Ghostly Tomb

Chapter 1513 East Thousand Buddha Cave
According to the records in "Da Tang Western Regions", Master Xuanzang, an eminent monk, went to India to learn scriptures and passed through Guazhou. He felt that the people here were simple and warm, and the frontier fortress was prosperous, so he stayed here for a long time.

At that time, Xuanzang was just a stowaway wanted by the court, but the local people respected him and gave him a lot of supplies.

Xuanzang was very moved. He spent more than half a month teaching scriptures here, and forged a deep friendship with the local people.

Because Buddhism was not yet flourishing at that time, there were no large-scale Buddhist places, and the place where the scriptures were taught was the Kumbum Monastery here.

When Xuanzang was teaching the scriptures here, he once said:

"If you don't go to Tianzhu, you will never go back east", to show his determination to travel west!
It is said that the local people recorded this sentence at that time and engraved it on the stone tablet, which proves the friendship between Xuanzang and the people of Guazhou at that time.

But later, the stele disappeared after the war.Many people have also forgotten this friendship of more than 1000 years ago.

But this legend was later proved to be true
"Reconstruction of Suzhou New Records" records: "The broken steles of the Tang Dynasty, in the temple foundation, the calligraphy and paintings are not very peeling off.

This text proves that Xuanzang's fate with the people of Guazhou, as well as the stele, really existed at that time.

After the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was a long period of wars, and the battles were accompanied by the change of dynasties.

This ancient city in the Western Regions has gone through vicissitudes and desertification, and its scenery is no longer there.

Looking at the current appearance of the Ta'er Temple, it is decadent and desolate. Who would have thought that it was once a prosperous ancient city in the frontier, and Tang Seng once gave lectures here.

It's really a towering ancient tower, and the mine field is vast!
Starting from Suoyang City to the East Thousand Buddha Cave, you have to walk on two legs.

It was getting late, and walking on the Gobi Desert this way was no joke. If Xiaomi didn't know the way, it would be really difficult to walk.

Fortunately, the journey was not far away. After nearly half an hour of bumpy rides, they finally arrived in the valley, which was the ultimate goal of the trip, the Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves.

It's really like what Xiaomi said, the Thousand Buddha Caves Scenic Area looks a bit shabby.

This location is located in a desert area, which is a bit remote, and the outside has not undergone any repairs. There is only one entrance and exit gate, and there is no ticket office.

Before entering, you must buy a ticket outside Suoyang City. There is only one type of ticket, three special caves and one ordinary cave for 380 yuan.

They walked all the way in such a hurry that they didn't eat anything, their mouths were dry and their stomachs were growling.

But this place is deserted, and there are no hawkers willing to come here, not even one selling drinks and bread.

It made Yang Wumao and the others cry, so they had to chew the biscuits they carried with them to satisfy their hunger.

After they went in, they discovered that there were no real administrators here, and only an old couple took care of these caves.

The old man was dazed and had no good temper. He had to come with a ticket to get the key to the cave, and then lead them in.

After the old man led them in, he told them coldly that they had to leave before seven o'clock, otherwise they would close the door and leave.

Leaving a team of them in the grotto, free to move.

This was exactly what Chen Zhi wanted. He and Fat Wei picked up the flashlights they were carrying and began to explore the front.

Xiaomi has a strong sense of responsibility, and has been explaining to them non-stop.

This East Thousand Buddha Cave is also known as Jieyin Temple, and its exact location is on both sides of the ancient river channel of Changshanzi.

The caves are not big. There are 23 existing caves, eight caves with murals and statues, three caves in Dongyan, and five caves in Xiyan. Most of them are single-room caves.

Because of the long history, many relics have been destroyed. There are still some Buddha and Bodhisattva statues, but most of them were rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. Only the statue of the Xixia monk in Cave 4, which is in ordinary clothes, is well preserved.

As for the caves of the Qing Dynasty in caves 1, 8, and 9, some of them may actually be made during the Republic of China, and they are not real ancient relics.

When Xiaomi said this, he was still a little emotional.

