Dazhao Temple

Dazhao was named Wuliang temple in Han Dynasty. "Yikewei" in Mongolian means "great temple". It is located in dazhaoqian street, Yuquan District, Hohhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It was built in the seventh year of Wanli (1579). Dazhao, known as "Hongci Temple" in Ming Dynasty, has many titles in history, such as "Silver Buddha Temple", "Mahayana falunzhao", "GanZhuer Temple" and "emperor temple". In 1640, it was rebuilt and named Wuliang temple, which is still in use today. Dazhao is the first Lamaism temple built in Hohhot. For hundreds of years, it has been the activity center of Tibetan Buddhism in Inner Mongolia and one of the most famous Buddhist temples in northern China. Now it is the key cultural relics protection unit in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. On May 25, 2006, as an ancient building from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, Dazhao was approved by the State Council to be listed in the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Dazhao, covering an area of about 30000 square meters, is located in the north and south of the temple. The main building layout is "Jialan Qitang style". Along the central axis, there are archway, Mountain Gate, Tianwang hall, Bodhisattva hall, Daxiong hall, sutra collection building, east-west hall, wing room and other buildings. Ancillary buildings are Naiqiong temple, family temple, etc. Outside the temple, there are corridors around the temple and East and West storehouses. Daxiong hall is the main building in the temple, which adopts the architectural form of combining Tibetan and Han. The whole hall is resplendent and solemn. In the Qing Dynasty, Hohhot was known as "Zhaocheng". There are so many temples in dangli that it's hard to remember them. Among the people, there are seven calls, eight calls and seventy-two continuous calls. Dazhao is the first of the famous "seven Dazhao" in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The collection of Dazhao is very rich. The silver Buddha, Dragon carving, frescoes, various colored sculptures, gold and copper statues in the Buddha Hall, the huge Thangka on display in the air Buddha Festival, 108 Ganzhuer scriptures, and various magic tools and masks used in religious activities are extremely precious historical relics and art treasures. Dazhao is not only a Buddhist holy land, but also a famous tourist attraction at home and abroad. The splendid temples, vivid sculptures, exquisite murals, vast scriptures, mysterious Qiamu dance and Buddhist music constitute a unique "zhaomiao culture".

Dazhao Temple

Dazhao temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple in the south of Yuquan District, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China, belonging to the Gelug Sect (yellow Religion). In Dazhao temple, "Zhao" means Tibetan temple. The Han name was originally "Hongci Temple", later changed to "Wuliang Temple". Because the temple is dedicated to a silver Buddha, also known as the "Silver Buddha Temple.". Dazhao temple is the first Huangjiao temple built in Hohhot. It is also one of the large-scale monasteries built by Mongolians who converted to Huangjiao only later than meidaizhao. It has a wide range of influence in Mongolia.

It was founded by Alatan Khan, the leader of the Mongolian Tumet tribe in the Ming Dynasty, in the seventh year of Wanli (1579 AD). Built in 1580, it is the earliest Lamaism temple in Hohhot, and also a rare temple without living Buddha in Mongolia. Because Emperor Kangxi had lived here for several days, in order to show respect for the emperor, the monks cancelled the reincarnation rule of living Buddha.

Dazhao is not only a Buddhist holy land, but also a famous tourist attraction at home and abroad. The splendid architecture, precious cultural relics and works of art, as well as the mysterious Qiamu dance and Buddhist music constitute the unique "zhaomiao culture" of Dazhao.

In February 2020, in order to express gratitude and respect to medical workers, Dazhao Temple implemented a free admission policy for all medical workers from the date of resumption of operation of the scenic spot to December 31, 2020.

Structural layout

The layout of Dazhao adopts the form of Han temple, covering an area of more than 30000 square meters, of which the building area is more than 8000 square meters. The main buildings include Mountain Gate, Tianwang hall, Bodhisattva hall, nine rooms, sutra hall, Buddha Hall, etc. among them, sutra hall and Buddha Hall are connected together, collectively referred to as "Da Dian". Da Dian is the only Lama Temple with Han Tibetan style in the whole temple, with double-layer and three Bay rooms There is a 2.55-meter-high silver Buddha statue in the middle of the hall, so Wuliang temple is also known as "Silver Buddha Temple". In front of the silver Buddha is a pillar to the sky, on which is a flying dragon. On the left and right of the silver Buddha are bronze statues of zongkaba and Dalai Lama III and IV. in addition, under the eaves of the gate of Dazhao mountain, there is a plaque of "the first spring on nine sides". "The first spring on the nine sides" refers to the yuquanjing well before the Da Zhao. It is said that Emperor Kangxi triumphantly passed by Da Zhao in order to quell the rebellion of gardan in the Mongolian Wei lat tribe, and there was a spring gushing out. According to the inscriptions, "the spring is light and clear in nature, sweet and beautiful in taste.".

Temple Decoration

The existing buildings of Dazhao include Mountain Gate, Guodian, Jingtang, Jiujianlou and Buddha Hall. Among them, Jingtang and Buddha Hall are closely linked, commonly known as the main hall. There are statues and murals in the Buddha Hall. The silver Buddha has gone through 400 years of vicissitudes and is still in good condition.

