Wa Palace, locally known as "Nainai Ding", is a historic site located in Fenghuang Mountain (ancient imperial mountain) in She County, southern Hebei Province. It relies on the mountains to take advantage of the natural situation, and its predecessors called it "a situation created by nature and earth". Not only is the architecture majestic and unique here, but also the rare cliff carvings in China are relatively well preserved. It is a rare natural and cultural landscape and is listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit.
The Wa Palace in Shexian County is the largest and earliest ancient building in my country dedicated to the ancient goddess Nuwa. It is another palace built by Gao Yang, Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi Dynasty, who traveled from Yecheng to Jinyang. It is a national key cultural relic protection unit. The Wa Palace initially opened three stone chambers and carved several statues of gods. After generations of repairs and extensions, there are currently 135 buildings, covering an area of ??760,000 square meters, divided into two groups of buildings up and down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain are the Chaoyuan Official Palace, the Tingxi Palace, the Guangsheng Palace and the Stele Arch. By going up the eighteen stone paths, you can reach the Wa Palace at the highest point.
The Wa Palace was built to worship Nuwa, a famous myth and legend in ancient China. According to records in "Huainanzi·Lanmingxun", "Lu Zhi", "Duyi Zhi" and other classics, it is said that Nuwa once kneaded earth to create a human being and gave it to her son to inherit. From then on, human beings and all things were able to live and multiply, winning the respect and remembrance of her in the world. The Han people, who were under the rule of feudal culture with human ethics as the core, regarded Nuwa as a sacred female with unrivaled achievements, so they built palaces and temples for her to enjoy the worship of the world forever.
The Wa Palace historical site was first built in the Northern Qi Dynasty and has a history of more than 1,400 years. It was built as a resting palace during the reign of Emperor Wenxuan Gaoyang (550-560 AD). According to the inscription here, the monument here was first built during the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, but it was originally very small, with only "three temples". According to records in Shexian Chronicle, Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi Dynasty Gaoyang took Ye as his capital (Ye, now Ye Town, southwest of Linzhang County, Hebei Province) and Jinyang (now Taiyuan, Shanxi) as his companion capital. Emperor Wenxuan Gaoyang traveled from Ye to Jinyang. Going back and forth at the foot of the mountain, "then he got up and left the palace in preparation for the inspection." Emperor Wenxuan Gaoyang "believed in the Shi family and liked to carve scriptures and images". He built the Wa Palace here on a large scale and dug a stone chamber at the foot of the mountain to carve Buddha statues inside. Later, he "wrapped the Buddhist scriptures on the rock wall". In the Ming Dynasty, many palaces were built one after another, and they were renovated on a large scale in the Qing Dynasty. After many generations of construction, it has gradually become a group of buildings covering an area of ??more than 15,000 square meters.
The architectural layout of the Wa Palace makes full use of the original terrain, follows the mountainous terrain, and is ingenious. It consists of four groups of buildings, each with its own charm, self-contained and harmonious with the overall pattern. There are three buildings at the foot of the mountain, from bottom to top, namely Chaoyuan Palace, Dingchen Palace and Guangsheng Palace. Chaoyuan Palace (Shifangyuan), named Chaoyuan Palace (burned down by the Japanese invaders in 1938) because it was the first temple in front of the mountain, and Tingjing Palace (Xiema Palace) is a palace that serves as a resting place for saints and pilgrims. Every year on the eighteenth day of the third month of the lunar calendar, on the birthday of Emperor Wa, people hold a birthday celebration ceremony for the gods in this palace. On the gable wall of this palace (Xima Palace), there is a panoramic view of the Wa Palace and a mural: "Serving the Chariot Picture". Sitting on a luxurious chariot is Nuwa, led by a dragon, accompanied by fairies, and protected by heavenly soldiers. She rides on the clouds and mist, galloping thousands of miles across the sky. It is a precious work of art. Guangsheng Palace (Zisun Palace) is a temple and a place where children are prayed for in myths and legends. The two palaces, Dingcheng and Guangsheng, each have a main hall and a side hall, which are built in the hanging mountain and hard mountain styles respectively. After circling for eighteen rounds from the foot of the mountain, passing Guangsheng Palace, you will reach the "Grandma Peak" where the Wa Palace is located.
The Wa Palace is the last and tallest group of major buildings. It was built on a platform on the precipitous part of Fenghuang Mountain Cliff. The second floor of the drum faces the north and the south, as well as the hexagonal pavilion, the Lingguan Pavilion and the archway with the inscription "Historical Sites of Emperor Wa", etc., each selected in its own position and presented as an embellishment. The layout of the entire building is reasonable, harmonious and symmetrical, and eclectic. It fully reflects the unique style of ancient Chinese architecture.
