Jiangdu, Huaize City, Anping District.
This is where the Li River and the Huai River meet, and it is also the destination of the Beijing Archaeological Center.
According to relevant surveys and research, the Lijiang River and the Huaijiang River were once one body thousands of years ago, covering a huge area, stretching for thousands of miles. However, after subsequent changes, there were also movements of the earth's crust.
The waters here continued to change, and eventually the scope of the river shrank, and then it was divided into two major tributaries, forming the Lijiang River and the Huaijiang River in later generations, and then gradually stabilized.
Numerous small tributaries sprang out from it. As time washed away, some of these tributaries could no longer survive, and their area gradually shrank. The clear appearance of the year was no longer visible, leaving only a dry river bed.
Not long ago, someone picked up a Buddha statue on one of the riverbeds, which turned out to be from the Eastern Jin Dynasty. After further exploration, a building from the Eastern Jin Dynasty was discovered in the center of the riverbed.
Soon a cordon was set up here and police were sent to guard the area, waiting for the arrival of the archaeological team.
The Beijing Archaeological Center, escorted by a team from the 749th Bureau, finally arrived here.
"Captain Zhang, thank you for your hard work along the way."
"It's just a little effort. Professor Song is too polite. If nothing happens, we will leave first."
For the people in Bureau 749, this mission couldn't be easier. After sending the archaeological team here, they have successfully completed the mission. The local police will assist the archaeological team in completing subsequent work.
Of course, they have other work to deal with, and this escort is just a side trip.
The professor in charge of leading the team this time is about the same age as Professor Zhang and has quite a lot of experience. His name is "Song An" and he is very knowledgeable about the history of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
The archaeological team looked at the riverbed not far away. The entire riverbed was very large. Because there were a lot of gravel and pebbles on it, people walking on it were uneven and there was a risk of falling.
"Professor Song, be careful."
Someone wanted to come over and help Song An, but he refused.
Professor Song's legs and feet are very agile, and it can be seen that he usually does a lot of exercise. He is not inferior to young people at all. He waved his hands and showed a hearty smile.
"Don't worry, this difficulty is nothing. When I was young, I had to walk through any road more difficult than this."
The buildings of the Eastern Jin Dynasty were in the center of the river bed, so they still had to go some distance.
The archaeologists looked around and saw that there were a large number of conical, gourd-shaped and cylindrical potholes on the ground, as well as many water-eroded troughs, water-eroded depressions, water-eroded ridges, etc.
The individual potholes here are relatively small, and the etching depth is only tens of centimeters, but their density and number are very high.
It is as if there are two invisible hands, turning the water of the Li River and the Huai River into thousands of carving knives, creating wantonly on the horizontal sandstone layers, carving, picking or grinding, expressing boundless creativity.
These water-eroded landforms may be deep or shallow, long or short, some are like curved moons, some are like slender poles, and they gather together in small groups.
At first glance, it looks like some kind of text and symbols distributed in parallel, extending in the distance along the direction of the river, like a three-dimensional mysterious picture.
When I arrived at the center, I finally saw the building. Half of it was exposed to the outside and finally saw the light of day. The other half was still buried deep under the river bed and needed to be cleaned. The amount of work was relatively large.
Although it is only half of it and has been greatly eroded by running water, from the general outline, it can still be seen that it is a temple, and the cultural relics unearthed from it can also prove that it is full of the style of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Previously, because the river bed dried up, many cultural relics were washed up on the shore. They were picked up and handed over. The archaeological team also had a certain understanding of this place.
According to the research of the Archaeological Center, this is not a temple for ordinary monks, but a temple where famous eminent monks from the Eastern Jin Dynasty escaped.
This is why, even though it is a ruins thousands of miles away from Kyoto, the Kyoto Archaeological Center has to take care of it.
Because this was their research direction in recent years, the local archaeological department directly chose to report it.
Professor Song An looked at the riverbed in front of him with an expression full of emotion.
"Later generations heard that Zhi Dun passed away in a certain temple, but after searching through ancient books, I could not find the temple where he passed away, but I never thought that he would be buried under the river bed."
The long river of history rolls by, hiding so many secrets.
If it hadn't been for the drying up of the river bed, I'm afraid the world would not have known about it until now.
Based on the geological conditions here, and the archaeological team's reading of a large number of books and materials, it can be inferred that a flood occurred here one day thousands of years ago, and the river changed its course, resulting in a huge flood disaster, which flooded the place and also Flooded the ancient temple.
Thousands of years later, after changes in the world, the waters here dried up, and the temple that had been silent for a long time appeared in front of everyone, revealing the tip of its mysterious iceberg.
Since the temple needs to be further excavated, the archaeological team first set up camp nearby.
The sound of the machine's operation is endless, without any interruption day and night. It is indeed a bit noisy, but when I think about the thousand-year-old ancient temple being unearthed, I feel full of excitement.
Fortunately, the residential center is relatively far away from here, and there are not many people nearby, so it is not a nuisance to the residents.
For the members of the archaeological team, this is not an ordinary tomb, but an ancient building from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the place where the eminent monk passed away, which is of great significance.
