Introduction to Xuankong Temple attractions
As follows:
Xuankong Temple, a national AAAA tourist area, is located on the west side of Jinlong Gorge in Hengshan, Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province. Among the cliffs of Pingfeng Peak, it was originally called "Xuankong Pavilion". "Xuan" is derived from Chinese Taoist teachings, and "empty" is derived from Buddhist teachings. It was later renamed "Xuankong Temple" because the entire temple looks like hanging on On the cliff, in Chinese, "Xuan" and "Xuan" have the same pronunciation, hence the name.
Xuankong Temple was built in the late Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 491), more than 1,500 years ago. It is a unique temple integrating Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The "Xuankong Temple" building is very distinctive and is famous for its precipitousness, which is like facing an abyss. It is known as the slang term "Xuankong Temple, half a sky high, with three horsetails hanging in the air". It is famous for its precipitousness, which is like facing an abyss.
Xuankong Temple is a national key cultural relic protection unit and the "number one scenic spot" among the eighteen scenic spots in Mount Hengshan. In 2010, it was selected as one of the top ten most endangered buildings in the world by Time Magazine.
Main buildings:
1. South Building:
The South Building is three stories high, about 8 meters long and 4 meters wide. It has Chunyang Palace, Sanguan Hall, Sanjiao Hall and Leiyin Hall. Chunyang Palace, also known as Luzu Temple, is mainly dedicated to Lu Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Taoism; Sanguan Palace is the largest hall in the whole building of Xuankong Temple. The statues in the hall are clay sculpture treasures from the Ming Dynasty; Sanguan Palace refers to blessing people. The official of heaven, the official of earth who forgives sins, and the official of water who relieve people's misfortunes.
The clay sculpture is about 2 meters high and is the largest statue in Xuankong Temple. Below it are maids, old and young ministers, Marshal Tianpeng, and Generals Turtle and Snake. Leiyin Hall is a Buddhist temple located at the highest point of the south tower. Buddhism believes that when the Buddha Sakyamuni preached Buddhism, his voice was as loud as thunder, so it is called Leiyin Hall.
2. North Tower:
The North Tower is three stories high, about 7 meters long and 4 meters wide. They are respectively the Hall of Five Buddhas, the Hall of Guanyin and the Hall of Three Religions. The Five Buddha Hall is located on the lowest floor and is named after the five Buddhas. The Guanyin Hall is on the middle floor of the building; the Three Religions Hall is a typical palace that embodies the "three religions in one" and is located on the top floor of the third part of the Hanging Temple.
Three religious leaders gather together. In the middle is Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, on the left is Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, and on the right is Laozi, the originator of Taoism. The three religions are worshiped in one hall, which can be seen in temples all over the country. Extremely rare in architecture. The architecture of the Hanging Temple embodies the lofty realm of the harmonious integration of the Chinese nation and world harmony.
3. Changxian Bridge:
The Changxian Bridge is located between the South Tower and the North Tower, about 10 meters long. There are buildings built on the bridge and temples built inside the buildings, and Buddhas are worshiped in the temples. The long line bridge combines Buddhist temples, buildings and other landscapes together, forming a fantasy, dangerous and ingenious landscape.
What is the attraction of Datong Hanging Temple? Is it worth going?
It is an architectural attraction as well as a religious and cultural attraction. It embodies the essence of ancient Chinese architecture and is a good place worth visiting.
Datong Xuankong Temple is a famous building and a national key cultural relics protection site. It is also a unique temple integrating Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. It is a religious and cultural attraction. It was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty more than 1,400 years ago. It has been repaired in subsequent dynasties, and its complete appearance has been preserved until now. People can see its simple and spectacular appearance there, and even see its superb skills. The architectural skills are of a very high artistic level and it is a good place worth visiting.
