Manydetailshavedisappearedaftercenturiesofweathering.Carvedintoayellowocherrock,105figuresofdifferentsizesandpositionstellTaoistandBuddhiststories.Infact,theseimagesincorporatethesecretsoftheMaritimeSilkRoad.
INLianyungang,acityontheeasterncoastofChina,isahillknownasKongwang,whichtranslatesas“ConfuciusContemplates,”anameitreceivedafterthegreatphilosopherConfucius(KongZiinChinese)climbedittocontemplate(wanginChinese)thesea.However,themostamazingthingaboutthissmallhillonly129metershighisnotthatitwasvisitedbyoneofthegreatChinesethinkers,butthatithidesagroupofBuddhistcarvingsfromtheEasternHanDynasty(25-220).ThisistestimonytothearrivalofBuddhisminthecountrythroughtheMaritimeSilkRoad.
200YearsOlderthantheMogaoGrottoes
Thefigurescanbeseenfromthepavedroad500or600meterswestoftheentranceatthefootofthehill.Carvedintoayellowocherrock,105figuresofdifferentsizesandpositionstellTaoistandBuddhiststories.Infact,theseimagesincorporatethesecretsoftheMaritimeSilkRoad.
Althoughthe“picture”isdominatedbyTaoistfigures,someBuddhistimagescanbefoundaroundthem.ThissyncretismwasaculturalparticularityoftheEasternHanDynasty,especiallyafterBuddhismfirstenteredChinaandtookadvantageofthelocalreligion–Daoism–tospread.“ThepositionsoftheimagesandthecarvingtechniquesclearlyreflecttheHanstyle:fulluseofhighreliefandengravingwithconvexlines,”explainedGaoFeng,deputydirectorofHaizhouDistrictTourismDepartmentinLianyungang.
OppositetheBuddhistimages,uponfourlotusflowers–oneundereachfoot–isanelephantcarvedinstone,fromasinglegiganticrock.“BoththeelephantandthelotusflowerarecloselyrelatedtoBuddhism,”saidGaoFeng.“TheysaythatSakyamuniBuddharodeanelephantbeforehewasreincarnated.Afterhisrebirth,Sakyamunisteppedonlotusflowers.”Alongwiththeimagesthatdecoratetherock,thestoneelephantrelatestoatimewhenBuddhismspreadthroughChinaandcoexistedharmoniouslywithTaoism.Insidetheleftfrontlegoftheelephantiswrittenincharacters:“FourthmonthofthefourthyearofthereignofYongping.”Thisdateindicatesthecreationoftheelephant,whichtookplaceduringtheruleofLiuZhuang,secondemperoroftheEasternHanDynasty.
In1980,expertsrevealedthatKongwangBuddhistimageswerecarvedinthelateEasternHanDynasty,200yearsbeforetheMogaoGrottoes–knownasthe“ChinaGrottoes”–werecreated.
HowisitpossiblethatsuchsyncretismoccurredfirstontheKongwangHillandnotinthecenterandwestofthecountrywhereBuddhistculturewasmostdeveloped?Theexplanationhastodowiththefactthatinthatarea,inadditiontolivinginastrongreligiousatmosphere,theEasternHanDynastyhadfullydevelopedthestonecarvingtechnique.However,anotherexplanationpointstothefactthat,inparallelwiththeoverlandSilkRoad,IndianBuddhismwasintroducedtoChinathroughtheMaritimeSilkRoad.XuFu’sTriptotheEast
HowdidtheMaritimeSilkRoadopen?Morethan2,200yearsago,theFirstEmperoroftheQinDynastysenthisalchemist,XuFu,overseas,insearchoftheelixirofimmortality.Astheheadofacaravanofthousandsofchildrenandtechniciansfromdifferentfieldsandcarryingtonsofcerealsofdifferentvarieties,XuFuleftHaizhou(asLianyungangwasknownatthetime),hishometown,fortheEast.Thealchemistobviouslydidnotfindtheelixir,buthedidopenupanavigationrouteintheeasternpartofthecountry,thusbecomingthepioneeroftheMaritimeSilkRoad.
Onhisjourney,inadditiontoarrivinginWakayama,aprefecturelocatedonHonshu,themainislandoftheJapanesearchipelago,XuFualsowenttoKitakyushu,onthenortherntipofKyushuIsland,theSetonaikaiSeaandtheKiiPeninsula.Infact,nowadaysinJapanitispossibletovisithistoricalsitesrelatedtoXuFu,likehistemple,histomb,hiswell,hispointofdisembarkation,andsoon.SomeJapanesescholarshaveevencometosuggestthatXuFuwasJimmuTenno,thefirstJapaneseemperor.
