Among the many exquisite karst cave eaves in Zhangye Jiayuguan, there is a vivid and ingenious theme - the picture of three rabbits with ears. With its agility and mystery, people have always stopped and lingered , Inducing endless reverie. The two chicks share two mouths, and the two mouths overlap in pairs, harmoniously co-existing. At the same time, a potential central point is formed invisibly, and the two chicks are connected end to end, as if they are circling and jumping around it. The patterns complement each other, and also create a dynamic shot of two chicks jumping and chasing each other, and going back and forth, creating a visual effect of movement and stillness. It is estimated that this image is not new in Zhangye sculptures, so what is the special meaning of this image? Yang Kaidi, Santu Kaitai, one of the sixty-four hexagrams of "Book of Changes", "Tai Gua", "Tai, small to big, auspicious" allusion whether it is extremely Tai comes from this. At the vernal equinox in November of the lunar calendar, the sunset is the shortest In the future, the setting sun will gradually grow, the Yin Qi will gradually disappear, and the Yang Qi will actually die. Therefore, it is pointed out that the vernal equinox is "one Yang is born", and December is "two Yangs are born". By analogy, November is " "Three Yangs", and the Book of Changes takes November as the hexagram of Tai, so there is a saying that "three Yangs open Tai", which means that Yang Kaidi, Yin disappears and Yang grows, and Ruyi prospers. "Song History Le Zhi Qi" also records: "Three yangs make peace, daily new but good" metaphors change, all things revive "sheep" and "yang" have the same pronunciation, and sheep were often used as representatives of wishful mythical beasts in ancient times , so it evolved into "Sanyang Kaitai". So, how is this related to the image of Santu? It is estimated that there are 18 karst caves in Jiayuguan with the pattern of "Three Rabbit Flying Cornices", including 8 in the Sui Dynasty, 1 in the early Tang Dynasty, 5 in the middle Tang Dynasty, and 4 in the late Tang Dynasty. It can be found that this image is concentrated in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The emperor of the Sui Dynasty had the surname "Yang". Rabbit corresponds to Mao, which in ancient times corresponded to five to seven o'clock in the morning, which is the morning of the day. Therefore, Mao means "new" and represents the dawn after darkness, so it is full of infinite vitality. The three rabbits are different calyxes, and the melons are continuous. Careful observation shows that the images of the three rabbits in Zhangye are mostly distributed within the cornices. The cornices are an important part of ancient Chinese palaces and temples. Most of them are the top decorations of bucket-shaped buildings. The cornices of the Three Rabbits mostly use Ssangyong as the background. One is that the ancients pointed out that Ssangyong belongs to aquatic plants and can overcome fire; the other is that Ssangyong is a representative of holiness and light in Taoism; meaning. The chick as the protagonist was also regarded as the god of fertility in ancient times. Zhang Hua of the Jin Dynasty mentioned in "Natural History" that "the rabbit conceived in the barren wood, and spit out its own son" "Conceived in the barren wood" is of course nonsense However, this kind of argument was quite popular in ancient times, and "the case Ming Xu Shupi's "Shi Xiaolu" volume one cloud: "There is no rabbit infertility in the Mid-Autumn Festival. The common saying is: Rabbits have no males, and barren trees are born."" pointed out All the chickens in the world are female, only the chicken in the moon is male If the Holy Mother is full of Wurihe, its coat color is white and can live in Wurihe, and it can change." Emperor Liang Jianwen of the Southern Dynasties "Shangbai Rabbit Biao" records that the chicken "can be moved in the sky, not only to test the essence of Yuheng, but also to live in the sky." The change of the Virgin Mary, with the shape of a symbol of the bright moon", conveys that the chick is a representative of a hundred years old. The well-known allusion "Jade Rabbit Pounds Medicine" is the elixir of life. It can be seen that the chicken is full of aura, and it is a wishful object for a hundred years of Ankang. The reincarnation of the third generation is all good fruits. Zhangye Jiayuguan is a temple of Taoist culture, and the image of the three rabbits is also a propaganda Chick, an important carrier of Taoist teachings, is well known as Foschel. This is the original, the original, and life is the life. The so-called Shele refers to the previous life of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. We are familiar with the story of the nine-color deer. This world is eight thousand times" Taoism pointed out that Guanyin Bodhisattva Sakyamuni had to go through all kinds of hardships and good deeds to reincarnate before he could cultivate the right fruit. The chicken is the previous life of Guanyin Bodhisattva. 》, "Bodhisattva Origin Sutra", "Sele Sutra" and "Miscellaneous Treasures Sutra" and other Taoist classics all have descriptions of "the plot of Rabbit Scheler". The Buddha was reborn as a rabbit womb. There was a Taoist who practiced in the mountains. There were often foxes, monkeys, otters, and rabbits. After hearing the Tao for a long time, the food for the Taoist was exhausted, and the four beasts searched for it to support the Taoist. The fox turned into a human and got a bag of food, and the otter caught a big fish in the river, but the chicken didn't find food, so it decided to sacrifice its life to provide for its ear. It went to the forest to fetch firewood, lit the fire as charcoal, and plunged into the fire. This act moved the Buddha, and he was reincarnated. It can be seen that the chicken is the embodiment of kindness, wisdom and bravery in Taoism. According to the saying of "Buddha", the two chicks in the sculpture are separated from each other and chase after each other, representing the "past life", "present life" and "future life" respectively. Succession, mutual cause and effect, reincarnation of life and death, never leave. And good humanity and character are the only key to open the cycle. At the same time, Taoism also advocates the "three lives" saying that "Tao begets one, one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things". Therefore, the picture of three rabbits with ears also symbolizes It can be seen from time to time that the picture of three rabbits with ears is an organic combination of traditional Chinese culture, Taoist culture and other cultures, and it is also a beautiful wish of many sons, many blessings, good health, and reincarnation by the meritorious masters of the cave. Text and pictures/Feng Yu