1. You can learn about ancient architectural culture by visiting Datong Xuankong Temple
Datong Xuankong Temple is a good place worth visiting. This attraction allows people to understand ancient architectural culture. It is 30 meters away from the ground. It is 50 meters high and supported only by a few huge pillars below. Its architectural style and architectural tradition can be summed up in three words: strange, hanging and clever. The overhang is the biggest feature of this building. It is suspended in mid-air, and it seems that the pillars are not stressed at all. But it has stood there steadily and has gone through thousands of years smoothly. Many people are puzzled. This is also where it can show the charm of ancient architecture.
2. Datong Xuankong Temple allows people to taste religious culture
The Datong Xuankong Temple, which is worth visiting, not only allows people to see the charm of architecture, but also allows people to taste religious culture. , it is an ancient temple, built according to the temple layout. It has a mountain gate, a bell and drum tower, a main hall, and many different spaces for power distribution. The design is extremely exquisite. There are more than 80 Buddha statues in the temple. After entering the temple, you can Smell the rich aroma of incense and listen to the sound of the Bell and Drum Tower in the distance, which can calm your impetuous heart.
3. Time to go to Datong Xuankong Temple
Every morning around 9:00~10:00 is when the light in Xuankong Temple is the best, and it is also the best time to visit this ancient temple. Best time. This place is located about 60 kilometers away from Datong City. You need to take a bus to get there, or you can drive there, but you need to plan the route and time in advance. In addition, after going to the Xuankong Temple, you should not only see its architectural appearance, but also go to the Three Religions Hall inside to see the statues of Confucius, Laozi and Sakyamuni. This is an extremely rare sight in China.
Xuankong Temple is a temple that is famous for its strangeness, danger and cleverness. It integrates Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism
Leaving Yingxian County, we arrived at Xuankong Temple at noon .
The Hanging Temple is located among the cliffs of Cuiping Peak on the west side of Jinlong Gorge in Beiyue Hengshan, Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province. It is the most unique scene among the eighteen scenic spots in Beiyue Hengshan, one of the five famous mountains in my country. It is known as The first scenic spot in Mount Hengshan.
From a distance, the Hanging Temple hangs between the cliffs, very much like a soaring dragon.
In order to understand the Xuankong Temple more and better, after entering the gate of the scenic spot, we asked a local tour guide to explain the Xuankong Temple to us. This is my classmate Mr. M and Ms. H listening carefully to the tour guide’s explanation.
Xuankong Temple is the oldest ancient wooden structure carved on cliffs in my country. It is located among the cliffs of Cuiping Peak, the second main peak of Beiyue Hengshan Mountain. The mountain is 1648 meters above sea level. It was built in the late Northern Wei Dynasty and has a history of 1,500 years. It is said that the purpose of building this temple is to suppress the river demon. This valley is called Jinlong Gorge. 1,500 years ago, this valley was full of water. Floods occurred all year round, and people were in dire straits. People believe that there is a river demon at work in this canyon. So a temple was built here to suppress the river demon. But here there are only cliffs and no flat land, so the temple was built on the cliffs as a last resort.
The Hanging Temple is an all-wooden structure that can last for more than 1,500 years and is inseparable from the location and material selection. First look at the location. The entire mountain is arc-shaped, and the temple is built in a recessed place. The rocks above protrude like a hat brim to protect the temple from rain. The huge stone walls on both sides protect the temple from the wind, and the mountain on the opposite side blocks it from the sun. Therefore, wind, rain, and sun in nature have very little damaging effect on it. In addition, the selected wood is a local hemlock, which is very hard in itself, and is soaked in tung oil to prevent corrosion and insects. Coupled with the repairs in the past dynasties, it has become an important factor in the temple's longevity.
When this temple was first built, some large and small holes were first dug into the rock, and conical wooden wedges were put into them. One end of the wood was made into a scissor shape, and the force was punched inward. The pressure from the outside The bigger it is, the tighter it will bite inside, similar to today's expansion bolts. Two-thirds of the beams were driven into the mountain, and one-third remained outside. From this, several beams driven into the mountain serve as support for the entire temple. The construction of the entire temple took more than 30 years.
