The Relic Pagoda
The Relic Pagoda of Qixia Temple is a relic of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
The Relic Pagoda
is one of the oldest stone pagodas south of the Yangtze River. , is the largest stupa in China. Built in the Sui Dynasty, in the second year of Renshou (602), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered eighty-three states in the world to build Renshou relic pagodas. Qixia Temple has one of them. It was rebuilt in the Southern Tang Dynasty in the 10th century. It is the most valuable ancient building in Qixia Temple. The stone tower has five octagonal levels and is about 15 meters high. The base is surrounded by curved stone railings, which have been restored from the five generations of originals excavated in modern times. The floor of the base is engraved with images of sea water, dragons, phoenixes, fish and shrimps, of which only a part remains. Under the tower, there are eight reliefs of Sakyamuni on each side of the Xumizuo. The first floor of the pagoda is particularly tall, with carved doors on the front and back. There are statues of Manjusri (destroyed) and Samantabhadra in the northeast and southwest, and the remaining four sides are statues of heavenly kings. There are five levels of dense eaves above it, with small Buddhist niches carved in between. Each eaves has wood-like tiles, and there are ring bells at the end of the corner beams. There are only a few of them left. The top of the tower was originally a metal brake with an iron chain leading to an iron ring on the back of a heavy beast at the end of the ridge. Later, it was replaced with a top made of several layers of stone carved lotuses. The pagoda has rigorous and natural images, vivid images, exquisite carvings, and a composition rich in the style of Chinese painting. It is a masterpiece of Buddhist art in the Five Dynasties period of China. After thousands of years of wind and rain, although some of the stone eaves have been damaged, they still stand tall and become a testimony to the flourishing Buddhist spirit of Jinling.
Dafo Pavilion
Dafo Pavilion
The Dafo Pavilion, also known as the Three Holy Temples, is dedicated to the Buddha Amitayus. It was excavated by Yi during the Southern Qi Dynasty and is located in the east of the stupa. The sitting height of the Buddha statue is 10.8 meters, and the height of the seat is 13.3 meters. Guanyin and Shizhi Bodhisattva stand on the left and right, and are 11 meters high. The style of the folds of the Buddha's clothes is quite similar to that of the Buddha in the Yungang Grottoes in Datong. Originally the two receiving Buddhas next to the stupa, they are more than three meters high, beautiful and elegant, similar to the Longmen Stone Buddha in Luoyang. They are also unique treasures from the golden age of Chinese Buddhist art. Qixia Temple is the place where Monk Jianzhen visited in the Tang Dynasty. There is a "Monk Jianzhen Memorial Hall" in the courtyard of the temple's sutra collection building, which enshrines a reborn statue of Monk Jianzhen presented to him by the Japanese delegation when they visited Nanjing in 1963. There are also displays of Jianzhen monks. There are many kinds of information about the monk’s historical sites.
Thousand Buddha Rock
Thousand Buddha Rock
Thousand Buddha Rock is located in the rock behind the stupa. There is also a group of grottoes dug during the Southern Dynasties. There are more than 500 Buddha statues, which is called Thousand Buddha Cliff. Among them, the largest Buddha statue is Amitayus, which is 10 meters high. On the left and right are the standing statues of Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta Bodhisattva, forming the Three Saints of the West. The surrounding rock walls are covered with Buddha statues and Buddhist statues. In the last cave, a stone statue holding a hammer and an iron awl appeared. It was the digger of the Buddha statue who also carved his own image into the Buddhist niche. The Buddha statues on Ganfo Cliff are beautiful and magnificent, reflecting the wisdom and strength of the ancient working people.
Behind the Big Buddha Pavilion, to the east of the Relic Pagoda, and between the cliffs behind Wuliang Hall, there is Thousand Buddha Rock, known as the "Jiangnan Yungang" and the only Southern Dynasties grotto in China. According to the "Qixia Temple Stele", after the death of Ming Monk Shao in the Qi Dynasty of the Southern Dynasty, his son Zhongzhang and Shamen Fadu first engraved the Buddha Amitayus and the two Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Shizhi on the two walls of the west peak. It is said that after the Buddha statue was carved, it shone brightly on the top of the niche. So, the nobles and officials of Qi and Liang heard about it and carved five or six or seven or eight Buddha statues on the stone walls according to the height and depth of the rocks. It is regarded as a niche and is known as Thousand Buddha Rock. There are 294 Buddhist niches and 515 Buddha statues in the Southern Dynasties. After that, excavations continued in the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, totaling a total of 700 Buddha statues. Xiao Hong, the king of Linchuan in the Liang Dynasty, decorated the Buddha statues and made them resplendent. Thousand Buddha Rock is located in the south, facing the Yungang Grottoes from north to south. It is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese carving art.
