(1) The location of Buddha and Bodhisattva in Ruiyun Tower is relatively hidden, more like the scenery with other sculpture themes, and the overall Buddhist atmosphere of the tower is relatively light.
(2) There are many images of arhats and monks that people like to see and hear. There are many statues of monks and arhats on the wall of each tower of Ruiyun Pagoda, which are more in number and volume than Buddha and Bodhisattva. The character dynamics are more like the refinement and exaggeration of ordinary people's life forms, with lively expressions, obvious secularization traces, strong social life atmosphere, strong local culture color and secularization tendency.
(3) The gods of Ruiyunta and Lux are gentle and close to people's lives. Two of them hold conch in their hands, as if ordering other lux to try to hold the tall stone tower, which vividly reflects the daily life scene of local seaside fishermen in Fuqing.
(4) The animal images of Ruiyun Tower are dragon, phoenix, lion, unicorn, horse, deer, crane, monkey, rabbit, golden winged bird, magpie and so on. , are common auspicious animals, with auspicious symbolic significance, reflecting the good hopes of local officials and people for these vivid and interesting auspicious animals.
(5) Ruiyun stupa is different from pure stupa. As the main images, some plants and landscapes in the relief are shown, which have the style characteristics of literati painting in Ming Dynasty. For example, the rockery on the third and fourth floors of Ruiyun Pagoda is quite strange, with vertical and horizontal surface texture, strange posture, rounded twists and turns, and clear spirit, which has the aesthetic characteristics of "thin, wrinkled, leaking and penetrating" Taihu Stone in Suzhou gardens. Therefore, stone carvings on pagodas also appear on many pagodas, but the carved Taihu stone is extremely rare in the ancient pagodas in China, and it is unique among more than 300 ancient pagodas in Fujian, which shows that Fuqing local officials and people yearn for the lyrical and leisurely life interest of literati and poets in the south of the Yangtze River.
From the sculpture of Ruiyun Pagoda, we can know that its style and expression have broken through the shackles of Buddhist rituals, embodied the creative thinking of craftsmen, and embodied the characteristics of China Pagoda. The sculpture of Ruiyun Tower places people's hope and yearning for life. It has a strong interest in life and a realistic living atmosphere. It not only permeates the religious worship of Buddhism, but also permeates the poetic brilliance of secular human feelings, making it a harmonious and contradictory architectural art. The religious nature of Buddhist sculptures gradually weakens, and the lofty Buddha nature and secular humanity are unified in the sculptures of Ruiyunta.
The ventricles of the tower are in the structure of passing through the tower and surrounding the flat seat. Ruiyun Tower is an octagonal hollow tower with square ventricles on each floor, but the space is not large, and the tower wall, floor and ventricles are closely combined. When you climb the tower, you enter through the tower door. From the first floor to the next floor, you need to climb seven or eight steps to enter the center of the tower ventricle, then turn 90 degrees and climb seven or eight steps to climb to the next floor of the flat seat. If you want to climb to the next floor, you need to go around the tower for half a week before you can enter the tower door leading to the upper floor. This is a standard "tower winding flat seat" structure. In some countries,
Second, Ruiyun Tower inherited the Fujian coast.
Architectural Style of Pavilion-style Stone Pagoda Through the above analysis of the architectural characteristics of Ruiyun Pagoda, we can see that its architectural structure inherits the style of Fujian Pavilion-style Stone Pagoda, which is generally manifested in the following two aspects.
The external features of Ruiyun Pagoda, especially the structure of the bucket arch and tower eaves, obviously draw lessons from the Putian Sakyamuni Buddha Pagoda built before the first year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1 165), and the Quanzhou Dongxi Pagoda built in the first year of Shaoding in the Southern Song Dynasty (1227) and the second year of Jiaxi (1238).
