博興“丈八佛”

在山東省博興縣城東南湖濱鎮丈八佛村內，有一尊中國最大的單體石造佛像。其佛像通高7.1米，像高5.6米，體量比人們常說的一丈八尺還高出0.2米，故名“丈八佛”。“丈八佛”自頭頂至肩部1.65米，耳長0.5米，手長0.79米，方面大耳高髻，身穿通肩袈裟，手施無畏與愿印，赤足立于一高大的蓮花座上。蓮花座為覆蓮座，高1.55米，底面積7.3平方米，上口呈橢圓形，重約19噸。

“丈八佛”腳下的蓮花座是由一塊巨大的石頭雕刻而成。從現在身體的裂縫可以清晰地看出，“丈八佛”的身軀由三塊巨石組成。在身體的中間部位有一連接裂縫，正身為一塊，上身為一塊，頭部為一塊。

從雕刻技法方面看，“丈八佛”身體各部位比例準確而協調，刀法遒勁有力，線條流暢，觀者無不驚訝古人的精湛技藝。從右前方看佛像，只見線條粗獷蒼勁，通身透露出一股驚心動魄的氣勢。從正面看，佛像的面部表情莊重而慈祥，沉靜而和藹可親。佛像整體結構勻稱，雕造精美，造形生動，完全體現出了東魏（公元534年）時期能工巧匠的雕造風格，無處不顯現出勞動人民的聰明與才智，是中國平原地區目前所發現的早期最大的單體圓雕石造像，實為一件珍貴的藝術瑰寶。

從“丈八佛”處遺留的“重修興國寺”石碑和出土文物看，該寺廟的建立應該在北魏時期，原寺名無考，東魏天平元年寺名為“興國寺”。從史料和《博興縣志》以及遺留的三通重修碑刻看出，興國寺自建立以后，至隋、唐到明、清都屢屢重修。現存的三通石碑，記載了明代成化元年重修一次，明代萬歷十二年重修一次，最后一次是清道光六年重修。碑文中有“興國寺之由來久矣，初聞霞光出于井，轉瞬間偉然一佛”。短短幾句話，把本來就撲朔迷離的“丈八佛”一下子描繪得讓人如墜五里云霧。但有一點可以澄清興國寺的建造時間，“考諸邑乘，乃北齊天平元年張建領所立”。從丈八佛石造像的雕造風格和藝術表現形式看，完全符合東魏時期的風格和表現形式，因此可以說，“丈八佛”雕刻年代應該是東魏天平元年。

對“丈八佛”有一則傳說。在很早以前，魯北平原瘟疫四起，災害連連，人們在朝不保夕中艱難度日。這一年又鬧瘟疫，人們十有八九被瘟疫奪去了生命。村里一戶人家，家中只剩下婆婆和兒媳兩個人。婆婆也染上了瘟疫，身懷六甲的兒媳急得跪在地上祈求上蒼。一天晚上，兒媳做了一個夢，夢中一白髯飄胸、鶴發童顏的老者告訴她，要想治好她婆婆的病，可在當天夜里的三更天后，到村北的水井臺上去祈求，有三位佛爺從這里經過，老大“丈八佛”，老二“丈七佛”，老三“丈六佛”。如果能拉下三位佛爺中的任何一位，她婆婆的病就有救了。老者說完，飄然而去，兒媳也猛然從夢中醒來。回憶夢中的情景，兒媳急忙起床穿衣，此時正巧天交三更。只見外邊北風呼嘯，大雪紛飛，天地間白茫茫一片。兒媳頂著寒風，冒著大雪，跌跌撞撞地來到村北的水井臺上。她雙膝跪地，涕淚交流，祈求上蒼拯救一方生靈。突然，只見茫茫白雪中金光四射，天地間霞光萬道。兒媳正在驚詫之時，只見三位大佛飄然而至。兒媳想起夢中老者所言，不顧一切地撲向第一位大佛，抱住大佛的雙足不松手。風停了雪住了，兒媳慢慢地抬起了頭，只見她抱住雙足的大佛站在了從水井中飄出的一朵蓮花上。“丈八佛”一只手托天，一只手撐地，另兩位大佛不見了。

