Losing Yourself in Changzhou Temple Art 常州寺廟文化
A poor, Chinese scholar stands in a temple, and he finds himself staring at an intriguing picture. It depicts several beautiful women in long, flowing robes, but one slender one captures his attention most. As he stares at her likeness, she opens her eyes and vanishes. She suddenly appears nearby in the temple, but she is frightened and runs away. Confused, the impoverished scholar pursues her through an open door. He does not realize he has passed through a portal into another world. It is a realm populated only by females. Romance and intrigue soon follow. This is the beginning of Gordon Chan』s 2011 film Mural. The source material is even older and comes from Pu Songling』s classic ghost story collection, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. In the interest of not giving out spoilers, I will not say how the story ends.
一個窮書生站在寺廟裡，他發現自己在注視著一幅有趣的圖畫。畫中幾個漂亮的女人穿著飄逸的長袍，其中一個苗條的女人吸引著他的注意力。當他凝視著她的肖像時，她突然睜開眼睛隨後便消失了。之後她又突然出現在寺廟附近，但她被嚇壞了，然後跑開了。窮書生很納悶，追了上去。他完全沒有意識到他已經跨入了另一個世界的大門，這是一個只有女性居住的王國，浪漫和陰謀接踵而來。這是陳嘉上2011年執導的電影《壁畫》的開頭，電影改編自蒲松齡的經典鬼故事集《聊齋志異》。為了保持神秘感，我是不會劇透故事結局的。
However, this tale takes on a different meaning for me. Besides the themes of love, duty, and loyalties, there is a nugget of art criticism buried in all of this. After all, it is a story about somebody becoming lost inside a work of art. If you put the idea of romancing and seducing beautiful Chinese ladies to one side for a moment, becoming engrossed in art is something I can fully understand. It happens to me from time to time, and I love it when something deeply engages my imagination and daydreams. This is something I have often sought out in Buddhist and Taoist Temples in southern Jiangsu. Temples are one way to immerse in local culture, and they are repositories for religious iconography. Some people visit these places not so much for spiritual reasons, but more because they want to see something culturally important. It』s the same reason why some tourists go to Christian cathedrals in Europe. Changzhou offers experiences like this.
然而，這個故事對我有不同的意義。除了愛情、責任和忠誠的主題外，還有一些藝術批評貫穿之中。畢竟這是一個關於人在藝術作品中迷失的故事。如果你把集浪漫和誘惑力於一身的美麗中國女子放置一邊，全神貫注於藝術是我完全可以理解的。這種感覺時不時發生在我身上，我很享受它將我的幻想深深吸引。這種感覺也是我經常在江蘇南部的佛教和道教寺廟中體會到的。寺廟是深入當地文化的一種方式，他們是宗教的圖象庫。有些人參觀這些地方並不是為了滿足精神上的需求，而是因為他們想看到一些重要的文化方面的東西。這也是一些遊客到歐洲的基督教大教堂去的原因。常州也有一些地方可以滿足這樣的文化需求。
Tianning天寧
You simply cannot talk about religious attractions in Changzhou without this place. It is home to one of the most iconic structures in the city』s skyline, Tianning Pagoda. The interior of this tower contains many themed floors, and some of what can be seen here takes on a contemporary, multimedia feel. Once at the top of the pagoda, a visitor can get a far-ranging look at Changzhou』s city center. This is perhaps best done on a sunny day, not one filled with either drizzle or smog – or both, which is a rare occurrence I like to call smizzle. The rest of the temple has an older, more antiquated feel.
沒有天寧寺的話，根本無法探討常州的宗教吸引力。天寧寺是常州最具標誌性的建築，天寧塔的內部有許多主題樓層，其中一些可以感受到當代多媒體感覺。登上了塔頂，遊客可以遠遠地觀賞常州的市中心，這種體驗更適合在陽光明媚的一天進行，不是很適合煙雨天。天寧寺的其他地方有一種古老陳舊的感覺。
Near the entrance, there are two long corridors filled with golden luohan statues. For lack of a better description, these are like the saints you would find in Christianity. They were once people, but because of their pious and deeply spiritual lives, they have been elevated beyond mere mortality and serve a greater purpose. Unlike Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, Buddhism is a religion governed by reincarnation and prior lives. There is not just one Buddha, but others. Luohan are people who attain the basic levels of spiritual purity, but they do not ascend any higher than that. Halls depicting these Buddhist 「saints」 are fairly common at temples. The one main difference is how they are displayed as sculpture or stylistically as two-dimensional visual art. Of course, Tianning has so much more to offer, but in the interest of time and space, I』ll just keep it to these few things. A basic ticket to the temple grounds costs 20 RMB. The premium entrance fare – which allows entrance into the pagoda – costs 80.
