Muti Temple

Muti Temple

Muti temple is located on the hillside of malibolin mountain, about 30 kilometers southwest of Wushan County, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. The mountain is steep and lush. The grottoes and temples are like bright pearls, hidden in the shade of green. There are cliffs around the grottoes, and only one mountain gate on the north side can enter the temple. It is said that there is no way to enter the temple. A wooden ladder is placed on the cliff at the entrance of the mountain. People climb the ladder into the temple, so it is called "wooden ladder Temple". According to the preface to the reconstruction of muti temple, there is a famous mountain in the northeast of Longchuan, called muti temple. It was first built in the Han Dynasty. Since the Tang Dynasty, it has been operated in successive dynasties. There are two pagodas with "ten halls, nine holes and two bricks". There is no trace of the two pagodas. In the west, there is a natural stone Buddha, which is slightly smaller than the Fuqiang Buddha. There are 18 caves, four halls, more than 80 statues, 234 murals and 2100 square meters. It has a wide range of contents and changeable decorations, which has a high artistic value. Caves 5, 7 and 16 are the largest, maintaining the original style. The statues of the Wei and Tang Dynasties are among the statues, and the works of the Song Dynasty are the essence of the whole temple. In 2006, the temple was listed as a national cultural relic protection unit.

In February 2020, in order to pay tribute to the medical workers who are struggling in the front line of anti epidemic, muti Temple scenic spot will be free of admission to medical workers in the whole country within one year since its resumption of business.

Brief introduction of muti Temple

The grottoes of muti temple are located in Shiwei mountain, 35 kilometers south of Wushan County. The mountain trend is north-south, rising to a peak with a height of 1000 meters. On three sides of the cliff, the Shahe River flows north into the Weihe River. The cave is located on a cliff 200 meters away from the base of the mountain, spanning jiuliang and Shigou with a length of 500 meters.

There are cliff caves, cliff niches, corridors and natural cliff niches, all of which are covered with wooden eaves, and the mountain gate is chiseled on the north side. Now we climb the mountain gate along the winding path. There are still 18 caves, 4 halls, more than 80 statues and 2100 square meters of murals. It was first built in the Northern Wei Dynasty and then rebuilt in successive dynasties. There is a Tang Dynasty painted Buddha in the Great Buddha Pavilion, 14 meters high, also known as the Great Buddha Temple. The mountains are covered with trees and wild flowers. Five miles north of the temple, there is a cave in Pingfeng mountain, with murals of Tang Dynasty style. Mutisi grottoes are located in Shiwei mountain, Malili Township, 35 kilometers southwest of Wushan County. The temple is built close to the mountain. The grottoes are cut on the hillside more than 1000 feet above the ground. There are cliffs on three sides. Only one iron mountain gate is set on the north side to connect the temple. Originally in the cliff disposal wooden ladder, for people to climb into the temple, so the name wooden ladder temple. It was rebuilt in the early years of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty. Judging from the style of the existing statues, some of them have the style of Northern Wei and Tang Dynasty. Among them, cave 5 is 4.9 meters high, 6.7 meters wide and 5.4 meters deep, with a square lintel dome. There are more than 10 buildings in the temple, such as the main imperial Pavilion and the Sanguan hall. In 1981, it was listed as a provincial cultural relics protection unit, and in 2006, it was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Age of construction

According to the Ming Dynasty's reconstruction order (wooden plate), there are mountains in the northeast of Longchuan, which are called forest temple and wooden temple It was first built in the Han Dynasty and has been in business for more than 300 years from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. "In the early years of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt by Lin Seng Dang Yu Gang." "Since the 15th year of Wanli, renyanming, a resident of Longde County, Pingliang Prefecture, donated money to rebuild it." According to the research, there were grotto statues in muti temple before Ming Dynasty. Judging from the style of existing grotto statues, some of them have the style of statues in Northern Wei Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, which are valuable material materials for the study of grotto art in China.

Characteristics of Grottoes

The grottoes of muti temple are cut on the hillside, surrounded by a natural moat, more than 1000 feet above the ground. They span nine beams and ten ditches from north to south, about 500 meters long. There are cliffs on three sides. Only a mountain gate on the north side can enter the temple. It is said that there were several Zhang long wooden ladders on the cliffs. The date of the construction of the grottoes of muti temple still needs to be verified, but the preface to the reconstruction of the Grottoes in the Ming Dynasty records that there are mountains in the northeast of Longchuan, which are called Lin Temple and muti temple. It was first built in the Han Dynasty. It has been operated for more than 300 years since the Han Dynasty. There are ten halls, nine holes and two brick towers in it. There is no trace of the two pagodas. There is a natural stone Buddha in the west, slightly smaller than the Great Buddha of Gangu. In the early years of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, the Party of Lin Seng had just been rebuilt. In the 15th year of Wanli, Ren Yanming, a resident of Longde County, Pingliang Prefecture, donated money for renovation. There are 18 grottoes and four halls in muti temple, with more than 80 painted statues, 234 murals and 400 square meters of painting area. Among them, seven grottoes are simple in appearance and of high artistic value.

