Horseshoe Temple Protection Slogan

The Horseshoe Temple Mountain in March is still covered with snow, and the whole Horseshoe Temple Mountain is shrouded in haze, but the gloomy and cold weather has not weakened our sense of urgency to go to Horseshoe Temple. I know this urgency, not only to find a pure land of the soul, to worship and see the Buddha statues in these grottoes, but also to worry about myself all the time.

Although this is my third visit to horseshoe temple. At that time in 1993, my parents took me there, and I got a deep understanding after the visit. It is an experience of Dashan and a close contact with Qilian Mountain, but I don't have much impression of horseshoe temple. In 2003, I came with several colleagues from my unit. At that time, as a cultural awakening person, I had a preliminary understanding of horseshoe temple and a general reflection on its history and culture. After I came back, I wrote The Dark Mourning of Horseshoe Temple, which is a reflection on the existence of Horseshoe Temple as a cultural conscience and a pity for the destruction of Horseshoe Temple. For the arrival of this time, it seems that I have a more comprehensive understanding of horseshoe temple from the historical and cultural background and scenery. And every ten years, it seems that we can see the changes of horseshoe temple and the increasing emphasis on culture at the national level.

I remember ten years ago, when I saw the Buddha statues and murals without nose and eyes, broken arms, cracks, peeling and broken fingers in the horseshoe temple, my heart was still aching. In the past ten years, I always wanted to visit again, but in the end I didn't come again because of inconvenient travel and busy work. Today is the restoration and reconstruction, presenting us with a new face. Except for the old grottoes where the Buddha statues are placed, the Buddha statues are all newly molded. According to the commentator, those early Buddha statues have already taken special measures to seal them up and put them in the warehouse. Because they can't afford any more damage and destruction, they are like dying old people, weak, and a small cold may kill them. After the destruction of time, after a long period of no one's jurisdiction, living now is the rest of my life. Compared with this land in the north of China, many cultural relics have basically disappeared after experiencing the baptism of historical turmoil. Sometimes I think, is this the ignorance of our people or the normal embodiment of the desire for destruction in human nature? Today, when we realize the importance of cultural relics, we suddenly discover the preciousness of these cultural relics. But regret is useless. There is no regret medicine in the world. There are some things in history that we dare not criticize, but let us realize that those turbulent historical periods have caused such profound harm and harm to culture. In short, with the warming of tourism, the Buddha statues and murals in these grottoes have been valued and protected by government departments. After reconstruction and restoration, they still glow with artistic brilliance.

As the horseshoe temple grottoes, it is one of the three largest grottoes in Hexi Corridor after Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Yulin Grottoes. Even more amazing is the hole dug outside the cliff. 2 1 grottoes, large and small, are all hung on the cliff, so the precipitousness and difficulty of digging at that time can be imagined. When I saw the conspicuous gaps in the cave wall, I was even more surprised by the perseverance of the ancients. How to dig a cave on the stone wall, how to dig a cave the size of a room, how many days and nights, those stubborn hermits, day after day, year after year forging chisel. Today, when I walked through the cave, it seemed that I could still hear the tinkling of day and night. I didn't feel it before I walked into the horseshoe temple grottoes After I walked in, I realized that the excavation of these grottoes not only represented human suffering, but also seemed to explain the true meaning of life. Here, the ascetic monks and hermits had a little epiphany by ringing the bell that never stops every day. At last, when the Buddha cave was built, it was also their success.

Some people may have carved a hole all their lives, while others have carved many holes all their lives. Some people think that if you do one thing for a lifetime, you can do it perfectly; And some people are constantly pursuing breakthroughs and self-defeating. In this perfect and constant pursuit, the unique artistic characteristics of the horseshoe temple grottoes have been created. That expression, that elegant and extraordinary posture, that majestic momentum and that dignified and kind face are all unique. Although the Horseshoe Temple Grottoes rank behind the four major grottoes in China, they are also treasures in the art of China Grottoes, especially the high-meat carving flying in the sky in Jinta Temple, which is unique in China. Moreover, it is also a temple where Han Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism coexist, showing a unique and unique Buddhist cultural phenomenon. There are all kinds of statues and pagodas with different expressions in horseshoe grottoes. These statues and pagodas are placed in these chiseled caves. It seems that they are not embedded in it, but just like growing up, they are integrated with everything here.

