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Sightseeing in YunnanKunming City --- "Four Seasons of Spring City"Kunming, which is situated in central Yunnan and north of the Dianchi Basin, is skirted on three sides by mountains, with one side opening onto the Dianchi Lake. The city is nicknamed "City of Spring" due to the fact that it is covered all the year round with the rich verdure of trees and plants. Endowed with a pleasant climate, the city's 15,000 square kilometres of land is adorned with more than 400 kinds of flowers. Kunming is world-famous for its abundance of camellias, orchids, azaleas and Primula malacoides , which can be found in the Kunming Botanical Garden, where 4,000 varieties of tropical and subtropical plants grow profusely. Kunming is also a renowned historical and cultural city in southwest China. In ancient times it was an important gateway to the celebrated Silk Road which conducted to Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India. The city's highland scenery is alluring, its karst landform is bewitching. Its people are known for their varied and exotic habits and customs, and its land is pockmarked with historical artifacts, places of cultural interest, and gardens landscaped with a picturesque taste. Among the major scenic spots of Kunming are the Dianchi Lake, the Cuihu Lake, the Village of Ethnic Culture, the Jindian (Golden Temple) Park, the Western Mountain Forest Reserve, the Stone Forest, the Jiuxiang Scenic Belt, the Yuantong Mountain, the Grand View Pavilion, and the Qiongzhu Temple. I. Stone Forest : ( A national grade scenic and tourist spot ) II. Jindian ( Golden Temple ) Park IV. Western Mountains Forest Reserve V. Qiongzhu Si ( Bamboo Temple ) VI. Dianchi Lake & Daguan Park
Sightseeing in Dali-- " Nanzhao Kingdom "
There are many kinds of religions nearly all completed because of the special location of Yunnan at the joint part with the half-island of East-South Asia and on the plateau of Qinghai ¨C Tibet and Yunnan-Guizhou. Except the Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, they are Islamic, Christianity, Catholicism and Original Religion. Among the sects are blended(»ìºÏ) into each other, especially the art of Buddhism, it forms a wonderful view of colorful temples. There are many temples, Buddhist towers, grottos, Taoist Temples, Courts, the wall paintings of Churches, the inscriptions on the tablets, and the religious arts those mostly are distributed over the sightseeing sites in Yunnan. The temples are often taken as the spiritual symbolization of the Heaven, at the same time as the residence, palace and ancestral temple of the common customs with heavy feelings of religion. In the history, since the Tang and Song Dynasties had paid more attention to the fusion of the relationship between the human and the nature. To select the locations of the temples it is usually based on the either the advantages of easy transportation or the calling the believers widely. So the most temples in Yunnan were built at the places of beautiful environments with the green hills and clean waters, covered with the heavy woods at the deep mountains. It is saying those all-wonderful sites and the famous mountains all are occupied by the religious people. They highly stress on the model of the temples, inner decorations and the art of the idols. All the constructions of the temples and their religious feasts are the very important contents of the tourist culture. The Confucianist theory, strictly speaking that it is not a really religion, but traditionally there was the wording in the history " Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism" the three in one, the Confucianism was regarded as the religion. Especially through the long term of social activity, the people sacrificed the holy idols of the three sects in one temple. They called the Confucianists as the Confucianism. The Confucius was the founder, who took the temple as the place for meeting, paying respects to himself and the transmitting the culture, the Four Books and the Five Classics as the main theory, the religious creeds were used for tools of saving the feudal society and