Luoyang White Horse Temple

Founded in the 11th year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is the first temple built by the government after Buddhism was introduced into China. It has always been regarded as the "ancestral court" and "source of interpretation" of Chinese Buddhism.

--The existing sites and historic sites of Baima temple were left in yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Among them, the main hall of the temple is Daxiong hall, in which there are many dry painted statues.

--There are also more than 40 steles in the temple since the Tang Dynasty, among which Zhao Mengfu, a calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote the most precious book, Zuting Ji of Baima temple in Luojing.

--It is said that there is a tomb of Di Renjie in an obscure corner of the temple. On the tombstone is engraved "Liang Guogong of the Tang Dynasty". It is also said that it refers to "Xue Huaiyi" rather than di Renjie.

--There is a Qiyun pagoda not far from the mountain gate. It has a unique style. It is one of the few ancient buildings of Jin Dynasty in Central China. At present, nuns live here.

White Horse Temple

Baima temple is located in Baima temple town, Luolong District, 12 kilometers east of the old city of Luoyang City, Henan Province. Founded in the 11th year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 68), China's first ancient temple, the world-famous Kalan temple, is the first official temple built after Buddhism was introduced into China. It is known as the "ancestral court" and "Shiyuan" of Chinese Buddhism and has a history of more than 1900 years. The existing sites and historic sites are preserved in yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.

There are a large number of Jiagan lacquered statues of the Yuan Dynasty, such as the third Buddha, the second general and the eighteen Arhats.

In 1961, Baima temple was announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council of the people's Republic of China. In 1983, it was designated by the State Council as the national key Temple of Chinese Buddhism. In January 2001, Baima temple was named as the first batch of national AAAA scenic spots by the National Tourism Administration.

Historical evolution

In the seventh year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (A.D. 64), Emperor Liu Zhuang (the son of Liu Xiu) spent the night in Nangong. He dreamed that a golden man, six feet tall and shining on his head, would come from the West and fly around the palace. The next morning, Emperor Hanming told the ministers about the dream. Doctor Fu Yi said, "there is a God in the west, which is called Buddha, just as you dream.". After hearing this, Emperor Han and Ming sent more than ten ministers, such as Cai Yin and Qin Jing, to the western regions to worship Buddhist scriptures and Dharma.

In the eighth year of Yongping (AD 65), Cai, Qin and others bid farewell to the imperial capital and embarked on the journey of "learning from the west". In Dayue Kingdom (from Afghanistan to Central Asia today), I met Indian eminent monks, such as shemoteng and zhufalan, and met Buddhist sutras and white felt statues of Sakyamuni Buddha. I sincerely ask the two eminent monks to go east to China to preach Buddhism.

In the tenth year of Yongping (AD 67), two Indian eminent monks were invited to carry Buddhist scriptures and statues on white horses together with envoys of the Eastern Han Dynasty to Luoyang. Emperor Hanming was very happy to see the Buddhist scriptures and statues. He was very polite to the two eminent monks. He personally received them and arranged for them to stay in Honglu temple, the official office in charge of foreign affairs at that time.

In the 11th year of Yongping (A.D. 68), the emperor of Han and Ming ordered the construction of monasteries in the north of Sanli imperial road outside Xiyong gate in Luoyang. In memory of Baima tuojing, it was named "Baima Temple". The word "Si" originated from the word "Si" of "Honglu Temple", and later "Si" became a general term of Chinese temples. This is the first Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures in China.

After taking photos of moteng and zhufalan, many Western eminent monks came to Baima temple to translate Buddhist scriptures. In more than 150 years after 68 A.D., 192 Buddhist scriptures, 395 volumes in total, were translated here. Baima temple has become the first Buddhist Scripture Translation Center in China. In the second year of Caowei Jiaping (A.D. 250), Tan kejialuo, an Indian monk, came to Baima temple. At this time, Buddhism also entered the public from the deep palace. Later, tankojaro translated the first Buddhist commandment in Chinese in Baima temple. At the same time, Tan Di, a monk of the Sabbath state, also translated Tan Wu De Jie Mo in Baima temple, which regulated the organization and life of the monks. So far, the commandments and the constitution of the monks' group have been completed, and a path of monastic practice has been paved, which is the beginning of the commandments in China.

In the fifth year of Ganlu (260 A.D.), a commandment ceremony was held in Baima temple, which is destined to be deeply engraved in the history of Chinese Buddhism. On this day, Zhu Shixing ascended the altar of abstinence in accordance with the law of karma, knelt down in front of the Buddha, and became the first monk who formally received the bhikkhu commandment in Han China. Since then, the ancient Confucian tradition of "body hair skin, parents, dare not damage" has been broken. During the first 200 years of Buddhism's taking root and spreading in China, the whole process is closely related to Baima temple. This is the product of China's first search for Dharma from the West. It is the residence of the first monks who came to China to preach and spread Dharma. The first Chinese Buddhist Scripture and Chinese Commandments were born here, and the first Chinese Buddhist monk was born In a word, Baima temple is closely linked with many "firsts" of Chinese Buddhism, which makes it the real ancestor and source of Chinese Buddhism.

