Chapter 7 six

The work "Miscellaneous Research on Yuling Stories" written in the early Qing Dynasty has been more than a thousand years since the Liang Dynasty when the story of Shaofeng happened.Therefore, is there any unverified classics for this story?Was it merely oral, or did the author create it?It's not easy to investigate. However, many immature Cliff Buddhas on the peaks of Yuling Mountains were indeed created by novices.Just like archery techniques, carving Buddha statues to prove the tranquility of the six roots is not something that only specialized craftsmen or Buddhist masters can do. It is entirely conceivable that this move has long been followed by ordinary people.

In this way, the story of choosing a son-in-law through a carving competition is indeed a very natural thing. The second page begins with the narrative of two youths launching a contest to choose a carving site.As a result, on the same rock face of the third peak, Bao Xuan selected the upper layer, while Shi Neng selected the lower layer. Shi Neng, finish carving first. ◇ Shi Neng, who is full of artistic talent, can finish carving in one go as he pleases.However, careful package selection requires careful carving step by step, and the progress must be much slower. There is such a paragraph:

Package selection, carving the whole posture, leaving the Buddha's face.It's just three worships with one knife, and finally it becomes an eye, and Shi Neng's heart is swayed. ◇ After Shi Neng may be finished, he can watch Bao Xuan's carving skills from the sidelines. When Shi Neng was carving Buddha statues, he thought it was an art.Therefore, Baoxuan's works, which he considers to be dull-minded and lack a delicate aesthetic mood, cannot surpass himself. The carving process may be very respectful, but it must lack beauty, definitely not as good as me. It is said that Bao Xuan started carving Buddha's face.The appearance of praying infinitely reverently every time he chiseled made Shi Neng very disturbed.After Bao Xuan finished carving one eye, Shi Neng's uneasiness grew deeper and deeper.

Why? Shi Neng, who is keen on the study of Taoism, is actually very indifferent to worshiping Buddha.Although he carves Buddha statues, all he thinks about is how to express his beautiful figure. Bao Xuan is a devout Buddhist believer.The technique of using a chisel may be inflexible, but the shocking power of faith bursting out of his heart is conveyed to the rock surface through the chisel. I didn't feel it when I carved the torso and clothes, but after finishing a Buddha eye, the power of faith clearly appeared. You can even feel that in the eyes of the Buddha, there is already a kind of compassion, full of vigor, and embracing aftertaste of the whole world, which is difficult to describe in words.

How could a man like Bao Xuan have such eyes? Shi Neng is not dull.He realized that this was an indescribably powerful force produced with the help of Bao Xuan.So he hurriedly set about revising his work. Anxious, Shi Neng swung the chisel desperately and carefully avoided the hard rock face before, but at this time due to panic, the chisel still had a gap. Except for the fourth peak, which is more wrinkled, all the peaks of Yuling are engraved with many small Buddha statues. Only those two statues are engraved on the third peak, and there is still space below, why not use it?Irie also felt strange.Maybe the two Buddha statues were carved so well that no one dared to compete.Another theory is that the rock on the third peak is too hard for laymen to know how to do it.

Exactly how, this is a later story. I am afraid that geologists are more suitable for researching this matter than art historians.While thinking about it, Irie tried it with his beloved navy knife.Because it is not an expert, I dare not say that the rock quality of the third peak is indeed harder than other rocks.Moreover, everything is as hard as steel.Navy blade of Irie was damaged like chisel of Ishino, too. Shi Neng frantically modified his own Buddha statue, but no matter how he modified it, it didn't work.The problem is not the technology, but the lack of faith. No amount of modification can show the benevolent face of the Buddha.

He is desperate. The easily available lady from the Zhu family is about to be snatched away by Bao Xuan. However, the author of "Miscellaneous Research on Yuling Stories" did not explain it this way.The same despair, but a different record: Shi Neng relies on his own ingenuity and is quite conceited.However, in front of his eyes, the statue carved by Bao Xuan is even more ingenious, turning his head around and making him jealous.After moaning overnight, he eliminated the dragon of Baoxuan, and wanted his own tiger to be the overlord of the rock face.Nai Du said: "It's all because of my tiger, not because of the beauty of the Zhu family."

◇ The author of "Miscellaneous Research on Yuling Stories" succinctly described the reason why Shi Neng had the intention to kill Bao Xuan. Shi Neng cherishes the beauty of the Buddha statue he carved very much.Therefore, it is unbearable that a superior deity exists on the same face. In the book, he described his works as tigers and Bao Xuan's as dragons.Dragon and tiger fight each other, I am afraid that the tiger he loves will be defeated.Moreover, the victory or defeat is permanently recorded on the rock face of the third peak of Yuling. It was unbearable. The opponent's dragon is still lacking in eye-catching strokes.At that time, only one eye was finished in Bao Xuan's statue of Buddha, and the eyebrows were only finished on the other.Now, if the dragon is not removed immediately, Shi Neng's tiger will not only be unable to become the overlord of the rock face, but also the miserable loser will be passed on to future generations forever.In any case, the author who must get rid of the dragon is my tiger.

