The ancient city of Datong records the vicissitudes of these buildings.

This was once a splendid Northern Capital of China, a capital of Liaoning and Liaoning. It is also an ancient city visited by Mr. Liang Sicheng. It is still an ancient city with new ideas and new layout. The ancient city lies in the vast plain of the north of the Loess Plateau and the south of the plateau. In the Western Han Dynasty, the county was set aside. Because of its strategic location, the military must fight for its name and pray for peace and name it for peace.

The old city of Pingcheng

Pingcheng, nowadays Datong, is the sub-central city of Shanxi Province and the second largest city in Shanxi Province. It is located at the center of the Datong Basin in the north of Shanxi Province, at the junction of three provinces of Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Mongolia, and on the northeastern edge of the Loess Plateau. The gateway to the north, and the critical points of the throats of Jin, Jin, and Inner Mongolia, are the battlegrounds of the ancient military strategists.

Before I came to Datong, I had talked with my friends and the friends were shocked. What did you go to Datong? The air was so bad? Yes, Datong is indeed one of the largest coal energy bases in China. The early years of air pollution made everyone think about Datong. The label of "Historic City" has long been obscured, and it has added to the stamp of "Heavy Polluted City".
However, fortunately, after many years of investment and construction, Datong has long since disappeared from the label of “air pollution,” and is also trying to restore the impression of “historical and cultural city”. Therefore, this trip to the north of the city has not been polluted by air pollution. To defeat, but even more because the air is fresh and unforgettable.

The following map is my initial understanding of the ancient city of Datong. To tell the truth, the ancient city of Datong is one of the best pictures I have ever drawn since I traveled. Its ancient city of Sifang basically retains its original state, and its interior attractions can also be reached basically on foot.

Yungang Grottoes, Buddha's Smile for thousands of years

The construction of the Yungang Grottoes left a magnificent treasure for Chinese Buddhist history and art history.
Being able to witness his prosperous life with his own eyes today for thousands of years is indeed a tribute to all three.
The newly renovated scenic gates rely on old architectural styles, and it is not inconsistent with the conformation of the grottoes. The blue of the sky seems to wash people's hearts, and the white moon is still hovering over the western sky. The appearance of the sun and the moon with the glow seems to be seen only in the north, especially in the north of autumn and winter.

Before entering the garden, we were shivering and looking forward.

Camel bell sounds, Buddhism from the Western Regions, and monks from the Western Regions have brought China’s northern land to prosperity and prosperity.
The "Silk Road" that we have heard and dyed has also slowly begun its journey toward prosperity.

The Yungang Grottoes are the royal Buddhist sites of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The Northern Wei Dynasty and Buddhism began to flourish in the Taoist emperor Tuoba. Tuoba first accepted Buddhism, and in the first year of Xingxing (398), they established Buddhist temples and residences in the capital, and also set up special positions for criminals; After Ming Yuandi's Takuya was enthroned, he also established an image in the “Four-Years of Beijing and Chongqing” and requested that Salmonella “apply folklore”. In 439 AD, Taiwu Emperor Tuo destroyed the northern cool. In order to enrich the capital, the sorghum and craftsmen from Beiliang were evacuated to Pingcheng, and the developed Liangzhou Buddhism was able to spread eastward. This indirectly created conditions for the opening of the Yungang Grottoes. .

Of course, the so-called “rise and fall” means that after the prosperity of the Northern Wei Dynasty reached a certain level, Buddhism will exhibit a series of downward movements. The largest number will be the destruction of the Buddha by the Taiwu Emperor. There are four major times in Chinese history. The action of destroying the Buddha, and this time the longest time to destroy the Buddha, the means is also the most severe.
Of course, this is the last word. Now we have walked through this newly renovated Shinto to the grotto to appreciate the splendor that Buddha had left here in the area thousands of years ago.

