3．花色古跡滿城香

3．花色古跡滿城香

作為一個有3000年歷史的古城，洛陽為人們留下了許多珍貴的歷史遺產(chǎn)，如白馬寺、龍門石窟、洛陽城遺址等。

白馬寺在洛陽城東9千米處，建于東漢明帝永平十一年（公元68），它是佛教傳入中國后營建的第一所寺院，在中國佛教史上占據(jù)著重要的地位，歷來被佛教界尊稱為中國的“釋源”或“祖庭”。

唐、宋及元、明、清各代不斷對白馬寺加以重修?，F(xiàn)存的白馬寺大體上是明代重修的規(guī)模，主要建筑有山門、天王殿、大雄殿、千佛殿和毗盧閣等。寺內(nèi)的主要建筑分布在由南向北的中軸線上，前后5座大殿錯落有致，嚴謹有序。其中大雄殿內(nèi)的23尊元代“夾苧干漆”造像，形態(tài)各異，栩栩如生。它們?nèi)际怯山z、麻制成，每尊重量僅有3～5千克，從元代至今700多年來未經(jīng)修繕，仍然色彩如新，是罕見的稀世珍品，也是白馬寺的鎮(zhèn)寺之寶。

寺中的清涼臺被稱為“空中庭院”，是白馬寺的勝景。這個長43米，寬33米，高6米，由青磚鑲砌的高臺，具有古代東方建筑的鮮明特色。毗盧閣重檐歇山，飛翼挑角，蔚為壯觀，配殿、僧房等附屬建筑，布局整齊，自成院落。院中古柏蒼蒼，金桂沉靜，環(huán)境清幽。相傳原來是漢明帝劉莊幼時避暑和讀書的處所，后來改為天竺高僧下榻和譯經(jīng)的地方。

白馬寺東側(cè)，是有名的齊云塔。寺中種有許多石榴樹。白馬寺的石榴在漢魏時曾譽滿京師。石榴原產(chǎn)伊朗和中亞一帶，在漢代同佛經(jīng)、佛像一起傳入中國，并多在洛陽、長安落戶。當時人們贊美石榴，把它作為中外人民交往的標志，石榴的身價倍增。

龍門石窟在洛陽城南10余千米處，它與大同的云岡石窟、敦煌的莫高窟并稱為中國古代佛教藝術(shù)的三大寶庫。龍門石窟從北魏太和十八年（494）遷都洛陽后即開始營造，中間經(jīng)過東魏和西魏，北齊和北周，以及隋、唐各代，連續(xù)大規(guī)模營造達400多年之久。據(jù)統(tǒng)計，現(xiàn)存窟龕2100多個，佛塔40多座，造像10萬多尊，造像題記和碑碣3000多塊。北魏開鑿的石窟全部集中在西山，約占龍門石窟龕造像的三分之一。

唐代是龍門石窟開鑿史上的第二個高潮時期。龍門石窟中最大的洞窟奉先寺大盧舍那像，就是武則天時開鑿的。奉先寺位于龍門西山南部，大盧舍那佛通高17.41米，頭高4米，面部豐滿秀麗，目光寧靜含蓄，嘴角微露笑意。盧舍那佛的兩邊有二菩薩、二子弟、二天王、二力士的造像。有學者認為盧舍那佛的形象與《資治通鑒》記載的武則天的容貌相吻合，應(yīng)是武則天的傳神寫照。整個奉先寺窟龕雄偉壯觀，且改變了魏晉南北朝的宗教神秘色彩，明顯地呈現(xiàn)出世俗化的傾向，表現(xiàn)了唐代雕塑藝術(shù)的時代風格和高度成就。

龍門東山窟龕較少，時代也較晚，看經(jīng)寺洞位于東山南部，是武則天時開鑿的。洞頂佛雕體態(tài)豐潤的飛天，四壁佛雕的29尊羅漢像神態(tài)各異，是現(xiàn)存較早的羅漢群像。在東山萬佛溝北崖的千手千眼觀音像龕，是唐玄宗到唐文宗時期開鑿，龕高2.37米，造像屬于密宗，在唐代也是比較罕見的。龍門石窟中，唐代開鑿的窟龕最多，差不多占總數(shù)的2/3。

除了名勝古跡享有盛譽外，洛陽牡丹也令游人神往。關(guān)于洛陽牡丹曾有這樣一個傳說：牡丹花本來是長安最多，有一年冬天，武則天寫下詔令：明朝游上苑，火急報春知?；氝B夜發(fā)，莫待曉風吹。到次日凌晨，百花都開放了，只有牡丹不開。武則天大怒，就把它們貶植洛陽。誰知牡丹一到洛陽，居然競相怒放。武則天下令用火來燒，結(jié)果火雖燒焦了枝干，花卻更為奪目。當然，傳說的真實與否無法考證，但現(xiàn)在“洛陽牡丹佳天下”卻是名副其實的。

3. Historical Relics

A city with a history of 3,000 years, Luoyang is home to numerous invaluable historical relics, among which are White Horse Temple, Longmen Grottoes and the site of ancient Luoyang.

