The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the full name of which is "Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Ci 'en Temple", was founded in 652 AD. Pavilion-style brick pagodas are welded by grinding bricks. Prisms are displayed on the brick wall, which can obviously divide the wall into bays. It is a unique traditional architectural art style in China.
According to historical records, the Cixi Hall was built by Tang Gaozong Li Zhi to pray for her mother, Empress Wende. In the north, it faces the Daming Palace Hanyuan Hall, surrounded by Qujiang Pool, Xingyuan and Leyuan Scenic Area, with beautiful scenery. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is the first abbot of Ji 'an Temple, Master Xuanzang, who returned from India and brought back a large number of Sanskrit classics and Buddhist cultural relics. In order to consecrate and store these treasures, he personally designed and guided the construction. Xuanzang was honored as the "Master Sanzang", who once ruled out eighty-one difficulties to learn from the West. Tang Gaozong and Emperor Taizong personally wrote Preface to Tang Sanzang and Preface to Tang Sanzang.
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a pavilion-style brick pagoda, with a height of 64.517m and a base length of 25m. The tower is square pyramid-shaped and located on a square brick platform, with a bottom area of 42.5×48.5 meters and a height of 4.2 meters. The tower body made of blue bricks is spliced by grinding bricks, and the structure is regular. The exterior is made of wood-like structure, and the size decreases proportionally from bottom to top. There is a spiral wooden ladder in the tower. There is an arched ticket gate on both sides of each floor, which can be overlooked through the railing. The whole building is magnificent, solemn and simple, with simple and steady modeling and moderate proportion, which is a masterpiece of architectural art in Tang Dynasty. Many famous poets in the Tang Dynasty climbed the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, leaving quatrains that have been passed down to this day, such as Du Fu's? "High standards cross the sky, and the wind never stops"; Chapter 8 of the "strange bird enclave, mid-air self-alarm language" and so on. Especially Cen Can's "Go to Ji 'an with Gao Shi and Xue Zhi"; "Pagoda, suddenly rising from the ground, reached the palace of heaven; Climbing the mountain, we seem to have left the world behind, and the soda dish is empty. It is above a holy land and can only be built by spiritual hard work; The four corners hinder the sky, and the seven layers cut gray clouds. Birds fly down from our sight, looking down at the wind; The mountains, facing the east, run together as if facing the east. Far away, green locust trees line the wide road, Guan Gong He Linglong; The colors of autumn come out from the west and go through the city. In the north, there are five cemeteries, which are always quiet under the dew and green grass. Those who know the ultimate meaning of life will become ancestors; From now on, I will put my official hat aside and find the eternal road is the only happiness. " The poet's magnificent description and philosophical exclamation often cause people to sing when they climb the tower.
As early as the year of Tang Zhongzong Dragon, the title of Big Wild Goose Pagoda has already formed a custom. Each new Jinshi first had a banquet in Qujiang and Xingyuan, and then climbed the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, leaving the wall of the pagoda as a souvenir. At the age of 27, Bai Juyi became a scholar and wrote the poem "The kindness tower is the smallest among seventeen people". Liu Cang's more heroic title is "and the spring election wins the tour, and the apricot garden first banquets Qujiangtou; The title of the Wild Goose Pagoda and Dengxian is mentioned together, which shows that their hearts are full of the joy of spring breeze and they regard the title of Wild Goose Pagoda as a great honor. Later, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda formed the scene that "the walls of the small courtyard of the pagoda were all inscribed by Qing Xiang", but unfortunately, a fire in northern Song Shenzong destroyed the precious inscribed walls.
In Jionji, people naturally think of Xuanzang, a famous monk in the Tang Dynasty, who was the first abbot here. Xuanzang, a native of Yanshi, Henan Province, was a famous traveler, translator and Buddhist in the history of China. From Chang 'an to the west in 628, he arrived in India after difficulties and obstacles, and was carefully guided by Master Jie Xian. When he returned to the motherland in 645, the imperial court held an unprecedented grand welcoming ceremony in Jionji, and dispatched 1500 vehicles, more than 200 embroidered Buddha statues and more than 500 prayer flags embroidered with gold thread. The monks who entered the temple to see him off took 500 Bao Zhuang cars, which was unprecedented. Xuanzang brought back 657 Buddhist scriptures, and translated 74 Buddhist scriptures in Hongfu Temple, Jionji and Yuhua Temple successively, with a total volume of 1, 335. Among the four major Buddhist translators in China, he translated the most books and translated them best.
At the request of Emperor Taizong, Xuanzang recorded the history, mountain and river traffic, folk customs, product climate, political culture and religious beliefs of 16, 5,438+00 cities and 28 regions and countries during his journey on 17, and compiled the Records of the Western Regions of Datang into 65438+. This legendary figure is honored as "Master Sanzang", and the story that he overcame 81 difficulties to learn from the West has been widely circulated since the Tang Dynasty. On this basis, Wu Cheng'en, a novelist of the Ming Dynasty, created The Journey to the West, one of the ancient Four Great Classical Novels in China.
The Wild Goose Pagoda is indeed the hometown of Buddhist classics, a temple built under the royal auspices, with a prominent position and a large scale, and it is also a scenic spot that cannot be ignored in your trip to Xi.