Chapter 22 Rhythm of Grotto and Tower

A movement of stone stands on both sides of the Yishui River. Traveling southward for 25 miles out of Luoyang, Xiangshan and Longmen Mountains facing each other are like natural gates. Only Yihe Zhen is as silent as before, silent in the passing water, quietly embracing an ancient dream, weaving the fragments of time with clear flowing water. The world-famous Longmen Grottoes were excavated between the two banks of Longmen Mountain. Where the Yihe River flows through the mountain pass, the two banks face each other like a que, which was called Yique by the ancients. "Zuo Zhuan" records in the twenty-sixth year of Zhaogong: "Jin Zhijue, Zhao Yangshuai was the king, and the maid guarded the gate."

Du Yu's commentary on this passage said: "Quesai is also Yiquekou in the southwest of Luoyang." Since the Warring States Period, this place has been a battleground for military strategists. ", "Wei Shu" and other historical materials, there are also many war records in this place. It was Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty who first called Yique Longmen. Volume 5 of "Yuanhe County Maps" said in Henan Futiao: "At the beginning, Emperor Yang tried to climb Mang Mountain to see Yique. Gu said: This is not Longmen? Since ancient times, why has the capital not been built here? Servant Suwei said that he had never known it since ancient times, so that he could wait for His Majesty. The emperor was very happy, so he proposed the capital."

It was not until the Tang Gaozong era that it was officially called Longmen in stone carvings. In the early summer of 1936, a small expedition team entered the Longmen Grottoes.This expedition team of only 5 people has gathered young talents who study the history of Chinese ancient architecture.Liang Sicheng, Lin Huiyin, and Liu Dunzhen are well-known architects at home and abroad, and their students Chen Mingda and Zhao Zhengzhi have also emerged. They will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the Longmen Grottoes. Although there are only five people, the division of labor is very strict. Liu Dunzhen is responsible for the numbering of the caves and recording architectural features, Lin Huiyin inspects the carvings of Buddha statues, Liang Sicheng and Chen Mingda are responsible for photography, and Zhao Zhengzhi copies the inscriptions.

As soon as he entered Longmen, Lin Huiyin was deeply shocked by the grand and majestic momentum of the grotto. This cave, which was dug in the Taihe period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, has been carved in the Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, Sui and other dynasties. The niches are densely covered, and there are more than 100,000 statues in the whole mountain. It is also known as the three major grottoes together with Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Datong Yungang Grottoes. Stopping at the foot of Longmen Mountain and looking around, one after another caves are hidden among the mountains and trees, and the rhythm of the stones forms a harmonious symphony here.

The stone path is rough and rough, covered with slippery moss, and the path is overgrown with shrubs, which bind people's legs and feet, making it difficult for climbers to walk, and they will fall if they are not careful. Although everyone is a young man with strong feet, no mountain can be climbed. By half, it was all exhausted. Lin Huiyin originally wore a Huzhou umbrella with tung oil cloth and purple bamboo handle for sunshade, but he did not expect that this umbrella would be used in an unexpected way: it happened to be used as a crutch when climbing a mountain. Fend off flying bats and raining droppings.She wore a sheep's belly towel on her head, and looked like a peasant woman on the road. This attire once surprised two students, Chen Mingda and Zhao Zhengzhi. Little daughter-in-law.

Lin Huiyin couldn't laugh at all. The scene in front of her was worrying her. Most of the Longmen Grottoes were excavated on the Cambrian and Ordovician limestone. For plants such as cypress, the huge root system makes the stones loose and cracked, so the rock mass often collapses.The cave sees water all the year round, is dark and humid, and many statues have been eroded beyond recognition.Some of the openings of the caves are covered by dense thatch and thorny bushes. If one wants to enter the caves, one has to push aside the thickets that block the way. Often, one or two fleshy flower snakes will come out of the bushes, startling them. Lin Huiyin immediately got goosebumps all over his body, and the two students had to "startle the snake".

