Monasteries

Most of the monasteries you will see date roughly from that of the Liao Dynasty, about 900-1100AD. They are interesting in that unlike virtually all Chinese imperial architecture, they are not oriented North-South but rather East-West, as the Liao were sun-worshippers.

This image has the hands of the Vitarka Mudra, which is a teaching mode. This appears to be a Sakyamuni Buddha, i.e. Buddha of the present. Yes, it is confusing. The reason the earlobes are so long is to suggest the wearer used to wear heavy earrings but has given such trifles up. This is a premise of Buddhist religious teachings, giving up earthly desires. Buddha has many names one of which is Samadhi or Krishna, all very confusing..

This is a Bodhisattva, one who is not fully enlightened and still subject to the wheel of birth death and suffering according to Theravada Buddhism. We suspect the hands are the Tarjani Mudra, which wards off evil. The statues are Jin Dynasty

This very tough-looking turtle is holding up a donor stele. Our guide could read old Chinese and translated some of the inscriptions, which were records of who paid for what renovation or repair.

Mahavira Hall, the main hall of the temple, with incense burner in front.

This hall encloses some exquisite Buddhas that do not seem to have been dusted since the Ming Dynasty. This may be due to the very dusty nature of Datong, i.e. maybe they dusted last week.

We believe this is Virupaksa, Guardian of the West, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Boy, come to think of it, this might be Virupaksa; we get confused. We can say they are two of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Buddhist gods that guard the four directions. We think he is holding a pearl of wisdom. The wall paintings are incredible but the temple was so dim we couldn't get a good view. The crown is described here.

A view out the temple entrance.

We found this statue to be especially modern-looking, but it's about 1,000 years old. The ethereal all pervading gentle face is typical of the All Enlightened One.

Here a tourist tops the stairs between the drum and bell towers.

Our next monastery is a bit different. Built on the side of a cliff, this is the famous Hanging Monastery. Built in 491, it has tenaciously hung to the side of this cliff for 1,500 years. It even survived the Cultural Revolution, but just barely.

Here's a slightly better view. If you look closely, you'll wonder why the sheer numbers of visitors doesn't cause it to fall off. Being subject to vertigo the crew of Amante braved the heights!

If you don't have vertigo yet...

It wouldn't be a monastery without a few Buddhas, now would it? However, as we go along, you'll see some differences.

A guardian, maybe Virudhaka. Actually, if you read the article, it says that the 4 Kings provide for a mild, productive climate, good for the harvest.

The obsidian eyes of this Bodhisattva do not portray the frenzy of the Red Guards as they destroyed these icons. Notice the hacked off hands and gouged out orbs of the rest of the figures.

For all you minimalists there is nothing that tops this monks cell. Below the comfy bed there is a 'built in'. Can you tell it is a fireplace? Nothing like keeping the old toes warm on those frosty winter nights. Above is the chimney. There must have been a few respiratory ailments with all the smoke!

Here we see a typical fat, balding tourist at work.

In case you're wondering who the two guys are that always seem to accompany images of the Buddha, they are Ananda and Kasyapa. Note the gauged-out eyes.

A mutilated figure of Ananda: eyes gouged out, nose and hands cut off.

Here lies another example of mystical ancient art which gently reminded us of colorful Byzantine paintings.

Eyes half closed in ever contemplative Bliss, another Bodhisattva is claimed by the reviled Red Guards.

This defaced Ananda image appears to be winking at the visitor.

Here we have 3 apsaras (Buddhist angels), minus heads. This is one project by the Red Guards where they were thorough.

Hundreds of feet off the ground these birds nest size temples house Buddhas in this architectural curiosity.

In a sort of ecumenical spirit, here we have one of the Taoist Three Deities, probably Shangqing. The Chinese ruling class was never wholeheartedly Buddhist and still liked the retain the old-time religion, seen here.

A view of one of the exquisite tile roofs.

Really fine ceramic dragons.

Close-up of the feng shui critters on the eaves. They are interesting because every Chinese tile roof has the same cat-like creature warding off evil spirits.

A nice country paifang.

The hubster fell in love with another Chinese 3-wheeler, the mini-dump truck.

So cool. Gotta get one...

A sleepy adobe pueblo in Mexico? Nope, China.

See the caves? Until recently, people lived in them.

One thing that doesn't look like Mexico is the terraces, even here where not much rain falls. You can see mountains in the smoggy distance. We understand China commissions a new coal-fired power plant every week, mostly out here in the countryside. Cough, cough.

We've got one more Shanxi masterpiece to share with you and it doesn't roll on 3 wheels. Join us as we visit the Muta Pagoda!