The Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Jionji was founded in the 9th year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty (A.D. 589) and was originally named Wuliu Temple. In the 22nd year of Zhenguan in Tang Dynasty (AD 648), when Tang Gaozong Li Zhi was a prince, his mother, Empress Wende, died young. In order to repay the kindness of his loving mother, the temple was rebuilt, so it was named Great Jionji. It is said that Emperor Gaozong looked at Jionji from Hanyuan Temple every day and night. In the Tang Dynasty, the Great Jionji was very large, with 13 courtyards and 1897 houses in total. The Yunge Temple, with a heavy building and a complex hall, was extremely luxurious. After the demise of the Tang Dynasty, Jionji was gradually decadent and destroyed. Most of the current temple buildings were rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty.
In order to invite Master Xuanzang, who was well-known at that time, to preside over the Grand Jionji, the Tang Dynasty specially ordered to build a sutra turning courtyard in the temple. Master Xuanzang devoted himself to translating the scriptures in Jionji from 648 to 658, and founded the Ci 'en Sect, a major sect of Buddhism in China, also known as the Sect of Knowing Only or the Sect of Faxiang, and wrote the immortal masterpiece "The Story of the Western Regions in Datang". Xuanzang translated the scriptures in Jionji for 12 years. Taizong and Prince Taizong wrote the Preface Monument to Sanzang in Datang and the Preface Monument to Sanzang for his translation of Buddhist scriptures, praising his dedication to the cause of Buddhism. These two articles were written by Chu Suiliang, a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, and carved into inscriptions, which are still embedded in the west side of the south gate at the bottom of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
In 652 AD, Xuanzang requested that a pagoda be built in the temple to preserve the Buddhist scriptures and statues brought back from India. The tower was designed by Xuanzang himself, with a height of five stories and a height of about 6 meters. The brick surface and soil core were unattainable, and the back brick joints were overgrown with vegetation, and the tower collapsed. In 71-74, when Wu Zetian was in power, it was rebuilt and raised to the 1th floor. After being destroyed by the war, it was changed to 7 floors in 93-933 AD when it was renovated again. Now the Big Wild Goose Pagoda has maintained its appearance after this trimming, with a height of 64 meters.
In the Tang Dynasty, the Wild Goose Pagoda was generally called Jionji Futu or Ci 'en Temple Pagoda. The Wild Goose Pagoda is a customary name for later generations. There are many opinions about the name of Yanta. Legend has it that Xuanzang once lived in a Mahayana Buddhist temple when he was studying in India. Indian Buddhism is divided into Mahayana and Hinayana. Mahayana is a vegetarian and Hinayana eats meat. There is a Hinayana Temple near the temple where Xuanzang is located. One day, the monks in the temple were worried because they couldn't eat meat. It happened to be the Bodhisattva's giving day, and a monk looked up to the sky and sighed, "The bodhisattva with great kindness and wisdom will never forget what day it is!" As he spoke, a flock of geese flew in, and the first goose fell to the ground and died. The monks were all amazed, thinking that the bodhisattva appeared and let them eat its meat to satisfy their hunger. Since then, monks in the whole temple have stopped eating meat and converted to Mahayana Buddhism. They also built a tower where the geese fell to the ground and named it "Wild Goose Pagoda". The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was designed and built by Xuanzang according to the "Wild Goose Pagoda" in India. In order to celebrate Buddhism and commemorate Xuanzang, people later called the Ci 'en Pagoda "Wild Goose Pagoda". However, according to scholars' research, the Western Regions in the Tang Dynasty called the stupa "Gendi" and the Tang Dynasty called it "Wild Goose", so the name of the Wild Goose Pagoda was transliterated from the Sanskrit "Gendi". Half a century later, Jianfu Temple Tower was completed, with two towers facing each other and different styles. Because the Jianfu Temple Pagoda is smaller than the Wild Goose Pagoda, people call it the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and change the Jianfu Temple Pagoda to the Little Wild Goose Pagoda.
The title of the Wild Goose Pagoda began in the early Tang Dynasty, and it became a statute in the Shenlong period of Tang Zhongzong. Scholars in the Tang Dynasty, after being admitted to the Jinshi, had to climb the Wild Goose Pagoda to compose poems and leave their names under it. The title of Wild Goose Pagoda is regarded as a great honor in life. Bai Juyi wrote a poem when he was admitted to the Jinshi and boarded the Wild Goose Pagoda, saying, "The Ci 'en Pagoda is the youngest among the seventeen people", which reflected his joy and pride in his success as a teenager.