I think those diggers may not have thought that these grottoes would become temples at first. Because these caves originally dug were just some literati hermits who lived here to escape the war. Later, some monks, and of course some ascetics, joined the army of digging caves. Gradually, when the hermit withdrew from the historical stage, monks appeared. Although in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the status of monks was still very low, but through the continuous infiltration of Buddhist culture, they have settled down in the local area. Before it went to the secular world, horseshoe temple became their first choice. But Buddhism has spread in the western regions and even the Hexi Corridor. According to records, Qu Mengxun, the head of Beiliang at that time, stopped Fa Xian, a monk who was seeking dharma in the west. Faxian's lecture in China did not satisfy the emperor's desire for Buddha. After he released Fa Xian, he ordered a Buddhist cave to be dug in the mountain stream (Horseshoe Temple Grottoes) in Song Lin, his birthplace. Most of the caves in Horseshoe Temple were excavated during the Northern Liang Dynasty. Later, monks joined in and finally turned this place into a famous temple. This is a history of horseshoe temple that almost everyone knows.

Later, the emergence of Uighur, Tubo, Xixia, Mongolia and other ethnic groups turned this place from a Buddhist temple in the Han Dynasty into a Tibetan Buddhist temple. These changes are closely related to its important Silk Road, thousands of years of historical changes, an important channel for the spread of Buddhist culture in China, the turbulent years of Wei and Jin Dynasties, people's inner impetuousness and pursuit of peace, and the historical reasons that it has always been a gathering area of ethnic minorities. I think every culture has its inevitable reasons. We only need to experience and observe these beautiful and amazing works of art silently, and we can reach a tacit understanding and communication with them, and finally truly understand the true meaning and connotation of this art.

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For horseshoe temple, it is meaningless to simply regard it as a Buddhist temple. In fact, the existence of horseshoe temple grottoes has its special cultural significance. It is not only the treasure of China grottoes art, but also the embodiment of Wei-Jin culture in the real society, which can be regarded as the heritage of Wei-Jin culture.

Speaking of Horseshoe Temple, it will naturally remind us of a person, that is, Guo Jun, who first led students to dig caves here. Guo Jun, a native of Dunhuang, was a famous person in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Speaking of Dunhuang, people will immediately think of the famous Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes. Yes, horseshoe grottoes are inextricably linked with Dunhuang Mogao grottoes. Many stone carvings in horseshoe grottoes are exactly the same as those in Dunhuang Mogao grottoes. But this has little to do with life in Guo Jun. This is just the imprint left by the later spread of Buddhism to the east.

In fact, Guo Jun's arrival is not so mysterious. At first, he went to Zhangye as a student. At that time, it was at the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the Yongjia Rebellion occurred in the Central Plains, which was known in history as the Five Rebellion in China. Compared with the chaos in the Central Plains at that time, the Hexi Corridor, once peeped by nomadic people, became an ideal paradise. Many celebrities come here together to learn from each other, and setting up a college to teach students is the only way to continue the meaning of their lives. It is the arrival of these cultural celebrities that set off the three major cultural systems of Hexi culture here, which were then called Jiangnan culture and Central Plains culture. Guo Jun's teacher who came to study is Guo He, a famous cultural scholar who once taught in Zhangye Dongshan College. After Guo He died, Guo Jun inherited Guo He's mantle. In order to avoid the worldly troubles, he moved the academy to today's horseshoe temple. It seems that before his arrival, this place was still an undeveloped virgin land. Clouds and mist are lingering, the mountains are steep and lush, and there are soft waterfalls and criss-crossing mountain streams. It seems that such a place should be called fairyland on earth. Should people live in such a place? So later, Guo Jun moved from Dadong Mountain in Zhangye to Horseshoe Temple. He couldn't bear to leave when he saw that it was beautiful and suitable for digging grottoes.

At first he wanted to avoid war, mainly to avoid some bureaucrats and emperors asking him to be an official. Wei Jin people are like this. He doesn't want to lose himself in that precarious life, but what they want is to cultivate sentiment and moisten the spirit in this green mountain and green water. This can be seen from Ji Kang's "Parting with Friends" among the "Seven Sages of Bamboo Forest" in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Many of them would rather die than lose this freedom. They are real hermits.

