The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-09
ANCIENT TEMPLES OF JAVA
RUILT Nv CENTER or ISLAND
EIGHTH or NINTH CENT Rl.
Splendid Architectural Remains " a pcop,s
Far Advanced In the Arts OF Archlcc.
turc and sculpture Wonderful Scr.,
OF Pictures or iIirth and Life Of Buudh,

! NuVV VVuutTINl AprIt,
OF Pictures OF Birth and Life Of I,uudh,
If most people wer' asked to name rho,A
countries Of the world in which are SIN tn
be found splendid architectural remains a
bygone civilizations, the names Of tgyp
India, Syria and Mexico would at once "a
forthcoming; but few would place III,
Island of Java on the list; yet not me d,
these could show ruins moro numerog, or
more splendid, says the London Gl,hc
This may seem an eSaggcrdtlon, tU The
same opinion has been universally eX oppressed
by the most eminent writers on the suhjec;
As TO the date and rise and fall of a ryiza.
ton which has left behind it such splendid
! memorials authorities are much At van.
ance, but for he most part they are p,aced
between the beginning and the ri i'h or
ninth century Of our era, tertni1 j. i
! however, that at one ime the island mus.
have been ruled by Hindu or BIiiha
| people far advanced in the arts Of arr hi's.
| ture and sculpture.
Among the finest and hes, pres rived ,
these ruins is the great temple known q,
the Tyandi Barabudur, situated near The
center Of Java in the Sultanate Of Djol1a.
karta, Originally designed probably as
dagabs, or resting place, for portion q,
tn, ashes Of Buddha, this building r..es in
the form Of a terraced pyramid, the par
! at present above ground being about 3jo
/ feet square by about 100 feet high The
terraces at present visible are seron IN
number, the whole being smmountcd ny
dome thirty feet in height
Each of these terraces is covered on the
inner wall formed by the terrace above.
and in the lower terraces also on outer
walls running round them, 10y sorio, ,f
bas-reliefs, which for extent, yarioty aud
artistic merit have probably not their
equals in the world. Running in double
tier round the lower galleries and in a ~inga
tier round the upper ones, they arc e-'i-
mated to have total length Of over thrco
miles. and represent by continuous series
of pictures not only the birth an Me If
the Lord Buddha in his final incarnation,
but also a large number of the "Jttakas,"
or previous lives, of the Master in tho grad
ually ascending forms of animals and e
men in various positions in life, and rec1ti
his good deeds in each of those live
Thus we have the story of the Bodhl-stt 80
when on earth in the form of a hare. Jnrra
the Lord Of Hea ven, in the form Of ira
eler. weary and hungry, comes downto t"-t
the virtues of the various beasts. He TO-
ceive, fish from an otter, dish OF cures
from q jaclial and fruit from monkevE
but the poor hare. having nothing else To
offer, presents his own body to the hungry
ira Weller and throws himself on to FIRE
to be roasted. Interrupted nov IN many
places by the work of a thousand years
Of earthquakes, tropical storms and fanat-
ical Mob ammedan dc stroyers this wondet-
full picture story runs up through gallery
after gallery to where. in the central done,
entirely closed in and hidden stood tue
final image of the Master, free from any
rnament. crown. or aureole. the Buddha
raised hove all earthly desires or ia ssions
In the whole Of the series al present above
ground there were originally no fewer Than
2.l4l complete bas-rellef pictures, of which
ass are still in a fair state Of preservation.
There We're, in addition. in inches round the
terrace walls, 44l statues Of Buddha larger
than life besides smaller ones past count
ing. The whole of this work is done not
in soft stone, easy to mani pulate. but in
the hardest and most intractable kinds
of va and trachyte. Alfred Russell Wal
Archipelago remarks: THE amount Of
human labor and skill expended on the
Great Pyramid of Egypt sinks into in
Significance when compared with that
required to complete this sculptlred hin
temple in the interior of java.
There is, however one peculiar point
in the construction which tends To show
that the l,idcrs were MT as coed engineers
a. they We're sCuptcr- and architects
Round the entire base there runs what looks
like a broad pavement Of cubes Of stone IA
but not cemented together. This roa
pavement has teen removed in section,
each section being replaced in turn, AMI
underneath was found another terrace
larger than any Of those now visible, and
having its walls partly, but not entirely,
covered with 100 more EaS-relicf pictures
in fine preservation, These Worc photo,
graphed and covered in again. The total
mass Of SQUARE blocks of stone covering thu
hidden terrace amounts IN 1000 .u' i"
yards.
The conclusion is inevitable that thls
hidden terrace was meant for the "riFlN't
lower terrace. hut that with the NuI'crG
partly completed and the first set Of sC,llI-
lures still unfinished the builders found
that their foundations We're too weak for
the huge structure, and we're obliged f.
sacrifice one terrace to strengthen them
Had not this 'cen necessary. the huildn'
would have stood up even moro colossal
than i. is. The temple "f Harabudp. l-
only one among many in Java. ~ i''
village Of Pramoanam also near ip,uh.I.
karta are the rufus known "thanHi
Sewa," or the Thousand TemPIe" cor
sis'ing OF an outer parallelocram oi =
small TEMPLES, a second of 76 n third "f ~,
a fourth Of q, and eth, or inner one, Of >,
in all 299 small temples in five con2erlrt'
paralclosrams. In the center is a Iarg"
temple. Most of the smaller temples ar" 81
ruins. hut some are still fairly perfect
At Loro Jongran, close by. are fourteen
small and six large temples to Hindu de,tles,
silva, Durga and Ganesh being still reNr'-
sented by finely carved statues A. Guuon-
Praw an extensive plateau reached in former
times by four flights o! stone stairs, each ~
over a thousand steps, on the north south,
east and west, are remains Of nearly four
hundred temples. and, to quote Wa,lar"
again, "the whole country between here
and Prambanam, distance Of sixty m'"',
abouuds with ruins, so that fine sculptures
images may be seen living in bitches OF hu,
into the walls of enclosures.
The above buildings are all of a religious
character, but others may have been u-"i
for lay purposes, sue! as the so-C1."i
Water Castle" IN the city Of pjokiaka".
itself where may be seen the remains ~
high walled enclosures with broad tanks.
now overgrown with weeds. hu' still show
ing their stone terraces ard the stone o'eN'
leading to the water, having probably
originally formed the pleasaurcc Of some
Hindu potentate, or possibly, from '."'
very high walls, of his harom. IN other
parts are many ruins Of forts. palaces
baths and aqueduots, and az Modjo- " 'G,
over a large stretch of country. every '"Ai
and pathway shows IA foundation of '.'''
laid brickwork the unya1 sfrpp'- Of SOFIA