Sacred Land: Temples, Monasteries, Grottoes, Pagodas, Tombs

Author: Wang Luxiang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-02-01
Features: Every historical and cultural relic, without exception, has experienced the vicissitudes of rise and decline, being subjected to the relentless forces of time and weather. What is called permanence is merely a slow erosion and eventual dissolution into dust within the relentless flow of time.
Preface
The Tang Dynasty poet Chen Zi'ang, upon standing at the ruins of the Golden Terrace built by King Yan of Yan, felt an infinite sense of solitude: "Before me, no ancient kings; 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 human 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 rise and decline, being subjected to the erosion of wind and rain and the rise and fall of dynasties, unable to resist the forces of time. What is called permanence is merely a slow erosion and eventual dissolution into dust within 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, while orioles sing in vain with sweet notes." Li Qunyu, by the Xiling Gorge, only witnessed "A wild temple faces the river in spring's silence, ancient steles stand blank, grasses lush." 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 significance do they hold 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 passengers of history. Almost all religions firmly believe in the immortality of the soul. When we stand before historical and cultural relics, we are actually engaging in a subtle dialogue with the souls of the past. Those souls that once existed, then vanished; that once created, then ceased to be; that once loved, hated, gave birth, labored—finally took on forms only to fade away—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 eventually turn to dust, but souls endure. Land watched over by countless noble souls is a sacred place.
"The East River flows on, waves erode the figures of ages past. By the old ramparts on the west, people say it is the Red Cliff of Zhou Lang of the Three Kingdoms." In the torrent 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 admire.
The past has both glorious peaks and insignificant valleys, yet all are unique. When legends and epics fall silent, only relics speak. Relics are not cold bricks, stones, or timber; they are not abandoned ruins. Relics are sealed memories, needing our diligent brushing; relics are ancient steles overgrown with moss, requiring our careful reading. Relics are an ancient well, from which you can draw gushing clear springs; relics are an ancient bell, silent until struck—lightly struck, it rings softly; heavily struck, 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 broadly cover all aspects of Chinese cultural relics, including primitive villages, tombs, city sites, palaces, residential houses, bridges; caves, 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—a body that has known glory and dreams, as well as sorrow and helplessness.
However, I would rather readers approach these ancient cultural relics with the following mindset: Whose remnants of snow? Where does the lonely smoke rise? 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 rise and decline, being subjected to the erosion of wind and rain and the rise and fall of dynasties, unable to resist the forces of time. What is called permanence is merely a slow erosion and eventual dissolution into dust within 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 broadly cover all aspects of Chinese cultural relics, including primitive villages, tombs, city sites, palaces, residential houses, bridges; caves, 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—a body that has known glory and dreams, as well as sorrow and helplessness.