Shanxi traditional countryside

For a long time, the story of four semi-Tang buildings in China has been circulated among the ancient buildings and tourists in China. These buildings are the semi-bell towers of Beijushi, nanzenji, Wang Guangren Temple in Wutai Mountain, Tiantai Temple and Kaiyuan Temple in Hebei Province.

The above picture shows nanzenji, a Tang Dynasty building that Ma Qiting once visited.

The above picture shows Wang Guangren Temple, a Tang Dynasty building that Ma Qiting visited.

The picture above shows Bukkoji, a Tang Dynasty building that Ma Qiting once visited.

Among them, the construction date of Tiantai Temple was judged as 907 AD (that is, the year of the demise of the Tang Dynasty), but it was rejected during the renovation in 20 15. After the rafters were demolished, two calligraphy books, Tiancheng Four Years and Changxing Four Years, were found, indicating that they were not buildings of the Tang Dynasty, but buildings of the later Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties. Since then, the existing four and a half Tang Dynasty buildings in China have been changed into three Tang Dynasty buildings.

The picture above shows Tiantai Temple.

So why was Tiantai Temple once judged as a building in the Tang Dynasty? This is either because its architectural structure has a strong Tang Dynasty style, or because Tiantai Temple was built more than 20 years after the demise of the Tang Dynasty, so some builders are still in the Tang Dynasty, and their crafts and styles still retain a strong Tang Dynasty style, and the architectural specifications will not change with the years. Therefore, from the overall architectural layout and construction, it looks a bit like the shadow of King's Temple in nanzenji and Ren Guang.

Even so, Tiantai Temple, with the remains of the Five Dynasties period, has become a leader among the ancient buildings in China and one of the few existing wooden structures in China. After all, it is commendable that Tiantai Temple can be preserved in this complicated war era.

Tiantai Temple is located in the valley of ancient Zhang Zhuo. Because many new buildings were built in the later period, Tiantai Temple is hidden on the high platform and is not easy to be found. However, when the librarian opens the mountain gate and sees this ancient building for the first time, he will be a little sorry, because it looks too few, only one hall is left.

However, when you appreciate the wooden structure carefully, this regret will disappear instantly. The existing halls were rebuilt in the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The whole bridge is built on the abutment of 1 m high, with three rooms wide, four rafters deep and nine ridges on a single eaves.

The first highlight is its beam structure, gentle and graceful rolling of the top of the column, and jumping of the bucket arch on the column.

The second highlight is that there are no columns in the hall, and the columns are embedded in the wall, which can increase the sense of space in the hall and fully display the architectural characteristics of the Tang Dynasty. At present, the wooden pillars seen in the temple are all used as supports to increase the protection of the main hall.

The third highlight is the huge glass kiss on the roof of the Jin Dynasty, which still retains a strong ancient style.

The fourth highlight is the monument in front of the main hall. The words on the stone tablet have been blurred, and the reference to record the construction date of the main hall has been lost. Fortunately, one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas carved in the Heavenly Palace are exquisite, and strange carvings can be seen on both sides, which is very rare.

Even though Tiantai Temple occupies an important position in China's ancient architecture, perhaps because of its small scale, there are still few tourists here, even the locals rarely patronize it. However, as a lover of cultural tourism and ancient buildings, remote village temples will still surprise you.

How to get to Tiantai Temple: Tiantai Temple is located in Pingshun County, Shanxi Province, about 1 hour drive from Pingshun County or Changzhi City. Personally, I recommend starting from Changzhi City, driving by car or chartered car, traveling to Tiantai Temple first, then walking all the way from north to south along the Zhang Zhuo River Basin, and punching in eight national key cultural protection units from west to east along the way, so that your trip to Changzhi can be perfect.