The ruins of Dacheng: the back of a dynasty

Text, map/Zhang Juan

Published in China Newsweek, number 982,2021.1.25.

Compared with Angkor Wat at sunset, Dacheng site is not so charming. It has no carved walls and enchanting eaves, nor corridors and huge buildings for tourists to shuttle back and forth. In Thailand, it is not as famous as Phuket and Pattaya, nor as beautiful and quiet as Koh Samui and Chiang Mai. It lies alone in the ruins. In the scorching sun, its color is monotonous and dull, and even looks dull.

Ayutthaya, also called Ayutthaya. It was once the capital of a great dynasty in Thai history. In Sanskrit, "Ayudhya" means impregnable and indestructible, but blessings did not bring good luck to the city.

Dacheng Dynasty, formally established in 1350, was the second superpower in Southeast Asia after the Khmer Empire, with Dacheng as the capital and the largest central city at that time. When Dacheng Dynasty reached its peak, its war with Myanmar continued. This tug-of-war lasted for a long time, until more than 200 years ago, when the big cities were captured by the Burmese army, the whole city residents were killed and the whole city was set on fire, and no palace or temple was spared. Absolute beauty, the longest dynasty in Thai history, came to an abrupt end in A.D. 1767.

Since then, Dacheng has written all the stories and customs on its ruins.

Today, the pillars that still stand tenaciously in the whole site, I don't know which palace used to be, shivering in the hot sun, half red and half black by the fire. Together with the city wall, the foundation turned into a dark red sea around us. These dark red bricks are said to have been dusty for a long time. Their surfaces are uneven, and some of them have been damaged. Undamaged by granular green-black moss, it is dense, curved and dry, covered with seams and folds. Everything honestly records the burning of fire, the scorching sun and the erosion of wind and rain.

Between broken walls, I can vaguely see the majestic momentum and solemnity as an imperial city, but I lost my life, like a lonely figure.

The scorching sun in Southeast Asia scorches the earth all the year round. Unless it is rainy season, it is difficult for you to visit comfortably, and it is even difficult for you to find a stone bench to rest when you are tired. The sunshine here shines all year round, which makes people blind. Three gray-white cement pagodas in the middle of the site have become the landmark buildings of Ayutthaya site. They were built in the15th century, and time did not destroy them. And many small towers next to them are badly broken, but they are still towering into the sky, like solemn soldiers, majestic, tall and straight, solemn.

The buildings here, because of burning, have few roofs, only low brick walls and foundations, which are poorly hidden in sparse Woods. There are different Buddha statues in the ruins, all of which are damaged to varying degrees. In a "house" with no brick wall and only a pedestal, there are many neatly arranged Buddha statues, but all of them have lost their heads without exception. It is likely that the enemy cut it off on purpose, because these heads have been covered with gold foil.

Damaged Buddha statue in Chaiwatanalan Temple, Dacheng site.

Maybe there are many tourists, or maybe they don't know anything about this "headless" history. Some people like to bend their knees and hide behind the Buddha statue, show their heads from the broken Buddha head and pose as a Buddha to take pictures. So at the entrance of the steps, the words "No taking pictures on the Buddha's head" were written in Thai and English.

Walking in the ruins of ancient city walls, you will cry for a pair of stone Buddha feet and a broken palm that suddenly appears in the corner. The broken limbs are shocking, as if you can still feel the despair brought by the massacre fire from a distance.

But you can't see any words about hatred on the information board of the website. Only the website name written in Thai and English, no other information. The prosperity more than 200 years ago can only be passed down from generation to generation with the words in ancient books and the memories handed down by people in big cities.

Zheng He, the envoy of the Ming Dynasty, visited a big city when he went to the Western Ocean. In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, a Polish named Bomig stopped between these red brick walls and tiles on his way from Europe to China. As the first European to introduce China's ancient scientific achievements to the west, he wrote famous works such as Flora of China and Key to Medicine. The bricks and stones he touched witnessed the important role played by Ayutthaya in cultural exchanges and religious activities between the East and the West.

Monks resting under trees.

In this small ruined building complex, it is hard not to be attracted by a tree Buddha. The so-called "tree Buddha" is the abandoned Buddha head surrounded by the roots of bodhi trees, and the branches and vines form a strange landscape of "trees wrapped in Buddha". It's just a Buddha's head. Why is it so perfectly embedded in the tree?

Legend has it that when the Burmese army invaded, the Buddhist temple was completely destroyed, the house collapsed, and a Buddha head rolled down in the fire and happened to come under the bodhi tree. For hundreds of years, the roots of the trees have been endless, just like outstretched arms, gently embracing the fallen Buddha's head and showing the face of the Buddha's head in the middle of the tree impartially, which is amazing.

This Buddha has a serene face, which makes people feel inexplicably moved. A kind of tolerance and magic that exists with everything in the world and transcends life and death makes this tree Buddha look more full of eternal power. This tree Buddha shocked the soul so much that it became the symbol of the whole Ayutthaya ruins. Those travelers who travel all the way will have a good look at its peaceful face and experience its peace and eternity.

Sorrow, life and death turn empty, more than two hundred years is enough to quell a war in blood shed. When talking with local people, they have the unique smile and peace of Thai people. Not only swords and shadows disappear with time, but also grief and hatred. History, like the oncoming wind, gently blows away the glory and misfortune, and then everything disappears.

During the reign of Dacheng Dynasty in 4 17, Hinayana Buddhism developed rapidly and was deeply rooted in the religious culture of Thailand. From these huge temple ruins, we can imagine the prosperity of Buddhism in the past. The famous Qing Palace in Banan (also known as Sambo Palace) was built to commemorate Zheng He's voyage to the West, as well as the Mengkun Wu Bi Tower and Rokaya Temple built in Dacheng Dynasty.

After the death of Dacheng Dynasty, the second generation of Chinese Marsh recovered the lost land, unified Thailand, moved the capital to the south for nearly 100 kilometers, and annexed Wu Li as the capital. Since then, Dacheng House has been completely abandoned and become a site. In the long years of hundreds of years, Dacheng site has experienced droughts and floods, but this land breathes like old, maintains strong vitality and attracts tourists from all over the world with unparalleled charm, tenacity and tolerance. Those hardships are just casual episodes in the long river of history. It waited there safely, watching the crowds coming and going and praying. It was not anxious, sad or happy.

Mengkong Temple in Cliff Gap of Dacheng Ruins.

What is active around the ruins of Ayutthaya is a conventional tourism economy that is no different from other tourist attractions. For example, forcibly take pictures of the moment when tourists enter the door, and then wait for you to come out at the exit after your tour, and then sell the photos to you; Vendors selling all kinds of fried noodles, glutinous rice and barbecue; Neatly hang colorful Thai tarpaulin paintings, waiting for the stall owners selected by tourists; Shopkeepers shout postcards to attract tourists to pay for them ... they can't live without this website.

Sunlight penetrated the leaves and there was broken gold everywhere. The ruins are next to temples and houses, and the broken masonry blends with the fireworks of modern adults, which has a sense of disillusionment through time and space. The elegance of the old capital has been ruthlessly covered up by the dust of history. Those buildings that have lost their lives stand tall, defending the glory and pain of the past alone in decay and ruins.

Time is ruthless, time is gentle. In 20021year, the Ayutthaya site is about to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its successful application for World Heritage. It buried everything in the past under the flowing sand of time, leaving behind not only the unique cultural charm and inheritance, but also the spiritual sustenance and belief of the Thai nation. Peace and tranquility flowing in Thai blood can be found here.