Dinghui temple in Suzhou

Dinghui temple in Suzhou

Dinghui temple, located in Dinghui alley, Fenghuang street, Suzhou, has a quiet environment. Since ancient times, there has been a gathering of celebrities and a profound cultural heritage. The two ancient ginkgo trees in front of the main hall remember the vicissitudes of Dinghui temple. At the turn of the century, Dinghui temple has opened a new page. With the strong support of the government and the Buddhist circles, it presents itself in a brand-new appearance to the world. Today's Dinghui temple is close to Fenghuang street in the west, with a lot of traffic and a modern flavor; it is adjacent to Sugong Lane in the East, with a deep winding path, and the ancient charm of Tang and Song Dynasties still exists. Dinghui Temple Lane in front of the mountain gate, named after the temple.

People in the alley of Dinghui Temple work, rest and live with the morning bell and evening drum of Dinghui temple every day. Although they are in the downtown, they are very quiet. In this land and water, Dinghui temple is like a Zen monk, coming to us with the legacy of Tang and Song Dynasties, into our lives and hearts, bringing us peace and serenity. When you come near Dinghui temple, you can deeply feel the pulse of Suzhou's history. If you taste Dinghui temple, you can see that Suzhou is worthy of being a famous historical and cultural city.

Historical evolution

Dinghui temple, located at 34 Dinghui Temple Lane, Fenghuang street, was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Suzhou in 1982. During the Yuan Dynasty, Dinghui temple was destroyed again. During the Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty (1368-1398), it was rebuilt. During the Zhengtong period of Ming Dynasty (1436-1449), Kuang Zhong, the governor of Suzhou, rebuilt the main hall and changed it into "Dinghui Temple".

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1662-1722), Tang yaoren, a Li, contributed to the reconstruction of the main hall, Guanyin hall and Maitreya hall. In the first year of Daoguang (1821), Hu Fu was rebuilt again. However, in the Xianfeng Period, there were more internal worries and more foreign troubles, and Dinghui temple was once again destroyed by war.

Reconstruction period

In 1864, master Benxiu raised money to rebuild the temple. In 1926, Seng Lingxin raised money to rebuild the temple. Only then can Dinghui Temple remain today. But after the war, Dinghui Temple suffered another disaster. Most of the buildings were destroyed. Only the mountain gate, Tianwang hall and Daxiong hall were left, and they were all dilapidated. In 1958, Dinghui temple was occupied by the seventh plastic factory of Suzhou City as a factory building. So far, the legacy of Tang and Song Dynasties has disappeared, and the ancient temple buildings have been damaged to varying degrees.

Xiantongjian in Tang Dynasty was the Prajna courtyard created by Sheng Chu. It was still the Luohan courtyard in the Five Dynasties when the Qian family lived in Wu and Yue. It was also called the Western courtyard in the Northern Song Dynasty when yongxijian lived in Yongxi. It was granted to the erdinghui temple in Dazhong xiangfujian, which was divided into two temples with Shouning WANSUI Temple (Shuangta Temple).

Related allusions

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, it was destroyed by war. In Hongwu of Ming Dynasty, Seng zezang mountain, Jingxin, Huize, and Yongle Seng Jingyin were rebuilt successively. Xuande nine years (1434) that Kuang Zhong donation, orthodox two years (1437) reconstruction of the main hall. At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, it gradually collapsed. In 1672, the monk stopped at Xi. Tang yaoren, a Li, donated money to rebuild the Guanyin hall and rebuild the main hall and Maitreya hall. In 1836, Gu Yuan, a native of the city, raised money to repair the temple.

From the 10th year of Xianfeng (1860) to the 2nd year of tongzhi (1863), it was destroyed by the war. In the third year of Tongzhi, monks and disciples successively raised money to build dizang and Tianwang temples. In 1926, the monk Lingxin was recruited for cultivation.

Ancient and modern humanities

Su Shi, a famous litterateur in Song Dynasty, was friendly with Shouqin, the monk in charge of Dinghui temple. When they came and went to Suzhou, they would live in the temple. At the beginning of Shaosheng period, Su Shi was demoted to Huizhou and separated from Su Mai, his eldest son, who lived in Yixing. Zhuo Qishun, a disciple of the imperial guards, traveled to Huizhou with Su Mai's letters and presented the poem "ten Ode to the cold mountain". Su Shi wrote eight poems of thanks and Tao Yuanming's return poems as a gift to Zhuo Qishun.

In the fourth year of Zhengtong reign of Ming Dynasty, Zhou Chen, the governor, wrote an inscription and postscript for Su Shi's "going back to my hometown" in ink, and ordered him to take charge of the wall of the temple. Kuang Zhong Jianxiao Xuan, the magistrate, commemorates Su Shi. In the fourteenth year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, Li Yanzhang proposed that Suzhou officials and gentry raise funds to build the Su Gong temple in the north of the temple.

It was destroyed in the 10th year of Xianfeng, rebuilt in the 7th year of Tongzhi, and repaired in the 19th year of Guangxu (1893). It's not for today.

Main building

Dinghui temple has some buildings in Qing Dynasty, such as mountain gate, Tianwang hall and main hall, facing south. The main hall is a single eaves Xieshan building, with three rooms 19 meters wide, 18 meters deep and about 12 meters high. All sides of the eaves and columns are stone columns with painted corners. Under the eaves, there are elephant trunks and maple arches. The beam frame is flat with complete structure. In front of the hall, two ancient ginkgo trees stand side by side. The trees are more than 200 years old, and the summer is full of shade. In the winter of 1991, the main hall was repaired.

Stele commemoration

There are still four kinds of inscriptions, namely: the stele of rebuilding the temple of Buddha in Dinghui temple, Zhang Hongwen, looking forward to the book, Zhang Xu's zhuan'e, erected in the second year of Ming Zhengtong; the true portrait of Su Wenzhong in Song Dynasty, engraved with the whole body portrait of Su Shi, the poem of Weng Fanggang in 1816, the inscription of Li Yanzhang in the fourteenth year of Daoguang, copied in the same year; the poem stele of Su Wenzhong temple, the poem of Li chaoqiong in 1816, copied in the tenth year of Guangxu It was established in 1928, written by Wang Longhan and Dong Wei.

Address: No.34, dinghuisi lane, Fenghuang street, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province

Longitude: 120.63271469759

Latitude: 31.306523931945

Chinese PinYin : Su Zhou Ding Hui Si