During the reign of Emperor Ming of the Liu Song Dynasty, monk Shao of Renming lived in seclusion in Qixia Mountain. At night, he dreamed of a Tathagata shining among the rocks, so he vowed to build a cave, but to no avail. The second son Ming Zhongzhang inherited the legacy and asked Master Seng to design and dig a niche on the stone wall of Xifeng. In 484, together with the monk Fadu, he carved the Amitabha Buddha (Amitabha) and the two Bodhisattvas Avalokitesvara and Shizhi. They are all ten meters high. After the carving was completed, the nobles and scholars of Qi and Liang each picked up their belongings and carved Buddha statues on the stone wall according to the height and depth of the rock. Some five or six or seven or eight statues were painted in one painting. It is known as Thousand Buddha Rock. . During the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty (May 11), Xiao Hong, the king of Linchuan in Liang Dynasty, decorated the Buddha statues to make them look golden and green. The "Big Buddha (niche) Pavilion" excavated by Zhongzhang and Fadu in the Ming Dynasty is the first cave in Thousand Buddha Rock.
Because it is dedicated to the Three Saints of the West, it is also called the "Wuliang Hall" and the "Three Saints". The current brick door of the temple is the result of repairs for future generations. There are four niches lined up in the east of the Great Buddha Hall, and about twenty caves in the west. The rest are scattered on the rock and on the north side of the rock. The layout inside the niche is either one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas, or one Buddha and two disciples. There are statues of heavenly kings and warriors on both sides of the cave door. Two lions often squat under the Buddha's throne. While walking around, you can often see ancient inscriptions, among which the regular script of "Ancient Thousand Buddhas Rock Qixia Mountain" written by Lu Jiuyan of the Song Dynasty is the most eye-catching.
Wuliang Hall
Wuliang Hall
Wuliang Hall is the earliest and largest Buddhist niche in Thousand Buddha Rock. Infinite Life Buddha is in the center, with Avalokitesvara and Mahasthamaprapta on both sides. The statue has a well-proportioned figure and smooth lines. The style of the folds of the clothes of the Three Buddhas is very similar to that of the Yungang Grottoes, and the construction date is 17 years earlier than the Yungang Grottoes. The statues are exquisite and simple, comparable to Datong and Longmen. Its value lies in preserving the original charm of the Southern Dynasty Buddhist statues, which is especially rare in Jiangnan. There is a unique "Buddha" in Thousand Buddha Rock, which is the "Shigong Buddha" on the left side of the Three Temples. It is said that when carving the last Buddha statue, if the hammer was light, the stone would not move at all; if the hammer was heavy, the stone would break; if the hammer was neither light nor heavy, only sparks would appear, and the carving would always fail. Seeing that the time limit was up, the stonemason jumped into the niche to avoid killing everyone, and became a "Stone Buddha" holding a hammer in one hand and a chisel in the other. This legend reflects the respect and remembrance of later generations for Wang Shou, a famous craftsman in the Ming Dynasty.
Rainbow Mirror
Mingjing Lake
Mingjing Lake is located 50 meters in front of the mountain gate of Qixia Temple. It is the collective name of Rainbow Bridge and Mingjing Lake. Mingjing Lake was originally the gathering place of Peach Blossom Stream (now it has been rerouted). The lake is clear and blue, and the light can shine on people. There are hexagonal pavilions on the lake, connected by a curved bridge that looks like a rainbow, and is nicknamed "Rainbow Mirror". Rainbow Bridge was destroyed during the Xianfeng War in the Qing Dynasty and rebuilt in the 1920s to restore its original appearance. Since then, the bridge and pavilion have been repaired. In 1981, there was a rare phenomenon that the lake bed of Mingjing Lake collapsed, the Rainbow Bridge broke, and the Rainbow Pavilion collapsed. The "Rainbow Mirror" disappeared for a while. In 1991, the "Rainbow Mirror" reconstruction project was officially launched and completed the following year. The reconstructed Mingjing Lake is square in shape and covers an area of ??about 3,000 square meters. There is a pavilion in the lake, which is hexagonal, with red-coated black tiles and raised cornices. The three characters "Rainbow Pavilion" on it were inscribed by the contemporary eminent monk Master Mingshan. The rainbow bridge winds along the waves and is integrated with the pavilion. There is a monument erected by the lake, more than 2 meters high, with "Rainbow Mirror" engraved on the front and "Inscription of the Reconstruction of Mingjing Lake" on the back, detailing the reasons and process of the reconstruction.
Ming Zhengjun Monument
Ming Zhengjun Monument
The Ming Zhengjun Monument was erected in the third year of Shangyuan (676) of the Tang Dynasty by Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi. In the Southern Dynasties, the hermit Ming Monk Shao V, Sun Ming Chongyan (a favorite of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty), founded Qixia Temple. In order to commemorate his ancestor, he asked Li Zhi for an "imperial stele" and erected it in front of the mountain gate of Qixia Temple. Monk Shao of the Ming Dynasty was called "Zheng Jun" because he did not go to the imperial court many times. The stele is 2.74 meters high, 1.31 meters wide, and 0.36 meters thick. The head of the stele is a six-dragon arch, with the four characters "Mingzhengjun stele" inscribed on it. It was written by Wang Zhijing, a calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. On both sides of the stele are lion heads and ribbons. Flower lotus decoration; the inscription was drafted by Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, and inscribed in running script by the calligrapher Gao Zhengchen. It has 2376 words in total, composed of forty-six rhymes, and ends with 10 nouns. The stele records the life of Monk Shao in the Ming Dynasty, as well as historical events such as the construction of temple statues in Qixia Mountain during the Qi and Liang dynasties. The two characters "Qixia" are engraved on the back of the stele, which is said to be written by Li Zhi. The monument has bean-like white markings, which are fossils of crinoid stems and Chinese corals that were found in shallow seas 280 million years ago. There is a ball Swag fossil on the turtle head under the monument, which was carved from the carbonite of the Chuanshan Formation of the Upper Carboniferous 290 million years ago.
