A Noble Promise

In 1939,General Zhu Qinglan was committed to the task of rebuilding the Famen Temple in Xi’an,West China’s Shaanxi Province.In the course of its renovation,an entrance to an underground palace was found.Red and white coral gems,crystal beads,Buddha statues,and other treasures were discovered in succession.The general then issued an order that “All treasures are to be sealed in the original tower.” All participants knew that more amazing discoveries would be in store if they continued their excavation.

At that time,a furious battle was going on—the Japanese invaders were bombing Xi’an.To ensure the safety of the underground palace,General Zhu Qinglan immediately summoned all the insiders and asked them to swear to keep it a secret.The Renovation Committee consisted of the county magistrate,local squires,participants in the renovation project,and some ordinary country folks and workers,all of whom were engulfed in the tide of the times:wars,floods,plague,and death...

It was not until 1987 that the underground palace of the Famen Temple was excavated,and only after the inscriptions sealed by the renovation team in 1939 were found in a tin box containing Buddha statues of the Tang Dynasty,that some insiders came out and told the secrets.Four Buddha Shakyamuni’s real body phalanx relics were excavated,including one genuine finger bone relic and three dummies,which are the only remaining Buddhist relics in the world.In the underground palace,rare and priceless treasures were countless,and national-level cultural relics and first-class cultural relics make up the highest proportion.

For nearly half a century,not a word was uttered about the hidden treasure.This group of people,in the face of countless miseries,social turbulence,and the human desires of the world,kept this sacred secret.Being so close to such immense wealth,all of them pretended not to know about it.Who would have ever thought that there could have been such a noble promise for half a century on the land?

(FromLiterary Selections of Legend ＆ Biography,November 2020.Translation: Luo Dongyuan)