were praised highly by each kings in all Dynasties. They offered the Confucius himself as the "Holy Forefather". In Qufu of Shangdong province (the hometown of Confucius), the Confucius Residence occupied the lands nearly 327 mu (a mu=666 square meters), there are totally 466 rooms in it, which is the one of the famous ancient constructions in China. The famous "Confucianist Temple" in Jiangshui of Yunnan was founded in Yuan Dynasty (1325), it was rebuilt many times in following Dynasties as Ming and Qing, its area is just a little bit of less smaller than it in Shangdong. It has the areas of 114 mu with a lot of the buildings; the main temple is about 13 meters high with the colorful decorations. Except it there are many others distributed over all places in Yunnan. The Buddhism originated in India; the founder is Sakyamuni meaning the Holy man of the Sakya nation. It is called Buddhism in China. It was disseminated at the time of Han Dynasty and developed as the main religion in China. It is considered that the Buddhism was transmitted to Yunnan in Tang Dynasty. The routes were divided into three, from Han nation of Tang Dynasty, Tibet and the south Asia which were formed with many entities of the Buddhism and the characteristics of local minorities .The one of sects was called "Mijiao" transmitted form Han of Tang Dynasty, the Buddhism (Lama religion) from Tibet in Ming and Qing Dynasties came to Diqing Tibetan areas and the one from south-east Asia disseminated to the areas of Dai Nation in Xishuanbanna and Dehong .All the three sects have the different but luxuriant Buddhist arts, like the wall paintings in the temples, stone idols in the grottos and structures of different pagods. MAHAYANA BUDDHISM Mahayana
Buddhism was introduced into regions inhabited by the Han people,
the largest ethnic group in China, about the first century. The
earliest temple, the Baima Temple (White Horse Temple), was built
in Luoyang during the reign of Emperor Ming Di of the Eastern Han
Dynasty in 68 AD with the help of two Indian monks. Buddhism
reached its peak of popularity during the Sui and Tang (581-907)
dynasties. Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes the existence of many
Buddhas. It focuses attention on Buddhas in heaven and on people
who will become Budddhas in the future. It believes that these
present and future Buddhas can save people through compassion and
grace. Today there are eight main sects of Mahayana Buddhism.
These are the Sanlun (Three Treaties) Sect; the Faxiang (Dharma
Characteristic) Sect also known as the Yoga Sect; the Tiantai
Sect; the Huayan (Flowery Splendor) Sect; the Jingtu (Pure Land)
Sect; the Chan(Zen) Sect; the Ritsugaku Sect; and the Esoteric
Sect. The doctrines of the various Mahayana sects played an
important part in the development of philosophical ideas in China.
Mahayana Buddhist influence is seen in the thousands of Chinese
classics. Many of these are of high literary value. The
Vimalakirti, Saddharma-pundarika-sutra (Lotus Sutra) and
Surangamasamadhi-sutra have always been special favorites of
scholars. Buddhism brought to Chinese literature new conceptions,
literary styles, and techniques of wording and phrasing. The first
Chinese woodblock printing was a series of pictures based on the
Tripitaka in Chinese. Buddhist paintings and sculptures have left
a rich source of material for the study of Chinese art and
history. Whether it is the murals of the Dunhuang caves or the
stone carvings of the Longmen, Yungang, and Dazu grottoes, the
works highlight a brilliant chapter in China's cultural history.
China's pagoda architecture and statue art are mostly the work of
Mahayana Buddhist designers. China's music, astronomy, medicine,
and gymnastics also reveal Mahayana Buddhist influences. As early
as the 2 nd century, Buddhist songs were being sung by the
Chinese. Yi Xing (673-727), a monk of the Tang Dynasty, was the
first to compute the length of the meridian. He complied a number
of books on astronomy and mathematics. In medicine, there were
more than ten prescription texts from India Buddhists translated
into Chinese and they were used in China during the Tang Dynasty.