Shi Neng's monologue is so miserable that it is unbearable to read. Not carved out of faith.Shi Neng is just wielding the chisel with the mentality of a pursuit of beauty.The beauty shown in this way is very easy to fall into the absoluteness of beauty, but forget the tolerance of beauty. The beauty of Zhu's family is no longer a problem. Shi Neng's desire to kill her is not to get her, but out of the narrow heart of the artist because of his preference for his own works, so the beauty created is also distorted. There were groans of jealousy.The two interacted with each other, and sparks burst out.

As an art historian, Irie can sometimes feel jealousy in works of art.Shi Neng's mood is understandable. Shi Neng began to imagine how to get rid of Baoxuan when the upper stone statue was not completed. Because the working place is at a high place, they use the wooden frame erected to carry out the carving work. Since the Three Kingdoms era, there have been constant wars, and building a wooden frame to attack the city is a common tactic.Slightly higher than the city wall, the huge wooden frame was first assembled in the rear position, and then carrying soldiers, transported to the front of the city wall by vehicles and manpower.In addition, there is also a method of placing the wooden frame horizontally, and then suddenly erecting it when it is transported to the city wall.

Since soldiers in heavy armor had to be carried, this wooden frame for siege was made extremely strong.However, the wooden frame used to make Buddha statues in Yuling can only be climbed by one person, so the structure is not so firm.Rather than saying it is a wooden frame, it is better to say that it is a three-dimensional staircase made of a few thick woods. At that time, the top of the wooden frame was just in the center of the Buddha's head, slightly lower than the eyes. A deep hole is drilled in the rock face in advance, and the cut stake is inserted into the hole as a foothold, and then the stake is walked to the eye area. However, it can be difficult to work with poor posture.So, put the rope on the rock protruding above the Buddha's head, and tie the same rope around the body to make it stable.Bao Xuan, who carved the Buddha's eye, took the posture of leaving the wooden frame and lying on the rock. The feet of the wooden frame were set deep in the ground.When Shi Neng was doing bag selection work, he moved the wooden frame about eight inches above the ground. Use a familiar chisel to chop the heel of the wooden frame.Not completely cut off, but some left, feeling connected.Shi Neng applied the same method to all the wooden legs. At a height of 30 meters, Bao Xuan, who was concentrating on making a Buddha with one knife and three worships, had no time to look down.And it's creepy to look down from a height, and he's waving his chisel with sincerity, all the way to the rock in front of him. Besides, Bao Xuan's hearing was blocked by the sound of chisels, so of course he couldn't hear the sound of Shi Neng chiseling and chopping his feet far below. The empty wooden frame stood as usual.However, as long as the weight of a person is added, the foot that is almost glued to a sheet of thin skin will break immediately, and the wooden frame will fall down. Once the work was over, Bao Xuan returned to the footing along the stake, untied the rope tied to his body, and the moment his feet moved to the wooden frame was the moment when Bao Xuan's life ended. After cutting the legs of the wooden frame, Shi Neng ran home desperately and started drinking. No matter how much you drink, you can't get drunk. That night, news of Bao Xuan's death came. Since it was dark and Bao Xuan hadn't come back yet, the Bao family came to the third peak. At a glance, among the two wooden frames that stood upright, the taller one that belonged to Bao Xuan was gone.It was later discovered that it did not disappear suddenly, but fell to the ground. The family members lit up the lanterns to find people, and finally caught sight of Bao Xuan's bloody corpse. If you insist on finding holes in the story, you can find many.But since it is an ancient legend, there is no need to be so picky. Irie thought so, but Yingxiang who was beside Li Donggong angrily attacked the legend. People in the past always attributed credit to individuals.No matter how you think about it, it is strange that the big Buddha on the third peak was made by a young man who is a complete layman.If it wasn't for the strength of many people, it wouldn't have been possible. She pouted her lovely lips, debunking the irrationality of the legend.Because Li Donggong and his wife have no children, they love this niece very much. makes sense.As long as Yingxiang said something, old man Li would immediately give in.Maybe Shi and Bao paid a lot of money and hired many people to carve it!As time goes by, it becomes difficult to distinguish between true and false.Just like the unreasonable places written in this book, it was accepted by people at some point. The plot of two young people competing to carve Buddha statues around Zhu Shaofeng is just a part of the book. "Miscellaneous Research on Yuling Stories" mainly narrates the deeds of the local governor Zhang Xianping in the era of Emperor Wu of Liang. Just as Yingxiang was dissatisfied, this book written a long time