In addition, the overall shape of Ruiyun Pagoda is similar to the earlier pavilion-style stone pagodas in Fuqing, such as the Zhusheng Pagoda in Longshan, which was built in Xuanhe period of Northern Song Dynasty (11kloc-0/25), and the Zhusheng Pagoda in Wan 'an, which was built in the 27th year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (1599). The internal structure of Ruiyun Tower is quite similar to some early pavilions in Fuzhou and Putian. Earlier than Ruiyun Pagoda, Lianjiang Xianta was built in the second year of the Tang Dynasty (848), Fuzhou Chongmiao Shengbao Jiancang Pagoda was built in the third year of the Five Dynasties (932), and Putian was built in the Dahua period of the Northern Song Dynasty (1107-1165438). Therefore, it can be inferred that Ruiyun Pagoda was built with reference to the ventricular structure of these ancient pagodas, and inherited the early architectural mode of building pagodas around flat seats in Fujian, from which we can sort out the development of this pavilion-style stone pagoda in Fujian.
To sum up, Ruiyun Pagoda not only absorbs the characteristics of the local ancient pagodas in Fuqing, but also refers to the characteristics of the pavilion-style hollow stone pagodas in the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties in Fuzhou, Putian and Quanzhou along the coast of Fujian, and is a model of the pavilion-style stone pagodas in Fujian.
Thirdly, the diversified cultural connotation and function of Ruiyun Tower.
To study a building, we should not only pay attention to its structural characteristics, but also further explore its deep spiritual connotation. The ancients in China often integrated local folk customs, religious beliefs, thoughts and feelings into the tower construction, forming a unique ancient pagoda culture. Ruiyun Tower has rich cultural connotations and diverse functional attributes.
1. Feng Shui Thought
Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, a large number of Feng Shui pagodas have been built in southern China, which have played three main roles: ① to make up for the lack of terrain; (2) Pray for literary prosperity; (3) town evil spirit to suppress evil, keep one party safe. Ruiyun Tower has these three functions. Ruiyun Pagoda was originally built by Fu Hexian, the son of Ye in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty. It is said that the main purpose of building pagodas is to "embellish the lack of scenery in Rongcheng" and "make up for the lack of terrain in Longjiang". Therefore, Ruiyun Tower is first and foremost a Feng Shui Tower. Ye is well-read, proficient in Feng Shui, and attaches importance to Feng Shui geography. Ye Chengxue undoubtedly inherited his father's ideas when he built Ruiyun Building. It is said that after the tower was completed, Ye Gao Xiang was very satisfied and praised his son's courage and ability.
Feng Shui is a unique environmental art thought in China traditional culture. It is a complete architectural cultural ecosystem formed through long-term development, aiming at promoting the harmonious coexistence between man and the natural environment and realizing the ideal living environment of "harmony between man and nature". Whether building a city or building a building in ancient China, we need to consider the factors of geomantic omen. If a city has a vacancy, we need to build a tower to make up for it. This is a common method used by the ancients. Ruiyun Tower first makes up for the lack of terrain, but it also has the functions of other feng shui towers. For example, the top of Ruiyun Pagoda is shaped like a sharp cone and similar to a pen, which is not only a metaphor of the dragon horn, but also a symbol of words, which can revitalize the local literary movement. Because Ruiyun Pagoda was built by a group of Confucian scholars, it naturally has the function of praying for the prosperity of Fuqing local style of writing.
As a Feng Shui tower, we should follow the traditional concept of Feng Shui. In geomantic culture, the rise and fall of a town depends on the outlet of a river. According to geomantic theory, the outlet of a river is called "Shuikou". Because Fuqing is high in the west and low in the east, Longjiang is the largest river in the area, which flows into Fuqing Bay from west to east. April-September is the flood season every year, and Fuqing City will be hit by floods. Therefore, Ye and others chose to build towers on the hillside beside the Longjiang River in the southeast of Fuqing City, in order to suppress the evil spirits and prevent floods. In addition, in Feng Shui theory, "water" is wealth. Building a tower on the Longjiang River in the east of the city can also prevent Fuqing's wealth from flowing out. The construction of Ruiyun Pagoda reflects that local officials and people in Fuqing attach importance to education and humanities, and that China people attach importance to the influence of geographical environment and landscape on humanities, which contains the academic thoughts of Confucianism and Taoism. In a word, Ruiyun Tower is beneficial to people's life in Fuqing area. For 400 years, it has silently protected people in all directions, perfectly reflecting the affinity between architecture and natural environment.