WhydidXuFuchoseLianyungangasthestartingpointofhisjourney?AccordingtoLuoLin,deputydirectoroftheLianyungangHistoricalRelicsProtectionResearchInstitute,theancientinhabitantsoftheregionmasterednavigationtechniquesandtradedwiththeoutsideworldbysea,layingthebasisfortheopeningoftheMaritimeSilkRoad.“AllthatcanbeseeninthepaintingsontheJiangjunCliff,”Luoexplained.Knownasthe“HeavenlyScripturesoftheEast,”thepaintingsontheJiangjunCliffarenotonlythefirstoftheirtypetobediscoveredontheChinesecoastbutalso,withabout7,000yearsofhistory,theoldestoftheirkindinthecountry.
Inordertofindtheelixirofimmortalityfortheemperor,XuFu’sexpeditionaryfleettraveledonseveralsearoutes,whichwouldthenprovidepreciousexperiencesforthemerchantshipstocome.ThankstothegradualconsolidationoftheMaritimeSilkRoad,silkproductsandChineseporcelainarticleswereexportedfromLianyungangtoJapan,theKoreanPeninsula,IndiaandSriLanka,amongotherSouthAsiancountries.Inturn,theshipsbroughtbackBuddhism.
IfcalculatingsincethedateXuFuleftLianyungang,theMaritimeSilkRoadhasexistedforover2,000years.Foritspart,beingthesmallhometownofXuFu,Lianyunganghasbeentransformedandnowadaysisacoastalcommercialandmilitarycity.
CommunicationwithNortheastAsia
XuFunotonlytookthetechniquesofagriculture,sericultureandmedicinetoJapanandKorea,butalsoinauguratednewshippingroutes,unlockingthechannelsforculturalexchangeswithcountriesalongtheway,andevenwiththeArabworld.
DuringtheSui(581-618)andTang(618-907)dynasties,theflamesofwarhamperedtheoverlandSilkRoad.However,theadversecircumstancesinthewesthelpedtheMaritimeSilkRoadtothriveinthesoutheast.LianyungangsobecameanimportantcenterforexchangeswithSilla(acountryinthesoutheastoftheKoreanPeninsula)andJapan.
JapansentnumerousdiplomatsandscholarstoTangDynastyChinatolearnaboutitsexperiences.OneofthemostprominentwasthemonkEnnin.Havingfulfilledhismission,EnnindecidedthatHaizhou(Lianyungang)wouldbethestartingpointtoreturntohishomeland.AbenoNakamarowasanotherwell-knowncharacter.AsamemberoftheninthJapanesedelegationsenttoChina,hearrivedintheTangrealmduringthefifthyearofEmperorXuanzong’sKaiyuanReign.KnowninChineseasChaoHeng,AbenoNakamaroforgedafriendshipwiththegreatpoetLiBai.WhenhedecideditwastimetoreturntoJapan,LiBaitraveledtoLianyungangtobidfarewelltohisfriend.BecausethedepartureofAbenoNakamarocoincidedwithagreatstorm,LiBaithoughthisfriendhaddiedinthedisaster.Hethenwroteapoeminhismemory:“SadcloudssettleoverCangwu...”(CangwureferringtoLianyungang).
Inadditiontoofficialsandscholars,LianyungangalsoattractedordinarypeoplefromJapanandKorea,livinginharmonywiththelocalpopulation.BecausemanypeoplefromSillawantedtosettleinLianyungang,a“consulate”wasopenedinSuchengTownofLianyunDistrict.InadditiontoregisteringascitizensofHaizhou,manymigrantstooktheirrelativeswiththem,whoperformedofficialwork,carriedoutbusiness,convertedtoBuddhismormarried,andlivedbyfarming.WithsuchanotablepopulationofpeoplecomingfromSilla,aSillaVillagewasformed.
InJuly1990,asmallteamoffourKoreanprofessorstraveledtoLianyungangtoconductaninquiryintotheoldsiteoftheSillaVillage.AttheendoftheirresearchtheyerectedatombstoneinthenorthoftheBaojiaMountain,whichreads:“RuinsofAncientSillaHousesinSucheng.”ItisanothermonumentcommemoratingculturalexchangesbetweenChinaandKorea.
IfcalculatingsincethedateXuFuleftLianyungang,theMaritimeSilkRoadhasexistedforover2,000years.
VisitorscometotheKongwangHill.PhotosbyYuJie