Tickets: 25 yuan, Dengta 2 yuan
Business hours: 8: -18:
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda
was originally the residence of Princess Xiangcheng, the daughter of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, and was changed to a temple in the first year of Li Dan civilization in Tang Ruizong (AD 684). One hundred days after Li Zhi's death in Tang Gaozong, the foreign Qi of the royal family built it as a blessing, so it was called the Blessing Temple, and later Wu Zetian renamed it "Jianfu Temple".
Jianfu Temple is the translation office of Yijing, a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty. In 671 AD, he went to India by sea to seek dharma, which lasted more than 2 years and traveled to more than 3 countries. In 695 AD, he returned home with 4 Sanskrit scriptures. He translated 56 scriptures in Jianfu Temple, and wrote Biography of the Great Monk Seeking Dharma in the Western Regions of Tang Dynasty and Biography of the South China Sea Returning to the Inner Law. This book can be regarded as a companion of Xuanzang's Records of the Western Regions of Tang Dynasty, which provides valuable information for future generations to study the cultures of China, India, Indonesia and other countries.
Jianfu Temple was built in the first year of Li Xianjing Dragon in Tang Zhongzong (AD 77), with 15 floors and a height of about 45 meters. It was built by Master Yijing in order to preserve the Buddhist scriptures brought back from India, and the above table requested the imperial court to contribute. The tower body is from bottom to top, and each floor shrinks in turn, getting smaller and smaller, which is a typical brick tower with dense eaves. There is a floor spiral staircase in the tower, which can be climbed. The shape of the tower is beautiful and exquisite, which reflects the majestic spirit of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Ci 'en Temple. Because of its small scale, it is commonly known as Little Wild Goose Pagoda.
in 1487, an earthquake of magnitude 6 occurred in Shaanxi, and the Little Wild Goose Pagoda was shattered. After a lapse of 34 years, that is, in 1521 AD, another earthquake occurred in Shaanxi, and the cracks in the tower actually closed and recovered as before. People are puzzled, so they call the closure of the Little Wild Goose Pagoda "divine union". In September 1555, a young Beijing official named Wang He stayed at the Little Wild Goose Pagoda on his way home. After listening to a strange story told by monk Kang Guang who witnessed this "divine union", he was amazed and carved this historical material on the north lintel of Little Wild Goose Pagoda. When the Little Wild Goose Pagoda was restored after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was discovered that it was not a "divine union" but a "human union". It turns out that ancient craftsmen specially built the tower foundation into a semi-circular sphere with rammed earth according to the geological conditions in Xi 'an, and the pressure was evenly dispersed after the earthquake, so that the Little Wild Goose Pagoda, like a "tumbler", stood tall despite more than 7 earthquakes, which could not help but make people admire the superb architectural skills of skilled craftsmen in ancient China.
There is a big iron clock cast in the Jin Dynasty (A.D. 1192) in the Little Wild Goose Pagoda. The clock is 4.5 meters high, 7.4 meters around the mouth and weighs 1 tons. It was moved into the temple from Wugong County in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. The bell is crisp and sweet, and it can be heard clearly from 1 miles away. It is called "God Bell". It is said that if you miss your loved ones far away, you just need to write their names and places on a yellow note and stick it on the bell, and the bell will spread the feelings of missing to your loved ones thousands of miles away. In ancient times, every morning, the monks of the temple struck the bell on time, and the bell shocked the whole city.
Zhu Jiyi, a poet in the Qing Dynasty, wrote in an inscription: "The frost came at the first dawn, the moon fell late and the wilderness was full, and the pillow woke up with a broken dream, and the wonders of the future are always boundless." This is a vivid portrayal of "Wild Goose Pagoda Morning Bell", one of the famous eight scenic spots in Chang 'an.
