Chuzu nunnery

Chuzu nunnery, 1.3 km from Shaolin Temple. This nunnery was built in Song Dynasty to commemorate Bodhidharma, the forefather of Zen Buddhism. Because Dharma often travels between Songluo, the main way of practicing Zen is to sit in front of the wall, so this nunnery is also called "Dharma's nunnery facing the wall".

When you are in front of the Mountain Gate of chuzu'an, you will feel relaxed and happy. There are three gullies in front of the building, with wurufeng on the back. Although the building complex is not big, it gives people a deep impression. In addition to the magical environment hidden among the mountains, the ancient and exquisite temple is even more unforgettable.

In the Song Dynasty, there was a "pagoda facing the wall" in the ancestral nunnery. The stone forehead of "the tower facing the wall" written by Cai Jing is now in the temple. There are more than 40 ancient steles. From 1983 to 1986, when Chuzu nunnery was completely renovated, more than 200 meters of walls were built and the complete courtyard was restored. At present, the buildings in the ancestral nunnery include Mountain Gate, main hall, facing Pavilion, thousand Buddha Pavilion, etc.

Shanmen

The Mountain Gate of the ancestral temple is also called Sanmen and Jialan temple. Founded before the early Ming Dynasty, Shanmen was rebuilt on the original site from 1985 to 1986. It has three rooms in width and two rooms in depth, with a height of 6.876 meters. It is a single eaves overhanging building.

Main hall of Chuzu nunnery

The main hall of Chuzu temple, also known as Chuzu hall, is on the central axis behind the mountain gate. The main hall is three rooms wide and three rooms deep. The main hall is all supported by octagonal stone columns.

The main hall was built in the seventh year of Xuanhe period of Song Dynasty. Although it has been repaired many times, the beam structure, the proportion and details of Dougong, the matching use of round and false Dou, and the use of zhenang all reflect the structural characteristics of the original building, which can be confirmed by the records of the Song Dynasty's "zaozao Zao FA Shi". It is an important example of the Song Dynasty's wood construction technology. The technical practices in wood structure and stone carving can even be called isolated examples Today's understanding of "create a French style" provides a unique physical display.

Chuzu nunnery

Chuzu nunnery, also known as "Damo mianbi nunnery", is located in the northwest of Shaolin Temple, Dengfeng City, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. It was built in 1125 to commemorate the early ancestor Damo, covering an area of about 3400 square meters.

The building complex of Chuzu nunnery faces south from the north. The main buildings are Mountain Gate, main hall and Thousand Buddha Pavilion. The main hall is three rooms wide and three rooms deep, with a single eaves and a green glazed tile cut edge top. The eaves are far-reaching. Under the eaves, there are big dipper arches. In the Ming Dynasty, there are two plate doors, and two vertical lattice windows on both sides. Under the front eaves, there are six stone columns full of grass and bird patterns, and four stone columns in the hall, carved with the patterns of heavenly king and Panlong. The beam frame is built on the wall. There are color murals on the East, West gables and back walls. The main hall of chuzu'an is one of the earliest existing wooden buildings in Henan Province. It has important historical and artistic value and is an important example of the wooden construction technology in Song Dynasty.

On November 20, 1996, Chuzu nunnery was announced by the State Council of the people's Republic of China as the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units

On August 1, 2010, Dengfeng historical buildings including Chuzu nunnery were listed as world cultural heritage.

Historical evolution

The ancestral nunnery was founded in 1125, the seventh year of Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, there was a "pagoda facing the wall" in the ancestral nunnery.

In the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the original Shanmen was destroyed in the Republic of China and rebuilt in its original site from 1985 to 1986.

Xiting was founded before Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in early Qing Dynasty.

Qianfo pavilion was founded in the reign of emperor Jingtai of Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt in 1963. In 1996, five rooms were added to its left and right sides.

Dongting was built in 1705, the 44th year of Kangxi reign.

From 1983 to 1986, Chuzu nunnery was completely renovated, more than 200 meters of walls were built, and the complete courtyard was restored.

Architectural features

The buildings of Chuzu nunnery are arranged according to the terrain and remain the original appearance of the Song Dynasty after repair. On the north-south axis, there are three buildings, namely, the mountain gate, the main hall and the thousand Buddha Pavilion. On both sides, there are pavilions facing the wall and the pavilion of Saint and Virgin Mary.

The main hall of chuzu'an deeply reflects the architectural system stipulated in the official architectural standard of the Northern Song Dynasty, the main structure keeps in line with the original specification of the system, especially in the aspects of wood structure and stone carving. The main hall is three rooms wide, and its beam structure and the proportion of Dou Gong are mostly consistent with the "three rooms" building standard of "building French style".

The main hall of Chuzu nunnery still retains the original structural features of the combination of round and false duels, which is the only isolated example to follow the standard of "zaozao FA Shi". In terms of the distribution and arrangement of the brackets, it also follows the principle of "carefully use two in the middle, and use one in the middle and one in the top". In addition, the structure and size of the main hall of chuzu'an are similar to that of Zao Zao FA Shi. The choice of carving theme, the content, shape and skill of pattern are all faithful to Zao Zao FA Shi.