Finally, in gymnastics, the monks of the Shaolin Temple developed
various exercise methods imported from India into special form of
wushu through the incorporation of Chinese martial arts
techniques. HINAYANA BUDDHISM Hinayna (also called Pali) Buddhism was introduced from Burma, about the 9 th century A .D., into regions inhabited by the Dai, Bulang, Achang, and De' ang ethnic minorities in Yunnan Province. Today its followers are mainly people from these ethnic minorities, as well as part of the Bai, Jing (Ginzu), and Lahu people. In China it is called Pali Buddhism because Pali is the language that was spoke in the temples in ancient India. Hinayana Buddhism emphasizes the importance of Buddha as a historical figure, the virtues of monastic life, and the authority of the Tripitaka. The Buddhism transmitted from Han nation The temple is the public place for holding the religious activities; the Buddhist scriptures, figures and monks are all here. The Buddhist idols are all plated with the gold and formed as the colorful decorations. The Chinese temples¡¯ style were effected by those in India, at the earlier time they were mostly formed as the type of veranda and court, later they were developing into the freestyle which are the two types of temples with grottos and towers. Those mostly effected the temples of Yunnan in central China, but they are showing the very special characteristics of local nationalities. They were constructed of the Buddhist hall, temple, hostel and pagodas. The temples are used for the places of sacrificing the Buddhist idols, the hall for religious ceremonies, the hostel for the everyday living of the monks and the pagodas for the place of the buried the ashes of monks after death. Generally the firstly getting into the temple through "Shanmen"(the gate of Buddhist temple), you will see the "Heng and Ha" two generals (clay sculptures), then the "Daxiong Baodian"(Daxiong Temple), Daxion meaning the respected call to the grand Buddhism, there are the Buddhist idols sacrificed here like the main idols of Sakyamuni and others. At the back of the temple there are the pagodas. In Yunnan the temples and the idols conserved completely, they are the "Huating Temple", "Qiongzhu Temple" and "Yuantong Temple" in Kunming, "Panlong Temple" in Jinling, "Caoxi Temple" in Anning, "Dajue Temple" in Luliang, "Zhushen Temple" in Bingchuan, "Guangyingtan Temple" in Dali, and some other places of Yunnan. The Buddhism transmitted from Tibet It is combined as the proverb of "Dacheng Mijiao" with other local religious sects in Qinghai and Tibet like the "Mijiao" form India, later it is saying as "Lama" religion, which are believed by the Tibetan and Lishu nation in Yunnan along the areas of joint with Tibet and Sichuan provinces. In the earlier time of Qing Dynasty the Dalai and Banchang¡ªtwo living Buddha were formed with a system of choosing living Buddha in Tibet. The lama temple is consisted of "Zhachang" and "Lakang" which are the main buildings in the temple and many Buddhist idols sacrificed here. The famous temples are located at the places of north-west part of Yunnan, like the "Guihua Temple" and "Chenen Temple" in Zhongdian, "Dexin Temple" in Dexin, "Fuguo Temple", "Yufeng Temple", and "Wenfeng Temple" in Lijiang and other areas, except the arts of the temples and idols, there are the wall paintings and "Tangka"(a style of Tibetan paintings). LAMAISM Lamaism
is a form of Buddhism intermingled with indigenous Tibetan
religion known as Bon. Tibetan Buddhism slowly adopted some of the
Bon rites, while Bon eventually took on Buddhiat teachings and
disappeared. Lamaism mainly gained its Buddhist knowledge from Han
Mahayana Buddhist sources. an Indian master of Esoteric Buddhism who was invited to preach Buddhism during the latter half of the 8 th century. This sect is also called the "Red Sect'' because the monks of this school wear red hats. The Sakya Sect is also known as the "Striped Sect ''because of the three stripes of red, white, and black that are painted on the walls of all its monasteries. The
Kagyu Sect is also called the "White Sect'' because its monks
wore white robes in the past. The Bon Sect is also known as the
"Black Sect''. It grew directly as an overlay of Buddhism on
top of Bon tradition. THE LIVING BUDDHA In taking on some of the traditions of Bon, Lamaism created its own system of leadership, that of rule by persons designated as Living Buddhas. Such persons are believed to be the reincarnations of deceased Living Buddhas. Thus, in Lamasim special persons are literally born into Buddha hood, whereas in Han Buddhism, followers move toward Nirvana only through good work and in Pali Buddhism they can attain the same condition through devotion. The system for designating Living Buddhas was formulated by the Kagyu Sect more than one hundred years before the Yellow Sect came into existence. It relies on a committee of monks who search for a soul boy (one into whom the soul of a precious Living Buddha has settled). The monks start this search one year after the death of previous Living Buddha. They travel in different directions from their temple to find all male children born at the time the former Living Buddha died. When such soul boys are found (there may be several), each is presented with a group of utensils, some of which were possessions of the previous Living Buddha. If the child takes an interest in one of the utensils owned by the previous Living Buddha, the boy is assumed to be the possible reincarnation. A second test is then administered to make sure. This involves the ritual of asking advice from a protecting spirit. If two or more potential soul boys pass these two tests, lots are drawn from a gold urn to determine the correct identity. The process of selection and control remains in the hands of a select group of monks-the search committee. One of their members acts as regent until the boy reaches an age when he can be elevated in a grand ceremony to the position of Living Buddha, usually sometime between the age of 12 and 18. The members of the search committee remain as the Living Buddha' s assistants until he is old enough to replace them. Should the new Living Buddha die young, the same groups of monks become the committee to select the next Living Buddha. The Buddhism transmitted from the South direction( East-south Asia) It is also called "Xiaochen Buddhism" or "Nanchuan Buddhism". Their religious creed stresses on the "Three none"( impermanence, no bitter and no me). It advocates that mukti (get rid of by himself) which is close to the Original religion. It is distributed over at the areas inhabited by Dai, Jinpo and Pumi nations. Especially the all of Dai believes in it so much , nearly there are the temples in every villages. Some of the temples are not only the place of sacrificed the Buddhist idols, but the place for learning the culture and educational classrooms. By the Dai customs, all young boys must leave home and become the monks for a time and leave the order and resume secular life when they grow up as the adults. The Buddhism is divided into two big sects, "Baiba"(Flatland area) and "Baishun"(Mountain area). Their temples usually are constructed of the temples and towers, the design of the towers are much more paid attention to. Mostly their types are similar to the Buddhist pagodas of Myanmar , which are consisted of a main tall tower and many smaller towers around. It considers that the Buddha Sakyamuni is only real God, and never recognizes any others except the Sakyamuni. The main temples in Yunnan are "Guangyunmian Temple" in Changyuan, "Qianrufu Temple" and "Damenlongfu Temple" in Jingu, "Mangefu Temple", "Manfeilong Tower" in Jinhong, "Wuyun Temple" in Manshi and "Dadenhan Temple" in Ruili and the others. Southern Buddhism refers to Pali Buddhism introduced into Yunnan province from Myanmar in the 7th century. At the beginning, there was no Buddhist temple and its scriptures were spread orally. In the 11th century, Buddhism faded due to warfare. After wars ceased, Buddhism was reintroduced into Dai majority tribes from Thailand and Myanmar. Pattra sutra written in Dai language started to appear after the language was invented in 1277. When a Myanmar princess was married to the 19th Yunnan magistrate in 1569, the King of Myanmar sent a Buddhist mission to Yunnan, bringing with them Buddhist scriptures and statues. Soon, temples were built up and Dai people and a few other minorities converted to the Pali Buddhism. Now Southern Buddhism can be divided into four sects. Dai boys must spend a monastery life when they reach school age. They will be taught in monasteries and may drop out when they reach their adulthood. The outstanding ones may stay for further studying and become formal monks. The Southern Buddhists can be gradually ranked and the one sits on the top of the pyramid is the religious leader The Five Moral Precepts (Pali) Precept: Sikkhapada (discipline or good behavior) First precept: not to kill Second precept: not to steal Third precept: not to have sexual misconduct Fourth precept: not to lie Fifth precept: not to drink liquor or take drugs which leads to carelessness 1) Panatipata veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami I take the precept to give up killing. 2)
Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. 3)
Kamesumicchacara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. 4)
Musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami. 5)
Surameraya majjapamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam
samadiyami Why
do you not kill ? What
is the good of giving up killing ? Why
do you not steal ? What
is the good of giving up stealing ? Why
do you not indulge in sexual misconduct ? What
is the good of giving up sexual misconduct ? Why
do you not lie ? What
is the good of giving up lying ? Why