After all, this situation is still a minority, and there are not many cultural relics unearthed in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. The emergence of ancient temples can fill a certain historical gap and has great historical research value.
With the day and night expectations of the archaeological team and others, the ancient temple buildings were continuously excavated, and finally the full picture was revealed.
Looking at the architectural ruins on the riverbed, everyone was shocked for a while.
The breeze blew by, like the whimpering sound of history, and they seemed to hear the turning of time gears, leading them to a period of thousands of years, where they could still feel the solemnity inside the temple.
The architecture in ancient times was still a conscience, and a lot of effort was put into it. Even though it had been lying dormant at the bottom of the river for so many years and was constantly corroded by the flowing water, the general appearance of the temple can still be seen clearly.
Although half of it has collapsed, this is normal, but from the fallen pillars and walls, you can vaguely see carved patterns and faded mural fragments, from which you can get a glimpse of the once magnificent appearance.
There are also some delicate tasks that need to be completed by archaeological team members to prevent the machine from causing irreparable damage to the ancient temple.
Professor Song An led the team to walk among them, touching the broken walls and ruins, as if he could see a temple from a thousand years ago appearing in front of him.
His expression was full of pity.
"If it had not been washed away by the river at that time, such an ancient building would definitely be a historical and cultural treasure today."
It's a pity that a flood buried all of this in time. Thousands of years passed before it was finally revealed to the world.
Although the temple in front of you is not completely preserved, some parts have been washed away by floods, or there are serious traces of erosion, but perhaps it is precisely because of this that it has a incomplete beauty.
Many of the murals have faded, but fortunately most of the stone carvings are still relatively intact.
When the archaeological team entered the temple, they felt as if they had arrived a thousand years ago. The sound of wooden fish chanting scriptures continued, Sanskrit sounds lingered, and monks in yellow cassocks gathered here to promote their own Buddhist principles.
Along the way, I found many ruins and fragments. Surprisingly, there was also a giant Buddha that was relatively well preserved.
However, it was knocked down by the flood and half of its body was buried under the soil. It took a lot of effort for the archaeological team to get the Buddha out.
In addition, there are many small statues of gods buried in the river bed, like sleeping gods, waiting for the world to wake up.
Misfortunes are where blessings depend, and blessings are where misfortunes lie.
Although the appearance of the temple is damaged, perhaps it is precisely because it is hidden deep under the river bed that it avoids the intrusion of tomb robbers and the cultural relics here are well preserved.
The archaeological team transported the relatively complete ones back to Kyoto.
They also cleaned up some of the remaining incomplete parts, or many fragments, to see if they could piece together a complete object on site.
Most of the unearthed remains of the temple are Buddha statues, but unfortunately there are no scriptures left. It must have been lost in the flood.
On the other hand, Buddha statues are relatively heavy and sturdy, so they are buried underneath.
In addition to the historical research value of these things, the stone carvings and murals in the ruins are also the focus of research.
After all, we can see the style and uniqueness of that time from this aspect.
As everyone went deeper into the temple, they soon discovered that one of the buildings had a typical Taoist color, and they even found a statue of the Three Pure Ones in it.
Traces of Taoist buildings can be found in Buddhist temples, and there are even statues of Sanqing gods, which is incredible.
Even during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, when metaphysics was popular and celebrities chatted with each other, there were not many people who could achieve this.
The people in the archaeological team couldn't help but talk about it.
"Even the statues of Sanqing gods dare to be worshiped openly in the temple. This temple is quite interesting."
"Although it is said that Xuanfu was popular for a while at that time, it didn't reach this level."
Professor Song shook his head after hearing this, "Your layout is still too small. Is there a possibility that the owner of this house is Master Zhidu?"
After thousands of years, coupled with the erosion of running water, the walls inside the entire temple have been damaged to varying degrees.
Therefore, the archaeological team could only depict the location of the main hall and the wing rooms based on the approximate scope and the furnishings on the ground, but it was not accurate.
They also had no way of finding out where exactly Master Zhidun passed away in the ruins.
But now Professor Song looked at the nearby furnishings and already had an idea in his mind.
Hearing his words, the whole audience was shocked, "Professor, this is probably impossible. How could it be Master Zhidu."
Professor Song looked at the Sanqing statue, "Xuanwei Buddha, who is now well known to us, came from Zhidun, and set off a wave at that time, with many followers."
The others nodded. They were familiar with the history of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and naturally knew this allusion.
Zhidun is proficient in the teachings of Lao and Zhuang, and has profound attainments in Buddhism. His family has believed in Buddhism for generations. There is no doubt that his belief is very firm and will not be affected by the outside world.
Talking about mysteries is just a means for him to carry forward Buddhist scriptures and promote Buddhist principles.
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the metaphysics of Lao and Zhuang were very popular, and some Buddhist monks also joined the ranks of casual talks. Buddhist scriptures also became the source of conversation for celebrities, which greatly promoted the development of Buddhist mysticism at that time.