History in the desolate north of Shanxi left us with such a sturdy and heavy, in this time and space dimension, we do not want to touch the life scenes of ancient craftsmen, emperors, and monks. We just savored that they once stayed here. Footprints.
The blueness of the sky is once again contrasted with the gray and yellow earthen grottoes, and this contrast is a metaphor for the human world.

This grotto is located in the back room of the Second Cave of the Eastern Cave.
The light from the skylight reflected the peace and tranquility of Amitabha.

The beauty of the Grottoes, I can't find any better adjectives. I only know that this trip to Yungang Grottoes has made us very successful.

The Yungang Grottoes were built in the south of the Wuzhou Mountain, 17 kilometers west of Pingcheng. The grottoes are cut by mountains, and the ruins of the ancient Great Wall are on the hill.

The dark blue sky, the group of khaki-colored grottoes, the ancient tiles of yellow and blue glaze, the new light green life, and the noisy and busy crowd constitute the scene in front of the Yungang Grottoes.

Fuwen Temple, a quiet place to learn

To say that the Pingcheng government Confucian temple, its status in history may not be ordinary.
"Wei Shu Shi Zu Ji Ji" records that in the first three years (426 years) in February, the ancestor of the ancestors began to "learn from the east of the city, bury the Confucius, and match them with Yan Yuan." It can be seen that the earliest Chinese temple in the history of the Confucian temple in China's history, the origins of Chinese government began roughly in the Yuan Wei Ping city middle school, so the Datong government Confucian temple heritage is the world's first.

Under the clear blue sky, we entered the House of the Temple from the Star Gate and tried to find the silk and silk traces in this renovated building complex.
After passing the Xingxing Gate, they entered the first courtyard of the Fuwen Temple, and then passed through the gate to enter the second courtyard. The form of courtyards that are progressive in this way is the architectural form of the Temple of Confucius developed over thousands of years.

Shanhua Temple, elegant and virtuous Liao and Jin architecture group

The destination of our trip to the south is the Datong Shanhua Temple which is located inside the Yongtai Gate. It was built in Tang. Xuanzong said Kaiyuan Temple.
From the Shanmen Temple of the Shanhua Temple, it can be seen that the temple was not the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was actually built earlier. Due to its broad atmosphere, the temple is simple but does not lose its luxurious housing.
Although Shanhua Temple was first built in Tang, it was destroyed by war in the second year of Liaobao University and rebuilt between Jintianhui and Huangtong. The entire building cluster still retains the Tang Dynasty style and magnificent atmosphere.

The monastery is located north to south, with a gate in front of it, a sanctuary in the middle, and a main hall in the back. The main left-hand side of the main hall is the Wenshu Pavilion site, right is Putian Court. The entire monastery has a high and low level of architecture, with clear and positive symmetry, and it is the most complete one among the existing temples in the Liao and Jin Dynasty.
The Sanctuary is the nave of the Shanhua Temple. In the center of the temple, there are three statues of Hua Yan and three saints. The middle is the Buddha of Vlujana, the left is the Manjushri Bodhisattva, and the right is the Samantabhadra Bodhisattva.

Shanmen Hall is also known as the Heavenly King Hall, which hangs the “Widder World” plaque and has a strong font. Both the Sansheng Temple and the Jin Dynasty are buildings of Jin Dynasty, and the main hall behind the axis is the remains of the Liao Dynasty.

The San Temple was built in the Golden Heaven Society for six years (1128). The temple has five spacious rooms and four deep rooms. The structure is unique and combines the characteristics of the Song and Liao architecture. It can be described as the representative of wood architecture in the early Jin Dynasty. The temple is a temple-style roof, left and right between the 60-degree oblique arch, shaped like a flower in full bloom, it is said that the Jin Dynasty oblique arches prevail, the most magnificent and most use it as the most.

The north platform is the apse of the central axis and the main hall. On the east side of the main hall is the Wenshu Pavilion site, and on the west side is the Putian Court built by Jin Zhenyuan in the second year.

Ancient city wall, sunset

We were boarded by Heyangmen, and there was a city in Yangmen. When General Xu Da built Pingcheng, he designed a relatively strong wall for it to provoke the title of “Northern Key”.

Within the ancient city walls, temples and ancient buildings are erected. From the city walls, you can see the overall appearance of the ancient city, feeling comfortable; outside the ancient city walls, high-rise buildings are a product of another era, modern civilization. Separated by walls, Datong divides Datong into two parts, both inside and outside, and it also looks like it is divided into two parts: ancient and modern.

Huayan Temple, ancient business card of ancient city

As the Datong of Liaojin’s companion capital, Huayan Temple is a royal temple that has been ordered to enjoy different treatment from other buildings in the ancient city. This temple has also deeply attracted the attention of Mr. Liang Sicheng. In his exploration of the Institute of Construction, Datong Huayan Temple was an important discovery. I can't wait to enter before entering the Huayan Temple with a large army of tourists. I want to witness the desecration of the royal temple and any traces of its legacy.

In the northern lands, historical cities such as Datong Ancient City are the only ancient buildings that can be seen everywhere. On the way to Huayan Temple, I encountered this Chunyang Palace. This Chunyang Palace is the “North Palace” of the three major Chunyang Palaces in Shanxi Province. Among them, Yongle Palace in Yongcheng is the “Nangong” and Chunyang Palace in Taiyuan is the “Zhong Palace”. These three Chunyang Palaces, Taiyuan Chunyang Palace, I once visited. As a Taoist shrine, the scale of Chunyang Palace is much larger than I thought, and the Taoist atmosphere created by Taiyuan Chunyang Palace is in other cities. What failed to feel. It is a pity that due to the time, Datong Chunyang Palace did not like this.

Huayan Temple, built in the Liao Dynasty, in 1038 AD, is a relatively intact, older, Liao and Jin architecture group.

The towering tower of Huayan Tower allows us to see from where the temple is located. It is conceivable that at night, the light on the tower will ignite the faith in our hearts and let every lost person find the lost direction.

The Main Hall is located in the northern part of Huayan Temple and is one of the largest Buddhist temples in the existing Liao and Jin Dynasties. The main hall is nine wide and five deep, standing on a platform that is more than four meters high. There are stone levels on the front of the platform, and the glass frog on the right ridge has a large scale, up to 4.5 meters. It consists of eight pieces of glass. The Northern Kiss is the original of the Jin Dynasty; the southern kiss is produced by the Ming Dynasty and is also the largest glass kiss animal in Chinese ancient architecture.
The main hall was silent and quietly telling his old age, leading us into the remains of Liao and Jin.

When I climbed the pagoda and turned it clockwise, I could not help but grow up with my mouth because it was so beautiful. Everything in the ancient city is in sight, while the tall buildings in the distance are standing outside the ancient city. Ancient and modern skylines are not far from the boundary. Closed your eyes seems to be able to imagine the peace and harmony of the ancient city.

Liang Sicheng Memorial Hall, a quiet courtyard that records Liang Gong’s footprint

Leaving Huayan Temple also means that when we reluctantly withdrew from the ancient city of Pingcheng, we could bypass the entrance of the East Gate because there was a Liang Sicheng in a sinking courtyard in front of us. memorial.
In the beginning of the essay I already mentioned the origin of Liang Gong and Datong. Therefore, before leaving Datong, it is very necessary to remember the master. Today's "one axis and two cities" is precisely due to Liang Gong's proposal.

The door of the memorial hall under the painted roof is written with the characters "Liang Sicheng Memorial Hall" written by Liang Sicheng's disciple and the famous ancient architect Luo Zhewen. In front of the hospital, the sculptures of Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin are greeted.

The history of the sky is not the same. It is believed that Datong will continue its ancient continuation and inheritance in this piece of land in Pingcheng. If Liang Gong’s plan will become a model that the ancient city has followed, it will be necessary to let time examine the timeline of this ancient city. We hope that after many years we can see a better Datong.