Shanxi is a province with a long history and rich cultural relics and monuments, and when walking here, you can often see the monuments that have been preserved for thousands of years, especially those small counties with countless treasures, which have become a treasure place for humanistic travel enthusiasts.
There are countless such treasure counties, such as Yongji, a county-level city that Ma Ji will share today that was selected into the list of 2018 charming Chinatowns. This seemingly low-key county has more than 8 national key cultural protection units hidden in the territory, including the Yellow River Iron Bull preserved in the Tang Dynasty, the Dongcun Opera Stage, which was founded in the Yuan Dynasty to witness Chinese opera culture, and the ruins of Puzhou Ancient City, where Tang Kaiyuan sealed the capital in the ninth year, etc., but when it comes to yongji's most famous monuments, it must be the Pushou Temple, the birthplace of the story of "Xi Xiang".
Turning over the history of pushou temple, we can understand that this is a ten-square zen temple that was founded in the Wu Zetian period of the Tang Dynasty and was once a Buddhist temple, and the most brilliant or famous moment left for posterity may be that the love nine in Wang Shifu's "Cui Yingying Waiting for the Moon west chamber" of the Yuan Dynasty took place in this temple.
Unfortunately, however, most of the buildings of the Temple of Universal Salvation have been destroyed over time, and the complex we see today is the size of the restoration in 1986. The restored Pushou Temple is huge in scale, mainly including three floors, the central axis retains the style of the Song and Jin dynasties, and the eastern axis preserves the scale of the Ming and Qing dynasties, but the most characteristic is the scale of the Tang Dynasty on the west axis, especially the Tang Dynasty-style "Yingying Pagoda" rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty has become a national treasure.
Before entering the Temple of Universal Salvation, you can see the Concentric Square, standing on the square can see most of the buildings of the Temple, especially the tall and majestic square brick tower, as if towering into the clouds, this is the Warbler Pagoda that was rebuilt during the Ming Jiajing years mentioned by Ma Jizu just now, and the specific points will be revealed later.
From the mountain gate on the north side of The Tongxin Square, you can enter and climb a step to see the buildings on the west axis - the Bell Tower, the Tower Courtyard Cloister, the Warbler Tower, the Daxiong Treasure Hall, except for the Warbler Tower, the rest are reconstructed buildings. However, in the Daxiong Treasure Hall, there are three statues from the Southern and Northern Dynasties periods, which are very valuable for appreciation.
Of course, the most essential point of interest on the west axis is the Warbler Pagoda, the style of the whole tower is very characteristic of the Tang Dynasty, and there are some Styles of Xi'an Big Wild Goose Pagoda at first glance. However, in addition to the architectural features, the biggest feature of the Yingying Pagoda may be its existence as an echo tower, after all, there are only four major echo buildings in China and one of the world's qi towers.
There is a large stone on the west side of the Warbler Tower where visitors can stand and knock on the stone, quietly listening to the echo of "cluck, clack" as if it were like a frog chirping.
When you go around the Warbler Tower, you can also see the exquisite imitation wooden bucket arch building on the tower, and the inscription rebuilt during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty can be clearly seen in the stone stele embedded in the tower, witnessing the history of the Warbler Tower.
After admiring the Yingying Pagoda, the entire Temple of Universal Salvation has almost been watched, but there are still a few details to focus on, the "Invitation to Banquet", "Lai Marriage", "Over the Wall", "Khao Hong" and other dramas in the "West Chamber" although the place of the Ewha Deep Courtyard is a newly built building, but it can let you know the story of the West Chamber; in the Bodhisattva Cave on the central axis, you can also see the statue of Song and Yuan Style.
So have you ever traveled to Yongji City, Shanxi? If you have any impressions, you can leave a message to share. (Author: Horse and stop, life is about walking, the journey needs to be recorded!) ）