ago was also extremely exaggerated for Zhang Xianping, an official, praising his holy deeds and selfless management achievements. Zhang Gong, the governor, set up evidence and arrested Shi Neng. ◇ Regarding the killing of the carved Buddha, Zhang Xianping cited evidence immediately and concluded that Shi Neng was the real culprit. Even I can guess that the only one competing with Bao Xuan for Zhu Shaofeng is Shi Neng.Apart from Shi Neng, there could be no other murderer.Yingxiang said. It seems that she just can't recognize Zhang Xianping's extraordinary features. Well, from the perspective of common sense, anyone can guess that the old man Li said cautiously again, but this book mentions the evidence, and it is said to be irrefutable evidence. This is Zhang Xianping's great place. In the feudal era, do you need evidence to tie someone up? Even if the opponent makes concessions, he will never give in. This is Yingxiang's character. Shi Neng, who was arrested due to the insight of Governor Zhang, made a request: Bao Xuan has not yet carved the eyes, nose and mouth of the Buddha.Please lend me a temporary hesitation.The legacy of the election must be completed, and then the law will be adopted. ◇ He buried the unfinished dragon for his own tiger.However, that dragon was far away from Bao Xuan's hand, and was no longer Hu'er's opponent.Shi Neng continued to carve the unfinished dragon, thinking in his heart that the dragon is no longer the tiger's enemy, it is his brother. With Governor Zhang's permission, Shi Neng continued to carve Bao Xuan's unfinished face.The only thing waiting for Shi Neng is death.After carving the Buddha's face, he will be taken to the execution ground. At this time, did Shi Neng have a heart of faith? The author of "Miscellaneous Textual Research on Yuling Stories" didn't focus on it. However, the Buddha statue was carved after knowing the time of death. Undoubtedly, Shi Neng's extremely condensed soul must be entrusted to him. Compared with the beloved Hu Er, that is, the statue of the Buddha on the lower level, the upper Buddha statue carved after Bao Xuan may be Shi Neng's satisfactory work.In short, both Buddha statues were completed in his hands.There is no longer any nostalgia. Finally, when the white hair between the eyebrows was carved and the Buddha statue was completed, Shi Neng did not step off the wooden frame, but suddenly jumped down obliquely. "Miscellaneous Research on Yuling Stories" hints that Governor Zhang had expected Shi Neng to commit suicide.In the book, by means of discreet methods, the children of the famous family choose self-determination instead of being humiliated by the death penalty. Why did Shi Neng jump obliquely? This can only be imagined.Probably at the bottom, there is a full-body Buddha statue carved by him. Bao Xuan was killed because of his love for this statue.It may be Shi Neng's wish to kneel down and die at the feet of the lower Buddha. But Shi Neng's body did not fall to the ground. There is a slender rock shelf in the center of the rock of the third peak, which divides the rock into upper and lower layers.Shi Neng was head down, and once hit the rock shed, his head was broken here, and he bleed a lot before rolling to the ground. The blood left on the rock shed gulped down.Just below is the spiral hair of the lower Buddha statue, and the carved lines guide the blood flow due to the situation. However, the blood gradually thinned as it crept across the cheeks, losing the strength to flow across the horizontally sculpted lip line.Therefore, it flows slowly into the lip line. Not long after that, the lower statue of the Buddha had blood on his lips. Understand.Li Donggong said.Once every ten years, the ceremony of painting the mouths of lower Buddha statues red is to commemorate Shi Neng's suicide and Baoxuan's unfortunate death. Dianzhu will be held in three days, you come at the right time, please be sure to watch it. Let Yingxiang do it! Li Donggong turned to look at his niece beside him. Ah, Miss Yingxiang? Yes, the ceremony of pointing Zhu must be done by women.It may contain the meaning of Shaofeng, the beauty of the Zhu family, comforting the two men who lost their lives because of him. oh Irie looked at Yingxiang. Yingxiang was not shy. Yingxiang, are you okay?Li Donggong asked his niece. nothing.she said with great certainty. Irie secretly measured the height of the lower Buddha statue he saw just now. It is more than fifteen meters from the ground to the lips, maybe twenty meters.Under the rock face of the third peak, a rock protruding about five meters high, and the lotus seat of the Buddha statue on the lower level is carved on the protruding part slightly higher. It's quite high!Irie said. yes.Li Donggong replied.Walking on the wooden frame, the height will make people dizzy. For women, it is indeed very difficult.I have watched it five times since I was a child, and it has always been ordered by strong men. I heard it's only for women The man who climbed the wooden frame carried the baby on his back.Of course, it is a baby girl, and it takes the form of a man replacing the baby girl.However, this year it was done by a real woman, and it was well received.There are people who are older than me, and they say that from birth to now, it is the first time to see a real female Dianzhu!