However, the beauty of the cave cannot be concealed after all. After entering the Guyang Cave, Lin Huiyin's mood immediately improved. This cave was the first to be excavated and the largest, with a depth of about 13 to 4 meters and a height of more than ten meters. The tall statue in the middle is about five or six meters. It is strange that the statues on both sides of the main statue are Bodhisattvas, but the main statue is the image of a Taoist deity. It was originally Shakyamuni Buddha, you see, the two standing next to him, one is Manjushri, the other is Samantabhadra, it must be that Shakyamuni's face was weathered, and later someone patched it up Yes, we replaced the Buddha with the Taoist deity."

Liang Sicheng took a closer look and said, "This must have been made up in the late Qing Dynasty. Why did the family dispute come to this!" However, Lin Huiyin was fascinated by the artistic construction of this large cave. This cave was built entirely of natural stone caves. The plane of the cave is approximately horseshoe-shaped. Numerous small niches have been chiseled above and above, and there are nearly a thousand Buddha statues. The walls of the entire cave are dazzling and magnificent. Lin Huiyin was fascinated by it. She put the drawing board on her knees, copied it raptly, and kept saying, "It's so beautiful, it's a miracle."

Liu Dunzhen asked with a smile, "Huiyin, are you writing poetry again?" Lin Huiyin said: "This poem was written here more than 1,500 years ago. Stone poems will not be weathered." Chen Mingda and Zhao Zhengzhi clapped their hands and shouted, "This is the best poem!" Lin Huiyin pointed to the statue for everyone to see: "Take a look, this is called Xiugu Qingxiang." Baoyi Bodai, this is too close to the style of painting in the Southern Dynasties, old master, take a look, this clothes pattern , Does this line look like Gu Kaizhi's painting? "

Liu Dunzhen came over to take a closer look and said, "Well, it has the charm of "Fu Tu of Luoshen". It is known to the world. Many of the Buddha statues he sculpted resemble the techniques of his friend Dai Kui. His face is clear and narrow, and his shoulders are narrowed. They are truly delicate and delicate statues. This is also an artistic style recognized by the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties. The nobles of the Southern Dynasties, On weekdays, he pays attention to a beautiful appearance, paints, wears loose clothes, tie a wide belt, and wears a tall hat. When he goes out, he rides a car and others help him. Pretending to be a fairy, with soft skin and fragile bones, unbearable to walk, this kind of style is similar to each other, and it has become the social basis of the style of the beautiful bones."