There are more than 10 buildings in the temple, such as Yuhuang Pavilion, Sanguan hall, Wuliang hall, Leishen hall, Kuixing Pavilion and Nanhai Bodhisattva hall. All the buildings are built according to the mountain. Because the mountain is steep, the Buddha Hall is small, and the architectural form of cave hall combination is adopted. Each temple has its own ingenuity and unique style. Buddha statues, from Sakyamuni in the Great Buddha Hall to Buddha, Bodhisattva, Vajra, Hercules and flying Apsaras in the small niches, are all vivid. Among them, the most famous one is the "foot raising Bodhisattva". The body is slightly on the left side, the right hand is on the stone, the left hand is on the knee, and the five fingers naturally droop; a pair of beautiful barefoot, the right foot is on the ground, like gently stepping on the stamens, and the left leg is bent up on the stone On the other hand, she seems to be a graceful, gentle and unrestrained young woman. Different from those solemn and solemn Buddha statues, they have a strong flavor of life, with the charm of a girl and the appearance of a goddess, which makes people feel very cordial.

Among them, fifth, seventh, ninth of the three caves are large and well maintained. There are 8 statues in cave 7, and the styles are different from the middle Tang Dynasty to the five generation. The difference is that the 16 caves have a strong Tang style. The other grottoes are typical of the song style. They are the cream of the whole temple and have high artistic value. Each cave has a square flat top, a square lintel hole top, a four side slope top and a rectangle. With its unique ancient style and traditional form, it is a treasure among the existing statues in muti temple.

Cave No. 5 is a large-scale cave with a height of meters, a width of meters, a depth of meters and a flat roof. There are eleven large statues in the cave. The lamp burning Buddha is meters tall and sits on the seat of Xumi with the seal of performance. The rest are Tathagata Buddha, King Buddha of Ming Dynasty, Manjusri, Puxian, disciple JIAYE, Ananda and maid. The last two statues are ox king and earth God. They are typical sculptures of Song Dynasty. The rest of the nine bodies are stone and clay sculptures, which were born in the same age as the caves, showing a strong Tang and song style, but the people of the Song Dynasty only decorated them. Only the Arhats, the donors and the maids standing beside the Buddha are more vivid, attractive and human. This supporter, with two legs standing side by side and bowl in both hands, has a warm face, beautiful posture and free movement. She is not so much a devout believer as a warm and simple folk girl. Wearing a poor hat and a plain cheongsam, this dharma protector, the bull King God, looks like an adult scholar. However, his tight belt and the posture of clenching her fists show that she is powerful and vigorous. It further shows that the relationship between folk artists and their donors, maids and powerful men is deeper than that of the ethereal God.

Cave 7

Cave No. 7 is a little smaller than cave No. 5, with similar shape and structure, which can be regarded as the excavation after cave No. 5. There are eight statues, sitting five and standing three. The main Buddha, Sakyamuni, sits on the seat of Xumi to make the seal of fearlessness. The rest are Maitreya Buddha, Mitha Buddha, four Bodhisattvas and one arhat. In particular, the Bodhisattva sits cross legged between the waist and the prostrate rosette, with one leg stretched down from the lotus stand, his feet stepping on the lotus root, and his body tilted to the side with ease. Her elegant and calm expression produced a different artistic effect against the background of the plump sitting Buddha.

Cave 9 cave 9 is meter long, wide and high. Although it is small in scale, it has a unique style in the muti temple. There are three Buddha statues, four Bodhisattvas and three Arhats. The main Buddha's high bun has a plump and delicate face, eyes like the moon, eyebrows with half arc, and the corners of the mouth upward, which is the style of the statue in the late Northern Wei Dynasty. In particular, the Baogai shape made of the dome and the relief ceiling and caisson are exactly the symbol of the identity of emperors and Buddhas in the late Northern Wei Dynasty.

Cave 16

Cave 16, also known as the Great Buddha Pavilion, is located at the top of Pine Bay. It is a natural open cave. There is a Buddha and two Bodhisattvas inside. This Tang Dynasty Buddha is more than 8 meters tall. It is one of the top ten Buddha statues in Gansu Province. The proportion of the Buddha in muti temple is well proportioned, and the structure is reasonable. The Buddha sits upright with his legs down, his eyes slightly contained, and looks into the distance. The charity and magnificence of the Buddha can be felt completely. The distribution of the niches in the grottoes of muti temple is based on the situation of the mountains. Generally, the niches are built by cutting open spaces on the cliffs first, and then inlaying them on the open spaces. The cave niches in the temple are unique in design, exquisite in structure, lifelike and vivid in expression, and rich in materials. Plastic techniques are flexible and changeable, most of which are stone and clay. Buddhist stories are painted around and on the ceiling, vividly depicting the life and spiritual pursuit of ancient people.

In addition to these grotto statues, there are other Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings in the temple, such as Yuhuang Pavilion, zushi hall, three palaces, Yaowang hall, Kuixing Pavilion, Lingguan hall, etc. They are scattered among the pine forests on the cliff, adding mystery and beauty to the millennium old temple.

"Looking back to the Qin and Han Dynasties when the wooden ladder was built, the Luban generation carved buddhas and immortals, with boundless scenery. It is suspected that the five mountains gathered in Longtian." although the exact date of the construction of the wooden ladder temple has not been fully verified, its majestic and beautiful mountain scenery and typical sculptures in the Song Dynasty are no less magnificent than those of the "Ningyuan eight sceneries" in those years. It is precisely these that are well preserved, such as the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty The grotto statues with complete styles, exquisite creation techniques and rich cultural connotations have made muti Temple another "national cultural relics protection unit" in Wushan County.

Free policy

In February 2020, to pay tribute to the struggle against "epidemic"