The Wahuang Pavilion (three pavilions), sitting east and west, is the main building of the Wa Palace. In ancient times, it was known as "leaning on the cliff to cut dangers, and a masterpiece of Lingxu". It stands suspended in the air, with a height of 23 meters. It is a dougong sulfur glass tile roof on Xieshan Mountain. The pavilion was built on the roof of the Great Grottoes of the Northern Qi Dynasty. It was based on a stone arch and built on three floors of pavilions, named "Qingxu", "Zhaoxuan" and "Butian" respectively.
Each floor is equipped with corridors on three sides, with its back leaning against the cliff. Iron cables are used to connect the pavilion to the eight "horse-fastening noses" cut on the cliff. If the building is filled with tourists, the iron cables will stretch out and become as tight as a bow string, causing the building to lean forward, thus making the building tilt forward. Known as the "Hanging Temple" and "Living Building", it is a masterpiece of the combination of movement and stillness in the history of architecture. Looking at the Wahuang Pavilion, it is embedded in the cliff, with carved beams and painted buildings. From the tower, you can see the green mountains of Taihang and the river like a belt. It can be called a "land created by heaven and earth".
For thousands of years, the Wa Palace has been burned down repeatedly for several generations. Most of the buildings seen today are from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, while only grottoes and cliff-engraved scriptures remain from the Northern Qi Dynasty. There are three grottoes left on the cliff. In addition to the grotto at the base of the Wahuang Pavilion, there are two grottoes on the right side, namely "Jianyan" and "Cangu Gu". The stone statues in the cave have been damaged and incomplete, but the inner wall is surrounded by scriptures. Relatively intact. Among the cultural relics of Emperor Wa's monuments, the cliff-engraved sutras must be considered the most precious and are the essence of the monuments here. The cliff carvings are divided into five places on the cliff, with a total area of ??165 square meters. There are more than 137,400 words of scriptures carved on the cliff. The largest one has an area of ??54.18 square meters and more than 41,000 words. . The fonts are all calligraphy of Wei stele, and "iron paintings with silver hooks are unique in the world", which can be called art treasures. The contents of the engraved scriptures are all classics of Mahayana Buddhism. This provides very precious historical specimens and information for the study of Buddhism and Northern Qi culture, and is also rare in China. Judging from the existing Northern Qi stone carvings in China, most of the content is related to Buddhism. At that time, carving Buddha statues was more popular, but it was rare to use huge projects to carve scriptures on cliffs. It can be said that no matter in stone carvings, architecture, or art, In terms of value and scripture content, the cliff-carved scriptures in the Wa Palace have high historical and artistic value. It is also a microcosm of Northern Qi culture. At the same time, it can also be seen that the historical sites of Emperor Wa began with the worship of Buddha and the carving of scriptures, and then the establishment of temples to worship gods. This also reflects the characteristics of the cultural psychology of the Han nationality, that is, the religious concepts of worshiping Buddhism and worshiping gods simultaneously. Therefore, , from the sutras carved on cliffs to the ancient buildings of Emperor Wa, are also vivid witnesses of the combination of Chinese local culture and foreign culture.
The Wahuang Pavilion, also known as the Three Pavilions, sits east to west and is built on the top of the Great Grottoes of the Northern Qi Dynasty. It is named "Qingxu", "Zhaoxuan" and "Mending the Sky" from bottom to top. , with a total height of 23 meters, the architectural style is Xieshanshan, with seven steps and three steps on the brackets, and a dragon-shaped head. It is a typical Qing-style building and is the main building of the Wa Palace. Its jade chamber is suspended in the air, its towering green towers are surrounded by dangerous rocks, and there is a deep ravine below. It is like a Guidian orchid palace embedded in a cliff. Therefore, it has the meaning of "leaning on the cliff to cut dangerous holes, with outstanding structures in the sky, heavy green and brilliant, and sitting like a rosy cloud." praise. Its natural and unique terrain is wonderful, and its ingenious architectural style is a wonder. Each floor is equipped with corridors on three sides. It is backed by a cliff, and nine iron cables are used to connect the building to the cliff. It is said that when the building is crowded with tourists, the iron cables will make a clanging sound, so it is known as the "Hua Tower" and "Hanging Temple". .
Among the cultural relics of Emperor Wa’s monuments, the cliff-engraved sutras are the most precious. There are six parts of the cliff-engraved sutras, carved on the cliff in five places. The total area of ??the sutras is 165 square meters, with 1,187 lines of carved stones. There are more than 137,400 characters in the total inscribed sutras. The font is Wei stele calligraphy, "Yin" "The Hook and Iron Painting, Unique in the World" can be called an art treasure. It is a precious cultural heritage in Buddhist classics in my country and even the world. It is also the essence of Emperor Wa's monuments. It is a historical microcosm of Northern Qi culture and has extremely high research value. , known as "the best wall scripture group in the world".
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