The overall seating orientation of the Hanging Temple is different from that of ordinary temples facing north and south. It faces east and west. First, it depends on the direction of the mountain, which is north-south. The second reason is that the Northern Wei Dynasty, which built the Hanging Temple, was a Xianbei government. The Xianbei people worship the sun with the west as the top.
Xuankong Temple covers an area of ??152.5 square meters. In the small space, there are more than 40 large and small halls, more than 80 Buddha statues, 11 Buddhist halls and 5 Taoist halls. There are three major highlights in this.
The building of the Hanging Temple is roughly composed of three parts. The first part is the part inlaid with red bricks. This is the only down-to-earth part of the entire temple. It is also the layout of a complete temple, with a bell tower, Drum Tower, Buddhist Hall, Main Hall, etc.
The bottom floor of the Buddhist hall is the Buddhist hall; the second floor is the Mahavira Hall, which is the smallest Mahavira hall in the country. Enshrined are Vairocana Buddha, Amitabha Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha. These three Buddha statues are old objects from the Ming Dynasty and were made using the complex "Jiayu" process. "Jiayu" is a lacquerware process. The basic process is to mix tile ash with pig blood to make "material ash", which is then coated on ramie. Upper forming. Utensils made with this process are resistant to decay and easy to preserve. The total weight of the three Buddha statues does not exceed 8.5 kilograms and the height is only 50 centimeters. They are rare art treasures. This is the first attraction of Xuankong Temple.
Below Sakyamuni Buddha is the Dharma protector Skanda. The Buddhist niche on the right is dedicated to the golden-faced Dharma protector Guan Gong. Guan Gong is also a figure who combines three religions into one. In Buddhism, it is Jialan Bodhisattva, in Taoism, it is Guandi Sage, and in Confucianism, it is called Wusheng. The niche on the left is dedicated to Taiyi Zhenren, the God of the North.
Among this group of buildings, the most outstanding design should be the pair of bell and drum towers on the top of the mountain. In such a narrow space, not only did the Bell and Drum Towers not be ignored or simplified, but the two small pavilions were treated exquisitely and beautifully, and they played a connecting role in the entire temple, which is really rare.
Come out from the north of the Drum Tower, walk along a short plank road, and then enter the second group of buildings of the Hanging Temple, the South Tower. At this time, you are actually hanging in the air under your feet.
The south tower is three stories high, three couplets wide, with double eaves on the top of the mountain. From bottom to top are Chunyang Palace, Sanguan Palace and Leiyin Palace. Chunyang Palace, also known as Luzu Temple, is dedicated to Lu Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Taoism. The Sanguan Hall is the largest hall in the entire Xuankong Temple, and is deeper than other halls. The statues of Tianguan, Diguan and Shuiguan in the hall are clay sculpture treasures of the Ming Dynasty. The tallest one is about two meters high and is the largest in the Xuankong Temple. of statue.
The Leiyin Hall is located at the highest point of the south tower. In the hall, the Buddha Sakyamuni, Manjusri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and the two disciples of the Buddha, Kassapa and Ananda, are enshrined.
There are two passages connecting the south tower and the north tower. The lower one is carved out of the cliff, and a low wall is built on the cliff side. The upper one is a wooden plank road. Walking on the plank road feels like walking on thin ice, with dangerous rocks on the top and deep valleys on the bottom. There are three Buddhist niches in the middle of the wooden plank road, respectively dedicated to the Dharmakaya Buddha, the Holding Body Buddha, and the Seal Body Buddha. They are all Buddhas carved on cliffs, carved from mountain rocks. It is the earliest stone statue carved in the Northern Wei Dynasty. This is the second important point of Xuankong Temple.
