(1) Forest of Steles in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province: There are more than 11,700 steles, including the steles of famous calligraphers from the Han, Wei and Tang dynasties.
(2) Forest of Steles in Qufu, Shandong: There are more than 2,000 steles.
(3) Forest of Steles at the South Gate of Kaohsiung, Taiwan: a collection of more than 1,000 steles.
(4) Sichuan Xima Earthquake Stele Forest: There are more than 100 steles recording earthquake data.
1. Shaolin Temple Pagoda Forest
The Pagoda Forest is located about 250 meters west of the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng County, Henan Province. It is the cemetery of monks of all generations, covering an area of ??more than 21,000 square meters. There are more than 230 ancient pagodas from the Tang Dynasty, which is the largest pagoda forest in China. There are various types of tomb pagodas with brick, stone and masonry mixed structures. Among them, there are 2 Tang pagodas and 2 Song pagodas. There are 10 golden pagodas, 46 Yuan pagodas, 148 Ming pagodas, and the rest are Qing pagodas or those of unknown era. There are single-story single-eaves pagodas, single-story dense-eaves pagodas, Indian stupa pagodas and various Lama pagodas. There are squares, rectangles, hexagons, octagons, circles, etc., in various styles and shapes. It is a treasure house for comprehensive research on ancient Chinese masonry architecture and sculpture art.
The Shaolin Temple Pagoda Forest is the tomb of Shaolin Temple monks of all generations and is famous in the Buddhist community. After the death of high-status monks, their ashes or bones were placed in the underground palace, and towers were built above them to show their merits. The height, size and number of floors of the pagoda are mainly determined by the depth of Buddhist attainments, prestige and merit of the monks during their lifetime. There are currently 232 towers in the Shaolin Temple Pagoda Forest, covering an area of ??more than 14,000 square meters. It has gone through different eras such as Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is the largest existing ancient pagoda complex in China in terms of area, quantity and value. The number of floors of the tower is different, generally from one to seven, with a height of about 15 meters or less. The shapes include square, hexagonal, and octagonal; there are cylinders and cones; there are linear and parabolic shapes; there are bottles and horns. shape. With various types and strange shapes, these towers are representative works of various historical periods and a treasure trove for the comprehensive study of ancient Chinese architecture, calligraphy, and sculpture art.
Except for an ordinary pagoda from the Tang Dynasty, an ordinary pagoda from the Song Dynasty and an ordinary pagoda of unknown age, all the existing pagodas in Shaolin Temple are personal pagodas.
Among them, the "Fawan Zen Master Pagoda" in the Tang Dynasty is the oldest brick tower in the Tallin. It is located in the northwest of the Tallin. It was built in the seventh year of Zhenyuan of the Tang Dynasty (791). It is a square, single-story, single-eave brick tower. , 8 meters high. Except for the pagoda door, pagoda temple and pagoda inscription which are carved from bluestone, the whole body is made of water-milled bricks. The pagoda door is decorated with classical patterns such as Feitian and Binjia in high relief.
The "Zhaogong Monk Tower" of the Yuan Dynasty is located in the middle of Tallinn and was built in the fifth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1339). This is a single-story dense-eaves brick tower with five overlapping eaves and a beautiful shape. There is a stone inscription on the back of the tower. The inscription is an article and elixir written by the Japanese monk Shao Yuan.
Yugong Tower is located in the middle of Tallinn. It has seven floors and is a hexagonal brick tower. Fuyu was the most famous abbot of the Zhongxing Shaolin Temple in the Yuan Dynasty. After Fuyu passed away, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty posthumously named him "The Duke of Jin". He was the only monk in the history of Shaolin Temple to be named the Duke of the State.
Since Fuyu's great contribution to the resurgence of Shaolin Temple can be compared with that of the founder, the monks of the Shaolin Temple erected a "Founder" monument in front of his pagoda to commemorate it. Zhaogong Pagoda, located in the middle of the Tallin, is a hexagonal single-story brick tower with dense eaves, with five overlapping eaves and beautiful shape. There is a stone inscription embedded in the back wall of the pagoda. The inscription was written by Shao Yuan, the first monk of Shaolin Temple at that time and a Japanese monk.
Guo Moruo once wrote a poem: "Shao Yuan wrote about Zhaogong Pagoda, just like Tang Monk left his seal in the year; flowers bloom and fall, rise and fall, why is it painful to write a statement?"
Talin is A magnificent building complex, it is not only a precious treasure for studying the history of architecture, art and religion in our country, but also a tourist attraction for domestic and foreign tourists.
2. Sanyinshan Tallin Scenic Area
Yinshan Talin Scenic Area is located in the east of Badaling-Ming Tombs Scenic Area. Yinshan gets its name from the fact that in winter "ice and snow accumulate, and the color is as white as silver"; it is also called Iron Wall because "there are stone cliffs at the foot, all of which turn black". Together they are called Iron Wall and Silver Mountain. Deng Yinfeng, an eminent monk from the Tang Dynasty, once preached scriptures on this mountain. More than 1,300 years ago, Huayan Temple was built. Baoyan Temple was built in front of the mountain in the Liao Dynasty. In the third year of Jin Tianhui (1125 AD), the temple was rebuilt into Dayansheng Temple. It was rebuilt in the 13th year of Ming Zhengtong (1148 AD) and the temple was named "Fahua". Zen Temple". The seventy-two nunnery under his command is a famous temple in the suburbs of Beijing. There are seven monk bone pagodas in the temple. Among them, there are five brick pagodas with dense eaves in the Jin Dynasty and two Lama pagodas in the Yuan Dynasty.
Many monk pagodas of various shapes have also been built on the surrounding foothills. Now, the temple has become a ruin, but the seven pagodas in the temple and some of the surrounding ancient pagodas are still well preserved. In 1988, it was announced as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The scenic area also retains historical sites such as the preaching platform, ancient Buddha rock, and Chaoyang Cave.