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| Attraction-The Kaiyuan
Temple |
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The
Altar of Sweet Dew in Kaiyuan Temple is one of the three
most important altars in China.
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Some of the carvings on the pagoda are of the
legendary Monkey King, made famous in China through the novel
'Journey to the West'. This has caused some people to argue
that the Monkey King originated in Fujian, since the novel
was written in the 16th century, long after the temple was
built. In fact the monkey is said to be an imitation of the
monkey-god Hanuman as described in the 'Ramayana', an Indian
epic.
Behind Mahavira Hall are two Indian-style stone posts featuring
carvings of Shiva, one of the three main deities in Hinduism.
These two posts were not specially built for this temple,
but were actually transported here from a collapsed Indian
temple. Inside the hall are 24 flying apsaras carved in between
the
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This
design underneath the dome of the theatre outside the
Tianhou Temple is a good example of a "caisson", a decorative
feature common to ancient Chinese buildings.
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brackets. Carrying Nanyin musical instruments
in their hands, they look like a cross between Oriental girls
and Catholic angels, but with wings in the shape of bats (a
homonym for fortune in Chinese) instead of flowing ribbons and
floating clouds. Inside the temple are also many images of human
figures, animals and other patterns carved on the pagodas and
stone foundations, all vividly reflecting that open era when
Chinese culture and arts blended with those of the West.
To the east of Mahavira Hall is the Museum of Maritime Communications.
Many relics concerning the Maritime Silk Road are on exhibit
here, including a large ancient boat that was retrieved from
Quanzhou Bay. No one knows how or why it capsized, but we do
know that it had been sitting on the bottom of the sea for 700
years. |
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On
the pillars in the main hall of Kaiyuan Temple are carvings
of Shiva, one of the three main deities in Hinduism.
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Although damaged, the boat measures 24 metres
long and nine metres wide, consisted of 13 cabins and had a
capacity of 200 tons. Had 200 tons of goods been transported
via the original Silk Road, 700 camels would have been needed
to carry it all. The boat is typical of its time and is a good
example of the vessels built in Quanzhou's many shipyards at
that time. Aided by compasses - then the most advanced
nautical instrument available - and using the stars for navigation,
these boats sailed all over the world. Apart from the ancient
boat, the museum also houses porcelain and stone carvings of
the type commonly sold for export. |
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