Back to the end of Ming Dynasty to be a warlord

Chapter 293
The Yang family's carriage left Nanjing City early in the morning, headed east, crossed Xiaolingwei, and arrived at Linggu Temple on the southern slope of Zhongshan Mountain.

Linggu Temple is about six miles away from Xiaoling Mausoleum. Although the road is more than half a mountain, the road is not bad.

Because this place was originally a blessed land of Buddhism, Buddhism flourished in Jiangnan during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The 480 temples in the Southern Dynasties is an imaginary number, and the real number is much higher than this number. There are [-] temples in the Zhongshan area alone.

Linggu Temple, formerly known as Kaishan Temple, was originally located in front of Mount Everest in the south of Zhongshan Mountain. Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty Xiao Yan buried Master Baozhi here, and built Guanshan Jingshe and Zhigong Pagoda.In the Tang Dynasty, it was renamed Baogongyuan.In the Southern Tang Dynasty, it was Kaishan Daochang.During the reign of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty, the name of the temple was changed to "Taiping Xingguo Temple".It was called "Jiangshan Temple" in Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, was planning to build Xiaoling Mausoleum because the original temple tower was too close to the palace, so he moved Jiangshan Temple, Songlin Temple, Zhuyuan Temple, Zhigong Pagoda, Songxi Temple, Wuzhen Hall, etc. to the present site, and gave him a forehead The "First Zen Forest" is called "Linggu Temple".

Therefore, Linggu Temple was not in its current location, and Linggu Temple was not originally a temple. It was because Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to build the Xiaoling Mausoleum in the early Ming Dynasty. He valued the location of Linggu Temple, so he occupied it as a royal garden and built Xiaoling. Mausoleum, and then soldiers were used to build Linggu Temple in its current location.

There is a Wangong Pond in Linggu Temple, which is said to have been dug out by tens of thousands of soldiers.

Although the ground of the ancient temple was occupied and the nearby Jiangshan Temple, Songlin Temple, Zhuyuan Temple, Zhigong Pagoda, Songxi Temple and other temples were all relocated to Linggu Temple, Zhu Yuanzhang had to take into account the influence of Buddhism, so he built Linggu Temple The temple spared no expense and used a large number of troops, so even the roads were built quite well. In addition, countless faithful men and women donated money for repairs, and the road conditions have always been good.

Therefore, Yang Chao, his mother, and his sister could ride the carriage all the way to the mountain path below the temple.

Climbing up the stone steps of the mountain road, the pines and cypresses on both sides are set off, showing an ancient style and charm.

It was already noon when we climbed up to the gate of Linggu Temple in the middle of the hill.

The gate of Linggu Temple is a three-arch foyer, covered with green glazed tiles and flanked by red walls.The inscription "Linggu Scenic Spot" on the middle door, and "Songsheng" and "Spring Tao" are written on the side doors on both sides.Just south of the gate, there is a crescent-shaped release pool nearly [-] meters long, which is Wangong Pond.

However, mother Zhao Lan led Yang Chao, Yang Yue, and the driver and his party, but they stopped in front of the mountain gate and did not go in.

Yang Chao didn't know why, after a short while, there was another group of people climbing slowly down the mountain, shouting and embracing, very majestic.

When these people walked in, Yang Chao knew that his mother was waiting for these people.

Because these people are from the Ministry of War Shangshufu.

Shi Kefa, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, accompanied his mother to Linggu Temple to fulfill his vows.

Yang Chao was still in a daze, but Zhao Lan had already greeted him.

Yang Chao was quite curious when he saw his mother's appearance, because she walked completely differently from the past. In the past, her mother was a fast-paced, capable housewife, but now she swayed three times and took small steps frequently, which made Yang Chao feel Twitchy look.

Obviously, the mother was deliberately imitating the gesture of the housekeeper.

Yang Chao didn't care much about his family during this time. He didn't know that his mother had been very particular about etiquette since she got the title of the second-rank wife. Sitting, lying, and walking.

"My wife, Zhao Lan, met Mrs. Shi!"

Mother went over to salute Mrs. Shi who was supported by Shi Kefa.

Mrs. Shi smiled and helped Zhao Lan up.

The two exchanged a few common words, and then Zhao Lan shouted to the back: "Chao'er, why don't you come over to see Mr. Shi."