Cultural relics

Shanmen

The front of the early ancestor's Anshan is three rooms wide and two rooms deep. It is a single eaves suspended mountain style building. The front and back eaves are not arched. The gray tube tiles cover the roof. The ridge of the tiles is set with big kisses at both ends. The front and back of the door come out of the building. Two real couch gates are set between the two pillars in the middle.

 

audience hall

The main hall of Chuzu nunnery is located on the central axis behind the mountain gate, with a rectangular plane, facing south, three rooms wide and three rooms deep. Single eaves rest peak, glazed tile cut edge. Under the eaves, five pavilions were set up to make a single copy of the arch, and the space between the pavilions was set up to make Shi zhenang. In the Ming Dynasty, there were two Banmen, two vertical lattice square windows, four octagonal stone columns on the front eaves, and relief sculptures of pomegranate, rolling grass, birds and Jiyue. There are four stone pillars in the hall, on which there are reliefs of the heavenly king, Panlong and Binjia. The upper beams of the hall were made in the upper Ming Dynasty, and the later pillars were made by shifting pillars. There is a Buddhist niche in the hall. In the lower part of the East, West and North walls of the hall, stones are laid inside and outside to protect the feet, and clouds, flowing water, dragons, elephants, fish, mussels, Buddha statues, figures and buildings are carved. The main hall is built on a high stone platform, with bluestones in front and back stepping on the road, and a door on the back wall of the hall.

There are color murals on the East and West gables and back walls of the main hall of Chuzu nunnery. Ten murals are painted on the east side of the East gable and back wall, which are the statues of the 13th patriarch. The statues of the 22nd to 35th patriarch are painted on the southwest side of the West gable and back wall. Some of the arched walls in the hall are painted with images of Sakyamuni. There are also sculptures in the center of the hall. There are many flowers on each side. Among the flowers, there are unicorn, lion, landscape, ancient temple, sea water, ferry boat, small bridge, flowing water, character story and so on. Each corner is carved with a strongman to support. The niche is made of wood carving, with a bucket arch carved on the upper eaves. In the niche, there are statues of Dharma, two ancestors Huike, three ancestors sengcan, four ancestors Daoxin and five ancestors Hongren.

 

Two pavilions

The East Pavilion, also known as the pavilion of the Holy Father and the Virgin Mary, has a wide surface and a deep depth. It sits in the north and south, and its plane is square. It is a quadrangular Pavilion style building. In the pavilion, there are six murals of Bodhisattva and Avalokitesvara on the north wall; five murals on the east wall, including the mythical story of riding a green ox, a martial arts contest, riding an elephant, riding an ox head and a horse face beast, and offering a pagoda in a vase; five murals on the west wall, including the mythical story of riding a unicorn, rowing a boat across the river, and riding a dragon head and a cow body beast; and four landscape paintings on the south wall, which were painted during the renovation in 1923. The pavilion was originally used as a statue of Dharma's parents, which was later destroyed. In 1986, the statue of Dharma's parents and brothers was rebuilt in the pavilion.

The West Pavilion, also known as the "facing Pavilion", has a wide face and a deep depth. It sits north to South and has a square plane. It is a pavilion style building with four corners and a sharp top. One door and two windows in the south. In the West Court, there were statues of Dharma and "Dharma facing stone". "Mianbi stone" was moved to Shaolin Temple in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. The statue in the pavilion was later destroyed, and the existing Dharma statue was rebuilt in 1984. The original murals of Ming Dynasty in the West Pavilion have been peeled off. The murals in the East and northwest of the pavilion were painted in 1923 when they were rebuilt.

 

Thousand Buddha Pavilion

Qianfo Pavilion is located on the central axis behind the main hall of Chuzu nunnery. It is the northernmost building of Chuzu nunnery. It has three rooms in width and three rooms in depth, about 110 square meters. It is a hard mountain building with a small gray tile roof. In front of the door, there are two square windows. Above the door, there is a stone plaque, which reads "Thousand Buddha Pavilion". Inside the pavilion, there are statues of Guanyin Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva and Huike.

 

In front of Qianfo Pavilion, there is a stone relic of the first year of Jingkang (1126) of the Northern Song Dynasty. It is depicted by lines on all sides. In the picture, the heavenly king's eyes are full of anger, either holding a sword or a pestle; the beautiful lady holds flowers and fruits in her hand, and her posture is beautiful; the ghost King's hair is disheveled, and his fierce face is exposed.

 

Stone Carving

There are more than 40 stone inscriptions around the hall of the first ancestor's nunnery, among which the famous ones are Huang Tingjian's Ode to Dharma, Cai Bian's nunnery with Dharma facing the wall, and the Sanskrit Sutra of the 20th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty (1484).

 

Ancient wood

There is a giant cypress in the southeast corner outside the main hall of chuzu'an. It is said that Huineng, the sixth ancestor of Shaolin Zen, brought it back from Guangdong and planted it by himself.

 

History and culture

Historical origin

Bodhidharma, also known as Damo, was a free translation of Juefa. He sailed to Guangzhou during the reign of emperor Liangwu of the Southern Dynasty. He calls himself the 28th ancestor of Buddhism and Zen, and is the ancestor of Chinese Zen, so Zen is also called "Dharma" and "Dharma"

Chinese PinYin : Chu Zu An