There are several long thin columns under the north and south second floors and the connecting plank road in the middle. These pillars were only added in 1979, just to give tourists visual and psychological comfort. They do not play a role in supporting force. They just float there and can be shaken gently with your hands. The real stress is on the beams under the plank road. There is a local description that the Hanging Temple is half a day high, with three horsetails hanging in the air.
The third attraction is the leading part, which is the north tower. The north tower is three stories high, with double eaves on the top of the mountain. It is slightly smaller than the south tower. The ground floor is the Hall of Five Buddhas, the middle is the Hall of Guanyin, and the top floor is the Hall of Three Religions. The Five Buddha Hall is named after the worship of the five Buddhas. The Five Buddhas are also called Five Wisdom Buddhas, Five Directions Tathagata, and Five Wisdoms Tathagata. They are derived from the thoughts of the Vajra Realm of Tantric Buddhism. It means that there is a Buddha presiding over each of the five directions in the southeast, northwest, and center, respectively. Vairochana Buddha (Sakyamuni Buddha), Eastern Amitabha Buddha (Medicine Buddha), Western Amitabha Buddha, Southern Precious Buddha and Northern Buddha. The Hall of Three Religions is the most typical pavilion that embodies the "unity of three religions" in Xuankong Temple. In the hall, the three religious leaders of Buddhism, Buddhism and Taoism gather together. In the middle is the Buddha Sakyamuni, on the left is Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, and on the right is Laozi, the originator of Taoism. The three sect leaders are worshiped in one hall and live in harmony, which is extremely rare in temples across the country. This is probably the main reason why Xuankong Temple has not suffered disasters due to sectarian disputes for thousands of years.
In ancient times, this was a transportation fortress between the north and the south. In ancient times, Hengshan was also an important military location. 24 emperors once visited Hengshan, and 12 generals led troops to fight here. The most famous person in this area is General Yang. At that time, they set up troops and built a stronghold at the foot of Cuiping Peak to resist foreign invasion. Therefore, the official said that the construction of Xuankong Temple could become a military observation tower to observe the enemy's situation. Many literati and celebrities came here and left their calligraphy treasures here.
The word "spectacular" on the big stone tablet below the temple was inscribed by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai during his visit here in 735 AD.
Xu Xiake, a great Neo-Confucian scholar in the Ming Dynasty, once inscribed the four characters "The Great View of the World" on the Xuankong Temple.
"Soaring into the clouds and returning to the dream" was written by Xiong Shan, the magistrate of Shanxi Province in the Ming Dynasty.
"Hanging Cliff" was written by Wen Gang, a scholar in the Ming Dynasty.
There are three huge cliff inscriptions on the mountain opposite the Xuankong Temple: "Buddha", "He" and "Zen", which represent the unity of the three religions of the Xuankong Temple. It was written by famous figures in contemporary Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.
Xuankong Temple is famous for its strangeness, danger and cleverness. The miracle lies in the unity of the three religions in religious culture. The coincidence lies in the wooden structure. It is small, exquisite and ingenious. The danger lies in the geography. It cannot reach the sky or the ground. From a distance, the Hanging Temple looks like an exquisite and clear relief hanging on a large screen. If you look closely, it looks like paper-cut sculptures carved into the stone wall.
Xuankong Temple was originally built by private citizens and was not taken over by the royal family until the Ming Dynasty. The dam on the opposite side of the mountain was built in 1958. In 1979, the entire temple underwent large-scale painting and wooden board reinforcement. In 1982, it was rated as a 4A-level tourist attraction by the country. In 2010, it was rated as one of the top ten most dangerous buildings by Time Magazine.
Xuankong Temple first had ancient Buddha, and then there was the legend of Xuankong Temple. A long time ago, there was a stream of monks who received enlightenment from the Bodhisattva in meditation and came to practice at Jinlong Gorge in Cuiping Mountain. One day, he saw the Buddha's shadow on the cliff and worshiped it. Admiring the incredible power of Buddha, he made this place a place for self-cultivation and raised funds to build a temple. Hence the uncanny "Xuankong Temple" we see today.