天亮以后，人們紛紛前來跪拜，并從大佛踏著蓮花的水井中取水喝，井中的水醫好了人們的瘟疫。從此后這里風調雨順，人們安居樂業，世代平安了。

這是神話傳說。“丈八佛”不但留給人們一連串的美妙傳說，也實實在在地留給人們一個個難解之謎。在周圍百里之內，沒有雕刻“丈八佛”的石料。那么“丈八佛”是從何而來呢？它又是怎么來的呢？在1400多年前的時候，人們完全依靠手工，是如何把約19噸重的巨大蓮花座安放在夯土層上的？然后又用什么辦法將如此巨大的佛像立到蓮花座上的呢？這里距黃河僅有30多公里的距離，歷史上連年不斷的洪水浸泡，無數次的地震搖動，但“丈八佛”不倒、不斜、不陷，仍巋然屹立，這不能不算是奇跡。

1400多年的風霜雨露，“丈八佛”雄姿依舊。為了保護這件歷盡滄桑的藝術瑰寶，1992年，山東省人民政府將“丈八佛”公布為省級重點文物保護單位。1998年，經博興縣文化局和山東省文物局以及國家文物局的牽線搭橋，深圳金盾集團總經理歐通國先生投資410萬元，對“丈八佛”實施了保護工程，終于有了大殿的遮護。

“丈八佛”是神奇的，“丈八佛”的故事是美妙的，“丈八佛”的雕刻藝術是精美絕綸的，“丈八佛”的藝術價值、考古價值是無法估量的。它是人類所共有的，是祖先留給我們的一件無價之寶。

In the village of Zhangba of Hubin Town， south of the capital city of Bo Xing County， Shandong Province， there is the largest single stone statute of Buddha in China. The statue of Buddha with its pedestal stands 7.1 meters high， while the statue alone is 5.6 meters high. The Buddha head， from the top to the shoulders， is 1.65 meters. The ear is half a meter. The hand is 0.79 meter.

This statue has a square face， big ears， high-coiled hair， a long cassock and bare feet. It stands on a lotus pedestal which is 1.55 meters tall， has a bottom area of 7.3 square meters， and a weight 19 tons. The upper surface of the stand presents an elliptical shape.

The lotus stand under the feet of the Buddha is sculpted from a single giant stone， while the body is constituted of three giant stones: one for the lower body， one for the upper body， and one for the head. At the middle of the statue， there is a connection cleavage.

From the viewpoint of sculpture techniques， the proportion of each part of the Buddha body is correct and harmonious. The skill in using the chisel is vigorous， making the lines of the statue bold presenting an astounding momentum. Looking at the statute of Buddha from the front， the facial expression looks solemn， kindly， calm， and amiable. The total structure of the statute is well proportioned. The elegant sculpting and vivid shaping embody the sculpting style of the Eastern Wei Dynasty (534-550). Up to now， this Statue of Buddha is the earliest single stone statue of Buddha found in the plain regions in China， making it a rare art treasure.

Judging from the stone tablet and unearthed relics at the temple where the Statue of Buddha is located， the temple was probably constructed during the Northern Wei period (386-534). There is no record concerning the original name of the temple. In 534， during the Eastern Wei period， the temple was named as the Xingguo Temple. Since then， the temple had been renovated many times. Three extant stone tablets record that the temple was renovated twice during the Ming Dynasty and once during the Qing Dynasty. The renovation during the Qing Dynasty was the final renovation.

Nearyby the place where the Zhangba Statue of Buddha， there is no raw material of stone. So， people are confused even nowadays where the giant stone for the statue was from. Moreover， more than 1400 years ago， without any automatic mechanical tools， how did people then carry the large stone here? Counting on manual labor only， how did people lift the statue with weight of more than 19 tons up to the high stand? All these leave a puzzle that deeply confuse the present-day people， leaving a miracle for the local place.

After weathering more than 1400 years of natural calamities， the Zhangba Statue of Buddha is still very magnificent. In order to well protect it， the provincial government of Shandong listed it as a cultural relic under provincial major protection in 1992. Then， in 1998， thanks to the go-between work done by the Cultural Bureau of Bo Xing County， the Cultural Relics Bureau of Shandong Province， and the State Cultural Relics Bureau， Mr. Ou Tongguo， general manager of Shenzhen-based Jindun Group invested more than 4 million yuan to construct a protecting hall to prevent the statute of Buddha from suffering further from the ravages of nature.

The Zhangba Statue of Buddha is marvelous. The stories concerning it are wonderful. The sculpting skill of it is second to none. Its value to the study of Buddhist art and archaeology is beyond evaluation. As a priceless treasure left over by the ancient Chinese people， it is a common fortune of all of the human beings.