Kaiyuan Temple in Xingtai

In the northeast corner of the old city of Xingtai, there is a well preserved famous temple of Tang Dynasty Kaiyuan Temple. The temple has a history of more than 1200 years. In 1982, it was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit by Hebei provincial government. On May 25, 2006, Kaiyuan Temple in Xingtai, as an ancient building of Ming Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be listed in the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Kaiyuan Temple covers an area of 45 Mu and faces south. There are four main halls and pavilions. The temple has been repaired many times in the past dynasties, and the existing temples and pavilions are mainly of Ming Dynasty architectural style. Although these buildings have gone through hundreds of years of vicissitudes, they are still basically intact, and many relics have high historical and artistic value. The four existing ancient halls are magnificent and majestic. One of the halls is Maitreya Buddha Hall. Except for the well-known Buddha statues, the four walls are all poems written by celebrities of past dynasties. It is said that Zhong Liquan, one of the "Eight Immortals", left a cursive poem on the wall when he visited the abbot of the temple and the eminent monk Wan'an elder. His poem says: "it's not easy to meet eminent monks. When do you go back, you'd like to follow each other and say that you live in Canghai, not the first peak of Penglai. Don't be tired of chasing, laughing and talking frequently. It's so sad to think about the chaos. When you're free, you can count the number of people in Qingping. " "Eight Immortals crossing the sea" is a myth and legend in ancient China. Whether Zhong Liquan, one of the eight immortals, had ever been to Xingtai or not, can not be verified. However, the above-mentioned poem on the wall was once inscribed on the wall of Kaiyuan Temple, which was carved on a stone tablet in the Song Dynasty, making Kaiyuan Temple famous. The poetry, sadness and disorder, must be written by later generations in the name of Zhong Liquan. The three Hall of Shakya Muni is the essence of the whole Kaiyuan Temple. This hall is a hard mountain building with exquisite structure and unique style. In 1518, four carved dragon rolling stone columns were added to the front of the hall. Except for the Dragon carving stone columns in the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province, they are almost unmatched. The four stone pillars are 4.5 meters high and 2.5 meters in circumference, with exquisite carving skills and smooth lines. On the column, the Dragon hovers up, meanders down, or looks back and stares. The body of the dragon head protrudes 20-35 cm from the outside of the column, with a strong sense of strength. It looks like a real dragon dance, which can be called the treasure of Chinese culture and art. The stone carving on both sides of the dragon pillar is exquisite and exquisite, which is also amazing. In addition, a giant iron bell was left in front of the third hall. The clock is 2.70 meters high, 7.2 meters long, half a foot thick and weighs more than 30000 Jin. The clock was cast in the 24th year of Dading (1184 A.D.) of the Jin Dynasty. There are twelve patterns on the wall of the clock, such as sun, moon, man, beast, ox and fish, corresponding to the twelve palaces of the zodiac. There are also Eight Trigram images of Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen and Dou, which contain the theory that Qian and Kun are perfectly round. There are hundreds of words on the wall of the bell, which can be clearly identified. Most of them record the name or identity of the foundry, the producer, the sponsor, and the native place. The clock has a history of more than 800 years since it was cast. Although it has gone through wind and rain erosion, due to its superb casting technology and pure iron fire, it does not show any oxidation trace, and the red bell is still shining around, which shows the superb cast iron technology in ancient China. At that time, the bell was suspended in the bell tower on the east side of the third Hall of Kaiyuan Temple, which was used to tell the time of classes. Whenever it was struck by a huge wood, the bell sounded rough and deep, and it was heard for several miles. When believers and monks heard the bell, they put their hands together and worshipped together in different places, which became a major landscape of Xingtai, commonly known as the "bell of wild Temple". Kaiyuan Temple is a famous temple in the past dynasties, and most of the previous abbots are eminent monks. During the Five Dynasties, kongben, an eminent Indian monk, translated Buddhist scriptures here during the reign of emperor Qianhua of the late Liang Dynasty (A.D. 911-915), which lasted for five years and made outstanding contributions to the cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Yuan Dynasty is the most prosperous period of the temple. Kublai Khan, the ancestor of Yuan Dynasty, visited Kaiyuan Temple twice. Although Kaiyuan Temple declined gradually after the Ming Dynasty, when the abbot taught the doctrines, thousands of famous monks still gathered here. According to the records of Xingtai County annals, "whenever the morning sun rises, the evening smoke winds around, the monks worship scriptures, and the sound of the bell rings for miles." Therefore, Kaiyuan Temple was a Buddhist Center in northern China at that time. Kaiyuan Temple, commonly known as Dongda temple, is located in the northeast corner of the old city of Xingtai City, west of the north section of dongweicheng road. The temple was built in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1200 years. Kaiyuan Temple originally covers an area of 45 mu, with a grand momentum. There is a large screen wall in front of the gate of the original temple. On the screen wall, there are rolling dragon flowers and colored sulfur glass tiles. The flying dragon posture is beautiful, and the shape of the male ship is beautiful. It bursts out several inches of the screen wall. It is vivid and has a look of desire to jump and fly. The exquisite and lifelike sculpture and superb masonry are rare in the north. Across the majestic mountain gate is the head hall, Maitreya hall. In addition to the idols with unique shapes, the walls of the hall are full of vigorous celebrity poems. According to legend, it was written by Zhong Liquan to visit Wan'an, an eminent monk in the temple. His poem says: "it's not easy to meet eminent monks. When do you go back, you'd like to follow each other and say that you're a good one, even in the sea, not the first peak of Penglai.". Another poem says: "don't be tired of chasing and laughing frequently. It's hard to think about the chaos. When you're free, you can count the number of people in Qingping.". There is no way to find out whether Zhong Liquan was a real person, but it is a fact to express the people's feelings through poems. The second hall is Pilu hall, followed by the third hall, namely Sakyamuni hall. The hall is a hard mountain style building, majestic and magnificent, with exquisite structure. There are four stone pillars in front of the hall. The four stone pillars on the East and west sides of the door are 4.5 meters high and 2.5 meters in circumference. There are dragon stone carvings on the pillars, and several dragon stone pillars curl up. The dragon's body and head protrude 20 to 35 cm from the stone pillar. It is just like a real dragon dancing. The dragon's vigorous posture and exquisite carving art are almost no match except for the stone pillars of Confucius Temple in China. Such a rare treasure has been preserved in the "ten years of turmoil" by the workers, or it would have been destroyed. There are stone carvings on both sides of the dragon pillars at the main entrance of the three halls. The exquisite craftsmanship is amazing. The fourth hall is the main hall (also known as the third Buddha Hall). This hall is the largest in scale and has a unique style. Due to years of disrepair, many places collapsed. With the attention of Sheng municipal government, it has been completely renovated. Kaiyuan Temple is a famous temple in the past dynasties. When it was first built in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, it was famous and became the most prosperous temple in northern China. During the Five Dynasties, kongben, an eminent Indian monk, translated Buddhist scriptures here during the reign of emperor Qianhua of the late Liang Dynasty (911-915), making outstanding contributions to the cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Kublai Khan, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, built the Shuaifu and pacification department in Xingyuan. Kublai Khan was lucky to have Kaiyuan Temple, so the temple was built in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Yuan Dynasty. During the Zhengde period of Ming Dynasty, it was renovated again. According to historical records, since the Tang, song, yuan and early Ming Dynasties, there are thousands of monks in the temple, with a few hectares of fertile land, and countless visiting monks and Buddhists. As the historical materials say: "whenever the morning sun rises, the evening smoke is around, and the monks chant the Sutra, the sound of the bell is heard ten miles away.". It can be called the Buddhist Center in the north of China. There is a huge iron bell in Kaiyuan Temple, which is 2.70 meters high and 7.2 meters long. The bell is half a foot thick and weighs more than 30000 Jin. It can be called "gold". The clock was made in 1184, the year of Jiachen in Dading, Jin Dynasty. There are twelve patterns on the wall of the clock, such as sun, moon, man, beast, ox and fish, which correspond to the twelve signs of the zodiac. There are also eight diagrams such as Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen and dou. It contains the theory that heaven and earth are perfectly round. There are hundreds of words on the wall of the bell, which can be clearly identified. Most of them record the name or the place of origin of the foundry, the producer and the sponsor. It has been more than 800 years since the clock was cast. Although it has been eroded by wind and rain, due to its superb casting technology and pure iron fire, it does not show any traces of oxidation, and the brownish red color around the clock is still bright. It was smashed in the "ten years of turmoil", but only the buzzing sound was heard, and no damage was found. This shows the superb cast iron technique of ancient China. The bell was originally placed on the iron bell rack in the East bell tower in front of the third Hall of Kaiyuan Temple. It was used to tell the time of classes. Whenever it was struck by a huge wood, the bell sounded rough and deep, and the sound was far and near. The believers and monks put their hands together and worship together in different places. Therefore, it has become a big scene in Xingtai, which is called "the bell of the wild Temple". Now the clock is still in good condition, and it is still in dahuoquan park. In the west of the temple, there is the Zunsheng Sutra building of the Tang Dynasty, which is exquisitely carved. Today, it is a rare relief treasure. There is a pagoda in the back of the temple, which is called Yuanzhao pagoda, but it doesn't exist now. Although the temple has been destroyed, it is still majestic, especially its famous reputation has been engraved in people's minds. In 1982, it was listed as a provincial key protection unit and rebuilt by Xingtai Municipal People's Government in the late 1990s