Yang Chao was still in a daze because of his mother's behavior, only then did he realize that Shi Kefa had also come, and Shi Kefa was his boss.

So he came over and bowed to meet him: "I have met Mr. Shi!"

Shi Kefa nodded.

They are all casual clothes, so there is no need to salute.

"General Yang has also come to Linggu Temple."

Shi Kefa said something casually.

Yang Chao replied: "Accompany my mother to fulfill my wish."

After Yang Chao was besieged in Haizhou, his mother made vows in dozens of monasteries near Nanjing, and she fulfilled them one by one. I heard that the money for incense offerings alone exceeded 1 taels. I have to say that my mother was anxious at the time. Dare to open any seaport with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Linggu Temple was the farthest temple, and it was also the last one to fulfill the wish. His mother insisted that Yang Chao come along and kowtow to the Bodhisattva.

Shi Kefa laughed and said, "Coincidentally, I also accompanied my mother to fulfill my wish."

Yang Chao nodded with a smile, but felt that this was not a coincidence, but a deliberate act by his mother.

I couldn't help but look at my mother a few more times. When did my mother have such a mind, she actually knew how to create opportunities for herself to get close to Shi Kefa.

But Yang Chao doesn't think it's necessary. With his relationship with Shi Kefa, he doesn't need to get close anymore. If he asks to see Shi Kefa, he will almost never be rejected, but whether Shi Kefa will help him or not depends on what it is, and it doesn't hurt. It doesn't matter, if it has something to do with the imperial court, Shi Kefa will often not show favoritism, he is completely different from Xiong Mingyu in this point.

But Yang Chao couldn't refuse his mother's kindness, so he could only follow and entered the temple together.

Because Linggu Temple is a merger of several temples, Zhu Yuanzhang spared no expense, so this temple is extremely magnificent, covering an area of ​​more than 500 mu, and you have to walk five miles to see the contiguous buildings after entering the mountain gate.Every day, monks ride horses to close the mountain gate.

Entering the mountain gate, there is a secluded pine path, with pine shade on both sides, green as a mu, this pine path is five miles long, and there is a famous name "Linggu Shensong", which is the famous Jinling 48 among refined scholars. One of the scenes.

After passing this pine path, you can really see the buildings of Linggu Temple. The Vajra Hall, Heavenly King Hall, Infinite Hall, Wufang Hall, Dafa Hall, Law Hall, Baogong Pagoda, etc. are integrated into one extremely magnificent. The Dharma King Hall contains 99 houses.

Mrs. Shi Lao is a true believer, and she went to the Buddhist halls one by one, offering incense and paying homage to the Buddha.

Zhao Lan is just an opportunist. She was holding Buddha's feet temporarily because Yang Chao was besieged, so she asked others where the gods were efficacious, and then went to make wishes one by one. But this time she also seemed very pious, and accompanied Mrs. Shi to offer incense one by one. .

Yang Chao didn't believe in these things, and Shi Kefa believed in Confucianism, so the two of them had been somewhat indifferent.

It wasn't until the Infinity Hall that Yang Chao suddenly became interested.

It's not because the immeasurable Buddha with high status is enshrined here, but the temple itself.

Wuliang Hall, Tongjia Wuliang Hall, this is a building without beams.

This hall is [-] feet long, [-] feet wide, and [-] feet deep. The external cornices are supported by bucket arches. It is a Chinese-style palace structure, but the inside is made of large rectangular bricks. No beam hall.

There are three arched doors on the front and back of the Liangwu Hall, and arched windows are placed on the left and right.

Obviously, this is a combination of Western-style arch structure and Chinese-style palace form.

Yang Chao originally studied architecture, and his master's degree is classical architecture. He is very familiar with the arch structures of western palaces and churches, and also has an understanding of ancient Chinese architecture. Suddenly, Yang Chao seems to have heard the name of Wuliang Hall from somewhere.

But I have already forgotten, at this time, I just had the opportunity to visit the Infinity Hall inside and out.

It is generally believed that China does not have Western-style arch structures. Traditional Chinese buildings are brick and wood structures. Western classical buildings, including Baroque and Rococo, are all brick and stone arch structures. As a result, wooden Chinese buildings are even more Few thousand-year-old monuments are completely preserved, while such buildings in the West abound.

