Join me on a tour of a 1000 year old Buddhist temple
Join me on a tour of a 1000 year old Buddhist temple
Yesterday, Sunday, my wife and I were taken by a friend with a car to a town in Henan Province north of the Yellow River to tour first of all a fruit juice industry, then a delicious lunch banquet, followed by a tour of an ancient temple from the Sung Dynasty.
1. This statue stood outside the entrance, but I believe it was constructed more recently:
2. Just inside the entrance we were greeted by this magnificent "low relief" sculpture:
3. Then, as we walk past, and to the right, there was a statue of a horse under a 700 year old elm tree:
4. The tree was gnarled and twisted, calcified in an unusual shape:
5. Behind it was the temple building in which the statue of Buddha sat:
6. The Buddha
7. Buildings to each side contained some fascinating artifacts and images:
8. The images were faded, but still discernable:
9. Another image:
10. The building opposite had statues, that appeared to be more recent, or had been refurbished and repainted. Note the one on the right holding the "yin-yang" symbol:
11. The roof held gargoyles and animal statues as protectors that are common on ancient Chinese buildings. I was originally told that the more important buildings had a greater number of statues - for example, the palace in the Forbidden City in Beijing had 11 statues on each corner. However, yesterday I was told it depended on the size of the building.
12. To the side of one of the buildings was an ancient well. The well itself appears to have been encased in concrete recently, but the building in which it is located and the apparatus for drawing water from it are still intact. There is still water in the well. You will note the primitive pulley over which the rope would have rolled in order to pull up the pail.
13. The building at the rear of the property was not open for viewing. It was guarded first by Foo Dogs (also known as Foo Lions) and then by statues of human guards, so it might have been for the Sung Dynasty emperor to reside when he was there:
14. The Foo Dogs were most likely original, seeming to have weathered a considerable amount of erosion so that they are now encased in glass. Foo Dogs as guards at entrances are very common in China.
15. A closer view of the building:
16. Pay particular note to the intricate designs under the eaves, This as well is quite common on ancient Chinese buiildings:
17. At all ancient Chinese Buddhist temples there is a cemetary, where the various Buddhist "Abbots" were buried:
18. This marked the entrance to the cemetary:
19. On the way home, as we crossed the Yellow River (the area being known as the 'Cradle of Chinese Civilization"), we were treated to a typical Chinese sunset - no colour, because I just missed the pink sky.
Hope you enjoyed the show. If you did, you will find in the archives of this Discovery Group a number of my photo essays from China.
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