Sacred Land -- Temples and Monasteries, Grottoes, Stupas, Tombs

Author: Wang Luxiang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-06-08
Features: Every historical and cultural relic, without exception, has experienced the vicissitudes of prosperity and decline. In the erosion of wind and rain and the rise and fall of dynasties, they have been controlled by an impermanent force and unable to act on their own. The so-called permanence is merely a process of being gradually gnawed away and dissolving into dust in the relentless flow of time.
Preface: The Tang Dynasty poet Chen Zi'ang, upon standing at the ruins of the Golden Platform built by King Yan of Yan, felt an infinite sense of solitude: "Before me, no ancient worthies; behind me, none yet to come. Contemplating the vastness of heaven and earth, I alone weep in sorrow!" This is the immense charm of historical and cultural relics. Compared to individual lives, historical and cultural relics are undoubtedly more enduring, evoking an inexplicable melancholy. At the same time, every historical and cultural relic has, without exception, experienced the vicissitudes of prosperity and decline, being controlled by an impermanent force amid the erosion of wind and rain and the rise and fall of dynasties. The so-called permanence is merely a process of being gradually gnawed away and dissolving into dust in the relentless flow of time. Therefore, Du Fu, while searching for Zhuge Liang's memorial hall in Chengdu, only saw "Green grass adorns the steps with spring's hue, and orioles sing in vain with lovely tunes." Li Qunyu, by the Xiling Gorge, only witnessed "A wild temple faces the river in spring's silence, and ancient steles, wordless, are overgrown with lush grass." As for Du Mu, in Jinling, he could only imagine "Four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties, how many pavilions shrouded in mist and rain!" Perhaps, from a historical perspective, nothing is truly eternal. Yao's capital, Shun's land, Yu's domain—the thousands of years of civilization—what do they amount to in the universe?
Nevertheless, even the most detached person cannot help but be moved when facing historical and cultural relics. After all, humans are both the subjects and transients of history. Almost all religions firmly believe in the immortality of the soul. When we face historical and cultural relics, it is actually this latent psychology: we are engaging in a dialogue with the souls of the past. Those souls that have existed and then vanished, created and then ceased to exist, loved and hated, gave birth and toiled—finally all fade into nothingness—are worthy of reverence. Over the sky of every historical and cultural relic, do not countless such souls of reverence swirl?
Humans have souls, tribes have souls, history has souls, and nations have souls. Relics will ultimately turn to dust, but souls endure. Land watched over by countless noble souls is a sacred place.
"The Great River flows eastward, waves washing away the great figures of ages. By the old ramparts on the west, people say it is the Red Cliff of Zhou Lang of the Three Kingdoms" In the relentless tide of history, cultural relics are surviving islands. They stubbornly preserve the memory of civilization. One day, these historical islands will also vanish. But as long as they endure, they will preserve the uniqueness of history to the greatest extent possible, allowing each era to have its greatness for future generations to mourn.
The past has both glorious peaks and insignificant valleys, yet all are unique. When legends and epics fall silent, only relics have stories to tell. Relics are not cold bricks, wood, or stone; they are not abandoned ruins. Relics are sealed memories, requiring us to gently brush away the dust; they are ancient steles overgrown with moss, demanding our careful touch to read. Relics are an ancient well, from which you can draw gushing clear springs; they are an ancient bell, which remains silent until struck—lightly struck, it rings softly; struck hard, it rings loudly.
The 125 ancient Chinese cultural relics introduced in this book are merely randomly selected from the countless stars of cultural relics. Some are already famous, while others remain obscure, yet all are rich in cultural significance and historical information. They basically cover all aspects of Chinese cultural relics, including primitive villages, tombs, city sites, palaces, residential houses, bridges; grottoes, pagodas, temples and monasteries; rock paintings, cliff carvings; ancient astronomical observatories, the Great Wall, and so on, and so on. These relics are like a string of pearls, connected by the 7,000-year historical tapestry of the nation. Touching them is like touching the weathered body of our motherland, which has known both glory and dreams, as well as sorrow and helplessness.
However, I would rather readers approach these ancient cultural relics with the following mindset: "Whose scattered snow? Where is the lonely smoke? A small bridge over a stream, a thatched inn, a fishing boat. The light of the stream knows no end, the green of the mountains is boundless. How many plum blossoms? How many bamboos? How many pines?"
Every historical and cultural relic, without exception, has experienced the vicissitudes of prosperity and decline, being controlled by an impermanent force amid the erosion of wind and rain and the rise and fall of dynasties. The so-called permanence is merely a process of being gradually gnawed away and dissolving into dust in the relentless flow of time.
The 125 ancient Chinese cultural relics introduced in this book are merely randomly selected from the countless stars of cultural relics. Some are already famous, while others remain obscure, yet all are rich in cultural significance and historical information. They basically cover all aspects of Chinese cultural relics, including primitive villages, tombs, city sites, palaces, residential houses, bridges; grottoes, pagodas, temples and monasteries; rock paintings, cliff carvings; ancient astronomical observatories, the Great Wall, and so on, and so on. These relics are like a string of pearls, connected by the 7,000-year historical tapestry of the nation. Touching them is like touching the weathered body of our motherland, which has known both glory and dreams, as well as sorrow and helplessness.