It is said that many people know the style of Mogao Grottoes, and know that the grotto murals there are treasures in the world.

Don't you know that the murals in the Eastern Thousand Buddha Caves are even older, and they are the real treasure house of ancient Xixia.

Like a unique emerald in a pile of jewels, but no one cares about it.

Chen Zhi carefully looked forward along these murals. These paintings are indeed very old, each one is wonderful, and the painters are skilled. They have a typical Western Xia ancient painting style, and some of them are even more flavorful than those in the Mogao Grottoes.

But these subtle things cannot be hidden from Chen Zhi's eyes. This kind of skill is better than ordinary human's painting skills.

The security conditions here are indeed very different from those of the Mogao Grottoes. Probably due to financial reasons, the protection is very lacking. Some parts of the cave have collapsed, and some are severely weathered. When it rains, water seeps and there is a danger of collapse at any time.

Along the way, Xiaomi whispered to them that the reason why the internal conditions of the East Thousand Buddha Cave are so poor is that it is not under the management of the Dunhuang Academy, but under the management of the Guazhou Cultural Relics Bureau.

The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so they can't take care of them.

Moreover, the area here is relatively small, and its artistic value is different from that of Mogao Grottoes. The stars cannot be seen next to the sun, and no one is willing to donate money to maintain it. As a result, the site is dilapidated, and the site will still face the possibility of extinction. By then But what a pity.

While talking, they followed Xiaomi into Cave 2. It was dark and humid, and there were no tourists, so many things could be seen clearly.

The second cave is the best-preserved grotto here, and it is also the cave with the highest artistic value. It is located in the lower layer of the West Cliff. It was excavated in the Western Xia Dynasty. It is the largest and most abundant cave in the East Thousand Buddha Cave.

After entering this cave, I found that the top of the front corridor was painted with bright patterns such as single phoenix, double dragon and lotus, the south wall was painted with hanging curtains, and the bottom was painted with a row of male supporters. The image and feeling are completely different from Han culture, and the back is blurred There seems to be some words in it, but I can't read them clearly now.

Xiaomi told them that there was an inscription in two lines and six characters in Xixia script next to the first male donor on this stone wall at that time. The north wall was painted with a hanging curtain, and the lower wall was painted with a row of six female donors. It's been a long time now.

No one knows what those Xixia scripts are written in, which is really a pity.

There are mandalas painted on the top of the grotto in front of the grotto; Buddha seated in full posture; diagrams of preaching, etc., but now about half of the area has been destroyed, which is a pity.

They continued to walk in, and saw three lotus flower seats with waists on the west wall of the front of the grotto, each with a sitting Buddha, with a golden body and a red cassock. The statue was intact, but from the appearance, it seemed It was remade for the Qing Dynasty.

Xiaomi continued to take two steps forward, then pointed to a painting on the north and south walls at the back of the grotto, and said emphatically to them:

"Bosses, take a look at this. This is the famous "Tantric Mandala". This Guanyin still wears stockings!"

"Is there such a thing?" Fat Wei immediately became interested, and posted it to watch carefully.

There is indeed a statue of Avalokitesvara directly there. Avalokitesvara has a beautiful figure, wearing a midriff-baring dress, a miniskirt, and traces of stockings on her legs, which seems to be ancient Indian attire.

This kind of decorated Guanyin statue is really unique in the whole country.

"Hey, I'll go!" Fat Wei stared, looking up and down for a long time,
"If you want me to say it's better to be an ancient man!

Look at this painting, there are many..., ah!That..., what an artistic value! "

"Amazing!" Xiaomi said proudly,

"This is the treasure in the East Thousand Buddha Caves, known as the most beautiful Buddha in China, and it cannot be seen in other places. At the beginning, many Indians came to see this Guanyin, saying that it is a masterpiece of Sino-Indian exchanges. "

Going to the back of the cave room, we will really enter the theme!
There is a stone mural there, which is the ultimate goal of their trip - "Xuanzang's Journey to the West"

(End of this chapter)