do you not drink liquor or take drugs ? What
is the good of giving up drinking ? Taoism is born and brought up at its native soils, it started in Han Dynasty and took the [Dao De Jing of Laozi (a very famous ancient scholar as Confucian in Chinese history)] as their classics, and the Laozi was respected as their God and called Taoism. The sect we can see today is divided into two sects "Quianzhen" and "Zhenyi". They usually adopt the ways of trying to make the pills of immortality and cultivate vital energy. Etc. as their main activity. The "Gong"(big temple) and "Guang"(small temple) are taken as their place of religious activity. Their construction mostly is looked as the storied buildings. The Eight-Diagram and Tai Ji is their important marks which symbolize the eight natural phenomenon like the sky, land, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain and marsh. The construction of Taoism usually is consisted of three parts, the parvis, mid-courtyard and view-rooms. Taoism has a big group of the Gods, like the Gods in heaven, human ghosts, and the local gods of the land as well as the many historical figures and the folklore, just like reading a volume of Chinese social culture history when visiting the Taoist temples. In Yunnan the main Taoist temples are "Shangqinge", "Dragon Gate", "Golden Temple", and "Heilongtang" in Kunming, "Zhong he Temple" in Dali, "Yuhuangge Temple" in Baoshang, "Yuanlong ge Temple" in Tenchong and other places in Yunnan. The Hui nationality in Yunnan almost believes in the Islam. Through a long historical life and working, there is a very close relationship between Islam and Hui nation on the folk customs and the culture. The place for religious service, they call mosque, the style of the temple construction is the type of Arab and the scripture is the Koran. The feasts are same as the Arab, like Lesser Bairam, Corban and so on. All the festivals are holding in the mosques taken charge of the Akhun. The women are not allowed to get into the mosque. When the time of religious service, the people must take off the shoes and wash all hands and feet (Ghust). They take much more attention on the food; the pork and wine are prohibited. The women usually cover the faces and do not show their hands and teeth .The earliest mosque in Kunming was called "Nanchen mosque", "Namen mosque" in Dali and the mosque in Jindong were built up in Yuan Dynasty and other mosques distributed over all areas where the Hui nation inhabited. Christianity It is transmitted in to China at the time of Tang Dynasty; there are the Orthodox Eastern Church, Protestantism and Catholicism, the three sects in Yunnan. In 1877 a British missionary came to Shanghai and later the many missionaries from England and France came to Yunnan and did missionary works in the areas where Miao, Yi, Lishu, Bai and Lahu nations inhabited. They built the churches and sacrificed the holy idols of Jesus and read the stories of Bibles. Now the churches conserved completely well located in Kunming, Dali, Nujiang and others. The one (Catholicism church) built up in Dali in 1931 is the most grand in Yunnan. The saints have their own religious committee, which gives the instructions for activities in whole of Yunnan. They usually have the same customs as those in western countries like the holidays and feasts. Catholicism In the earlier of Yuan Dynasty the Catholicism was transmitted into China, it was further developed in Ming and Qing Dynasties and the missionary district was set up in 1696. After the churches were built up in Kunming, it was rapidly expanded to all parts of Yunnan; later the head missionary districts were founded in Kunming, Zhaotong and Dali. The charitable affairs were opened, like hospitals, orphan schools and aged people departments and so on. The Catholic churches were founded in Kunming, Dali, Baoshang, and Dexin of Diqing and weixi. The Original Religion It is meant that religion was at the time of the earliest periods of human society, the human believed all natural objects and phenomenon including nature, forefather, totem, sexual power, Gods and so on. The believers have no the core of God in their religion, and no the fixed temples and no the scriptures, the forms of their activities show only the praying the sky and earth, by means of divination for getting rid of the devils and treating the diseases. The master was called wizard. Most of minority nationality in Yunnan are still keeping the some of remains of the religion. They effect very much on the people for their viewpoints on the nature, history, moral and value and so on, and control the behaviours of people¡¯s social culture. It also makes many cliff paintings, God¡¯s paintings, wizard marks, masks, music instruments and other religious arts. It is the very important human culture resources and the worthy of the tourism.
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