Must-see on Mianshan Mountain: Daluo Palace Scenic Spot
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E-mail China.org.cn, April 15, 2016
The Hall of Painted Sculptures is an art palace and an exhibition hall containing many painted sculptures from past eras. It holds more than 300 painted Buddhist and Taoist sculptures from the Tang, Song (A.D. 960-1279), Yuan (A.D. 1271-1368) and Ming (A.D.1368-1644) dynasties, some of which were unearthed in other parts of China. They have all been restored to their original shapes and displayed here.
The tenth floor is the Taoist Lecture Hall. The bronze statue of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord sits in the center of the Taoist Lecture Hall. The left side of the hall enshrines statues of the three gods Tai Chu, Tai Shi and Tai Su, while the right side of the hall enshrines the deities Hun Dong, Pan Gu, Jiu Gong and Yuan Huang. The woodcarvings hanging on the walls of the hall display calligraphic inscriptions of the full text of the “Daodejing” written by a hundred well-known figures from around China, such as artists Zhao Puchu, Qi Gong, and Liu Haishu. The full texts were copied from actual works of calligraphy and carved onto 108 pieces of Huali wood covering more than 300 square meters.
The “Daodejing” woodcarvings are done in two different styles. One is yang carving, in which the characters protrude from the wood surface, and the other is yin carving, in which the Chinese characters are recede into the surface of the wood. In addition to the woodcarvings of the full text there is also an epilogue written and calligraphed by Yan Jiying, the developer of Mianshan Mountain Scenic Area. Yan’s piece explains how the “Daodejing” carries forward China's traditional virtues while upholding the essence of Taoism.
On the lower part of the wall below the woodcarvings are 46 pieces white marble tablets engraved with English and Japanese translations of the full text of the “Daodejing.” It is very rare in China to have all of these artistically rendered texts, and it is splendid and marvelous even for the modern day.
The Hall of Chaotic Origin on the 11th floor of Daluo Palace enshrines the primordial gods. The Heavenly Lord of No Shape sits in the middle, while the Heavenly Lord of No Name sits on the left and the Lord of Supremacy on the right. According to legend, the Heavenly Lord of No Shape existed before the Chaos. He is the god of the great emptiness, and no one knows what shape he possesses or can see his power. The Heavenly Lord of No Name is the god of the primal state of the cosmos, and no one can know his name. And the Lord of Supremacy is the mother of the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, one of the Three Pure Ones. The three gods are the originators and rulers of the universe, the beginning of everything.
The mural on the wall of the Hall of Chaotic Origin shows scenes in which all gods pay tribute to the primordial gods. The murals are modeled after the famous murals of the Yongle Temple in Ruicheng County, Shanxi Province, and they were painted on high quality cloth with pigments derived from Chinese medicinal herbs and minerals. What's more, the mural can easily be folded, so that it can be rolled up and moved elsewhere very easily, as if it were a normal painting on paper.
The 12th floor of the Daluo Palace is the Hall of All Celestials, within which the secret of the origin of Taoism is hidden! The hall enshrines the highest of the highest gods according to another Taoist pantheon legend, the Venerable Ancestor of Great Creation. The ancestor god sits in the center of the hall. According to the "Investiture of the Gods," a 16th-century Chinese mythical novel, the Venerable Ancestor of Great Creation has three apprentices that form the Taoist trinity, the Three Pure Ones: the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord, the Lord of Primordial Beginning and the Lord of the Numinous Treasure.
The Hall for All Celestials enshrines seven gods. In its center is the Venerable Ancestor of Great Creation, who holds the Chaotic Origin Ball. The first god on the left is the Heavenly Lord of the Orthodox One, who holds a box of elixir, while the first one on the right is the Lord of Primordial Beginning, who holds his two hands clasped together. The second god on the left is the Lord of the Numinous Treasure, who holds a ruyi scepter, and the second one on the right is the Heavenly Lord of Tao and Virtue, who holds a fan decorated with the symbol of yin and yang. Finally, the third god on the right is the Emperor of Eternity of the Southern Pole, while the third one on the left is the Heavenly Lord of Salvation from Misery, who holds a whisk in his hand. The seven deities are the highest gods to rule all the creatures of heaven and earth. The gigantic and vivid statues are all carved from camphor wood.
The mural in this hall shows all the celestial beings worshipping the Venerable Ancestor of Great Creation. This mural was also created from Chinese medicine paints and fine cloth, which protects them from rot and cracking. With an area of 360 square meters, it is the only one of the kind in China, and with its smooth lines and gorgeous colors, it is among the highest-quality temple murals in all of China.
The 13th floor of the Dailuo Palace, the highest level, is a library of Taoist scriptures.
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