Tickets: Dengta 1 yuan, 18 yuan
Business hours: 8: -17:
Bell Tower and Drum Tower
The Bell Tower &; The Drum Tower
is located at the intersection of the bustling east, west, south and north streets in Xi' an. It was called "Bell Tower" because it was used to ring the clock in the early morning. Since its completion, the Bell Tower has been regarded as a symbol of Xi' an in the west city and is now a key cultural relic protection unit in Shaanxi Province.
the bell tower was built in 1384, and it was originally located in Yingxiangguan, West Street. At that time, it was the center of Xi 'an. In 1582 AD, Xi 'an City was expanded, and the bell tower was located to the west of the city, so the original bell tower was demolished and rebuilt in the middle of the expanded Xi 'an City (that is, the current position). Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, was born in poverty and his parents died young, so he had to herd sheep for others and later became a monk. After he became emperor, he was afraid that the real dragon emperor would compete with him all over the country, so he ordered all localities to extensively build bell towers to suppress the dragon spirit. Since ancient times, the imperial state in the middle of Qin has been full of dragon spirit, and Zhu Yuanzhang is of course more afraid. Therefore, the bell tower in Xi 'an was not only built early, but also built high.
The bell tower base is square, covering an area of 1377.4 square meters, with a height of 8.6 meters and a width of 35.5 meters, all made of blue bricks. The building is a brick-wood structure with a height of 36 meters. There are three double eaves on the outside, but only two floors on the inside. The four corners of the eaves of the building are covered with roofs, and the eaves are decorated with painted arches. "Bucket arch" is one of the characteristics of ancient wooden buildings in China, and it is also unique in the history of world architecture. It can not only make buildings more solid, but also more beautiful.
It's far away from the Bell Tower. In the northwest of the Bell Tower, you can see another magnificent ancient building, the Drum Tower. It was founded in 138 AD, four years earlier than the bell tower. A big drum was hung on the front floor, and it struck the bell in the evening to form "morning bell" and "dusk drum" with the clock on the bell tower (one of the eight scenic spots in Chang 'an "morning bell and dusk drum"), so it was called the Drum Tower. Later, it was no longer used to tell the time, but only when the war was over.
The foundation area of the Drum Tower is 1924 square meters, the foundation is 34 meters high, and the base is made of blue bricks. The building is rectangular. The exterior is a three-drop-drop, double-eaves, with two floors inside, and the exterior eaves are decorated with bucket arches. There are cloisters around, and the inside and outside are painted with gold, resplendent and magnificent.
Tickets: Bell Tower 25 yuan, Drum Tower 15 yuan
Business hours: 8: -22:
Huajue Lane Mosque
The Great Mosque at HUAJUE Lane
Huajue Lane Mosque is the main place where more than 1, Muslims live their religious lives in Xi 'an, and it is also a key cultural relic protection unit in Shaanxi Province. This mosque does not have the magnificent dome, towering minarets and dazzling Arabic patterns of the Arab Islamic mosque. This temple is full of pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings. From design and construction to artistic modeling, it has both the traditional style of the Chinese nation and the style and characteristics of Islamic temples.
Huajue Lane Mosque is the largest mosque in Xi 'an and one of the earliest, largest and well-preserved mosques in China. According to the inscription on the creation of the mosque, it was built in 742 AD, but from the architectural style of the temple, it may have been built in the Ming Dynasty. The whole temple has four courtyards, covering an area of 12, square meters and a construction area of nearly 4, square meters. The wooden archway in the front yard was built in the early 17th century, with a height of about 9 meters, a glazed tile roof and a cornice with different angles. It is still well preserved more than 36 years ago.
Islam in our country has the same customs and habits as Islam in other parts of the world. They worship five times a day at dawn, noon, afternoon, dusk and night.
Tickets: 15 yuan
Business hours: 8: -17:
The City Wall
Long before the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, after Zhu Yuanzhang conquered Huizhou, a hermit named Zhu Sheng told him that he should "build a high wall, accumulate food and slowly become king". Zhu Yuanzhang adopted these opinions. When the whole country was unified, he ordered all prefectures and counties to build cities generally. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that "there are mountains and rivers in the world, but the Qin Zhong number is dangerous." The ancient city wall of Xi 'an is in this upsurge of building a city, presided over by Pu Ying, the governor, and expanded on the basis of the old city of Tang Dynasty.
the Xi' an city wall expanded in the Ming dynasty was 12m high, 12-14m wide at the top, 15-18m wide at the bottom and 13.7km in circumference. The city wall was built with an enemy platform every 12m, protruding out of the city wall, and the top was even with the wall surface. This is specially designed for shooting enemies who climb the city. There are 98 enemy stations on the wall, and there are enemy towers stationed on them.