Grotto Statues
Based on documentary records and the evolution of statue styles, the statues of Qixia Grottoes can be roughly divided into three phases.
The first phase
It was built between the Jin and Song Dynasties to the first year of Yongguang in the Song Dynasty. It is represented by the two statues in the caves numbered X026 and X024 on the left side of Wuliang Hall.
To summarize the style of the sculptures in this issue: they all have dome-shaped cave roofs. The body of the Buddha is short and square, with hair mostly in a high bun. The Buddha's robe has a U-shaped neckline, an incised backlight and a lotus behind the head. The folds of the robe are in a figure-eight shape and cover the altar, with a sub-shaped altar base. The Bodhisattva wears a square crown and stands on a round lotus base. A cave with three walls and three niches appeared.
The second phase
It was excavated about ten years at the end of the 5th century.
Taking Wuliang Hall (labeled as bottom 020) and its surroundings, 022, 021, 019 (the Sakyamuni Treasure Cave, namely Cave 13 labeled by the Nanjing Museum), 004, middle 102, 193, 089, and 148. The caves on 090 are represented. It can be roughly divided into early and late periods. To sum up the style of grotto statues in this period: they are all dome-shaped, with three-walled altars. Most of the Buddhist altars are square and horizontal rectangular, with thousands of Buddhas appearing. The torso of the Buddha statue is significantly longer than that of the first phase, and it is represented by sitting, standing, and sitting in lotus position. The Buddha's robes are also worn in a variety of ways, such as the U-shaped neckline of the robes, the "draped shoulders and drooping style", and "the robe with wide belt style". " and "half-draped style" cassocks coexist, with the meditation seal and the fearless seal, and the cassock hangs outwards and droops. The Bodhisattva's X-shaped necklace appears and appears to penetrate the wall. In terms of sculpture, round carvings and straight knife techniques are mixed, and the shape emphasizes the expression of the human body. The thickness of the clothing is lighter than that of the first period. The torso of the Buddha statue is slender than that of the first period. The style of the statue is obvious and the bones are clear. The combination of statues has also increased compared with the previous period. Other sculptural elements such as the guardian lion raising one paw and the shape of a small kneeling figure are also new in this issue.
The third period
Approximately from the beginning of the 6th century to the first year of Liang Tianzheng (551). It is represented by the two leading Buddhas in front of the Wuliang Hall. The more severely damaged statue has a low bun with snail hair. The Buddha's legs stand on a round rosette. The right collar of the Buddha's robe is draped along the left arm to the shoulders. The turns of the clothing pattern are mostly convex and undulating, symmetrically carved on the chest. The cassock appears to be thicker. The other figure is relatively well-preserved, with thin clothing that fits the body, and the undulations of the lower chest and abdomen are delicately carved. The clothing patterns are shaped using steps and imitation clay strips. The hair is in a low bun and the dress is the same as the previous one. The two Buddha statues are similar in shape, but slightly different in carving techniques and physical expression. Since both statues are single round sculptures, their original location cannot be verified (one theory is that they were moved here from the side of the stupa).
The overall style evolution of the statues in the third phase of Qixia Temple Grottoes is as follows: the statues changed from thick and short bodies to stretched and slender, and the Buddha's clothing changed from the early U-shaped collared Buddhist robes to the later appearance of "prayer clothes and belt style", "Half-draped" and "draped shoulders and drooped" Buddhist robes have transitioned from the rough and thick Buddhist robes to the emphasis on human body portrayal. The thickness of the robes has gradually weakened, and then to thin robes that fit the body. The Buddha's seat transitioned from a sub-shaped altar base to a square and rectangular altar base, and finally a three-walled ring altar appeared. The combination of statues gradually increased from one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas to multiple statues in one shop. The carving technique also transitioned from the straight knife method to the round carving technique. The Bodhisattva wearing an X-shaped necklace and wearing it through the wall in front of the abdomen also appears in the second phase.
The rescue and repair project of the largest stupa in China, the Qixia Temple stupa in Nanjing, was completed at the end of 1993. The repair, chaired by Cai Run, an associate researcher at the China Institute of Cultural Relics, is the largest and most technically advanced of all previous repairs. The highest one was mainly to bond 8 stone components that fell due to natural weathering, lightning strikes and fires hundreds of years ago to the original fractures.