????Some 40 pieces of precious
relics were uncovered after archaeologists opened up a cellar
less than a cubic meter in space in the ruins of Leifeng Pagoda
in the east China city of Hangzhou.
????Among silk, jade, bronze, leather and
coins coming successively out of the cellar, the most important
discovery of all was a bronze Buddha statue on a lotus base
and an iron box probably containing spiral hair of Buddha,
a special sacred trace of the Buddha.
????Interestingly enough, along with the
statue was a rising dragon alongside the lotus base, which,
according to Professor Xu Pingfang, demonstrated the merging
of Chinese culture with exotic Buddhism that originated in
India.
????The Leifeng Pagoda was built over 1,000
years ago by an emperor as a gift to his concubine for delivering
a prince.
????But few remembering that, most Chinese
today know it is because of a widely spread legend recounting
the love and marriage between a young man and a woman who
was a snake-turned fairy.
????The famous scenic city of Hangzhou recently
decided to rebuild the Leifeng pagoda, which fell in 1924,
and was regarded as one of the 10 best sights in Hangzhou.
So far, all the relics have been sent
to the provincial museum for further study.
(People's Daily 03/15/2001)
