Buddhism originated in ancient India and was introduced into the Central Plains from the Silk Road. What can be found in history is that during the Yongping period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (58 ~ 75), Indian monks took photos of Mo Teng and Zhu Fa to choose the address of the Buddhist temple for Emperor Han Ming and came to Wutai Mountain. Seeing that the hill behind Taihuai Street looks very much like the spiritual Jiu Feng mentioned by Sakyamuni, they built the second Buddhist temple in China, namely the oldest temple after the White Horse Temple in Luoyang (also built by them), which was named Dafu Lingjiu Temple and later renamed Xiantong Temple.
In the Buddhist sutra "Hua Da Yan Jing", "there is a place called Liang Qingshan in the northeast. From the past, all bodhisattvas stopped in the middle. The existing Manjusri Bodhisattva, with his family, all the Bodhisattvas, and 10,000 people, often performs their stories in it. " The Treasure Dalagni Sutra says, "The Buddha told King Kong that after my death, there was a big earthquake in the northeast of the southern island. Among them, there are mountains, which are called five tops. Manjusri boy marched and lived, which is the saying of all living beings in China. "
Buddhist scriptures are the quotations of Sakyamuni. It can be seen that the ancient Indian Buddha knew that Wutai Mountain was the cool world of China more than 2,500 years ago. This statement is not necessarily credible, because after Sakyamuni, Indian monks met many times and their disciples were re-sent to supplement Sakyamuni's quotations. The last time was 500 years after his death, which was equivalent to the alternation of things in China. This may have been added to the above scripture at that gathering (Buddhism had been introduced to China at that time).
Regardless of the source of the scriptures, Wutai Mountain is always the first of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China. Through it, Buddhism spread to the north. Before the Northern Wei Dynasty, Buddhism had influenced the Xianbei people who moved from the northeast. Therefore, after the Tuoba people entered Datong, the capital of the Central Plains, they first dug caves in Yungang, Datong, then dug Tianlongshan Grottoes in Taiyuan, and finally dug Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang. The Shanxi Rift Valley has become the gateway for grottoes to the south. Tuoba people carved the Buddha statue in their minds, and the largest stone Buddha in the main cave of Yungang Grottoes looked like the king at that time (the father of Emperor Xiaowen). Later, when excavating the Longmen Grottoes, Wu Zetian learned the style of Emperor Xiaowen and turned her appearance into the biggest sitting statue.
Datong Yungang Grottoes
Northern Wei believed in Buddhism, Bugu Temple in Wutai County, Zhao Guoguan in Daixian County (formerly known as Tiantai Temple) and Xuanzhong Temple in Jiaocheng were all built during that period. There are only five wooden buildings in China in the Tang Dynasty, four of which are located in Shanxi. They are the Nanchan Temple Hall in Wutai Mountain, the Beige Temple Hall, the Smooth Hall in Tiantai Temple and the Wang Guangren Temple in Ruicheng.
The Tang Dynasty was the first climax of Buddhism in China. With the help of the sacred words of Sakyamuni in Buddhist scriptures, Wutai Mountain temples mushroomed in and around Taiwan Province, and there were 64 temples in Wutai Mountain in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. At its peak, there were 72 temples in Northern Qi Dynasty. It rose to 90 in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and it was 104 in the early Qing Dynasty. During the Cultural Revolution, temples were severely damaged. At that time, there were only twenty or thirty monks and nuns in Wutai Mountain. After the reform and opening up, we set things right. Today, there are more than 50 temples and more than 3000 monks and nuns around Wutai Mountain. Thanks to the efforts of Buddhist disciples, many damaged temples have been rebuilt. Many dilapidated and abandoned temples have also been reborn, and new plastic Buddha statues appear in temples almost every year.
With the support of the Qing government, Wutai Mountain accepted a large number of lamas from Tibet and Mongolia, and Bodhisattva Ding became the Lama management center except Tibet, which governed all lamas from Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia to Qinghai. Until the Republic of China, there was still a company of Tibetan soldiers stationed in Zhenhai Temple. Going to Wutai Mountain today, about one third of the monks are lamas. They prostrated themselves for a long time, and the fast-rotating Buddhist architecture is a feature of Tibetan Buddhism that can't be seen in the mainland except Beijing (Lama Temple). The tall white pagoda in Tayuan Temple may be the tallest in China (56.4m), and there are dozens of white pagodas in Wutai Mountain, which is also a rare Tibetan Aquarius Pagoda in the mainland.
