Shanxi The Ancient Architecture Stories I Know (1)

|||🚩Xiaoxitian: Also known as the Thousand Buddha Nunnery, it was founded during the Ming Dynasty. There is an interesting little story about the Arhat statues in Xiaoxitian. It is said that when they were building this place, the craftsmen first constructed five Arhat statues on the left side. At that time, a wandering monk came by and saw the statues. He offered to help complete the five statues on the right side, and the craftsmen gladly accepted. However, after just one night, the monk left. When they came to the hall, they found that the five statues on the right had been completed, and they were lifelike, especially the facial expressions which were incredibly vivid. They were quite different from those made by the craftsmen on the left side. Unfortunately, the monk had already left, and it was impossible to rebuild them, so they had to maintain the status quo, resulting in the current uncoordinated level of craftsmanship between the statues on the left and right. Picture 3, 4: The statues built by the monk Picture 5: The statues built by the craftsmen 🚩Feiyun Tower: One of the main buildings within the Wanyong Dongyue Temple. There is a small story about the construction of Feiyun Tower. Legend has it that during the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin passed through Wanyong County while leading his army to suppress a rebellion. After the rebellion was quelled, he built a temple here to commemorate his achievements. The temple was rebuilt and renovated many times in later generations, and the tower we see now was reconstructed during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty.