Tongxing

Xi'an, Shaanxi - Small Wild Goose Pagoda, Stele Forest, Bell Tower. What is travel for? It can be for relaxation, for collecting stamps, for exploring mountains and rivers, for satisfying hunger, for anything you want. It's all about your own experience, irrelevant to others. The day after returning from Mount Hua, feeling still energetic, I went to the third stop in Xi'an city, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. As mentioned before, this pagoda is also a part of the Wild Goose Pagoda, but it's called the Small Wild Goose Pagoda because it was built later and is smaller than the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda was built in the Jianfu Temple during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian, who was emperor twice. It was also for storing sutras. The Jianfu Temple was built by Wu Zetian in memory of Li Xian's father, Li Zhi. The royal family built it, so it's called Jianfu, and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda is also called the Jianfu Temple Pagoda. You can't climb the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, and it's free, but you need to make a reservation. There is a bell next to the Jianfu Temple, which, together with the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, is one of the eight sights of Guanzhong - the Morning Bell of the Wild Goose Pagoda. It costs ten yuan to ring the bell once. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda scenic area includes the Xi'an Museum. This is a good choice if you can't make a reservation for other museums. It's great to see students from several schools visiting. Culture becomes more confident when it is passed down. After entering the museum, I first saw the tri-colored horse soaring into the sky. I found that the tail of the war horse needs to be tied up, so the bun is also a part of the horse's tail; I can see the bronze plate of the Western Xia language inside, I understand all the words on it, but I don't recognize them; the Tang Dynasty's golden-backed auspicious animal grape mirror, a mirror full of layout, I don't know how to take a picture; the little soldier cheering up, echoing the previous workers, the city-level museum may be less pressured than the provincial-level one, and the pottery figurines are in good spirits. The scenic area is not large. After visiting, I rode a bike to the Qiu Lin Company for lunch. This name sounds like a foreign trade company, but it's actually a shop selling various snacks. I had a bowl of noodles and a meat pie, which were all carbohydrates. I rode a bike to the fourth stop, the Stele Forest. This weekly bike card was a good purchase. The plane trees on both sides of the road, the fallen leaves are golden in early winter, much better than some places where they are bald in winter and hairy in spring. The entrance fee to the Stele Forest is fifty yuan, but now it's only ten yuan. Several exhibition halls are closed for restoration, so this ten yuan is meaningless. Cheap is not necessarily valuable. The Stele Forest Museum is one of the first batch of cultural preservation units established after the founding of the People's Republic of China, ranking first in stone carvings. On the right hand side after entering the gate is the Jingyun Bell cast by Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Li Dan. On it is a rubbing of Li Dan's calligraphy, which is said to be one of his rare fonts. Li Dan is more prominent than his brother Li Xian. He was emperor twice and retired emperor once. His son is the famous Emperor Xuanzong of Ming. Across from the Jingyun Bell on the left hand side after entering the gate is the Daxia Stone Horse. Daxia was a Xiongnu regime during the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, with a reign of twenty-four years. The stone horse is the only surviving inscription that confirms the existence of Daxia. As for why a horse was carved, it may have something to do with the horse trampling on the Xiongnu. After seeing a lot, I accepted it. Walking along the main road, I came to the Stele Forest Pavilion. The two characters "Stele Forest" were written by Lin Zexu. As for the "stele" character missing a stroke, it should be due to the variant character, and it has little to do with Lin Zexu being dismissed and losing his hat. Inside the pavilion is the stone platform filial piety sutra, written by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, and engraved by Emperor Suzong of Tang, Li Heng. These two probably only collaborated once. There is a saying that the Tang Dynasty was chaotic and the Han Dynasty was dirty. From the establishment of the Tang Dynasty to the Tianbao period, more than a hundred years, there was no rule in human relations. It's intriguing to write the filial piety sutra. After passing through the pavilion, I entered the exhibition hall. There are several authentic works of Yan Zhenqing from different periods. From the perspective of a professional layman, they are really well written. Next to it is a stele of the spread of Nestorianism in China, one of the four major steles in the world, which is very valuable. Daqin is not a reference to the unified Qin Dynasty, but the Tang Dynasty's name for ancient Rome; Nestorianism is an early branch of Christianity that entered our country. I don't know how to evaluate the value of cultural relics. What I can see is that the inscription is written by foreigners in Chinese. The inscription also contains ancient Syriac. In addition to this, the most important thing is that foreigners wanted to take this stele away but failed. Other stone carvings also have a history. The portrait of Confucius created by the Prince of Guo, the man who had an affair with Zhen Huan, was made on the way to escort the Living Buddha. It seems more reasonable to paint a picture of the Lama; the six horses of Zhaoling that were stolen and destroyed, four of which were cut and two lost, were in the Republic of China period. Try it now and see if you can't smash the thieves; the stone rhinoceros in front of Li Yuan's tomb, I doubt if rhinos were introduced to the Central Plains at that time, but it's really well carved and very fat. After leaving the Stele Forest, I rode a bike to the donkey market, walked along the road for a while, and arrived at the fifth stop, the Bell Tower. The Bell Tower was built in the Ming Dynasty and is well preserved to this day. It stands in the middle of a crossroad, forming a roundabout, with vehicles whizzing by. Standing at the southeast corner of Kaiyuan Shopping Mall, it's already dusk. Walking to the observation deck on the fourth floor, the Bell Tower and the distant Drum Tower are in sight under the night sky. Instead of spending thirty yuan to climb the Bell Tower and be in it, it's better to stand far away and feel a different kind of mind and body. There are boundaries in mountains and seas, and I don't want to be in this form.