Luoyang/Shaolin Temple/Zhengzhou
Trip Start
Unknown
1
68
77
Trip End
Ongoing
Zhengzhou,
Henan,
China
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Our first and only stop of the day was at the White Horse Temple. In the year 64 of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), Emperor Ming sent a delegation of his men to study Buddhism in the western world. After three years, two eminent Indian monks, She Moteng and Zhu Falan, came back with the delegation. They brought with them a white horse carrying Buddhist sutras and Buddhist figures on its back. This was the first time that Buddhism appeared in China. To express his thanks to the two monks and their white horse, the emperor ordered the building of a monastery which he named the White Horse Temple during the following year. During this time, the two monks were busy translating sutras in the temple until they completed the Chinese sutra 'Forty-two Chapter Sutra', which attracted many monks and meant that the temple became a centre for Buddhist activity in China. It is for this reason that the temple is honored as the 'Founder's Home' and the 'Cradle of Buddhism in China'.
The temple, which is located about seven miles away from the city of Louyang, is covered with green ancient trees and appears solemn and tranquil. Outside the gate, there is a pool with fences around and lovely fish in the water. It is for the believers to set free the captive animals. After crossing the pool via a stone bridge, you will enter the temple. To the east and west of the gate are the tombs of She Moteng and Zhu Falan, which are one of the six most famous sights in the temple. In the east corner stands a tablet pavilion. The Chinese characters written on the tablet are the work of a Chinese calligrapher abbot Shamen Wencai, designed during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-368). They are written in his familiarly free and easy style and describe the history of the temple. The temple boasts great antique architecture which has remained intact for over 1,900 years. The Hall of Heavenly Kings, Hall of the Great Buddha, Hall of Mahavira, Hall of Guidance and the Cool and Clear Terrace appear in proper order in the temple, as they were when it was first built.
I arrived at my hotel in Luoyang at 3:30PM. I relaxed the rest of the day with internet, tv, and walking the streets.
Luoyang History:
2070BC Xia Dynasty king Tai Kang moved the capital to the intersection of Luo river and Yi river and named the city Zhen Xun.
16 Century BC King Tang of Shang defeat Jie, the last king of Xia Danasty and made their Capital Xihao, which located in Shi Xiang Gou of Yanshi County of Luoyang City.
The original city was constructed by the Duke of Zhou (ZüOEö) in the 11th century BC as a settlement for the remnants of the captured Shang nobility and was named Chengzhou. It became the capital of the Zhou Dynasty in
770 BC. The city was destroyed in a civil war in 510 BC and rebuilt the next year at the request of the king.
In AD 25, Luoyang became the capital of Eastern Han Dynasty. For several centuries, Luoyang was the center of gravity of China.
In AD 68, the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, was founded in Luoyang. The temple still exists, though the architecture is of later origin, mainly from the 16th century. An Shihkao was one of the first monks to popularize Buddhism in Luoyang.
In AD 190, Chancellor Dong Zhuo ordered his soldiers to ransack, pillage and raze the city as he retreated from the coalition set up against him by regional lords from across China. The court was subsequently moved to the more defensible western city of Chang'an. Following a period of disorder, Luoyang was restored to prominence when Emperor Wen of the Wei Dynasty declared it his capital in AD 220.
The Jin Dynasty, successor to Wei, was also established in Luoyang. When Jin was overrun by invaders and forced to move its capital to Jiankang (modern day Nanjing), Luoyang was nearly totally destroyed.
In AD 493 the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital from Datong to Luoyang and started the construction of the rock-cut Longmen Grottoes. More than 30,000 Buddhist statues from the time of this dynasty have been found in the caves. Many of these sculptures were two-faced. The Empress Dowager Wenming tomb was built here.
I started touring today at 8:30am. The first stop was GuaLin.
Next I visited the Longmen Grottos. Here I viewed hundreds of thousands of Buddhas carved into stone walls.
