Dade Temple, an old building in Kunming

I once read that there are several ancient pagodas in Kunming. In addition to the East and West Pagodas, there are the Twin Towers of Dade Temple on Wuhua Mountain. Dade Temple used to be one of the famous ancient temples in Kunming, but now there are only two towers left. Although I know that the temple was severely damaged in the previous wars and turmoil, I have always wanted to see these two pagodas that have stood for more than 500 years.

? On Saturday, I went to the Red Cross Hospital. After seeing the doctor, it was just near noon. I simply ate a bowl of beef noodles in Xiao Jie Lane next to the hospital, and then I went west along Xiao Jie Lane to visit the Twin Towers of Dade Temple in Zheng Ping Street, Huashan East Road.

? Pagoda is a unique architectural form in China's traditional architecture, which originated in ancient India and is called Gepo. However, with the introduction of Buddhism into ancient China, Gepo, a foreign architectural form, combined with the pavilion architectural form in China, experienced the development of Han, Wei, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and the integration of foreign civilization and traditional architectural culture in China. Towers are divided into pavilion towers, dense eaves towers, pavilion towers, bowl-covered towers, King Kong throne towers, India pagodas, five-wheeled towers, multi-tower towers, seamless towers and other tower systems with different shapes and structures. The building plane has gradually evolved from the early square to the hexagonal, octagonal or even circular shape. During this period, the building technology of the tower has been continuously improved, the structure has become more reasonable, and the materials used have also changed from the traditional rammer. /kloc-After 0/4th century, stupas gradually moved from the religious world to the secular world. Therefore, the existing pagodas can be divided into pagodas and Wenfeng pagodas according to the legal system, one related to religion and the other related to human landscape.

Xiao Jie Lane is not long, about 200 meters long. It runs east-west. After climbing along the mountain, it connects Qingnian Road in the east and Huashan East Road in the west. The widest part of the alley is 4-5 meters, and the narrowest position is only 3 meters. Climb up slowly and find several old houses along the way. In the most prosperous downtown corner of Kunming, there is still a typical Indian residence. There is a four-story courtyard in the middle of the alley, with blue tiles and white walls, which has been renovated. Wenbao's logo is posted at the door. It turns out that this is the former site of Yunnan underground party, and the open day is Monday and Wednesday. I'm going to find a chance to go in next time.

Through Xiao Jie Lane to Huashan East Road, Dade Temple was not visible on the roadside, so we found the twin towers of Dade Temple hidden in an old residential area with the help of Baidu map. This is a residential area in the early 1990 s, and there is no sign at the door. Into the community, you can see that there are two ancient pagodas wrapped in fences in the middle of the open space of residential buildings. It is said that the tower body is inclined because of the foundation excavation of surrounding buildings, so it is being strengthened. However, the Twin Towers have been wrapped in a green fence for four or five years, and no one has repaired it. They are just surrounded by scaffolding and hung with green fences. Scaffolding is rusty, too. It seems that it hasn't been started for a long time.

According to historical records, Kunming Dade Temple was built in the Jin Dynasty, formerly known as the "Blissful Palace", and was overhauled during the Dade period in the Yuan Dynasty and renamed Dade Temple. In the ugly year of Chenghua in Ming Dynasty (1469), Yongqing He built two pagoda statues in front of the temple, namely the Twin Towers of Dade Temple. The twin towers of Dade Temple have been built for more than 500 years. The shape of this tower is similar to that of Little Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a 13-story square tower with dense brick eaves. Each floor of the tower is surrounded by shrines dedicated to Buddha statues and embedded with inscriptions. The height of the two towers is 2 1 m, and the distance between east and west is 27 meters. The true color of the tower is light beige. Because of vicissitudes of life and rain, there are many mottled black marks on the tower. Although it is fenced in, you can still see the simplicity and solemnity of the ancient pagoda through the gap. Layers of bricks show the care and piety of ancient craftsmen when they were building. The sumeru seats of the two towers are very distinctive, which is different from similar square towers with dense eaves and solid bricks that I have seen before. The shape of the whole tower is simple and generous, natural and solemn, unpretentious.

? In ancient Kunming, there were two towers of Dade Temple in the north, and East Temple Tower and West Temple Tower in the south. The four ancient pagodas are symbols of ancient civilization in Kunming. According to records, there were large and small green rivers under the Twin Towers of Dade Temple, which reflected the water. It was called "Green Water Reflects the Twin Towers" in history. The book says that "the Twin Towers are in the clouds and the sky is on the first floor", and it is even known as one of the ten scenic spots in Kunming in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Unfortunately, the building (Songzi Building) has been destroyed without a trace, and only the twin towers are still standing. Zhu Xiaoyuan, a poet in A Qing, once wrote in "Twin Pagodas Temple": "The ancient temple is inlaid with snail peaks, and there are five strange flowers outside. Make two floating pictures in the clouds and bow down to Chaos Mountain. The city was robbed of ashes, and it is not bad to stand still. "

However, the current situation of "protection" is worrying. The two ancient pagodas hidden in residential areas and the dilapidated surrounding environment make people feel a little sad. Many things are forgotten in this way and then destroyed. Five years ago, there was a building called ASEAN Book City, which was said to have formed a citizen park after renovation and development. After the grand foundation laying ceremony, it has quietly settled for almost seven years and has not moved. After the demolition, part of the vacant lot became a temporary parking lot, which was dilapidated and deserted, and only an old tree in the corner still revealed its vitality.

Looking at these two ancient pagodas standing quietly under the purse seine, I suddenly feel that if the ancient pagodas have souls, it is estimated that in their eyes, the historical changes of more than 500 years, ups and downs, honor and disgrace, are fleeting. I only hope that the two ancient pagodas can stand for a long time after maintenance, which can really "rob the city of ashes and stand without rotting." Instead of becoming a relic that only exists in photos or paintings for people to remember and mourn.

After returning home, I drew a pen-and-ink drawing of the Twin Towers with reference to a photo I found on the Internet before shielding. At least in the painting, the Twin Towers still look like "the sky on the first floor in the Twin Towers Cloud".

Ps: The Twin Towers of Dade Temple are located in the dormitory area of Animal Husbandry Station in Wuhua Shandong Road, Kunming. On March 28th, 1983 was listed as a municipal key protected cultural relics unit. It is said that Zupan Mountain, where Dade Temple is located, was once a place with extremely beautiful scenery. This mountain used to be a day of dense cypress trees and lush greenery. When you board it, you can see the ancient city of Kunming, thousands of castles, beautiful mountains and the blue waves of Dianchi Lake. Ming and Qing Dynasties were one of the larger Buddhist temples in Kunming at that time. There is a salt dragon temple in the west of the temple, which is connected with the temple. Tourists and pilgrims who came to burn incense all the year round were one of the ancient temples with strong incense at that time.