Architectural pattern

The whole temple of Baima Temple faces south and is a long courtyard with a total area of about 40000 square meters. The main buildings are Tianwang hall, Great Buddha Hall, Daxiong hall, Jieyin hall, Pilu Pavilion, etc., which are all listed on the north-south axis. Although it is not the "old style of xiyitianzhu" when it was founded, the site of the temple has never been moved, so the platforms and wells in the Han Dynasty can still be seen. There are five major halls, four courtyards and East and West Wing rooms.

The layout of the whole temple is regular and simple. Outside the gate of the temple, in the south of the square, there are new stone archways, release pools and stone arch bridges, with green space on both sides. There are two stone horses on the left and right. They are the same size and gentle image as real horses. They are two stone horses of Song Dynasty. They are 1.75 meters tall and 2.20 meters long. It is said that the two stone horses were originally in front of the tomb of Wei Xianxin, the son-in-law of Princess Yongqing (daughter of Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of Song Dynasty), and then moved here by monk Dejie, the abbot of Baima temple. Walking into the gate, there is a stone tablet on the west side of the gate. It was written by Su Yijian when Zhao Guangyi, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, ordered the reconstruction of Baima temple. A stele was carved in the temple in the third year of Chunhua (992). The inscription is divided into five sections, rectangular writing, known as "duanwen tablet". On the east side of the mountain gate, there is a stone tablet named "Zuting Ji of Luojing Baima Temple". Kublai Khan, Emperor Taizu of the Yuan Dynasty, twice issued an edict to build Baima temple. It was written by the literati monk of Baima temple at that time. In 1333, Zhao Mengfu, a famous calligrapher, carved a tablet. Standing in the temple, it is called "Zhao Bei".

The gate of Baima temple is a stone arch gate with one gate and three holes. "Shanmen" is the main gate of Chinese Buddhist temples, which is generally composed of three gates, symbolizing the "three free gates" of Buddhism, namely "empty gate", "Wuxiang gate" and "Wuzuo gate". Because many temples in ancient China were built in mountain villages, they are also called "Mountain Gate". In 1546, it was rebuilt. The red lintel is inlaid with the blue stone inscription of "Baima Temple". Like the inscription on the arch stone of the bridge from the reception hall to the qingliangtai, it is a relic of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the earliest historic site of Baima temple.

On both sides of the mountain gate are the tombs of two monks, zhemoteng and zhufalan. From south to north, the five major halls are Tianwang hall, Great Buddha Hall, Daxiong hall, Jieyin hall and Pilu hall. There are statues in each hall, most of which are from yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Pilu hall is on the cool platform, which is the place where the Buddhist scriptures are translated. The East and West Wing rooms are symmetrical. The whole building is grand and solemn, with a strict layout. In addition, there are more than 40 inscriptions, which are of great value to the study of the history and Buddhist culture of the temple.

Main attractions

Architecture

Before 1990, the main buildings of Baima temple were the mountain gate, pavilion and Qiyun pagoda. In 1990, on the basis of the original building, Baima Temple added bell and Drum Tower, Thai style Buddha Hall, Woyu Buddha Hall, guest hall and Zen room in Qiyun pagoda.

hall of a Buddhist temple

Located on the central axis from south to north, the main buildings are distributed from front to back, such as Shanmen, Tianwang hall, Great Buddha Hall, Daxiong hall, reception hall, qingliangtai and Pilu Pavilion. Among them, the Tianwang hall is a single eaves Xieshan style, 5 rooms wide from east to west, 4 rooms deep from south to north, which houses the statues of jiamaitreya, four clay statues of Tianwang, and Weituo Tianjiang in Ming Dynasty; the Great Buddha Hall is a single eaves Xieshan style, 5 rooms wide from East to west, 4 rooms deep from south to north, which houses one Buddha, two Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Puxian, two disciples of JIAYE and Ananda, two donors, and Guanyin Bodhisattva; the Daxiong hall is a suspended mountain There are five wide from east to west, four deep from north to south, for Sakyamuni, Amitabha, pharmacist "three Buddha" inside, Weituo, Weili two day generals, eighteen Arhats and other 23 Yuan Dynasty Jiadan statues, weilitian clay statues and so on; reception hall, hard mountain style, three wide from face, two deep, for Amitabha, Guanyin, dashizhi two Bodhisattvas inside; Pilu Pavilion is double eaves Xieshan style, located on the cool platform It is 5 rooms wide from east to west and 4 rooms deep from north to south. It is for the two Bodhisattvas of Pilu Buddha, Manjusri and Puxian.

bell tower and drum tower

They are respectively located in the East and west of the North-South central axis in the mountain gate. Among them, the clock tower was built in June 1991 with a donation of 4 million yen from Mr. Baohang Nakamura and 600000 yuan from Baima temple, and the drum tower was completed in 1992. The bell and Drum Tower is a square turret, 7 meters high, double eaves Xieshan style, covered with gray tubular tiles, and painted on the forehead. It is also built on the stone platform. The completion of the bell and Drum Tower restored the ceremony of worshiping Buddha with morning bell and evening drum in the temple, and restored one of the eight scenes of Luoyang with a long history - "the bell of Horse Temple".

Magic treasure Pavilion and Sutra Pavilion

Located on the East and west sides of qingliangtai, it is 25.2 meters long from east to west and 22.5 meters wide from north to south,

Chinese PinYin : Luo Yang Bai Ma Si