When this treasure was discovered, one wondered how they “traveled” thousands of miles here since the Tang Dynasty?
Great find in a mysterious Cung underground palace
Famen Temple in Famen City, Shaanxi Province, China, known as the Temple of the Buddhas, is a historical witness to the intersection between China and Western civilizations.
Han Kim Khoa, the former curator of the Phap Mon Pagoda Museum, is still excited about the morning of 33 years ago. On the morning of April 9, 1987, the stone gate of the underground palace of Phap Mon Pagoda was opened for excavation.
In 874, Emperor Tang Xizong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the closure of the underground palace of Phap Mon Pagoda. In 1987, it has been 1113 years since this underground palace was sealed.
It is a very surprising discovery. In order to cooperate in the restoration of Phap Mon Pagoda, archaeologists carried out excavations and cleanings at the foot of the tower, found the mossy cover of the manhole of the underground palace built in the Tang Dynasty, located just at the foot of the tower. of the tower.
Mr. Han Kim Khoa was one of the witnesses when he discovered the underground palace. He said that when he reached the base of the tower, a hollow step was discovered. This stage is covered with rusty parts. At the end of the stairs, we still vaguely see a huge stone portal sealed by large stone slabs.
He said, “The stone door opened, bringing with it a damp mist and an unpleasant musty smell, the discovery that made us extremely surprised. There are two wonderful stone stelae left from the Tang Dynasty: The Chi Van beer and Vat Truong beer.
In which, the Chi Van stele records the bodily relic of the Buddha (the finger of the Buddha) stored in the Phap Mon Pagoda and the history of the offering of Yuan Wei relics to the Sui and Tang dynasties.
The stele recorded the names, quantities, sculptural features and textures of the treasures of the underground palace of Phap Mon Pagoda. In this one, the information of the “enameled bowl” refers to these enamelled stoneware. ”
Lapis lazuli testifies to the prosperity of the “Silk Road”. During the Tang Dynasty, trade on the Silk Road was highly developed and this glassware, along with edible spices and handicrafts, were introduced to China through this route.
At that time, the Western Market in Chang’an City during the Tang Dynasty was a center of international trade, where goods were traded along the Silk Road.
The lapis lazuli objects from Phap Mon pagoda bear witness to the prosperity of trade between Chinese and Western civilizations over a thousand years ago.
Among the lapis lazuli objects in the collection of the Phap Mon Pagoda Museum, glazed stoneware has been found with the earliest dates with obvious features from the Abbasid dynasty of the Arab Empire, showing the different processing methods such as blow molding, sculpture or gold design …
According to Truong Nhiem Tan, curator of the museum, these enamels include Byzantine glass vases produced between the 5th and 6th century AD, as well as glass dishes bearing Muslim characteristics before the 9th century AD and style tea cups. typical Chinese.
He added: “These glazed ceramics in this strange style were brought to China along the Silk Road and have been carefully preserved by the royal family in Buddhist monasteries. This suggests over 1000 years ago. As early as the Tang Dynasty, the cultures of different countries reached the height of interference and development. ”
The underground palace recreates the prosperous atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty
In the underground palace of Phap Mon Pagoda, there are 20 enamel objects, 4 Buddha finger relics, “mysterious ancient” colored porcelain – the color has been missing for thousands of years, and over 2000 objects in gold. Money, jewelry and precious clothes.
The Tang Dynasty Emperor worshiped Buddha, so Buddhist culture, Tang court culture, and foreign culture mingled with the prosperous atmosphere to create a thriving and colorful Tang Dynasty.
In 1987, a magnificent turquoise lapis lazuli object was found in the underground palace, now on display at the Famen Temple Museum (Photo: Xinhuanet)
In this period, the mysterious colored porcelain was fired especially for royalty. “Nine zooms out on the road of Viet God Khai, Asia won the natural wind and the hybrid of color.” (roughly translated, “The nine winds of autumn begin to open the oven, porcelain is blue in the mountains”) – Tang Dynasty poet Lu Quy Nhan once praised this colorful porcelain.
But for a long time, people “only see literature but not objects” and only dream of the dreamlike beauty of these ancient colored porcelains.
A total of 14 porcelains in mysterious colors were discovered in the underground palace of Phap Mon Pagoda, including porcelain plates, porcelain bowls and porcelain vases. The vases are large in size, good quality, shiny and smooth enamel, like jade, carved like ice, very delicate and unusual.
One of the mysterious colored porcelain plates is in the shape of a curved five-petal lotus, tilted along the edge of the plate, due to the uniform glaze, it has a unique shape, under the light, the plate still looks sparkling water inside. in.
In addition, a large number of royal Tang artifacts were also found in this underground palace, including kitchen utensils, tea sets, incense vessels, clothing, coins and brocade clothing, silk and other jewelry.
These rare and lavish treasures present a vivid and realistic picture of royal life under the Tang Dynasty.