White Horse Temple

Situated nine kilometers east of Luoyang and built in 68 A.D., the White Horse Temple was the first temple built up after Buddhism was introduced to China and thus has always been honored by the Chinese Buddhist circle as "the temple of origin" for its special significance in the development of Buddhism in China.

The temple was under constant repair through Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The current one is reconstructed according to the one in the Ming dynasty. From the entrance, there stands in order the Gate, Hall of Heavenly Kings, Hall of Sakyamuni, Hall of 1000 Buddhas, Hall of Greeting, the Cool and Clear Terrace and the pavilion. Inside the temple, all the five main halls are orderly lined along the central south-north axis. Inside the Hall of Sakyamuni, there stand 23 statues. Made of silk and hemp and weighing only three to five kilograms each, the statues, each with different facial expressions and postures, are so lifelike and remain as colorful as they were first made in the Yuan dynasty. So rare are they that they are the most valued treasure in the temple.

The Cool and Clear Terrace, reputed as "the terrace in the air", is among the most appealing in the temple. Forty-three meters long, thirty-three meters wide and six meters high, the grey-brick terrace is of a strong oriental flavor. Hall of Mahavira which is topped with a double nine-ridged roof, is a courtyard indeed. With side halls and monk house, dark green cypresses and golden laurels, the courtyard offers a quiet yet beautiful environment. It is said that it was first used as a summer resort and the study for Emperor Liu Zhuang of the Han dynasty. Later, it became a place for visiting Indian eminent monks to live and translate sutra.

Inside the White Horse Temple there grow many pomegranate trees. Pomegranate is the local fruit of Iran and other countries in Central Asia. When Buddhism was introduced to China, pomegranate was also brought along to China and grown by many residents in Luoyang and Chang'an. Chinese people loved pomegranates and regarded them as a symbol of the exchanges with foreign friends; as a result, the price of pomegranate soared by folds. Longmen Grottoes

Ten kilometers south of the city proper of Luoyang, Longmen grottoes, together with Yungang Grottoes in Datong and Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, are titled the three treasuries of the Chinese Buddhist art. Started from 494 when Northern Wei moved its capital to Luoyang, the excavation lasted more than 400 years through Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang. It is estimated that currently there are more than 2,100 niches, more than 40 stupas, more than ten thousand of statues and more than 3,000 tablets. In the West Mountain are grottoes mostly carved in Northern Wei, taking up one third of the total.

Carving of caves in Longmen climbed to its second peak in the Tang dynasty. The biggest statue in Longmen, the Statue of Vairocana Buddha in the cave known as Fengxian Temple was carved during the reign of Emperor Wu Zetian. 17.41 meters high with the four-meter high head included, the Buddhist statue looks quite gentle and tranquil. On the two sides of the Buddha, there are two Bodhisattvas, two juniors, two heavenly kings and two warriors. Some scholars believe the appearance of the Vairocana Buddha statue is quite similar to that of Emperor Wu Zetian according to the description of Wu's apperance in Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Governance, so they think the statue is actually a statue of the woman emperor. Statues and niches in the Fengxian Temple are quite different from those carved in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Instead of seeming mysterious and keeping a distance from the common people, they look closer to people, reflecting the different artistic style of the Tang dynasty.

Compared with the West Mountain, caves in the East Mountain are fewer and younger. In the south part of the mountain, there is a cave known as Kanjing Temple. The excavation of the cave was started when Wu Zetian was in power. Inside the cave, there are plump flying Apsaras on the ceiling and 29 arhats of different bearings on the wall. Excavation of the statue of the 1000-Armed-and-1000-Eyed Avalokiteshvara in the Wanfo Valley was started during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong and finished during the reign of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang dynasty. ("Wanfo" in Chinese literally means "ten thousand Buddhas".) 2.37 meters high, the statue is a portrayal of Buddha which belongs to the esoteric sect and is quite rare even in the Tang dynasty. Of all the caves in Longmen, those excavated in the Tang dynasty take up nearly two thirds.

In addition to those historical relics, Luoyang is also famed for its peony. And a widely spread legend adds more charm to the beautiful flower. There used to be a lot of peonies in Chang'an. On a winter day, Emperor Wu Zetian wanted to go to an imperial garden the next day, so she issued an order that all flowers blossom during the night so that she could see the various flowers. The next morning, all the flowers blossomed except the peonies. Emperor Wu became very angry and ordered all the peonies to be grown in Luoyang. Surprisingly, the moment they were moved to Luoyang, all of them blossomed at once. Hearing that, Wu issued another order to burn the flowers. Nonetheless, those peonies got even more colorful and eye-catching. Nowadays, it's very hard to verify the story, but the beauty of Luoyang peonies is self-evident.