在入口附近，有兩條布滿金色羅漢像的長廊。由於詞窮，只能形容說這些雕像就像基督教中的聖徒。他們曾經是人，由於虔誠深刻的宗教精神生活，他們已經超越死亡並且有更大的作用。與基督教、猶太教和伊斯蘭教不同，佛教講究前世和輪迴。佛教不是只有一個佛，還有其他的佛。羅漢指的是那些達到最基本的精神凈化，但他們不會提升到更高的水平。在寺廟裡展示這些佛教「聖人」的大廳相當普遍，最主要的區別在於它們是如何以雕塑的形式展現出來的，或者以二維的視覺藝術形式展現出來的。一個主要的區別是他們如何顯示為雕塑或風格的二維視覺藝術。當然，天寧寺還有其他許多可參觀的地方，但由於種種原因，我就重點介紹這些。天寧寺基本門票是20元，如果要進入寶塔里參觀的話，門票是80元。
Baolin寶林
As Changzhou religious attractions go, Baolin Temple is second only to Tianning. It shares one major similarity with its more iconic sibling: it is home to a very interesting pagoda. This one, however, is mind-blowing, and it doesn』t really compare with Tianning. It』s much smaller, and on the outside, it looks—as a friend once sarcastically pointed out—like a big pineapple. The exterior contains a lot of polygon-ish windows that resemble the rough segments on a pineapple』s skin. A golden statue of Guanyin sits at the center of each of those windows.
寶林寺，僅次於天寧寺，也是必去的常州宗教景點之一，它與其他具有代表性的寺廟有一個主要的相似之處：寺內有一座非常獨特的寶塔，這一點是和吸引人的，但是它還是比不上天寧。寶林寺比較小，從外面看，它就像一個朋友曾經描述的那樣，像一個大菠蘿。外部有許多多邊形的窗口，類似菠蘿粗糙的表皮，每個窗戶的中央都有一尊觀音像。
Guanyin is a goddess of mercy, and she appears in Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese Folk Religion. There is a lot of cross bleed between the three pantheons. If one is going to make a cross-cultural comparison between Asia and the West, she shares a lot of qualities with The Virgin Mary. She is a figure of divine compassion and forgiveness. Baolin』s pagoda is dedicated to her, and interior is home to a massive golden statue of her that is more than four floors high. Essentially, Guanyin is incased inside this tower. Each of the four floors gives a different vantage point on something epic in scale. Plus, there is not just the statue itself, but the art walls surrounding to give it context. The interior of this pagoda really is a self-contained world.
觀音即觀觀世音菩薩，是慈悲和智慧的象徵，她出現在佛教、道教和中國民間宗教中，他是西方三聖中的一尊。如果要對亞洲和歐美地區進行跨文化比較，她與聖母瑪利亞有許多共同之處，她是神聖慈悲和寬恕的象徵。寶林寺的寶塔就是獻給觀世音的，寶塔內部是一個巨大的金色雕像，超過四層樓高。本質上，觀音是被包裹在內部。從四層樓的每一層看這個傳奇規模的雕像都有一個不同的視角。此外，這裡不僅有雕像，還有周圍的藝術牆與之相輝映。這座塔的內部是一個自成一體的世界。
This and the surrounding temple grounds can be found in Wujin and not that far from the Hutang city center of that district.
寶林寺和周圍寺院坐落在武進 ，離湖塘鬧市很近。
Wanfo 萬佛寺
Once a person has seen both Tianning and Baolin, the others tend to be obscure and harder to get to. Wanfo is in the Binjiang area of northern Xinbei. Industrial river ports and the Yangtze are not that far away. Wanfo is on a rough concrete street off of Tongjiang Lu. The No. 36 public bus comes up here. There are two things here worth the trip. First, Wanfo has a huge domed hall housing a large reclining Buddha. The circular walls are filled with a lot more intricate and colorful statuary. This is a place where one can, like in the movie Mural, get lost in an epic world.