Lin Huiyin said with a smile: "Listen everyone, the old master is teaching us again." Liu Dunzhen hurriedly cupped his fists and said: "Ashamed! Ashamed!" Lin Huiyin said: "Don't rush to arch, just keep talking, it's very good." Liu Dunzhen smiled and said: "If we want to talk about sculpture style, it's Huiyin's turn to teach us." Lin Huiyin said: "I don't dare to go to class, but I have to discuss some ideas with the old master. I think the artistic style reflected in the statues of Longmen Grottoes is related to the political ideas of Sinicization reform promoted by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. After the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang , the Han nationality in the Central Plains, Baoyi Bo belt-style clothing, was popular in the north, and the ideas and art of the Southern Dynasties were introduced to the north, which created new conditions for the development of Buddhist art. You can see the thin and delicate figures shown in these Buddha statues. The wide-banded garments and broad-belt costumes are graceful and serene, with gentle expressions and unrestrained elegance, completely replacing the style of the early Northern Wei Dynasty with plump faces, fat limbs, and gentle demeanor. This change in the artistic style of statues and costumes is obvious. It is the result of Emperor Xiaowen's Sinicization policy and learning from the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties and the Han culture of the Central Plains." Liu Dunzhen clapped his hands and praised: "Wonderful! Wonderful! The late reform of the sculpture art in the Northern Wei Dynasty, you can talk about it alive. You have such insightful insights because of the research on the Yungang Grottoes. You must write well when you go back from this inspection. papers." Hearing Lin Huiyin's words, let's look at the statues in the grottoes again. They are really stylish. Not only is the Buddha statue flat and slender, but the face is clear and beautiful, with sparse eyebrows, sharp chin and thin lips, slender neck and shins, and narrow shoulders. The flying sky carved in relief on the wall is also slender and elegant, wearing a short jacket and a long skirt that drags the floor, with a slim and graceful figure, which is beyond the image, the style of "praise clothes and belts" and "exquisite bones and clear portraits", A perfect unity has been achieved. The cameras of Liang Sicheng and Chen Mingda kept flashing the shutter, and everyone's notebooks were densely filled with investigation materials. During the four-day investigation, they traveled all over the Longmen Grottoes. After finishing their trip to the Longmen Grottoes, Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng entered a new realm. They transferred to Kaifeng, one of the seven ancient capitals, to inspect ancient Chinese pagodas. The first thing that caught their sight was the iron tower of Youyou Temple in Kaifeng, which was also the first target of their investigation.The pagoda was built in the first year of Huangyou in the Northern Song Dynasty. It has a glazed brick structure, 8 corners on the plane, 13 floors, and a height of nearly 60 meters. The outer wall is inlaid with brown glazed tiles, which looks like cast iron, so it is called the iron tower. When Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng came here, the tower was submerged underground due to the flooding of the Yellow River. It was the first time for them to approach this ancient pagoda known as "the first pagoda in the world", and caressed the flying sky and descending embossed on the brown glazed tiles of the pagoda. Lin Huiyin was full of praise for images of dragons, unicorns, bodhisattvas, wrestlers, lions, etc., and even called it "really a masterpiece!" The body of the tower is entered through the half-submerged Kyu-shaped doorway at the bottom, along the brick stepping path, climbing 168 steps to reach the top of the tower, overlooking pedestrians like ants in the distance, looking north, but seeing the Yellow River across the sky as if halfway out of the sky, as expected There is the emotion of "the water of the Yellow River comes from the sky".The shadows of the sails in the distance are dotted with stars, flickering and flickering, and the land of the Central Plains is like a vast picture. Come down from the top of the pagoda, look up at the cornices and trembling arches of the pagoda, and the copper pagoda brake in the shape of a vase. The shape is magnificent and straight, like a giant pillar in the blue sky. The numerous pagodas of Tianqing Temple let them realize another kind of eternity of beauty and power. This ancient pagoda in the southeast of Kaifeng was built in the Kaibao period of Emperor Taizu of Song Dynasty, and was not completed until the first year of Chunhua. Although it has become a remnant pagoda now, However, because the Ming Dynasty added a 7-story pagoda to the remaining 3-story pagoda, it has a very unique style. Liang Sicheng became very interested in the "Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra" and "Synopsis of Ten Virtuous Karmas and Dao Sutras" engraved on the tower wall.Lin Huiyin opened the sketchbook outside the tower, and drew the towering shadow of the tower. She was shocked by the incomplete beauty after ingenious repair.She realizes that there are various forms of beauty, incomplete and complete, wide and narrow, and in a sense, another kind of perfection has been achieved. This kind of perfection needs to be supplemented and comprehended by the human mind. After leaving Kaifeng, they arrived in Jinan to meet their student Mai Yanzeng, drove east to Licheng, Zhangqiu, Linzi, Yidu, Weixian, returned to Jinan, and then went south to Changqing, Tai'an, Ciyang, Jining, and Zouxian In 11 counties including Shentong Temple, Pizhi Pagoda, Huizong Pagoda, Statutory Pagoda, Brick Pagoda of Xinglong Temple, Iron Pagoda of Iron Pagoda, Song Pagoda of Faxing Temple, Ming Pagoda of Longquan Temple, Dai Temple, Ancient buildings such as Confucian temples and temples in the county. The trip to Shandong not only accumulated first-hand precious architectural materials, but