They just want to find the true meaning of life in this obscurity and find the true meaning of life. And penance became a necessary lesson in this hermit's life. Therefore, it is logical for Guo Jun to lead students to dig caves. Because their penance is to dig caves. In addition, some Buddhists joined in, and their grottoes were inhabited from the beginning and later became serious Buddhist grottoes. Great changes have taken place in these grottoes in essence. Instead of being a Buddhist holy land from the beginning.

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We can see from the history textbooks that the famous Yongjia Rebellion happened in the late Western Jin Dynasty and early Eastern Jin Dynasty. The rebellion of the Hu people caused the split history of China for half a century. Northern China is divided into sixteen countries. The Central Plains is even more chaotic. Many Zhongyuan people fled to Hexi to escape the war. Compared with the Central Plains, Hexi is relatively stable, although it has also experienced the baptism of war and fire. In addition, the emperors who took turns in battle were also thirsty for talents. In order to maintain their rule, they vigorously recruit celebrities, especially some learned people. As a result, celebrities and people of insight from the Central Plains came to Hexi one after another, which set off the great development and prosperity of Hexi culture at that time.

Guo Jun's arrival was like this. He didn't come to the lecture at first. He came to study and ask questions at first. When he was in Dunhuang, he heard Guo He, a great scholar, giving a lecture in Zhangye. He came here with admiration.

For Guo Jun's own intelligence and high understanding, he was immediately recognized by Guo He. Among so many students, he is the only one who inherits the teacher's mantle. Tangshan College, Shandong Mountain Temple of Dongda University, was the largest private college in Zhangye at that time. In the short 80 years in China, there are many monks and scholars here. When Guo Jun grew up, in order to avoid secular interference, Guo Jun moved from Zhangye Dongshan Temple to Horseshoe Temple and began his teaching career. /kloc-more than 0/000 people dig caves during the day and listen to his lectures in the caves at night. Such a grand occasion made many people outside praise him, so he was still known to the outside world. So, a group of emperors or people who are about to make contributions took turns to invite him out of the mountain. Tianxi Zhang, who was cool before, came to see him, and Fu Jian, a former Qin Dynasty, came to see him, but he declined politely. In the end, Guo Jun didn't hold on, but was disturbed by Wang Mu who fought against the former Qin Dynasty with him, but died of hunger strike because Wang Mu killed his friend.

Guo Jun's death, like his arrival, rewrote the fate of Horseshoe Temple again. Horseshoe Temple is no longer the seclusion of those literati, but since then, it has been continued by some monks, and on this basis, it has been expanded and built with Buddha statues. Ju Qumengxun, the founder of the Northern Liang Kingdom, also loved Buddhism. On the basis of digging caves in his hometown to worship Buddha statues in the previous generation, he added the number of Buddha caves in the Guo era before opening them, and added the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Xixia Dynasty and the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which finally formed today's scale.

But today's miracle is based on yesterday's history. Without Guo Jun, it would be impossible to form such a unique group of caves here and let us enjoy such wonderful art. However, Guo Jun himself did not know that his time had passed away from us, but his achievements, his knowledge and his fame in this world were bound to have an indissoluble bond with this Buddhist cave and this temple.

Today, when we touch the chisel left on the stone wall in the cave again, we can't help feeling and admiring the perseverance of the ancients. Compared with us today, how many people can bear it? Don't talk about those ultra-high-intensity labor, just say that poverty is unbearable for ordinary people. But it is precisely because of them that these grottoes and Buddha statues have laid an unavoidable landscape as domestic grottoes art and become a miracle that we pay tribute to today!

About the author: Wan Youwen, male, from Gaotai County, Gansu Province, was born on August 7th, 198 1. He is a member of Chinese Poetry Society and Gansu Writers Association. He used to use the pen names Gao Jiawen and Wan Yu. For his works, see Poetry Magazine, Stars, Sunshine, Selected Prose, Selected Poems, Sichuan Literature, Flying, Poetry Monthly, Yanhe, National Wetland, Gansu Daily, Peony, Mangzhong, Short Story and Mangzhong. He has won the Essay Award of Poetry Publishing Society, the Excellence Award of the first "Xu Xiake Cup" Geoscience Poetry Essay Competition sponsored by the Writers Association of the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the fourth "Golden Zhangye Literature Award" in Zhangye City. His novels and poems have been shortlisted for the "Zhao Shuli Cup" National Local Literature Essay Competition, Tianjin Poetry Festival and the National Youth Yangguan Poetry Award. Now I work in Gaotai County Cultural Center.