What shocked me was a Buddhist Zen temple in Shanxi, which can be called the "swan song of hanging sculpture" in the history of Chinese sculpture art, the hall full of clay sculptures, the shrine of the god building, the strange flowers and trees, the rare birds and beasts, the Bodhisattva gods, the flying music, dazzling, as if observing an aesthetic feast that shocked the soul, all of them were shocked.
The address is located in Xiaoxitian, Linfen Xi County, Shanxi, also known as the Thousand Buddha Nunnery, which was founded in the second year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty by the Ming Dynasty Dongming Zen Master. At the beginning, it was named because there were thousands of Buddha statues in the Daxiong Treasure Hall, and later it was renamed "Xiaoxitian" because of the heavy door inscription "Tao into the West Heaven", and it was renamed "Little West Heaven" in order to distinguish another Ming Dynasty temple in the south of the city.
There are the upper courtyard and the lower courtyard, the lower courtyard is the main body of the temple, there is a chanting hall, there are also the collection of scriptures, the upper courtyard is the essence, in addition to the twenty large Buddha statues in the main hall for the sitting and standing posture of the ground, the rest of the sculptures are emptied according to the wall pillars and sandalwood beams, five connected Buddha shrines "Medicine Master, Mida, Shakya, Pilu and Maitreya sit on the lotus platform, each demeanor is calm, the face is kind, the ten disciples stand on both sides respectively, the shape is beautiful, vivid and expressive, the expression is subtle. On the south gable wall of the hall, there are Buddhist character stories such as "Three Sages of the Four Directions" and "Four Heavenly Kings", and on the north gable wall of the hall, there are 33 layers of "Litian" on Mount Meru, the story of the Buddha and the legend of Sakyamuni. On the girder, the Eight King Kongs, the walls between the beams are suspended with the magnificent "Elysium"; Numerous people flying in the sky, sacred birds, peacocks, parrots, cranes, cruising on the ethereal clouds, twelve musicians and bodhisattvas, with light postures, performed the "heavenly realm" song and dance freely. In the whole hall, the heavenly palace pavilions, layer upon layer, pastel makeup, present a scene of the fairy palace and the Buddha country.
Xiaoxi Tiancai sculpture painting, round carving, relief, engraving and other artistic means into one, in the character sculpture, with the way with the plot of the character's expression, eyes, action and storyline vivid and vivid performance, Xiaoxi Tiancai sculpture after more than 300 years, is still spotless, can be so completely related to the exquisite statue skills of the ancient craftsmen, they make the sculpture of different sizes, lifelike, while all leaning forward, it seems, the statue looks down on all living beings, in fact, not necessarily, The tilted Buddha statue also allows the falling dust to fall on its back, so that the face of the Buddha statue can be kept intact forever, which is also a beautiful picture that our ancestors used their wisdom and skill to show us.
Such a well-preserved and rich and exquisite recipe is also extremely rare in the whole country.