other places" because of the difference of the people I live in? It's the earth rock mountain landform of Xiyang County. It's mostly dry days here. You don't want to watch any rain here. The most trees are thorns and thorns. There are not many tall trees. It's even more difficult to see ginkgo, pine, cypress, bamboo, Bodhi and holly, which are common in temples. Such a spectacular temple built on the hillside, naturally particularly conspicuous, White Dew without hidden. The surprise in my heart fell down again. It's not the fault of Shima temple to have little rain and no big trees. It's also the result of fate. This is how the old Buddha arranges fortune. He is dancing in other places, and this place will be bathed in sunshine. It's style.

In fact, the statues in the grottoes are similar to those in Yungang and Longmen, because the numerous halls are covered, and the Buddhas sitting there are more graceful and serene looking at us. What arouses my great interest is a sitting statue of Guanzi Bodhisattva. Its head is half missing, its body is slightly tilted, and its posture reminds me of Da Vinci's sketches. It's very beautiful and elegant! I visited several monasteries, where people said that they had a statue of "Venus in the East". Although it was good, it was a bit exaggerated. This free and unrestrained form of freedom - I won't say, you can see it yourself. Another interesting thing is that there is also a secret stone road. There is a grotto in the secret stone road. They explained that it was built to avoid the Buddhist scriptures in the history books. I think it's a bit far fetched. The exit of the tunnel is the palace of the king of Tibetans. It's said that it's a hell with 18 floors. It's not satisfactory.

There is a poem written by the Hanlin king of the Yuan Dynasty, which says that the stone horse temple is "a lonely village with clear water, and it's quiet in the rock temple. Monks talk about stone horses, and guests listen to mountain birds The setting sun City Road, looking back to the jungle. Qiao Yu, the Minister of the Ming Dynasty, said in his poems that "through the ages, a horse will be built according to the picture, and a horse will be built for ten thousand years, and now a dragon will follow.". This is about the origin of the name of "Shima Temple": the story of Emperor Li Shimin of Tang Dynasty who was rescued by Shenma. I looked at the two stone horses not far from the gate of the temple. They stood quietly in the sun. I didn't know what they were thinking or how many years they had been thinking. He will think about it for years to come.

There are caves in Maiji Mountain, Dunhuang, Yungang and Longmen in Gansu Province. However, they are all "tourist units" that specialize in earning tourists' money. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the stone Buddha was reopened, and only one Shima temple in Xiyang was worshipped by the faithful men and women. What is "essence"? My understanding: only I own, others do not have is essence, is characteristic.

They sent me a piece of Jinzhong daily with the title describing Shima temple as ancient, heavy, magical, mysterious, peaceful and harmonious. The monk in the temple asked me to write the inscription, crow painting, Bodhi mood, cool world.

Impression of Shima Temple

Author: Zhao Zhipeng

Buddhist culture is an important part of Chinese traditional culture. It not only makes Chinese people proud, but also makes people abroad admire. In recent years, with the rise of domestic and foreign tourism. Buddhist cultural resources are undoubtedly an important wealth for the development of China's tourism industry, and also an excellent window for foreign countries to understand the culture of various ethnic groups in China. Shima temple is the epitome of the development of Buddhist culture in Xiyang County. The grottoes are the places where temples and Buddhas were built in the early period of Buddhism in China. It first appeared in the late Eastern Han Dynasty (200 years). During the northern and Southern Dynasties, the most popular style was rock drilling. The Northern Wei Dynasty. There are many Grottoes in Northwest China, such as Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in Gansu Province (366), Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Henan Province (460), Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan Province (493). Shima Temple belongs to the work of this time, and the grottoes were excavated in 534. According to historical records, there are 14 national famous caves in China, among which Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes have been listed as world cultural heritage and world historic sites by UNESCO. They are the pride of the Chinese nation and the glory of the Chinese people. In order to inherit and protect the cultural heritage of the motherland and develop the tourism resources of Xiyang County, 200

Chinese PinYin : Shi Ma Si