一個人一旦去過天寧寺和寶林寺，往往不會再考慮去其他的寺廟或者對去過的其他寺廟也都記憶模糊。萬佛寺坐落於新北濱江開發區，臨近工業港口和揚子江，位於一條崎嶇不平的街道通江路上，36路公交車會經過寺廟。萬佛有兩個景點值得一游。首先，萬佛有一個巨大的圓頂屋，裡面有一尊巨大的卧佛像。圓形的牆壁布滿了豐富多彩的雕塑。這是一個可以像電影《壁畫》情節一樣讓人迷失的地方。
The other thing at Wanfo Temple can be summed up in two words: bloody hell. Literally and figuratively. Buddhism, like Christianity, has an underworld where evil doers and the fundamentally misguided are punished. In Christianity, people are damned for eternal torture. Since Buddhism is more about reincarnation, hell is more like purgatory. Eventually, a person can leave once they have paid their karmic debt. Wanfo Temple has a hall that displays this underworld in excruciatingly brutal detail. People are impaled on spikes; one guy has a lumber saw cutting his head in half as blood runs down his face. A demon rips somebody』s tongue out. Somebody else is getting his intestines pulled out of an open stomach wound. It』s like looking at a Hieronymus Bosch triptych, but in 3D and with brightly colored statues. Yet, all of this looks a bit cartoony. If Slayer, or some other death metal band, released an album entitled Hell in Pastel, the cover art might look like this. Entrance here costs 10 RMB. Getting here requires boarding the No. 36 bus in front of Xinbei Wanda Plaza. The fare runs 3 RMB one way, and it』s roughly about an hour depending on traffic. Get off at the Yongxin Road-Xingang Road stop. Wanfo is just a straight walk up the street, and you will have to walk through a working-class neighborhood, but there are no turns involved. Keep going straight until you see a temple.
萬佛寺另一個吸引人的地方可以誇張地總結為：血獄。佛教和基督教一樣，有一個懲罰邪惡的人和犯錯大錯的人的煉獄。在基督教中，人們被詛咒遭受永久的折磨，佛教強調轉世，地獄更像煉獄，人一旦償還了他們所犯下的罪過就可以離開。萬佛寺有一個大廳，專門展現殘酷的地下煉獄，一個人的頭被鋸成兩半，鮮血順著他的臉流了下來，有一魔鬼把人的舌頭揪出來，還有一個人正在把他的腸子從裂開的肚子里拉出來，展廳給人的感覺就像是在看耶羅尼米斯·博斯三聯畫，只不過雕像的立體感更強，色彩鮮艷。不過呢，這一切看起來還是有點卡通化的。如果殺手樂隊，或其他一些速度金屬樂隊，發行了一張名為光鮮亮麗的地獄的專輯，封面應該就是類似展廳這樣。萬佛寺的門票是10元每人。遊客可在新北萬達廣場前乘坐36路公交車到永新路新港路站下車，單程票價是3元，大約需要一小時可到達萬佛寺。下車後直走，穿過一個工人階級社區，無需轉彎，一直往前走，就會看到一座寺廟。
Dalin,Bailong,Fushou,and Qingming Mountain
大林寺，白龍觀，福壽寺，清明山
Qingming Mountain is a catch-all term for an area out in the former Qishuyan district. Changzhou is a relatively flat place in between the Yangtze River and Tai and Gehu Lakes. Wuxi tends to have more hills than Changzhou, and this area is out near the border with that eastern neighbor. Out this way, you can find a lot of public graveyards. This is because when it comes to burying dead people in China, a hill and water are sometimes needed for feng shui purposes. Not only are there cemeteries out here, but there are a few temples as well. The two big ones are Dalin and Bailong. One is Buddhist, and the other is Taoist. Both are in walking distance, and visiting both can be easily combined into one daytrip.
清明山是前戚墅堰區的代名詞。常州的地勢是揚子江和太湖、滆湖周邊地區相對平坦的。相比較，常州臨市無錫的山要比常州多得多，清明山就離無錫很近。山多的地方往往墓地也多，這是因為在中國，埋葬講究風水，而山和水是風水學不可或缺的。清明山不僅有墓地，還有一些寺廟。兩個相對教大的寺廟是大林寺和白龍寺。一個是佛教寺廟，另一個是道教寺廟。兩個寺廟距離很近，可步行，兩個寺廟參觀來個一日游。
Bailong is currently under a lot of remodeling and has changed a lot since the last time I visited. There used to be a very graphic depiction of Taoist hell, here. It was much spookier in a dimly lit corridor, and the violence here was much more pronounced than Hell in Pastel. However, it』s been demolished to make way for new construction – which is also blocking access to the main draw: several very large, green statues of prominent deities within the religion.
白龍寺經過多次重建改造，跟我上次參觀相比已經發生了很大的變化。 以前這裡有一幅描繪道教煉獄的畫，十分生動。在燈光昏暗的走廊里，煉獄裡的暴力愈加突出。為了修建新建築，畫被拆毀，同時通往主建築的通道也被堵：幾個非常大的宗教傑出神靈屹立於此。The neighboring Dalin Temple has a pagoda, and the interior features a thick vertical shaft with bas-relief sculptures. Like Baolin, each floor provides a 360 degree viewing experience. Also, while Dalin doesn』t have displays of people getting sawed to bits, getting eaten, or being ground to a pulp, it does have a very extensive hall of luohan that appears colorful in a very cartoonish way. The presentation is totally different than the golden figures at Tianning. So, this is not Hell in Pastel. I have no catchy rhyme for this part. Heaven in Pastel or Enlightenment in Soft, Warm, Fuzzy Colors just doesn』t sound as intriguing. Actually, it rings a bit awkward. Despite all of that, this is still a fun display to look at. You have Buddhist holy men here depicted with really absurdly long eyebrows. One guy has an arm that extends into the heavens. Some dude rides the back of a turtle. Another stands in gushing stream with absurdly long legs. These are just minor details in a myriad of them.
