Xiuding Temple

Xiuding temple is located in the west of Qingliangshan village, 35 kilometers northwest of Anyang. It was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty and is famous for its unique Tang tower. The layout of the whole temple faces south, with three courtyards. The main halls are: Tianwang hall, Great Buddha Hall, two Buddha Hall and Tiewa hall. The four halls are arranged in an orderly manner. Tang tower is a square brick tower with a single eaves Pavilion, which is about 16 meters high and has a simple appearance. The outer wall of the pagoda is full of various carvings, which are all made of rectangular, diamond, Pentagon, triangle and other carvings. The contents include not only the king of heaven, strongman, flying sky in Buddhism, but also the real person, boy, maid in Taoism, as well as the traditional folk patterns such as green dragon and white tiger. This great fusion of Buddhism and Taoism embodies the characteristics of the Tang Dynasty culture of blending Chinese and foreign cultures, and it is a treasure of ancient pagodas in China.

Xiuding Temple

Xiuding temple, located on the west side of Qingliangshan village, 35 kilometers northwest of Anyang, was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty and destroyed many times later.

In April of the 10th year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty rebuilt Xiuding temple on a large scale for the blessing of empress changsun. Xiuding Temple flourished to the Qing Dynasty.

The whole layout of Xiuding Temple faces south, with three courtyards. The main halls are: Tianwang hall, Great Buddha Hall, two Buddha Hall and Tiewa hall. The four main halls are arranged in perfect order. Tang tower is a square brick tower with a single eaves Pavilion, which is about 16 meters high and has a simple appearance. The outer wall of the pagoda is full of various carvings, which are all made of rectangular, diamond, Pentagon, triangle and other carvings. The contents include not only the king of heaven, strongman, flying sky in Buddhism, but also the real person, boy, maid in Taoism, as well as the traditional folk patterns such as green dragon and white tiger.

Historical evolution

Zhang Meng, a monk in Benye, was founded in the 18th year of Taihe (494) in the Northern Wei Dynasty, which was named Tiancheng temple.

In the first year of Tianbao in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550), Emperor Wenxuan renamed Heshui temple after the confluence of two rivers.

Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed Buddhism and destroyed temples.

In October of the third year of kaihuang reign (November 583), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered the repair of the temple and changed its name to Xiuding temple.

In 624, Xiuding temple was destroyed again.

In April of the 10th year of Zhenguan (may, 636), Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty ordered the restoration of 392 disused temples in the world for the blessing of empress changsun. As a result, Xiuding temple was rebuilt on a large scale.

In 794, Xiuding pagoda of Xiuding temple was built.

Scale of pagoda

The tower is nearly 20 meters high and consists of three parts: the base, the body and the top. The four walls of the tower are 9.3 meters high and 8.3 meters wide. The composition is curtain carving. It is a single-layer brick Pagoda with embossed bricks on the outer wall.

Cultural relics protection

On February 23, 1982, the State Council announced that it was the second batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Layout structure

The surface of the tower base is octagonal, and the surface is inlaid with relief bricks. According to the remaining relief bricks on the base, there are more than 30 kinds of patterns carved, such as Hercules, Jile, flying sky, curtain, flowers, flying geese and wooden structure of Dou Gong. The structure of the overhanging eaves on the upper part of the tower is also very unique. The head of the tower is tied with Tassels and tassels, and the mesh tassels form flying edges. Each flying edge is hung with six colored ribbons woven with silver bells. Between the ribbons, there are dozens of patterns, such as animals, flowers and plants, forming a huge and gorgeous "curtain".

On the south wall of the tower, there is an arch roll door. On the top of the roll, the green dragon swallows the clouds on the left and the white tiger spits the fog on the right. On both sides of the rolling door, the four wall vajras stand guard. Their faces are ferocious, their muscles are bulging, their arms are up, their arms are dancing and stretching, and their dignity is too much to be looked at. A square door is embedded about 1 meter deep in the arched roll door. The stone door frame is carved with peony and other flower patterns, and the semicircular stone door forehead is carved with three Buddha statues.

Architectural style

The four walls of the tower are made of diamond, rectangle, triangle, parallelogram, Pentagon, straight line and curve. There are 3775 carved bricks of various shapes. There are 76 kinds of patterns, and the inlay area is 300 square meters. Patterns include Buddha, disciple, Bodhisattva, warrior, heavenly king, lady, flying sky, Jile, green dragon, white tiger, lion, elephant, heavenly horse, python, various flowers and ribbons. The top of the tower is made of red, yellow and green colored glass. The whole body is inlaid with high relief bricks, which looks like a magnificent square sedan from a distance.

These unique composition of the outer wall relief brick and the inner bearing brick are connected by mortise tenon and staggered masonry method. The structure is scientific, firm and durable. It has lasted for more than 1200 years and is still standing upright without damage inside and outside.

Inscriptions

According to the inscriptions, when Zhu gaosui, the third son of emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, was sealed in Anyang, Xiuding temple was used as the incense yard of Zhao's house, and the top of the tower was supervised by Zhu gaosui. Xiuding pagoda is not only a treasure of ancient pagodas in our country, but also a treasure of brick carving art in Tang Dynasty. It is listed as the second batch of national key cultural relics protection units with its distinctive characteristics, exquisite technology and huge historical value.

Address: Anyang, Henan

Longitude: 114.4316132813

Latitude: 36.088959530542