Analysis:
The main building of the South Courtyard is Luohan Hall. Speaking of Luohantang, there is a folk proverb: "There is Baoguang (Chengdu) on the top, Xiyuan (Suzhou) on the bottom, Biyun (Beijing) in the north and Guiyuan (Wuhan) in the middle". That is to say, the five hundred arhat halls in these four monasteries are the most representative and the essence of Buddhist five hundred arhat statues.
There are many sayings about the origin of the five hundred arhats in Buddhism. First, as recorded in the Ten Chants Law, when Shi Ying was alive, there were often five hundred disciples accompanying him to listen to the Dharma and preach. First, after Sakyamuni's nirvana, he participated in the first assembly or the fourth assembly of 5 monks. In "Sharifutsu Wen Jing", it was also said that after the destruction of Dharma by King Phrasa Midoro, 5 arhats revived the holy religion. In Tang Xuanzang's "Records of the Western Regions of Datang", it is recorded that there are 1, Buddhist monks in Mojietuo, of whom 5 are Luohan monks who have achieved positive results, and the other 5 are ordinary monks. The king's name is Worry-Free King, and they all admire them very much. Because 5 arhats don't reveal the truth at ordinary times, Worry-Free King doesn't know that they are arhats, but treats them as ordinary Buddhist monks. An ordinary monk named Mahadeva made a speech that violated the canon, which caused confusion among the Buddhist monks. Worry-free King decided to execute these 1, Buddhist monks. At this time, 5 arhats made their way through the clouds and went away, living in seclusion in a valley in the country of Jasmino. Worry-Free King made a special trip to apologize after knowing it, and created 5 statues in the capital according to the appearance of 5 arhats. Since then, 5 arhats have been handed down and spread to China. Despite different opinions, Lohan is considered as "a saint who has broken all his troubles and is worthy of support in the world."
The worship of five hundred arhats in China Han Buddhism began in the Five Dynasties. At that time, Qian, the king of Wu Yue, built 5 bronze arhats at Fangguang Temple in Tiantai Mountain. In the first year of Xiande (954), with the permission of King Qian Zhongyi of wuyue, Daoqian Zen Master founded the Five Hundred Arhats Hall in Jingci Temple, Hangzhou. In 985, in the second year of Emperor Yongxi of Song Taizong, 516 arhats (16 arhats and 5 arhats) were made, and they were placed in Shou Chang Temple in Tiantai Mountain. Since then, 5 more arhats have been built in large temples around the country. About the name of five hundred arhats, there was a name about five hundred arhats in Shiqiao Temple in Tiantai Mountain in the Five Dynasties (Fu Zhai Bei Lu), which no longer exists today. In addition, in the fourth year of Shaoguang in the Southern Song Dynasty (1134), Lang Gaodaosu, the Ministry of Industry, recorded the Jiangyin Army (Ganmingyuan 5 Luohan Zun Hao Monument), and named the 5 Luohan one by one. Buddhist researchers believe that the name of 5 arhats mentioned in the tablet has no canonical basis, and it is just a talk attached to the Song Dynasty. However, since then, every temple has built 5 arhat halls, all of which use its name.
Luohan Hall in Guiyuan Temple is a novel art treasure house. The couplet in front of the door is: "Putian supplies big arhats; They all left Fang Guang and returned to Yuan. " Couplets are: "Since the creation of Bai Guang, Zu De Hui Ling has been long, and it has been more than 3 years since then, and it has been re-opened for Lohan in Guangsha; After the reign of tongzhi and the rejuvenation of the country, the people's hearts are weak, and they are willing to give twenty-eight products and give lectures on Fa Hua. " Both the Door Couplet and the Oak Couplet were inscribed by Cao Shengqian in the 27th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (191).
Luohantang was built in Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty, destroyed by soldiers in Xianfeng year (1852), rebuilt in Guangxu year (1895), completed in 192, and has a history of 2 years. Luohan Hall is arranged in a "Tian"-shaped architectural pattern, and the four mouths of the "Tian" are four small courtyards, which provides good ventilation and lighting conditions for the huge and profound hall. Luohan is arranged according to the word "Tian". Although there are more than 5 statues in the temple, it is not crowded. This architectural pattern is both ingenious and reasonable.
Five hundred arhats in Guiyuan Temple were molded by Wang and his son in Huangpi County, Hubei Province in nine years. Up to now, Huangpi is the hometown of sculpture in Hubei, with a long history and tradition of clay sculpture, sophisticated skills and numerous artists. According to the tablet of Luohan in Guiyuan Jungle, the 5 Luohan in Guiyuan Temple is based on the rubbings of 5 Luohan stone carvings in Zhusheng Temple in Hengshan Mountain, Nanyue, which were processed, refined and created. The craft adopts "bodiless lacquer plastic", also known as "golden body holding sand statue" First, the clay tire is molded into a model, and then the raw lacquer of Gebu is applied layer by layer to cover the plastic, which is called lacquered cloth empty plastic, and finally decorated with gold powder. Its characteristics are moisture resistance, moth resistance and durability. In the past two hundred years, Luohantang was hit by floods several times, and the Luohantang was floating all over the place, but the Luohantang remained intact after the water receded, showing the superb sculpture technology.
When you walk into Luohantang, you are all infected by their vivid images. I saw some sitting cross-legged, some lying on a stone looking at the sky, some studying Buddhist scriptures, and some exorcising evil spirits. On the expression, some are brave, some are gentle, some are naive and honest, and some have experienced many vicissitudes, all of which are vivid and vivid. For example, the 463rd Lohan is an angry venerable Sato, surrounded by six boys who dig ears, cover their mouths and cover their eyes for Lohan, which is called "Six Thieves Playing Maitreya". The six thieves are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. It warns Buddhist disciples not to be infected by worldly feelings. In the statue, the child's innocence, childish naughty and Lohan's kind and simple manner are vividly carved, which makes people laugh with admiration from the bottom of their hearts.
"Counting Luohan" is an interesting thing for people to visit Luohan Hall. Legend has it that people start with an arhat at will, and then count down their existing ages in sequence. The identity, expression and movements of this last arhat can show the fate of those who count. This activity has added a lot of fun for people to visit Luohan Hall.
In the Tibetan Temple outside Luohan Hall, Tibetan statues are enshrined, and the woodcut shrines in the hall are even better. In the meantime, the arched cornices, fish horns, flying dragon rollers, embossed hanging columns, flowers and figures are extremely exquisite and exquisite, which are rare artistic treasures in China.