河北正定开元寺发现初唐地宫

An Early Tang Dynasty Underground Chamber Discovered at the Kaiyuan Temple, Zhengding, Hebei

本期还介绍了河北正定开元寺初唐地宫出土的佛教文物,其中舍利浮雕石函雕刻精美。本期还对在故宫举办的“中国古代书画赝品展”的情况进行了报道。

In 1990, at the Kaiyuan Temple, a brick underground chamber was found beneath the foundation of the bell tower undergoing renovation. The finds include a stone casket containing Buddha's relics, a gold, a gilt bronze and a wooden (already decayed) box as well as other Buddhist things. Judging by the shapes of these boxes and presence of the wuzhu coins of the Sui dynasty and coins of the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang dynasty, the construction of the chamber and interment of the relics happened in early years of the Tang dynasty. Question may be asked why the underground chamber is beneath a bell tower instead of a pagoda. The fact is that a pagoda that once stood was destroyed later, and a bell tower took its place in late Tang dynasty when the Kaiyuan Temple was built.