The architecture of Dazhao temple is exquisite. The main hall is a common Tibetan and Han style Lama Temple. The rest of the temple is built according to the traditional Chinese style temple. There is a silver statue of Sakyamuni in the main hall, so it is also known as "Silver Buddha Temple". There are also many cultural relics in Dazhao, which are valuable materials for the study of Mongolian history and religious culture.

When Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty welcomed Dalai V to Beijing, he once stayed in Dazhao. Later Emperor Kangxi cast the gold medal of "long live the emperor" for the silver Buddha in the main hall, and Dazhao was honored as "imperial temple".

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1662-1721), the scale of the temple was expanded and the main hall was covered with yellow glazed tiles. There is a silver statue of Sakyamuni 2.55 meters high in the Buddha Hall. In front of the statue of Sakyamuni, there are a pair of golden wood dragons, coiled on the wooden pillars, in the shape of two dragons playing with beads. In front of the hall, there is a pair of hollow iron lions cast in 1627 A.D. on the white jade square stone pedestal. They look up with their heads raised and have a unique image.

Inside the hall stand three tall statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. On the wall of the hall are huge paintings depicting Kangxi's private visit to mingyuelou. Behind them are statues of Dalai IV, yundanjiacuo and Dalai V, two Buddha statues in Ming and Qing Dynasties, two Buddha statues in wood carving, two dragons playing with pearls in wood carving, 108 Ganzhuer sutras, as well as bronze and gold-plated magic tools and medicinal tools. Under the front steps of the Sutra hall, there is a pair of hollow iron lions cast in 1627. They hold their heads high and are of high artistic level. In the courtyard, there is a Qing Dynasty iron censer engraved with the names of Mongolian craftsmen.

Historical evolution

"YIKEZHAO" in Mongolian means great temple. During the reign of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1567-1572 A.D.), Altan Khan (translated as "Anpu" in the Ming Dynasty) was granted the title of Queen of Shunyi. He and his wife Sanniangzi jointly presided over Guihua city (the predecessor of Hohhot) and Hongci temple.

In the sixth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1578 AD), Altan Khan of the tumed tribe of Mongolia welcomed Tibet's Dalai III, sonanjatso, in Qinghai Province, and vowed to make the statue of Sakyamuni in Huhhot solemn with precious stones and gold and silver. From then on, the construction of Dazhao began. The second year, it was completed. Emperor Wanli gave it the name of "Hongci Temple", because the statue of Sakyamuni in silver was worshipped in the temple, also known as "silver Temple" "Buddhist temple".

Wanli eight years (AD 1580) temple, is the earliest construction of Hohhot temple. According to reports, soon after the construction of meidaizhao, Alatan Khan, the tumed tribe, decided to build a second temple. With the support of the Ming court, the construction of the second temple was officially started in the seventh year of Wanli (1579 AD). The new City Temple separates the city from the temple. The temple is located on the west side of the road in the south of the city. It was completed the next year, and the city was completed another year later. Ming tingci temple is called Hongci temple, namely Dazhao temple, and the city is called Guihua City, namely the old city of Hohhot.

In the 14th year of Wanli (A.D. 1586), Dalai III suonanjatuo came to Hohhot and personally visited the Da Zhao, and presided over the silver Buddha "Kaiguang Fa Hui". Since then, the Da Zhao became a famous temple in Mongolia. Mongolian ministries sent people to Hohhot to worship and invite monks to learn Buddhist scriptures, such as 1586 The erhzhaonizhao, built by the Mongolians of kalka in Mobei in, is based on the drawings of DAHAO in Hohhot.

In 1632, Emperor Taiji of the later Jin Dynasty pursued lindan Khan of the Chahar tribe of Mongolia and arrived in Hohhot. In order to calm the hearts of the Mongols, the rulers of the later Jin Dynasty announced: "the gegenhan temple in Guihua city (i.e. Dazhao) should be worshipped and destroyed. If anyone dares to demolish it and takes the utensils, our soldiers will have done so. Is there any reason why it is no longer possible? If you find out, you will never lightly borrow money "(Volume 12 of the treasure records of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty). So the lamas in Hohhot surrendered to Houjin.

In 1640, Huang Taiji ordered the reconstruction and expansion of Dazhao temple. After the completion, Huang Taiji gave the temple forehead in Manchu, Mongolian and Han languages. The Han name "Hongci Temple" was changed to "Wuliang Temple". This is the origin of today's Han name "Wuliang Temple". In the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652 A.D.), Tibet's Dalai V passed Hohhot and was stationed in Dazhao. Up to now, there is a bronze statue of Dalai V in Dazhao.

The printing office of zhasakda Lama in Hohhot in Qing Dynasty was set up in Dazhao. In the 37th year of Kangxi (1698 AD), Kangxi appointed neiqituo to seal the Lama in the Eight Temples of Hohhot, and handed over the seal of Dazhao to him. Nezitoin II petitioned Emperor Kangxi to use his temple property to repair the Dazhao. At that time, because the Dazhao was in disrepair for a long time, the glazed tiles were damaged and the hall was rebuilt

Chinese PinYin : Da Zhao Si