2．河洛人文显奇葩

2．河洛人文显奇葩

洛阳这块土地上不仅上演了一幕幕王朝的兴衰史，更是绽放了一朵朵光彩夺目的文化奇葩，在中华民族的发展史上占有重要的地位。

春秋时期，著名的思想家、道家学派的创始人老子长时间在洛阳做官，管理周王室的图书典籍，洛阳因此也成了道家学派的创始地。春秋时期的另一位伟大的思想家、教育家、儒家学派的创始人孔子也曾从遥远的鲁国来到洛阳学习西周的礼乐制度。战国时期的纵横家苏秦的故里就在今天洛阳东郊的太平庄。西汉文学家贾谊也是洛阳人，现在在洛阳东关还有一座贾谊祠。

汉魏时期，洛阳不仅是中国的政治、经济中心，也是文化中心。东汉时期，在洛阳有当时中国最大的图书馆东观，藏有各种图书典籍7000多册。还建有当时的最高学府--太学，学生最多时达到3万人。著名书法家蔡邕还亲自将五经文书写在石碑上，让刻工镌刻于太学门外，这是非常宝贵的古代文献。中国著名的史学家、文学家班固就在洛阳写出了中国历史上第一部断代史专著《汉书》。思想家王充年轻时也到洛阳游学，并在这里完成了名著《论衡》。著名的科学家张衡在这里发明了浑天仪和候风地动仪。曹魏时期的机械发明师马钧因少年时到过河南，看到提花绫机织工工效很低，后巧妙地改革旧绫机，使织绫机的效率提高了5倍。他的其他发明也很多，如翻车、指南车等。

魏晋时期的文学呈现出空前活跃的局面。三国时的文学家曹植等“建安七子”，晋代的“竹林七贤”嵇康、阮籍等，以及“金谷二十四友”潘岳、左思、陆机等，都曾在洛阳留下了他们的足迹。他们吟诗作赋，创造了大量的文学作品。西晋著名的文学家左思的《三都赋》问世后受到人们的热烈称颂，一时间风行洛阳，豪门贵族争相传抄，洛阳市场上的纸价也因此贵起来。于是“洛阳纸贵”便常被用来称誉某些作品迅速而广泛地传播流行。陈寿在洛阳所著的《三国志》与《史记》、《后汉书》齐名，被看作史家巨著。郦道元的《水经注》也成书于洛阳。此时，佛教已传入中国，洛阳作为佛学在中国的传播地，建有大量雄伟、精美的佛教寺庙，最盛时多达1367所，其中的永宁寺，是北魏洛阳规模最大的著名寺庙。龙门石窟等石窟造像也是在这时开始开凿的。

隋唐时期洛阳的文化出现了新的繁荣局面，学者云集，文人荟萃，创造了辉煌灿烂的文化。观文殿内藏书3万多卷，集贤书院藏书5万多卷，当时在全中国是绝无仅有的。隋唐时代的一些著名的书法家、画家、雕塑家、音乐家、诗人也都云集在洛阳，书法家如隋朝的庞彦藻、虞世南，唐代的张旭、欧阳询、诸遂良，画家如“画圣”吴道子，音乐家如李龟年等。吴道子画菩萨、神鬼和云龙，开元年间在洛阳天宫寺作鬼神壁画，让将军裴升作为模特，当裴升飞剑船屋，吴道子立即拿笔开始在墙壁上画，飒然风起，画面生动壮丽，被称为“天下奇观”。著名诗人白居易在洛阳生活期间，所作的800多首诗赋合为《白氏洛中集》10卷，放在香山寺藏经堂。生活在洛阳的雕塑家们虽然未见文献记载，但洛阳出土的唐三彩釉陶艺术品，如男女佣、天王佣、镇墓兽佣等，装饰以斑斓釉色，无一不是唐代的无名雕塑家们的精品佳作。

宋朝时期，洛阳虽不是都城，却是当时的学术中心。例如宋代的理学大师程颢、程颐兄弟就是洛阳人，他们在此创立的学派被称为“洛学”。政治家、史学家司马光曾在洛阳修筑独乐园，在这里为后人留下了一部史学巨著《资治通鉴》；著名的理学家邵雍一生隐居在洛阳，写出了《皇极经世》等著作，对后世产生了很大影响。著名的政治家、文学家欧阳修也曾长期在洛阳居住，为后人留下了经典的篇章。

2. Cultural Heritage

Luoyang, playing an important role in the development of Chinese nation, is not only a witness of history but also a cultural incubator.

