Brief introduction of Guge dynasty ruins

Located on a dirt mountain in Ali area. Founded in the first half of 10 century, 16 kings were inherited. Palace castles have been continuously expanded since10-16th century. The site of Guge Kingdom covers an area of about 6.5438+0.8 million square meters, and it is more than 300 meters high from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain. There are more than 600 houses, pagodas and caves on the mountain, forming a huge ancient architectural complex.

There are five existing temples and halls. There are Buddha statues and colorful murals in the temple. This site is a valuable material for studying the history of Tibet and the history of Tibetan architecture since the 10 century. The site of Guge Dynasty is located on the Xiangquan River in Zhaburang District, west of Zhada County 18km, surrounded by many soil forests. Because it is built with the cohesive soil of the surrounding soil forest, the broken walls of the ancient castle is integrated with the soil forest at the foot, so it is difficult to tell what is a castle and what is a soil forest. Whenever the sun rises or night falls, the Guge site will convey a kind of incomplete beauty and tragic beauty against the background of the soil forest.

The entire Guge dynasty castle was built on the loess slope more than 300 meters high. The terrain is steep, and caves, towers, towers, temples and palaces are arranged in an orderly manner. From bottom to top, the mountains are stacked and majestic, reaching the sky. Most of these caves are bedrooms, which are densely distributed all over the hillside. Guge's accommodation has a strict hierarchy: on the hillside, it is the residence of dignitaries, under the mountain, it is the place where slaves live, and some caves are the practice places of monks. With such a steep mountain wall as a barrier, it is more difficult to climb to the top of the mountain than to climb to heaven. So how did the Guge people climb the mountain themselves? It turns out that the clever Guge people have built many back channels in the mountains, and some window-like holes in the back channels can be used for lighting and defense. These secret passages are winding, and you can go up the stairs to the palace at the top of the mountain.

The palace is always high above, on the one hand, for defense, on the other hand, it also symbolizes the supreme power of the king. However, the war destroyed the castle and the yellow sand drowned the hero. Looking around, it is a bleak and vicissitudes of life. A huge country, which rose in the 10th century, staged a splendid historical and political drama for 700 years, experienced 16 hereditary kings, and its population exceeded100000. In the war of 1635, the Ladaks invaded, and it was wiped out in an instant. Why did it suddenly disappear? Why did 100 thousand people disappear without a trace? This is indeed an eternal mystery full of temptations for us. In this devastated land, only temples are well preserved. Several temples halfway up the mountain are the Tumu Hall, the Red Hall, the White Hall and the Samsara Hall. These temples have a strong Tibetan architectural style, and the sculptures on the cornices of the temples are mostly lions, elephants, horses, peacocks and other animals. This kind of carving is probably related to the legend of the four gods' waters that split in the Gangdise Mountains: Shiquan River, Xiangquan River, Ma Quan River and Peacock River, which are also the main rivers in the upper reaches of the Indus River.

Guge mural is a masterpiece of Guge art. Although it has been sleeping for centuries, it still shines today. These murals include Buddhist stories, myths and legends, as well as the production and life scenes of Guge people at that time, etc., and the content is very rich. Through these gorgeous pictures, it is not difficult for people to get a glimpse of the past political and economic activities and cultural customs of the Guge dynasty and pursue the history of Guge's prosperity and demise.

Sculptures, statues and murals excavated around the site of Guge in recent ten years have unveiled the mystery of Guge dynasty. Guge sculptures are mostly gold and silver Buddha statues, and the most successful one is the statue named Guge Silver Eye. The largest and most complete remains are its murals. The paintings in the Gobi Desert were magnificent and unique, which fully reflected all aspects of social life at that time. The painted characters have outstanding personalities, and the plump and dynamic female characters are particularly representative. Due to the influence of geographical location and many foreign cultures, Guge's artistic style has obvious artistic characteristics of Kashmir and Gandhara.

Guge dynasty ruins

Guge is rich in gold and silver. Scriptures written in gold and silver juice have been found in Tolin Temple, Zharang and Piyang Dongga, and a large number of them have been unearthed. This kind of scripture is written as a document on a slightly bluish-black paper, one row written in gold juice and the other in silver juice, which is beyond luxury. The first person to inspect the ruins of this ancient city was an Englishman, McHaworth Young. 19 12 years, he came here from India and made an investigation along Xiangquan River. Since then, explorers, travelers, photographers and artists have been visiting you. But the real scientific investigation began with 1985, an investigation team organized by Xizang Autonomous Region Cultural Management Committee. According to their on-the-spot investigation, the site covers a total area of about 720,000 square meters. There are 445 houses, 879 caves, 58 bunkers, 4 back tunnels and 28 pagodas of various types. The burial place is L: Arsenal L, Stone Pot Library 1, Granary1,and the Buddha is offered.

The site of Guge Kingdom is one of the first batch of key cultural relics protection units in China. The site is more than 300 meters high from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain. Buildings and caves with the same color as the soil are everywhere. All the houses except a few temples collapsed, leaving only a series of earth walls. There are city walls around the site and watchtowers at the four corners. The whole site was built on a small dirt mountain, and the building was divided into three floors, namely, palace, temple and residential building. There are many exquisite sculptures and murals in the Red Temple, the White Temple and the Samsara Temple. The important sites around Guge Capital include Dongga, Daba, Piyang and Xiangzi, all of which have a large number of cultural relics.