In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Huiyun County founded the Pure Land Sect, and in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Yanmen Tanluan founded the Pure Land Sect in Jiaocheng Xuanzhong Temple, and sent Fenman Faxian to the Indian Tang Priest to seek the Dharma.
Shanxi is known as the "treasure house of ancient buildings" in China. These buildings are mainly inherited from Buddhist temples, and only a few belong to Taoism, celebrity ancestral halls and a few folk houses.
An important part of temple culture is the Buddha statue. Among the colored plastic Buddha statues, there are three wonders in Shanxi. First, the statue of forty-two ladies in Notre Dame de Jinci is different from the tradition of sculpting bodhisattvas in general temples, and it should be a record of the figures in the palaces of the Song Dynasty. They have different postures, vivid expressions and bright clothes. Master Mei Lanfang sighed after reading it. It is a living specimen of an ancient maid and the best physical model of her figure and posture in Peking Opera, and is now listed as a national cultural relic protection object. The second is Xiaoxitian's "suspended sculpture" in Xixian County, that is, the Buddha statue is placed on the pillars, beams and walls of the temple for three-dimensional sculpture, which looks like it is suspended in the air. * * * Painted Buddha statues in Ming Dynasty 1030, including many birds and animals, such as peacocks, cranes, parrots, lions, elephants and tigers. The Jinge Temple in Wutai Mountain also has this kind of hanging plastic. The third is the giant bronze Buddha. There are two statues of Sakyamuni in the main hall of Jingu Temple, each 20 meters high, with copper toes exposed under the golden mud. People used to think that the wooden statue was wrapped in gold mud, but it turned out to be a giant plastic bronze statue wrapped in gold mud.
Notre Dame de Jinci Statue of Maid in Song Dynasty
Ying Xian Wooden Pagoda
Accompanied by Buddhist architecture are pagodas, all with odd floors, three floors, five floors and seven floors, all the way to the thirteenth floor. Its building materials can be brick wood, stained glass or even all-wood structure. There are more than 200 ancient pagodas in Shanxi Province, and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda (1056) is famous all over the country. It is the oldest and largest wooden tower in the world. It is 67 meters high, octagonal, with nine layers of light and shade and six double eaves. It was built by the benevolent queen of Liao country. This reflects that the northern minorities were assimilated by Buddhism as soon as they entered the Han nationality area. Xianbei used to be like this, so was Liao and Jin, and so was Yuan and Manchu.
The famous pagoda in Shanxi should be the Hongfei Pagoda on the hill of Guangsheng Temple in Hongdong, which, like the five lion nests, is a colorful glass pagoda. There is also the Yingying Tower in Yongji, which has a special acoustic effect of beating stones into frogs, which is caused by the reflection of sound waves from the steps of the thirteenth floor roof. The iron tower and copper tower of Xiantong Temple in Wutai Mountain, and the Twin Towers in Taiyuan (1608) are 55 meters high and are the tallest twin towers in China.
2. Taoist culture
Taoism is a self-produced religion in China, which began in Laozi and Zhuangzi in the Spring and Autumn Period, flourished in the Han and Tang Dynasties and reached its peak in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Buddhism practices the afterlife, while Taoism practices this life. In this world, I seek immortality, but no matter how I practice, I can't see it ascend to heaven. No one can see the afterlife, so it is not as chaotic as Buddhism seeking the afterlife. Buddhism has given people infinite hope, so its vitality is far more vigorous than Taoism.
In addition to Confucian classics, Taoist temple is its main physical heritage, and of course it also includes the immortals enshrined in Taoist temple. The main Taoist temples in Shanxi Province are: Mount Hengshan Hanging Temple in Beiyue, Mount Wudang in Luliang Mountain, Mount Jue in the south of Taihang Mountain, Wulaofeng in the west of Zhongtiao Mountain and Yongle Palace on the Yellow River.
The legend of the Five Mountains in China was sealed by Shun Di and Shang Dynasty. Anyway, when I arrived at Qin Shihuang, I went to worship the Five Mountains. Mount Hengshan in Beiyue is 20 16 meters above sea level. It is not the highest or the second highest in the Hengshan Mountains. Fifth, it is 400 meters lower than the highest steamed bread tip, but it is the highest among the five mountains.