鄰近的大林寺內有一座寶塔，裡面有一個厚實的立柱，上面有浮雕。像寶林寺一樣，大林寺每一層都提供360度的觀看體驗。另外，雖然大林寺沒有展示人們被鋸成碎片，被吃掉，或者被磨成漿的畫面，但是大林寺它有一個羅漢大廳，以一種非常卡通的方式呈現繽紛色彩的羅漢。大林寺的羅漢與天寧寺的完全不同，所以這裡並不是煉獄。我想不出朗朗上口的押韻，光鮮亮麗的天堂或者柔和模糊的啟地，聽起來都比較無趣，並且有些尷尬。儘管如此，大林寺還是有有趣的展廳看。在這裡可以看見有著誇張長眉的佛教聖人，將手臂伸向天堂的人，騎在海龜背上的人，還有站在小溪里，腿長得出奇的人。這些只是無數細節中的一小部分。
In comparison to the above two, it would be easy to treat Fushou Temple as an afterthought. It』s next to a martyr』s cemetery for war dead. It』s also the first temple a visitor will pass of the three. The many times I have come out here, the doors have been closed. The few times I have been able to gain entry, it had an oddly abandoned feel. While construction and remodeling seem to be constant with its neighbors, time seems to stand still here. However, there is something of value here. Three large, golden statues stand on a raised stone platform with a railing. Dalin and Bailong both cost 10 RMB apiece to get into. The few times I visited Fushou, nobody was around to ask me for money.
和上述兩個寺廟比較，人們很容易把福壽寺忽略。福壽寺就在烈士墓旁，如果遊客想三個寺廟都參觀，福壽寺應該是首先經過的寺廟。我來這很多次，幾乎每次門都是關著的，也有幾次我進去了廟裡，但寺廟總給我一種荒涼的感覺。雖然周邊的建築不斷重建和改造，但是時間似乎在福壽寺停滯不前。不過這裡還值得前來的，三座巨大的金雕像矗立在一個有欄杆的大石平台上。大林寺和白龍寺都需要10元的門票，福壽寺是免費參觀的。
Getting to this area is easiest by car or ebike,but there is a bus available. A tourist can board the No. 30 at the downtowntrain station. The fare is 2 RMB, and a one way trip lasts one hour. The busstop in question bears the name of Fushou Temple, but it』sin Chinese –福壽禪寺–with no Pinyin. However, the stop should be easy to spot. Once you see awoodland hill with the pagoda at the top, prepare to get off. Also, it』s abit of a walk once you are off the bus. Take the first road to the left, andthen stick to the main road. You should not climb any of the steeper streets.All three places are at the foot of the hill. You will pass the relativelyquiet Fushou Temple before reaching Dalin. Once you leave Dalin, walk south andthen take a left. You will pass a graveyard before eventually reachingBailong』s parking lot.
來這一塊遊玩參觀最好開車或騎電動車，不過也有巴士到這一帶的，遊客可以在市中心火車站搭乘30路，單程票價2元，大約需要一個小時。在公車站的問題在於只顯示福壽寺的中文，沒有拼音，但是還是很容易察覺站點的，但你看到一座有寶塔的小山，你就準備下車，下車後你需要步行一小會，走左邊第一條路，然後再沿著大路走，三個寺廟都在山腳下 ，所有不需要走陡峭的路。去大林寺你將會經過相對冷清的福壽寺，離開大林，向南走，然後左轉，經過一塊公共墓地，最終到達白龍寺廟。
The joy of looking at art – both religious and secular – is getting lost in the details. This is why a person can visit a gallery or a religious attraction and see something different each time. Sure, losing yourself into the viewing experience will not be like the movie Mural, where men find themselves in a woman』s world where they are treated like exotic and dangerous creatures. The joy is looking at the imagery and trying to figure out what the story actually is. Temples in Changzhou can offer that experience.
欣賞藝術——無論是宗教藝術還是現世藝術——最大的樂趣就在於陶醉於作品的小細節中，這也是為什麼一個人參觀同一個畫廊或一個宗教景點，每次都有不同的感受。當然，所謂的迷失不會像電影《畫壁》那樣，男人在萬花叢被認為危險的異類，這種欣賞的快感在於觀賞的同時想試圖弄清楚作品到底描繪的是怎麼樣一個故事。參觀常州的寺廟你將會有這樣的體驗。
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