Zhi Dun is almost a representative figure of this trend. He has interacted with many famous people in his life, and famous people also like to associate with him and respect him very much.
Someone asked in confusion: "But what does this mean?"
Professor Song continued to explain, "I heard that Zhidu also studied metaphysics in his later years, and Xuan was the predecessor of Taoism. So it seems reasonable that there are traces of Taoism in his temple. Although there are some taboos, who said he was Zhidu? "
If you think about it carefully, this is indeed the truth. To be able to do such a big thing in the temple without anyone even objecting, except for Zhidu himself, no one else should dare to do such a thing.
"It is said that Zhi Dun is very knowledgeable in metaphysics, and now it seems that this is indeed true."
Everyone was astonished, as if they saw an enlightened monk holding "Zhuangzi" and talking about Buddhism with the celebrities of the Eastern Jin Dynasty at that time.
I heard that Zhi Dun had unique interpretations of "Zhuangzi", the most respected classic among Qingtan writers. He was especially able to express his unique opinions on the "Xiaoyaoyou" chapter of "Zhuangzi", which was appreciated by famous scholars at that time, such as Wang Xizhi.
"This place should be the wing where Zhi Dun once lived. Look carefully and don't miss anything. Maybe you will find something new."
Everyone was in awe, and they didn't dare to look down upon it. They carefully searched for the traces left by their predecessors among the ancient buildings.
"Professor, there is something discovered here."
But not long after, there were clues.
Upon hearing the call, everyone dropped what they were doing and ran over.
Not far away from the Sanqing statue, there is a special building that looks very small from the outside. When you walk in, you find that it is a different world and it is very complete inside.
Everyone speculated that it should have been something like a secret chamber before, so it was preserved so completely, with much less mud and sand than in other temples.
"I heard that famous monks from the Wei and Jin Dynasties would build closed rooms in temples for sitting in meditation. Could it be that this place——"
Everyone's breathing gradually became faster, and they didn't expect that they had actually found the exact location where Zhi Dun passed away.
If the remains of Zhidun can really be found, this will definitely be a big event that shocks the archaeological and Buddhist circles!
"Excavate carefully, be careful! If there are really Zhidun's bones here, they will be recorded in the annals of history!"
Professor Song An excitedly warned, and the others nodded repeatedly, their eyes lit up, and they immediately started working.
It took a full day to clean up the mud and sand in this room, and under the light of the searchlight that night, a half-white skeleton buried in the mud finally came into view!
The exposed bones are also covered with sand and stained with the dust of the years, telling the story of the past.
Seeing this, Professor Song couldn't help but quicken his pace and his expression became excited. He completely ignored the stone under his feet and almost tripped.
After confirming it again and again, Professor Song An warned carefully, "This should be the remains of Master Zhidun, that's right! Be sure to clean it carefully to avoid any damage."
"clear!"
Everyone took out their tools and carefully cleaned the sand around the remains. This work was not easy, and it lasted all night.
It wasn't until the early morning of the next day that we could finally get a glimpse of half the body of the remains. They were sitting cross-legged with their legs still retaining the posture of sitting in front of the body.
Even though time has eroded his flesh and blood, he can still get a glimpse of his elegance at that time. Thousands of years of time have not bent his back. The image of a generation of eminent monks suddenly appears in front of everyone!
The sound of Buddha from thousands of years ago seems to be ringing in the ears, making people feel awe-inspiring.
"Everyone eats, takes a break, and then continues cleaning up."
Everyone is extremely excited now, and there is no thought of rest. They want to dig out the master's remains as soon as possible.
As the archaeological center continued to clean up, it was soon discovered that a black thing was exposed on the knee of the skeleton, which was in sharp contrast with the bones next to it.
"what?"
Everyone was puzzled and continued to clean it, and then gradually they could judge from the shape that this was actually an ancient sword?
"Why is there a sword here?"
Everyone looked at each other in shock and confusion.
Master Zhidun is sitting down, why is there an ancient sword lying horizontally on his lap?
The black scabbard is already covered with rust and there are traces of water erosion. It is currently impossible to determine what the sword inside looks like.
Logically speaking, it is impossible to have such a sharp weapon in a temple. Most temples use sticks. If you have a sharp weapon in your hand, it is disrespectful to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas.
It is true that celebrities in the Wei and Jin Dynasties had the habit of carrying swords with them, but how could a monk hold a sword, let alone an eminent monk like Zhidun? This is unreasonable both emotionally and logically!
But the sword was indeed placed on Zhidu's knees, and his hands were resting on it. It looked very precious. Even when he passed away, he would keep it in front of him for the last moment of his life. Not willing to let go.
"Weird."
"It is unprecedented for a Buddhist master to pass away with a sword across his knees."
"Everything is illogical. There is a sword around you, which is against the Buddha's teachings. How can you meditate and meditate?"
"This sword must be of great significance to Zhidun, otherwise it would be impossible to cherish and value it so much."
Many doubts emerged in the minds of the people in the archaeological center, but they looked at each other and couldn't answer them.
Where did this sword come from, and where did it come from, so that it could make this master love it so much? !
(End of chapter)
