The Emei mountain and the Great Buddha de Leshan

It does more than 1 600 years, bonzo of India, scaled the highest summit of the Emei mountain. Surprised before the beauty and imponencia of his landscapes, it said that this mountain was “ first of China ".

It is it, in truth. One rises, like immensa green screen emerald, to the southwest of the plain of Chengdu. Its contour, that is drawn in the horizon, evokes the face and the fine eyebrows of a maid. From the name of Emei comes to him there. It includes/understands four contiguous tops: It gives ’ e, Er ’ e, San ’ and If ’ e, and together with the Qionglai mountain, one of the chains of the Kunlun, extends on 200 km. The mountain Gives ’ e, that includes in itself many exotic tips and magnificent sites, is visited.

The culminating point – the Wanfo- tip, that dominates 3 099 ms of altitude, much more is elevated that the five famous sagradas mountains of China (Taishan, in Shandong; Hengshan, in Hunan; Huashan, in Shaanxi; Hengshan, in Henan) the Emei mountain agwpa numerous crests escarped, steep cliffs, deep defiles, beautiful cascades and impetuous torrents. Equipped with warm and humid climate, constantly it is guarded by mists and the precipitations are very abundant, In spring and summer it throughout sees a lush full vegetation and slopes of flowers that are abren.

Lawyers of different times left to good number of poems and inscriptions, that have by subject the beautiful landscapes of this mountain. A poet of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) wrote: “ the Emei mountain rises on an immense cloud bank; the birds fly between the crests, doing thousand turns and the tops perforate clouds evoking receivers of green lotos ". It synthesized therefore the characteristics of his majesty, its beauty and its calm.

I haul over “ Summit Sea bream " is one of the ten wonders of the Emei mountain. The Buddhists considered that these brilliance emanated of the forehead of Buddha. In fact, one is the refraction of the solar light. Some times the passers-by see, when moving that way, their own silhouettes in the luminous ring of diverse colors.

This rare natural phenomenon attracts the curiosity of numerous people. In the past this meteorological phenomenon it was surrounded by mystery. For this reason, to raise the Top Sea bream and to visit the Emei mountain and to see I pull ahead Buddhist, was considered reason for supreme happiness.

The Emei mountain with the Wutai, in Shanxi; the Putuo, in Zhejiang, and Jiugua, in Anhui, is the four famous Buddhist mountains of China. According to a legend, they are the four places where bodhisattvas preached their doctrine.

As far as the Emei mountain, it was the sphere of action of Samantabhadra. In the beginning, the buddhism and the taoísmo coexisted there. Already in the first years There are of them of the East (25-220), the monks settled in a house left by a collector of medicinal grass. Under the Jin dynasties, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing, were built successively more than 200 temples or monasteries on a mountainous area of 50 km. They inhabited millares of monks. With the declination of the taoísmo, the Emei mountain happened exclusive center of the buddhism.

At the moment, it is not but a ten of temples, prote'ge's like historical monuments by the State, such as the Baoguo temples, Wannian and Xianfeng, Furthermore the Xixiang Pool and the Summit Sea bream, etc. Where the bonzos practice calmly their religion.

The Emei mountain locks up flora and fauna very varied and rich. More than 5 000 species of plants. Only the azalea includes/understands 29 varieties, without speaking of trees and rare shrubs like davidia. In this mountain 2 300 species live on animal, such as: the small panda, takin and the silver-plated pheasant. Monitos juguetones retozan in the way, they approach tourists and passers-by and until receive the food that these extend to them.

After its investigation in 1981 on the Emei mountain, a delegation of the Institute the International of Arboriculture of Great Britain integrated by experts of ten countries: Germany, the United States, France, Japan etc. Considered unanimously that this mountain constitutes one of the most beautiful national parks of the world, a rare natural botanical garden and the paradise of the lovers of the vegetal kingdom.

The Great Buddha de Leshan is in the point of confluence of the rivers Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi, to the east of the Emei mountain. From the dynasties Tang and Song, the Lingyun hill where it is this gigantic statue of Buddha is very frequented by pilgrims and visitors. One says that, in other times, the floods were frequent in this place and the swellings threatened the boats that sailed these rivers. From one of the shores, Hai Tong, bonzo of the Lingyun Temple, resorted to the divine forces to tame the storm. In year 713, under the Tang, one began to carve the Great Buddha in the rocky cliff of the Lingyun hill. The works would conclude 90 years later. In order to preserve to Buddha of the erosion by waters, and to protect it against the inclemency, it was constructed to everything a system of drainage and a pavilion of 13 wood floors.

This statue represents the Buddha Maitreya, seated against the cliff, and determines the glance on the three rivers. It measures 71 ms of stop, its head is of 14.7 ms of height and 10 ms of diameter. Their feet, of 11 ms of length and 5.5 ms of width, allow that many people can sit down there.

With time, the pavilion seriously was damaged and finished disappearing compleamente, Exposed to winds and to rains from ls dinastís of the Ming and Qing, this statue was full of hollow fissures and. Thanks to a total restoration in 1962, financed by the Government, this Great Buddha has reclaimed his original state.