The grottoes were started around the year 493 when Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) moved the capital to Luoyang and were continuously built during the 400 years until the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The scenery measures 1,000 metres (about 1,094 yards) from north to south where there are over 2,300 holes and niches, 2,800 steles, 40 dagobas, 1,300 caves and 100,000 statues. Most of them are the works of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the flourishing age of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Lots of historical materials concerning art, music, religion, calligraphy, medicine, costume and architecture are kept in Longmen Grottoes.
visiting the Longmen Grottos
visiting the Longmen Grottos 1
visiting the Longmen Grottos 7
visiting the Longmen Grottos 8
Longmen Grottos 1
Longmen Grottos, Luoyang 1
Longmen Grottos, Luoyang 90
Longmen Grottos, Luoyang 94
The Longmen Grottos, Luoyang
The Longmen Grottos, Luoyang 5
The Longmen Grottos, Luoyang 6
The Longmen Grottos, Luoyang 7
The Longmen Grottos, Luoyang 8
The Longmen Grottos 4
The Longmen Grottos 94
The Longmen Grottos 99
The Longmen Grottos 999
The Longmen Grottos 93
The Longmen Grottos 98
The Longmen Grottos 96
The Longmen Grottos 6
The Longmen Grottos 5
The Longmen Grottos 2
The Longmen Grottos 1
The Longmen Grottos
Longmen Grottos, Luoyang 4
Longmen Grottos, Luoyang
Longmen Grottos 5
Longmen Grottos 3
Longmen Grottos 2
Next we drove an hour to the Shaolin Temple. Although the temple had been restored this was the site of the discovery and beginning of kunfu. I was surprised at how many tourists were here! My guide sent me along to walk around the school grounds. As I walked in the grounds I quickly noticed that there were NO other tourists here. Only me and over a thousand students going about their daily life on this campus.
Shaolin students
Shaolin Temple 9
Shaolin Temple 91
At 3PM I watched a kunfu demonstration that was quite impressive. They called up a few volunteers to try to imitate the kunfu moves and it was very amusing. 
Shaolin students 1
Shaolin students 2
Shaolin students 3
Shaolin students 5
Shaolin students 6
Shaolin students 7
Next I walked to the Shaolin Temple. Here I viewed many temples, saw many monks, and numerous Budha statues. From there I walked to the Stupa Forest which is where there are hundreds of small pagodas representing where monks' ashes have been buried.
Shaolin Temple 3
Shaolin Temple 5
Shaolin Temple 92
Shaolin Temple 93
Shaolin Temple 95
Shaolin Temple 97
Shaolin Temple 99
Shaolin Temple 96
Shaolin Monastery 95
Shaolin Monastery 1
Shaolin Monastery 4
Shaolin's Buddha
Shaolin Monastery 6
Shaolin Monastery 8
Shaolin Monastery 9
Shaolin Monastery 92
Shaolin Monastery 94
Shaolin Stupa Forest
Shaolin Stupa Forest 1
Shaolin Stupa Forest 2
Shaolin Stupa Forest 5
The Shaolin Temple was built in 495 A.D. The Indian Monk Boddhidharma arrived in 527 and initiated the Chan (Zen) sect of Buddhism. Shaolin hence became the birthplace of the Chan Sect. At the beginning of the seventh century, 13 martial arts monks were rewarded by Tang Dynasty Emperor Li Shimin after they had saved him from danger . The Temple was then given the title: "the Number One Temple Under Heaven." Shaolin kung fu thus developed rapidly and its fame spread. The 30,000-square-meter temple is composed of seven rows of buildings, including the Hall of Heavenly King, the Dharma Pavilion, the Thousand-Buddha Hall, the White-Robe Bodhhisattva Hall, and the Hall of Ksitigarbba (Guardian of the Earth).
Shaolin Temple 1
About 300 meters west of Shaolin Monastery is the Forest of Stupas, the largest group of stupas in China, serving as the tombs for Shaolin monks after they die. The existent over 220 stupas of brick and stone were built in the dynasties of Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing. The stupas, usually of 3-5 stories, are no more than 15 meters high, and vary in shapes of quadrangle, sexangle, cylinder, cone, parabola, straight line, bottle, circle; some are made of one piece of rock. On most of the stupas there are bas-reliefs and inscriptions. The stupa forest is representative of the artifacts of the successive dynasties and a treasure house of ancient architecture and sculpture of China.
