How many Liao and Jin buildings are there in Datong?

In addition to the well-known classic buildings such as Huayan Temple and Shanhua Temple, it has also built, expanded and rebuilt exquisite Kannonji, elegant and pretty Zen Temple and other temple buildings for a period of time, adding gorgeous colors to Xijing Datong.

Nowadays, although some buildings have lost their former features over time, and some have even disappeared, there are still many exquisite relics scattered around Datong and become precious historical relics.

Jueshan Temple Tower in Lingqiu County: Located in Jueshan Temple in Lingqiu County, it was built in the sixth year of Liao Da 'an (1090). It is a 13-level brick tower with a dense eaves and a total height of 44.23 meters. The whole tower consists of three parts: tower foundation, tower body and tower gate. Among them, the first floor of the tower body consists of the tower wall and the inner room, with ticket doors in the north and south, and fake doors carved with bricks in the east and west. There are reclining buddhas and avalokitesvara with thousands of hands carved on both sides of the column in the inner room, and murals of more than 60 square meters are painted around. The upper 12 layers are all solid.

The brick tower of Jueshan Temple is exquisite and spectacular, and all kinds of brick carvings are washed and practiced smoothly, which are the same. It is a masterpiece in the tower architecture of Liao Dynasty. According to records, during the apocalypse of the Ming Dynasty, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 occurred in Lingqiu, and all the pavilions of Jueshan Temple collapsed, but the towers stood intact and alone. Now it is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Dayun Temple: Located in Jingzhuang Village, Dongfang Town, Hunyuan, it was built in the sixth year of Jin Dading (1 166). Dayun Temple used to be a small temple complex, facing south. There are two houses and three halls on the central axis, followed by Shanmen, Tianwang Hall and Daxiong Hall, which gradually rise from front to back. The bell and drum tower stands in the east and west, surrounded by left and right wing rooms, covering an area of about 30 mu. At present, there is only one Hall of Great Heroes in Dayun Temple, in which there are murals of the Yuan Dynasty, which are painted with heavy color flat ink roller, with vermilion and sapphire as the main colors and gold plating.

In the past, among the many temples in Hunyuan, Dayun Temple was called the famous temple in the north except Hengshan Temple Group, and the poet Yuan Haowen and traveler Xu Xiake all stopped here. Zhao, a calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, called it "the harmony between name and heaven", which could "make rain and steam clouds". Now it is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Temple Brick Pagoda: It stands on the top of Zhangren Mountain, 30 kilometers southwest of Datong City. Because it is a part of Zen Temple, it is named Zen Temple Tower.

According to the Records of Datong Prefecture, the Temple Tower is a Liao Dynasty building with a hexagonal seven-level solid brick structure. The tower is 20 meters high and consists of tower base, tower body and tower gate. Except the tower gate is cast iron, the rest are masonry structures. Among them, the tower base is Sumitomo, made of regular rectangular stones, with wooden tenons between the stones without mortar. Each stone is engraved with lotus, peony, boy and so on. And each of the six corners is engraved with a brave and mighty Lux. Carve a Buddha and two Bodhisattvas on both sides above, and tie two layers of lotus beads at the waist, carving lotus petals. The tower base is so tall and complex that it is rare in other places. Above the tower foundation is a brick tower with imitation wood structure. There is a small portal window and four lattice windows on both sides of the tower wall on the second floor. At first glance, it is very realistic, but it is actually a virtual sculpture. The above layers have the same structure, but they are gradually folded inward.

The Buddhist temple tower is beautiful, steady and generous, and looks like a pen. Because it stands tall and beautiful on the top of the mountain, with overlapping peaks and green clouds. Now it is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Yuanjue Temple Tower: It is located in Yuanjue Temple in Hunyuan, but the temple was destroyed that year, leaving only the temple tower, which is now a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit.

Yuanjue Temple Tower was built in the third year of Jin Dynasty (1 158). The tower is nine stories high and the eaves are closely arched. It is made of bricks and has an octagonal plane. It is an all-wood structure building. The whole tower is divided into three parts: the base, the tower body and the top of the tower. The base is Sumitomo, and the lowest part is stacked with several layers, gradually retracted, and two layers of bricks are tied around the waist, carving kabuki music, lux and animal and plant patterns, which is of certain value to the study of ancient national culture, especially the northern national songs and dances and musical instruments. The bottom of the tower is straight, pointed and conical; Lotus iron gate is installed at the top of the tower, followed by bowl, wheel, treasure cover and treasure bead. There is a beautiful iron phoenix at the top of the iron gate, which can rotate with the wind. It is not only an anemometer, but also a lightning arrester. It is a rare weather vane in ancient times.

Kannonji: Located near Foziwan, 8 kilometers west of Datong City, it is now a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit.

According to the records of Datong County Records, Kannonji was built in Chongxi in Liao Dynasty for six years (1037), destroyed by fire in Liao Dynasty for two years (1 122) and rebuilt in Xuande in Ming Dynasty for three years (1428). There is a story about the founding of Kannonji. According to the inscription of the temple in the thirty-fifth year of Wanli Ming Dynasty (1607), "There is an ancient Kannonji fifteen miles west of Yunzhong City Site. It is said that it was originally named toad bay, during which monsters disturbed people's lives and blocked roads. On June 9, the sixth year of Liao Dynasty, Master, dressed in eight heavy gold, flew from the Qin Wanfo Cave to the top of Shuimen Mountain with the Bodhisattva and the Ming King. Since then, the demon has disappeared and the place is peaceful. Therefore, the public built a temple. "

The temple faces south and covers an area of more than 2,000 square meters. Along the central axis, there are stage, Guanyin Hall, Sanzhen Hall, Bell and Drum Tower, and stele gallery, which rise from front to back layer by layer and have a unique style. In front of the mountain gate, a double-sided three-dragon glazed wall was built, with a length of12.2m and a height of 6.7m.. It is the only double-sided glazed wall in Datong.

Cliff "Buddha" carving: Located on the north cliff 8 kilometers west of Datong and about 300 meters northwest of Kannonji, it is called Buddha Bay. The words are about 2 meters square, in block letters, and the calligraphy is rough and vigorous, which is a rare cliff stone carving. There are many legends about the word "Buddha" According to the research of Mr. Liang Sicheng, a famous architect in China, this word is considered as a relic of Liao Dynasty. Now it is a municipal cultural relics protection unit.

In addition, the Liao Dynasty rebuilt the Wuzhouchuan Grottoes Temple (now Yungang Grottoes) on a large scale, and built ten temples in front of the grottoes, stretching for miles, with a huge scale.

Source: Datong News Network Release Time: 20 12/4/24 9:47:37