also inspired Lin Huiyin's artistic inspiration.She traveled all the way and wrote poems all the way, and many excellent works have become famous works that have been recited by later generations. A poem "In the Mountain" writes: The purple mountain embraces the red leaves and projects itself in front of the mountain, People walk on the small stone bridge, chasing and missing a little bit. The clouds outside the peak are inlaid with silver light in the deep blue sky, You don't need to have yellow leaves under the bridge and people by the spring to remember summer! Not because of a person walking alone, the road is more winding, The portrait of the house with short white walls is still painted on the other side of the col, Only this red leaf set replaces the layer of emerald green lost in people's memory, Deep and shallow embrace the same mountain, melancholy like a thin layer of smoke. A slanted blue shadow in the mountains, now the red radishes are scattered all around, Millions of fallen leaves and flames are looking for mountains, rocks and thorns, At that time, Huang Yuexia was sitting with innocent young people talking about love, I believe The length of those three or two sentences is still hanging in the autumn wind like a star. This poem vividly expresses a traveler's feeling of being in a comfortable and natural environment. The state of mind and the mountain scenery are in perfect harmony. Her "Twilight Over Mount Tai" expresses another sentiment: remember that day The heart is the same as a long river, let the evening come, The moon hangs on the chest. Like this Qingdai Mountain, Nowadays, The heart is the barrier side of loneliness; lush, Don't forget the sunset, indistinct, But hear the wind blowing under your feet, it's night- The barrier of loneliness in her heart was opened in the embrace of the mountain, with a piece of moonlight hanging on her chest, and all her feelings melted into this orange vastness. What attracted Lin Huiyin the most was her trip to Shaanxi with Liang Sicheng. Before that, Liang Sicheng, Huang Zongjiang, Mai Yanzeng and others had inspected the ancient buildings in Shaanxi in advance. Maintenance plan for the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. The big and small wild goose pagodas in Xi'an made Lin Huiyin truly feel the unique rhythm of beauty of ancient Chinese pagoda architecture. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, located in Nanci'en Temple in Xi'an City, is a multi-storey pavilion-style green brick pagoda. There is a charming legend about this pagoda. The local people said that a group of geese once flew over the Ci'en Temple, and the leading goose suddenly fell to the ground. The monks were shocked and thought that the Bodhisattva appeared, so they built a high pagoda at the place where the geese fell, and buried the dead geese under the pagoda, so it was named Wild Goose Pagoda. . This ancient pagoda was built in the third year of Tang Yonghui. In order to protect the classics brought back from India, Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty funded the construction of this pagoda in the west courtyard of the temple. It was rebuilt into 7 floors with blue bricks, and the top floor can be climbed from the inside of the tower. During the Tang Dynasty, it was rebuilt into 10 floors. Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng were fascinated by the exquisite line-carved Buddha statues on the pagoda gate. The "Amitabha Buddha's Teachings" on the stone lintel to the west is said to be the work of Yan Liben, a great painter in the Tang Dynasty. The Buddhist temples in the picture are all portrayed in proportion. Beast kisses, cornices, wind chimes, bucket arches, plinths, stone steps, etc. on the ridge are all clearly displayed, showing all the architectural features of the Tang Dynasty.Lin Huiyin said: "If someone makes a copy in the future, the construction method of the Tang Dynasty will have a rough outline." The Small Wild Goose Pagoda is located in the southern suburbs of Xi'an. It was built during the Jinglong period of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty. What surprised Lin Huiyin the most was the miracle of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda's three separations and reunions: During the earthquake in the last year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty, a gap more than one foot wide was broken from the top to the bottom of the pagoda, which was as clear as a "window". The cracks in the pagoda are healed by themselves, and the clothes are seamless, which is amazing.The second time was the Jiajing Yimao earthquake in the Ming Dynasty, the tower body was cracked again, and the Guihai earthquake reunited without a trace.The third time was in the Xinwei period of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the tower was shattered again, and it recombined itself during the Xinchou earthquake. This is really an inexplicable miracle. The phenomenon that the Small Wild Goose Pagoda was shattered three times and recombined three times gave Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng more inspiration, and provided them with a historical basis for making plans to restore the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. But Lin Huiyin saw more significance of Chinese pagoda culture, which is not only a kind of magnificence, a kind of strength, but also a kind of humanistic spirit, a kind of national strength, and its cultural connotation symbolizes the personality of truth, kindness and beauty. , not only embodies the true meaning of "impermanence", "non-self" and "silence" of Buddhism, but also shows the ultimate value of life created by a nation. During this period, Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng went north to Yaoxian County to inspect the Yaowang Temple. According to the original plan, they also went west to Dunhuang to inspect the Mogao Grottoes. However, due to the tense situation, this trip failed, which became their lifelong regret. However, this trip to Xi'an once again injected a lively connotation into Lin Huiyin's theoretical construction of "architectural meaning".