1、White Horse Temple is located 12 km away from Luoyang City. Established by the Han Dynasty in 68 AD when Buddhism started to spread, this temple is believed to be the first Buddhist temple built by the government in China. According to historical records, Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25
2、- 220 AD) once sent his minister on a diplomatic mission to western region to learn about Buddhism. After finishing study, they came back with two eminent Indian dignitary monks - She Moteng and Zhu Falan, and a white horse carried the sutra and the figure of Buddha. In order to memorialize the cont
3、ribution of the white horse, Emperor Ming has bulit the temple and named it White Horse Temple.White Horse Temple was regarded as the “originating court“ and the “cradle of Chinese Buddhism“ by the Buddhist disciples. Since its establishmentWhite Horse Temple has experienced vicissitudes of centurie
4、s. It was rebuilt for several times, in which the restoration during the reign of Emperor Wu Zetian was especially notable in its large scale.Todays White Horse Temple is a rectangle courtyard facing south. The gate of the White Horse Temple was built in Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and it is three ar
5、ches side by side. Covering a total area of 40, 000 square meters, the temple mainly consists of Tianwang Hall, Great Buddha Hall, Daxiong Hall, Jieyin Hall, Qingliang Terrace and Pilu Pavilion, which are all distributing along the north-south central axisAn Introduction to Guanlin (Guan Yu Temple)关
6、林（关羽庙）介绍At the east end of Guanlin Nan Lu, Guanlin (Guan Yu Temple) was built to commemorate the great general Guanyu of the State of Shu during the Three Kingdoms Period. 关林（关羽庙）位于关林南路东端，是为了纪念三国时期蜀国名将关羽而建立的。In the Romance of Three Kingdoms, the Shu general Guanyu was defeated, captured and executed
7、 by Sunquan, the ruler of the State of Wu. 三国演义中，蜀将关羽败于吴王孙权并被俘，后被其处死。Fearing revenge from Guanyus blood brother Liubei who was the ruler of the State of Shu, Sunquan ordered to send Guanyus head to Caocao-ruler of Wei in an attempt to deflect the responsibility for the death. 孙权由于害怕遭到关羽结拜兄弟蜀王刘备的报复，他
8、下令将关羽的首级送至魏王曹操，意图将关羽之死嫁祸给曹操。Caocao, however, was an admirer of Guans loyalty and bravery.然而，曹操很钦佩关羽的忠诚与勇敢。He ordered a wooden body be carved to accompany the head before Guanyu was buried. 他命人雕刻了一尊木质关羽像，竖于关羽墓旁。Very little is known about when the temple was first built.没有人知道关羽庙首建于何时。The complex was d
9、eveloped during the Ming Dynasty and was underwent several renovation and expansion during the succeeding Qing Dynasty.该建筑群在明朝初具规模，后又在秦朝经过数次翻修和扩建。Its now comprised of halls, temples, pavilions and Guans Tomb. 现在，关林由小山、庙宇、楼阁和关羽墓组成。Some valuable stone tablets with elegant calligraphies are also found
10、here. 那里还有一些刻有优美书法的石碑。The place is very popular among the locals who worship the valorous general by burning sticks of incense. 当地人很是崇拜这位英武大将军，关林总是香火不断。Longmen GrottoesSo now let me give you a general introduction first. Around 13 km south of Luoyang, there are two picturesque hills confronting each
11、 other with the Yi River flowing northward between them, connected by an arched stone bridge resembling a natural gate tower. This is the right place named Longmen, where the well-known Longmen Grottoes is located. The grottoes, which earn the fame of one of the Three Treasure Houses of Stone Sculpt
12、ure in China, were created over 1500 years age. The Longmen Grottoes was first known in the year 493 AD, when Emperor Xiaowen moved his capital to Luoyang from Datong, Shannxi Province, which marked the initiation of development and expanse of Buddhism in Central China. It prolongs for 1000 meters f
13、rom north to south. According to the statistics conducted in recent years, there are 2300 caves and niches with over 100000 Buddhist figures. In addition, more than 2800 tablet inscriptions and some 40 Buddhist pagodas were preserved in or out of the caves. Now, weve got to the grottoes. Please get
14、off the bus. Here is the Qianxi Temple. It was built in the early Tang Dynasty around 640 AD. It has altogether 7 Buddhist statues inside, of which, Buddha Amitabha is sitting in the central with 2 of his favorite disciples, 2 Bodhisattvas, and 2 Heavenly Kings. Please come with me. Now we are in fr
15、ont of the Bin yang Caves. The Bin yang Caves consist 3 large caves, the North, the Middle and the South caves. The Mid and the South Bin yang Caves were built under Emperor Xuanwu for practicing the merits and virtues for his diseased parents, late Emperor Xiaowen and late Empress Dowager(遗孀) Wenzh
16、ao in 500 AD. While the North Bin yang cave was added for the late Emperor Xuanwu by a eunuch（太监） in the palace named Liu Tang in 508AD. In the West Hill of Longmen, there are several “the most” caves to feast your eyes. Just now, we visited the Ten-thousand Buddha Cave with 15000 Buddhist images, w
17、hich has the most Buddha images, and the Lotus Cave with 2cm-high Buddha images, which are the tiniest Buddha images. And now, weve come to another “most”, the Fengxian Temple. So what highlights can we see here? Ill show you. One day in 655AD, Empress Dowager Wu Zetian cried in the palace. Emperor
18、Gaozong asked her why she was so unhappy. She said: “Do you think I am beautiful?” the Emperor answered: “Of course, you are the most beautiful lady under heaven!” the Empress said: “but sooner of later I would be ugly. Beauty cannot last long.” The Emperor Gaozong at once made the best artist in th
19、e palace paint a beautiful portrait of Empress Wu. But she still cried, she said: “the portrait is beautiful, but after hundreds of years, it will rot and disappear.” The Emperor Gaozong suddenly saw the light. He issued an edict（法令） that a stone statue must be carved at once. Hearing this edict, Em
20、press Wu was so pleased that she donated 20000 strings（串） of cash coins for her cosmetics（化妆品） and also attended the consecration（献祭仪式） of the chief Buddha when the construction was thoroughly completed in order to shorten the time of the project. So the main Buddha Losana was carved according to Em
21、press Wus appearance. That is the legend. Now we see, the Buddha Losana is 17.14m high with its head 4m, each ear 1.9m, and flanked by 2 symmetrical disciples, Bodhisattvas, Heavenly Kings, and Great Men of Strength on both sides. The chief Buddha gives you an impression of dignified manner, magnifi
22、cent looking, wise, farsighted and kind nature. Looking around the overall arrangement, we would rather say that the Fengxian Temple is a scene of a grand imperial court than a spot of Buddhism. Generally speaking, the Fengxian Temple is the most magnificent and artistic among all the shrines of the Tang Dynasty and as well as an example of success in integrating politics with Buddhism in ancient China
