Pilu Temple

Pilu Temple

Pilu temple is located in Shangjing village, the western suburb of Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. It is an ancient temple of linjizong Buddhism in China. It is famous for its exquisite ancient murals. According to historical records, the temple was built in the eighth century A.D. during the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty, and has been rebuilt many times since then. At present, there are only Sakya Hall (front hall) and Pilu Hall (back hall).

Pilu temple, Anju District, Suining City, Sichuan Province

Pilu temple is located at the foot of Huazang mountain, Baima Town, Anju District, Suining City, Sichuan Province, 5km away from Baima town. It was built in the Song Dynasty and expanded in the Ming Dynasty. The temple covers an area of 7500 square meters and a building area of 5512 square meters. There was once a famous monk in the temple, master Qingxin, who lived in the court under the name of Dharma and was nicknamed "master Nao" (the prototype of monk Jigong). There is a lot of incense here. The average daily flow of people is more than 30000 at the "Xianghui Festival" in March every year. The legends of Ji Gong sweeping "Qin", punishing and mocking corrupt officials, and helping others in the face of injustice give people endless reverie and aftertaste.

Pilu temple, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province

Temple scale

The front hall is the hall of Sakyamuni, which is three rooms wide and two rooms deep. The small buwa is suspended on the top of the mountain, and there is a rolling shed in front of it. Inside the hall, there is a statue of Sakyamuni sitting on the front, with 83 square meters of murals on the four walls. The content is Chinese Buddhist stories and folk myths. The back hall, namely Pilu hall, is also the main hall of the temple. It is built on a 1-meter-high platform with three rooms in width and two rooms in depth. There are Baoxia buildings in front and back, and the plane is in the shape of a cross. At both ends of the ridge, there is a kiss from the head and the tail of the Phoenix. The eaves are far-reaching and the slope of tile roof is gentle, so the appearance is comfortable and the shape is special. It is commonly known as the five flowers and eight corners hall. The central platform of Pilu hall is dedicated to the Buddha Pilu zhana (in Hindi, meaning bright and shining), so the temple is called Pilu temple.

Existing murals

The existing murals in the hall are relics of the late Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty in the 14th century. There are 130 square meters of heavy color murals in the hall, among which the murals on the four walls are the most wonderful. There are more than 500 statues of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in three rows, including heaven, hell, human world, arhat, Bodhisattva, City God, land, loyal officials and good generals. They are divided into more than 120 small groups, and each group is accompanied by a title list, forming the artistic characteristics of the three religions' confluence. The north wall is 2.8 meters high and 3.95 meters wide. The content of the mural is mainly Buddhist. There are more than 120 Taoist and Buddhist figures, such as the ten Ming kings and Emperor Shi, Fantian, Tianlong Babu, the four heavenly kings and the Jade Emperor. Both the East and west walls are 2.8 meters high and 7.6 meters wide. The murals are mainly Taoist in content. On the east wall, there are more than 130 paintings of the Antarctic emperor Changsheng, Fusang, Xuantian, dizang Bodhisattva, guizimu, etc.; on the west wall, there are more than 140 paintings of the Arctic emperor Ziwei, jufengna, Wuhu Dragon God, Chongning protector, etc. The south wall is the same in height and width as the east wall and the west wall. The wall surface is mainly secular. On the east side, there are more than 80 people, including Bodhisattvas, loyal ministers and martyrs who died for the country, jiuliubaijia and Jiejing shops. On the west side, there are more than 60 people, including ghost king, City God land, ancient virtuous women and martyrs, and empress palace people. Although these paintings are religious themes, through the religious curtain, we can still see the shadow of real life. Some pictures also directly depict the image of the working people.

The murals of Pilu hall have a high level from composition to painting skills. There are many characters in the picture, and they are all in one, forming a general rhythm and rhythm. However, they are divided into three or five groups, forming a small picture of their own pattern. Each group is separated by spiral clouds of purple, stone green and light ochre. The patterned clouds not only adjust the picture, but also help to set off the theme. This overall layout makes people feel rich in content, prominent in image, vivid in plot and clear in hierarchy. The painting style of these frescoes inherits the traditional painting method of ancient Chinese frescoes, with skillful techniques, natural and unrestrained lines, gorgeous colors and vivid characters. The color of mural is based on stone green and vermilion, which is harmonious from strong contrast. The colors are rich and harmonious, and the pigments used are mainly minerals. These pigments have good stability and long storage time. Although they have been preserved for nearly 600 years, their colors are still very bright.

The frescoes of Pilu hall also use a large amount of asphalt and gold. The whole frescoes look gorgeous, magnificent and dazzling. Ink lines depicting objects is a major feature of Chinese painting. The murals of Pilu temple are rich in line depiction techniques, complete in line types and proper in application. On the basis of inheriting the excellent tradition of line drawing in Tang and Song Dynasties, it has a new development. Starting from the actual needs of the objects, the author skillfully uses the changes of arrangement and organization of lines, such as rhythm, scattered, virtual and real, rigid and soft, thick and thin, and unfolding, to depict the characters vividly, giving people a sense of soul and life. The content and texture of the images are also very good.

The murals of Pilu temple are rich in content, all embracing, exquisite in technology, and of high artistic value. They are of great significance to the study of ancient social life, customs, ancient art and traditional painting art. They are precious treasures in the remains of ancient Chinese murals.

Address: Huazang mountain, Baima Town, Anju District, Suining City, Sichuan Province

Longitude: 105.277082

Latitude: 30.416567

Admission information: free admission.

Chinese PinYin : Pi Lu Si