In fact, China also has Western architectural styles. You must know that the Mongols in the Yuan Dynasty traveled all over the East and West, and they had a tradition of hunting craftsmen everywhere. Therefore, it is not surprising that a large number of Western craftsmen fled to China. This Wuliang Temple built in the early Ming Dynasty , apparently built by a craftsman proficient in Western architecture.

It's just that the Wuliang Hall is different from Western buildings.

Simply put, the arch structure is like an arch bridge, which distributes the weight to both sides through the arc, which creates a problem, how to bear the weight of the outermost wall?Fortunately, bridges are supported by river banks, but houses cannot be protected by river banks.

Westerners invented a buttress to share the pressure of the main wall.

As for the walls on both sides of the Infinity Hall, another method was adopted, that is to thicken the walls, and the thickness of the walls reached more than one foot.

Walls that are too thick affect the effective space.

Of course, Wuliang Hall, as a combination of Chinese and Western architectural styles, still maintains the characteristics of large-span Western architecture. The hall is composed of three long arches juxtaposed horizontally from east to west. The span of the middle arch is nearly four feet, and the height is nearly five feet. The span of the building is close to two feet, and the height is more than two feet. It is obviously much larger than the span of the brick and wood structure river houses along the Qinhuai River, but it is not as good as the span of western churches.

In addition, another difference between the Wuliang Hall and the West is that the West mainly uses stone and bricks as auxiliary materials, while the Wuliang Hall uses a large number of large-scale city bricks that are skilled in the Ming Dynasty, and the stone has instead become an auxiliary material. Obviously, this is the same as Daming. Advanced brick-making technology is related.

Yang Chao is very sure that the architectural techniques of the Wuliang Temple come from the West and combine the traditional craftsmanship and aesthetics of the East, but they are different from the later Western architectural techniques. Obviously, this is a technology introduced before the Western buttresses were widely used. It can be determined that the architectural art was introduced in the Yuan Dynasty, and soon the East and the West were separated from the West again due to the division of the Mongol Empire.

After that, the buttress technology in the West developed rapidly, while China continued to follow its own brick and wood palace style.

"General Yang, are you also interested in the Wuliang Temple?"

Yang Chao appreciated this kind of architectural art combining ancient things with little by little, and suddenly Shi Kefa turned around.

Yang Chao said with a smile: "I know a thing or two, and I thought to myself, this beamless hall doesn't need a single piece of wood or a single nail, which saves materials."

Shi Kefa laughed and said, "No, no, this Beamless Hall can't be built in less than ten years, and labor is much more expensive."

Shi Kefa actually expounded from another angle why China did not form the reason for the complex structure of stone buildings in the West.

This made Yang Chao quite aware that some churches in the West have been built for decades or even hundreds of years, which is unimaginable in China.

This may be the real reason.

But Shi Kefa is really not interested in discussing architecture with Yang Chao, he doesn't understand this, and he is not interested at all.

He came here for an excuse to talk to Yang Chao, but he actually had another purpose: "General Yang is free, how about getting together with me?"

It turned out that he was invited to a party, so Yang Chao naturally would not refuse: "My lord, if you have time, just come and invite me."

Shi Kefa nodded, seeming to be quite worried, nodded: "Then tonight, let's go to your Jinchai Building!"

Jinchai Tower is famous in Nanjing. Even merchants from Yangzhou, Suzhou, and Hangzhou often have to visit Jinchai Tower when they come to Nanjing. Otherwise, it will be regarded as a pity. However, Shi Kefa has never been to Jinchai Tower. The hairpin building, this time Yang Chao was invited, and it was still set at the Jinchai building, which made Yang Chao feel that Shi Kefa was showing favor to him.
But Yang Chao still nodded and agreed.

After spending a whole day at Linggu Temple, Mrs. Shi and Zhao Lancai finished paying respects to the Buddha when the sun was setting. The group got into their carriages and returned to Nanjing City.

Sending his mother to the door, Yang Chao was about to go to Jinchai Tower, but before his mother left, she pointedly said to Yang Chao: "That girl Xiaowan is good, if you want to take a concubine, mother will not object!"

(End of this chapter)