Approaching history and understanding grottoes
Grottoes, often inseparable from Buddhist culture, originally originated in India, is a form of Buddhist architecture and a perfect embodiment of sculpture aesthetics and architecture. According to the research of experts and scholars, the grotto art in China reached its peak in Sui and Tang Dynasties, which was the historical period when Mahayana Buddhism was introduced into China. Most caves in China are around the Yellow River Basin, which was once the political, economic and cultural center of many dynasties in history. The most famous ones are: Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Luoyang Longmen Grottoes, Datong Yungang Grottoes, Chongqing Dazu Grottoes and Tianshui Maijishan Grottoes.
Similar to many grottoes, Longyou Grottoes were carved out of the mountains, but it is so special among the grottoes: first, its excavation experience can be described as twists and turns, and second, its internal structure is amazing. The story of Longyou Grottoes, which has nothing to do with Buddhist culture, is still a historical puzzle with different opinions.
The amazing discovery of pumping fishermen
There is a dense water system near Shiyanbei village, which is not only surrounded by Qujiang, but also has many deep ponds, large and small. 1One day in June, 992, four villagers in Shiyan North Village had nothing to do, so they wanted to fish and catch shrimp in the pond to kill time and add some ingredients to their kitchens. One of the villagers suddenly became interested in the depth of the pond, so he brought his own water pump to satisfy his curiosity by draining the smallest deep pond. This draw is not important. Although we didn't catch the expected fish and shrimp from the deep pond, we exposed a magnificent cave group with strange structure to the world.
It turns out that although the water area of this deep pond is the smallest, its depth is amazing. Because the deep pond is connected with the foot of the mountain, a huge cave hidden in the deep pond and hillside is exposed after the pond water is drained. In the next few days, with the help of the local government, other deep ponds around were drained one by one, and more caves of different sizes and exquisite layout revealed their true colors.
The ninth wonder of the world in the eyes of local people.
I believe everyone knows more or less the recognized "Seven Wonders of the World", and with the maturity of modern archaeological technology, who should be awarded the title of "The Eighth Wonder of the World" has become a controversial topic. Its "candidates" are: the Terracotta Warriors and Horses in China, the Great Wall in Wan Li, China and the Taj Mahal in India. Perhaps in terms of scale and fame, Longyou Grottoes can't be compared with the above three internationally renowned monuments, but this does not prevent Longyou Grottoes from becoming the "ninth wonder of the world" in the eyes of local people.
Entering Longyou Grottoes Scenic Area, you will be surprised to find that there are more than 20 caves in the area of 0.38 square kilometers in Fiona Fang, and each cave is very empty with a rare sloping roof design. The cave extends downward from the rectangular hole, and the vertical height can reach 30 meters. The roof of the cave is in the shape of an inverted bucket, and many huge fishtail-shaped stone pillars are seamlessly connected with the roof. Every plane of the rock wall must be in a straight line, and the ceiling and stone pillars are covered with clear and even gaps, which is amazing. Obviously, caves are not naturally formed, but the products of artificial excavation.
It is difficult for us to guess why the original builders dug such a huge cave and why they worked so hard to trim the ceiling and every corner to make it angular and uniform, if only to make use of its space. Besides, despite the difficulties, why do builders have to leave clear and regular gouges on ceilings and stone pillars? It is not difficult for us to imagine that the construction is so meticulous and rigorous that the builders must make great efforts.
Coincidentally, on the banks of the Nile in Egypt, there are also many magnificent pyramid-shaped buildings-pyramids, which are piled up by boulders weighing an average of 2.5 tons. The precision of construction technology and the unimaginable difficulty of production are quite similar to Longyou Grottoes. However, imagine that the site selection, conception and construction technology required for a large-scale and magnificent building must be quite complicated. Thousands of years ago, without the assistance of large machinery and modern technology, the ancients must have made unimaginable efforts.
High-rise underground artificial building with "the mystery of life experience"
At present, 7 caves have been developed in Longyou Grottoes Scenic Area, and more than 10 caves have not been excavated. The reason why Longyou Grottoes are significantly different from other grottoes is that there are no other cultural relics that can be traced back and revealed except a relief pattern of fish and animals in the whole grand and wide grottoes. The silent grottoes seem to be huge stone houses and huge stone barrels, without giving any clues for the world to guess its life experience.
Although numerous famous experts and scholars have visited the site, rummaged through ancient books and discussed many times over the years, they can only trace the "life experience" of Longyou Grottoes back to 2 12 BC or even longer. Huge and magnificent projects, incredible rules and gouges, if there are perfect internal lines, show the high construction level of Longyou Grottoes everywhere.
The builder is unknown, the date of construction is unknown, and the purpose of construction is inconclusive, but we can still be sure that Longyou Grottoes, as a high-level underground artificial building in China, fully embodies the extraordinary wisdom and superb engineering technology of ancient Chinese workers.
"Fragility" brought by natural weathering
Friends who have studied geography and love traveling should know that the Rocky Mountains have their own "life span". For example, the "Queen's Head" in yehliu Scenic Area on the north coast of Taiwan Province Province is actually a mushroom-shaped rock. As a famous tourist landmark on the seashore, the rock suffers from sun, wind and rain all the year round because of its natural position, and the rock body shrinks year by year due to weathering. Similarly, the rock mass of Longyou Grottoes is inevitably eroded and brittle due to weathering.
There are large and small fishtail-shaped stone pillars in Longyou Grottoes, which play a vital supporting role in the caves and can be called "Optimus Prime" in the caves. Because the grottoes are located near the surface, many stone pillars have been weathered to varying degrees due to the influence of weathering and human activities, and some even have stress cracks between the stone pillars and the ceiling of the cave. Once the cracks run through horizontally, the stone pillars will be destroyed as a whole, which will inevitably cause the roof of the cave to collapse.
Not only the stone pillars are damaged, but also many rock masses in the cave begin to fracture, and the mutual bonding force between rock blocks becomes worse, which will lead to peeling and falling off in the place with weak vertical tension in the cave. And the closer to the hole, the more obvious the damage caused by weathering. This reminds us of the Dunhuang Grottoes, which were severely damaged by natural effects and human activities. Similarly, no one wants the exquisite gouges on the rock wall surface of Longyou Grottoes to disappear in a few decades.
Protect Longyou Grottoes
At present, cultural relics protection workers and geological experts have been rescuing and strengthening Longyou Grottoes for three consecutive years. According to the staff of the scenic spot, some columns that are not seriously damaged have been bound and strengthened with bamboo pieces, some columns that are seriously damaged have been implanted with steel bars, and some columns that have been beyond repair have all been replaced with concrete structures.
In addition, some research and experiments on Longyou Grottoes are also under way. The government and experts are committed to improving the adopted reinforcement measures, construction technology and repair materials in order to find a more perfect reinforcement and protection scheme.
So far, due to some technical reasons and the prudent suggestions of some experts and scholars, many underwater caves in Longyou have been protected by the local government and have not been developed. Historical and cultural heritage belongs not only to us, but also to our descendants. We call for the protection of Longyou Grottoes, just like the protection of Dunhuang murals. For the crystallization of ancient human wisdom, we should not only develop in protection, but also protect in development, because we will create history by fearing history and never forget that we can open up the future.
There is nothing wrong with developing the tourism resources of Longyou Grottoes. On the basis of strict protection, we should not only see its commercial value, but also effectively explore its historical, cultural and scientific value. I believe that one day, our descendants can completely uncover the unsolved mystery of Longyou Grottoes.