Different from Buddhist architecture, Taoist architecture has three characteristics: first, it is built on the top of mountain peaks to get closer to heaven; Second, it is small and scattered, often starting from the foot of the mountain and along the mountain road, isolating the small hall all the way to the Daxiong Hall at the top of the mountain; Third, there are often beasts, such as snakes and turtles in Wudang Mountain in the north, ghost climbing in Jue Mountain, Feilai Peak in Beiyue Mountain and Qipai Peak in Wulaofeng Mountain.
There are eight immortals crossing the sea in our country, all of whom are cultivated by mortals. Hengshan Mountain in Beiyue is a place frequented by Zhang. There are donkey's hoof prints left by his mount on the mountain road, which are actually several round pits weathered and corroded on the algae reef in the ancient beach. Zhang also married the daughter princess of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and lived in seclusion in Wulaofeng. Similarly, there are donkey hoof prints on the rocks. According to legend, Wulaofeng is also the place where Lv Dongbin was born, and he also became immortal there. The five old legends of Wulaofeng are the true disciples of Fuxi, who stayed here to explain the true meaning of Hutuluo, which was handed down from generation to generation.
Hangkong Temple is located on the left side of Jinlong Gorge, at the lower part of 100 meter cliff. Built in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was originally a Buddhist temple. From the Jin Dynasty, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism were integrated, and Taoism dominated from the late Qing Dynasty to the 1960s. In fact, the Hanging Temple is not suspended. The temple is built on this wooden beam, and it is supported by cutting stones into holes in the rock wall, wedging them into beams and external vertical trees. What really hangs are three pavilions, and there is a hanging corridor between the second floor and the third floor. When people walk on the floor, the floor will shake, which is very scary.
Hengshan Kong Xuan Temple
In the Jueshan Taoist Temple in Jincheng, there are two stone peaks protruding from the top of the mountain, just like a pair of jade guis. The Mid-Autumn Festival is very attractive because the moon rises between two peaks.
Ruicheng Yongle Palace is a Taoist temple built in memory of Lv Dongbin. It was built in the Yuan Dynasty and is famous for its murals, covering an area of 65,438+0,000 square meters. 1956, Sanmenxia reservoir was built, Ruicheng and Yongle Palace were both in flooded areas, so the state spent a lot of money to demolish Yongle Palace and rebuild it on the secondary terrace that was not flooded. The murals painted on the wall are thickened and strengthened first, then cut off one by one, and then pieced together into a whole after completion. This is also the first ancient building in China that has been relocated due to water conservancy construction.
At the end of the 20th century, Mianshan in Jiexiu was invested and developed by Sanjia Group, with a total investment of 654.38 billion yuan, and a road was built at the waist of Zhongshan. The newly-built Taoist temple covers an area of 6,543,800 square meters and has 7-8 buildings. Many 50-60-meter-high giant palaces need elevators to go up and down, all of which are resplendent and magnificent, offering sacrifices to all the Taoists. There are thousands of service personnel in the whole mountain. A traffic squadron is responsible for managing the traffic in the mountain, and a choir (in the name of Catholicism) receives 20 young men and 20 young women, dressed in Taoist costumes, playing Taoist music and singing Taoist scriptures.
Mianshan was originally dedicated to Jiexiu, a loyal minister in the Spring and Autumn Period, but Zhong Er was hungry and cold in exile, so he cut off his share and fed it to Zhong Er. But when he returned to Jin, he retreated invisibly and entered Mianshan, but Wen Gong wanted to burn Mianshan and force him out, so he thanked him and only burned his mother and son in the mountain. Therefore, this temple was built for sacrifice. Today, Miao Jie and Jiefen in Jiezidui are still there. They are already foil buildings, and Mianshan is presided over by Taoism.
Taoism emphasizes inaction, self-cultivation, alchemy and tonic, and later advocates the harmony of yin and yang, and the extreme part is transformed into chamber art, which won the favor of the emperor, so it has a high status in the upper class. Compared with Buddhism, Taoism does not build towers and there are fewer grottoes. Only the Shanlong Grottoes in the northwest of Jinci are Taoist statues, which began in the Tang Dynasty and expanded in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. * * * There are 8 caves and 65 stone statues, which is the largest Taoist cave group in China.