1. The value of religious buildings
Due to people’s worship of religion, famous religious buildings almost all became models of architecture at that time. No matter which country or era of architectural history is studied , will inevitably cite a large number of examples of religious architecture. Not only do they reflect the peak of the architectural art of the era in terms of structure, materials, decoration, layout, etc., but even in terms of the relationship between the building and the environment, there is still something worth learning. In addition, because of people's reverence for gods and Buddhas, religious buildings are relatively less damaged by man-made damage, so more famous buildings are preserved.
For example, Notre Dame de Paris in France and Cologne Cathedral in Germany are examples of Gothic architecture. The Pantheon in Rome, Italy, are examples of Roman art. The Cathedral of San Sporito and St. Peter's Basilica in Florence, Italy It is a model of Renaissance architectural art.
There are many strange structures in Chinese religious buildings. For example, the Sakyamuni Pagoda of Fogong Temple in Yingxian County, Shanxi Province (commonly known as the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda) has a total height of 67.13 meters. It is an all-wood structure without a single nail. It has experienced great damage. Earthquakes and shelling on the 7th remained unmoved. The Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas in Xi'an, the Kaifeng Iron Tower, the East and West Towers in Quanzhou, and the Three Pagodas in Dali have all become iconic buildings in these cities.
The Manjusri Hall at the top of the Bodhisattva Mountain in Wutai Mountain, Shanxi, is still dripping long after a rain, so it is called the "Dripwater Hall". The Hanging Temple in Hunyuan, Shanxi is the most peculiar. More than 40 temples and pavilions are completely built on the cliffs standing thousands of feet tall. It only uses very thin columns and beams inserted horizontally into the stone walls to support the entire weight. Therefore, people describe it as "three horse tails". "Hanging in the air", due to the wind direction of the place, it can shelter from wind and rain, so it lasted more than 1,400 years and remained safe and sound.
2. Achievements in religious art
Religious art involves a wide range of content, including painting, sculpture, music, calligraphy, etc. The authors of these artworks include a large number of non-religious believers, and many are religious believers with high artistic attainments.
Religious painters who are famous for their artistic attainments in Chinese history include Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Zhang Sengyao, Yang Qide, Wang You, Cao Zhongda, etc. in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wu Daozi, Zhou Fang, etc. in the Tang Dynasty, and Zhu in the Qing Dynasty. Da (Bada Shanren), Shi Tao, Shi Xi and Jian Jiang are known as the "Four Great Painting Monks". The Buddha statues painted by Cao Zhongda fully reflect the beauty of the human body. The Buddha statues painted by Wu Daozi have fluttering clothes and ornaments, making them appear airy and fairy-like. It is said in ancient times that "Cao Yi produces water, and Wu Dai produces wind".
Buddhism has the highest achievements in Chinese religious sculpture art. Mogao Grottoes, Longmen Grottoes, Yungang Grottoes, Maijishan Grottoes, Dazu Baodingshan and Beishan Grottoes, Xumishan Grottoes, Kunming Qiongzhu Temple, etc. are all famous treasures of Buddhist grotto art in China. There are many things in Chinese religious art that are praised by the world. For example, the "God of Fragrant Sound" (i.e. Flying Sky) fully expresses the dynamic of flying by simply fluttering its belt. In terms of art, this is obviously better than giving the god wings.
Dui embroidery, hair embroidery, thangka, butter flower, etc. are art forms that are unique to China. In order to entertain the gods, religious music and religious dance were once very popular, and some of them have been preserved to this day. Christian hymns must be sung every time a ceremony is held. China's Nuo opera, Taoist music, Lamaist drama, shamanistic dance, etc. are all unique. distinctive art form. In fact, many folk entertainment activities contain elements of religious art, and most of them are developed from primitive totems, primitive worship rituals or activities.
3. Historical data in religious art
Religion is a part of social life, and its art cannot fail to reflect social reality and people’s lives, so people can learn a lot from it. Precious historical information.
For example, from the Dunhuang murals we can see the earliest surviving map of Mount Wutai, scenes of ancient officials traveling, ancient architectural styles, ancient costumes, ancient musical instruments, etc. From the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, you can also see ancient medicinal prescriptions and calligraphy. Not to mention that religious art became obviously secularized after the Song Dynasty, and the images truly reflected the lives of ordinary people. These provide rich and precious information for today's relevant research and reference.
4. Religious martial arts and health-preserving methods
Religion, especially Chinese religion, attaches great importance to fitness and health-preserving methods, and thus formed martial arts and health-preserving methods that have great influence. For example, the Shaolin Temple in Henan, Wudang Mountain in Hubei, Emei Mountain in Sichuan, Laoshan Mountain in Qingdao, Shandong, etc., in addition to their religious buildings, the most influential thing is the martial arts that originated in their places. Today, the Shaolin Temple still retains well-preserved murals of warrior monks practicing martial arts. The influence of Chinese martial arts and health-preserving methods has already spread overseas.
Extended information:
The development of religious tourism:
The more famous Christian holy places in modern times include the Vatican, the Holy See, and Fatima, where the legendary "Virgin Mary appeared" (Portugal), as well as Oberagall in the Federal Republic of Germany and Lourdes in France; Buddhist holy sites are concentrated in Southeast Asia and China, such as the Temple of the Tooth Relic and the Great Buddha Temple in Kraniya in Sri Lanka, and the four famous Buddhist mountains in China (Emei Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain, Wutai Mountain and Putuo Mountain) and the Fufeng Famen Temple where the Buddha's finger bones were recently discovered;
Islam has four holiest sites: Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem and Kairouan. Among them, Mecca is the holy land with the largest scale and the largest number of pilgrims among all religious tourism. The mosque in the center of the city covers an area of ??160,000 square meters and can accommodate 300,000 Muslims to worship at the same time.
Developing religious tourism as a "sightseeing tour" of temples and ancient Taoist buildings is at a material level of development and shows too many commercial elements. However, the functions of religion in enlightening wisdom, arousing morality, and reshaping the value of life are rarely explored and developed, and its spiritual value is not demonstrated.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Religious Tourism