In the Spring and Autumn period, Laozi, the founder of Taoism, was in Luoyang, managing books for the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Luoyang subsequently became the place of origin of Taoism. Meanwhile, another great thinker Confucius traveled a long distance from the state of Lu to Luoyang to study the rites and music of the Western Zhou, which is original and authentic. What's more, Luoyang was home to Su Qin, a famous political strategist in the Warring State period and to Jia Yi, a well-known figure in the literati of the Han dynasty. At present, there is a Memorial Hall dedicated to Jia Yi in Dongguan of Luoyang.

In Eastern Han, a library was set up in Luoyang. It stored more than 7,000 books, making it the biggest one then in China. An Imperial College called Taixue which was the best educational institution in the feudal society was also founded and the students who attended the College reached 30 thousand at its heyday. Outside the Imperial College, there were stone tablets carved with an inscription of Five Classics inscribed by the famous calligrapher Cai Yong.

Luoyang may well be called an intellectual cradle. It is in this place that Ban Gu (32-92), a famous historian and master in literature in ancient China, wrote History of Han Dynasty, the first monograph on dynastic history; it is in this place that the great thinker Wang Chong (27-97) wrote Lùn Héng or Critical Essays, a book containing many theories involving early sciences of astronomy and meteorology; it is in that place that the famous scientist Zhang Heng (78-139) invented the armillary sphere and seismograph; it is also in this place that the famous mechanical engineer Ma Jun (200-265) who lived in the Three Kingdoms era improved the efficiency of the silk loom by five folds, invented the famous South Pointing Chariot, a directional compass vehicle, as well as many others.

In Wei and Jin dynasties, there was an unprecedented boom in the literary world. Numerous litterateurs set their foot on Luoyang, including "Seven Masters of the Jian'an Period", "Seven Virtuous Men of the Bamboo Grove" and "Twenty-four Friends of the Jingu Garden". They either wrote or chant poems, leaving behind them a great deal of literary works. In Western Jin, a famous writer named Zuo Si wrote A Poetic Prose Dedicated to Three Capitals. It was so highly spoken of that soon after it was written it became well-known across Luoyang and men from nobly families all began to make private copies, resulting in a rise of paper price. Thus, a new saying "Paper in Luoyang is expensive" was coined to describe a quick and wide circulation of some works. Luoyang hosted many other celebrities, among whom are Chen Shou (233-297) and Li Daoyuan (233-297). Chen Shou was the author of Records of Three Kingdoms which is deemed a historic monograph as great as Historical Records and History of Later Han Dynasty. And Li Daoyuan finished the famous The Commentary on Waterways Classics. In this period, Buddhism had been introduced to China. As a center for spreading Buddhism, Luoyang boasted a host of majestic and exquisite Buddhist temples. Among all the temples which totaled 1,367 at the prime time, Yongning Temple, built in Northern Wei, was the largest one. It was in this period that the carvings of Longmen Grottoes were started.

In the Sui and Tang dynasties, Luoyang entered an even more culturally prosperous stage. Apart from more than eighty thousand volumes of books stored, many calligraphers, painters, sculptors, musicians and poets gathered in the city, weaving a brilliant cultural tapestry. Calligraphers included Pang Yanzao and Yu Shinan in the Sui dynasty as well as Zhang Xu, Ouyang Xun and Chu Suiliang in the Tang dynasty. Among the painters was the "painting saint" Wu Daozi who was good at painting Bodhisattvas, gods and ghosts, clouds and dragons. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, Wu asked General Pei Sheng to be his model when he painted onto the walls of Tiangong Temple in Luoyang. As Pei Sheng began to wield his sword, Wu immediately took up his brush and begun to draw on the wall according to Pei's movements. The mural painted in this way was so vivid and lively that it was praised as "a wonder of the world". When the famous poet Bai Juyi lived in Luoyang, he wrote more than 800 poems and prose poems which were compiled into 10 volumes and stored up in the Depository Hall of Sutra of Xiangshan Temple. Though there were no historical records of the sculptors, tri-colored glazed potteries of the Tang dynasty unearthed in Luoyang all indicate their existence and the great work they did.

In the Song dynasty, Luoyang lost its status as the capital, but it remained the academic center. Numerous intellectuals lived and built their fame here. Among them are: masters of Neo-Confucianism Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi who were born in Luoyang and developed their own philosophy called Luoxue (Luoyang school of Neo-Confucianism), famous scholar of Neo-Confucianism Shao Yong who spent his whole life in Luoyang and wrote Book of Supreme World Ordering Principles; the statesman and historian Sima Guang who constructed a Garden of Private Happiness and wrote a historical masterpiece Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government in Luoyang, as well as the statesman and litterateur Ouyang Xiu who lived in Luoyang for a long time and left behind many classical works.