2. Buddhist implication
Ruiyun Pagoda is a Feng Shui Pagoda with the cultural characteristics of Confucianism, Taoism and folk customs. However, the carvings on the Ruiyun Pagoda also reflect the thoughts and principles of Buddhism, and there are Buddhist cultural factors, so it is also a stupa. The statues of Buddha, Bodhisattva, Luohan, Monk, Feitian and Lotus on Ruiyun Tower constitute a vivid miniature of the Buddha country, and there are statues of one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas in the heart of each tower for worshippers. Therefore, Ruiyun Pagoda has certain Buddhist implications. According to historical records, Ye often participated in Buddhist and Taoist activities, repeatedly advocated the construction of temples and Taoist temples, and rebuilt many Buddhist temples in Fuqing, his hometown. He has maintained an inseparable relationship with Buddhism all his life. The construction of Ye Chengxue's tower will inevitably take into account his father's wishes. Many Feng Shui pagodas in China are actually pagodas, mainly because people are eager to bless the local good weather and people's happy life through the divine power of Buddha and Bodhisattva.
3. Ship navigation signs
Ruiyun Tower can also be a beacon tower. Its geographical location is just on the bank of Longjiang, which can provide navigation for ships coming and going from Longjiang. Whenever a ship passes through Fuqing Bay and is about to enter Fuqing County, you can see the towering Ruiyun Tower at the top of the mountain from a distance. Now, standing on the tower, looking at Fuqing Bay in the east, mountains in the west, hills in the north and south plains, and Longjiang winding beside the tower, the whole city of Fuqing has a panoramic view. We can't help sighing the wisdom of the ancients in building towers.
4. Various functional features
Ruiyun Tower has various functions, mainly in the following aspects. (1) for people to worship Buddha; (2) The tower makes up for the defects of Fuqing geomantic omen and improves the local landscape; (3) Reviving the literary movement, hoping for more talents and more imperial examinations; (4) longjiang town River Demon for flood control; ⑤ Prevent Longjiang water from taking away wealth; ⑥ As the navigation sign of the ship. Ruiyun Pagoda is not only a stupa, but also a Feng Shui Pagoda and a beacon tower. Therefore, it is understandable why there are many traditional folk auspicious patterns that have little to do with Buddhism besides Buddhist themes.
Different from other traditional pagodas, Ruiyun Pagoda is permeated with folk customs in a serious religious atmosphere, which also reflects the development trend of diversification and secularization of ancient pagodas in China after the Ming Dynasty. Ruiyun Pagoda is a combination carrier of various tower cultural forms, with rich cultural connotations, which embodies the general idea of tower architecture in Ming and Qing dynasties in China, indicating that the ancient pagodas in China have developed in a diversified direction from Buddhist relics and Buddhist landmark buildings after thousands of years of evolution. Ruiyun Tower embodies the cultural thoughts and folk characteristics of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, integrates local culture and foreign culture, contains the yearning and pursuit of life value, creates a multi-functional building with rich connotations, connects the lofty religious world with ordinary secular life, realizes the unity of human nature and heaven, and thus realizes the spiritual pursuit of harmony and perfection.
Ruiyun Pagoda has a high level in architectural form, style and structure, carving technology, etc., and has a strong religious color and national traditional cultural connotation. Ruiyun Pagoda is a typical pavilion-type hollow stone pagoda in China, which has high artistic value and cultural relics research value. Among the numerous pavilion-type hollow stone pagodas in Fujian, its architectural style inherited the pavilion-type stone pagodas in Fujian in the Tang and Five Dynasties, and was greatly influenced by the pavilion-type stone pagodas in the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, which had a far-reaching influence on the pavilion-type stone pagodas in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.
Ruiyunta has experienced vicissitudes for about 400 years. Although it is still relatively strong on the whole, some components have begun to loosen, and many reliefs have been eroded and damaged to some extent. Although the surrounding environment has been repaired, it is still in a mess and needs to be re-planned. Ruiyun Tower needs further attention and protection.
The above cultural connotations and architectural art were collected and sorted by Zhong Da Consulting. For more information about architectural knowledge's "Cultural Connotation and Architectural Art", you can pay attention to the column of consulting industry in Zhong Da. "It is easy to win the bid with a little construction." For information about construction enterprises, please visit Zhong Da Consulting, Building Link or follow the official account of Zhong Da Consulting WeChat for information.
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