On the outer side of the city wall, there are crenels, also called battlements. In 5984, there were crenels for archery and lookout. The inner low wall is called the female wall, and there is no crib to prevent the soldiers from falling when walking.
the original Xi' an city wall was completely rammed by layers of loess, and the bottom layer was rammed by a mixture of soil, lime and glutinous rice juice, which was extremely hard. Later, the inner and outer walls and the top of the whole city wall were built with blue bricks. Bi Yuan, the governor of Shaanxi Province, repaired and strengthened the city wall in Qing Dynasty. At the top of the city wall, there was a puddle made of blue bricks every 4-6 meters for drainage, which played a very important role in the long-term protection of the ancient city wall in Xi 'an.
Tickets: 4 yuan
Business hours: 8: -18:
Summer 8: -21:
Xi 'an Forest of Stones Museum
Xi 'an Forest of Stones Museum (formerly Shaanxi Provincial Museum) is a museum. It was expanded into a museum in 195.
the forest of steles in Xi' an, founded in 187, is an art treasure house with the earliest and largest collection of ancient steles in China, with more than 1, steles and epitaphs from Han dynasty to Qing dynasty. There are many steles here, hence the name "Forest of Steles".
The forest of steles in Xi 'an was developed on the basis of preserving the stone scriptures of the Tang Dynasty. What people in the Tang Dynasty called the Shijing include the Shitai Jiaojing written by Li Longji, Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty in 745 AD and the Kaicheng Shijing carved in 873 AD. The name "Forest of Steles" was determined in Qing Dynasty. The forest of steles now contains more than 3, steles from Han Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, which are displayed in 7 showrooms, 6 epitaphs and 1 stele pavilion.
The first showroom of the forest of steles mainly displays Kai Cheng Shi Jing, which includes Zhouyi, Shangshu, Shijing, Zhouli, Yili, Book of Rites, Chunqiu Zuoshi Biography, Chunqiu Ram Biography, Chunqiu Grain Biography, Analects of Confucius and Filial Piety. More than 3, words on 17 sides of Mencius, which was engraved in the Qing Dynasty, are well displayed here, collectively called Thirteen Classics. Twelve Confucian classics are required books for intellectuals in feudal society.
The second exhibition room of the Forest of Steles mainly displays steles written by famous calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty, which has always been a model for people to learn calligraphy. Among them, the tablet of Huangfu Birthday written by Ouyang Xun, a calligrapher in the early Tang Dynasty, the tablet of Taoist Master written by Ouyang Tong, the son of Ouyang Xun, who is known as Xiao Ouyang, the tablet of many pagodas and the tablet of Yan's family temple written by Yan Zhenqing and written by Liu Gongquan in the late Tang Dynasty.
The third exhibition room of the forest of steles contains precious steles in various styles from Han Dynasty to Song Dynasty (26 BC-1279 AD), including seal script, official script, regular script, running script and cursive script. Through these tablets, we can understand the evolution of Chinese characters.
The fourth exhibition room of the Forest of Steles preserves the original works of calligraphers' poems and poems from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, as well as the steles with precious historical value in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as some line descriptions from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.
The fifth showroom of the Forest of Steles mainly displays the stone tablets that describe the historical facts of repairing temples, recording merits, repairing canals and making up cities in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and it is a reference material for studying contemporary social and local history. In addition, there are also large-scale inscriptions such as "Tiger", "Shou" and "Fu" written by Ma Dezhao in Qing Dynasty, which are powerful and magnificent, giving visitors beautiful enjoyment.
The steles displayed in the sixth exhibition room of Beilin are mostly poems and steles of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Among them, Zhao Meng's Poem Monument to the Mountain of Heaven in Yuan Dynasty, Dong Qichang's Poem Monument to Zhang Sheng in Moling Hostel in Ming Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi's Letter to Wu He in Mi Fei in Qing Dynasty, and Lin Zexu's Poem to the Huashan Mountain are all very precious.
The seventh showroom of Beilin is a newly-built showroom in 1982, dedicated to the preservation of the Song Dynasty's "Chunhua Secret Pavilion Sticker". Wandering in the forest of steles