Kaiyuan Temple in Xingtai

Xingtai Kaiyuan Temple, also known as Da Kaiyuan Temple and Dongda temple, is located at 88 Kaiyuan North Road, Xiangdu District, Xingtai City, Hebei Province. It was built in the later Zhao Dynasty. It is one of the Buddhist centers in the north of ancient China and a famous temple in the past dynasties.

Kaiyuan Temple in Xingtai is the ancestral court of Da Kaiyuan and Cao Dongzong, the place where the second patriarch of Zen passed on the bowl, and the place where the seventh patriarch of Zen was stationed in Xi. History can be traced back to the later Zhao Dynasty. It was named "pan'ai Temple" by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, and "Dayun Temple" by Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty granted it Kaiyuan Temple. Emperor Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty visited it twice and named it dakaiyuan temple. Kaiyuan Temple in Xingtai is one of the well preserved famous temples in Tang Dynasty. There are a large number of ancient inscriptions, statues, scriptures and scriptures in the temple, among which the only one in China is the one with sixteen scriptures in Tang Dynasty. Kaiyuan Temple stone carvings record the origin of Kaiyuan Temple Buddhism and the historical changes in the Central Plains in detail. They are important materials for studying ancient politics, economy, history and Buddhist culture.

In May 2006, the Kaiyuan Temple in Xingtai was listed as the Third Temple by the State Council

Chinese PinYin : Xing Tai Kai Yuan Si