Xuanzhong Temple

Xuanzhong Temple

Xuanzhong temple is located on Shibi mountain, ten kilometers northwest of Jiaocheng County, Shanxi Province. It was founded in 472, the second year of Yanxing in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and completed in 476, the first year of Chengming Dynasty. Therefore, it is also called "Shibi Temple".

From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Xuanzhong Temple successively resided in Xi, the three great ancestors of the Pure Land Sect of Chinese Buddhism. The pure land belief of Mituo spread rapidly from the scholar class to the Chinese people, and then established a sect and spread to Korea and Japan. Xuanzhong Temple became another ancestor of the Pure Land Sect of Chinese Buddhism after the Donglin Temple of Lushan Mountain.

In 1983, Xuanzhong temple was listed by the State Council as a national key Buddhist temple in the Han area.

In 2012, it was rated as AAAA scenic spot by the National Tourism Administration.

Historical evolution

Xuanzhong temple was founded in 472, the second year of Yanxing in Northern Wei Dynasty, and built in 476, the first year of Chengming Dynasty.

During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tan Luan (476-542) moved to Xuanzhong temple in his later years to publicize the essence of Pure Land Sect, and many people converted to it. Guanwuliangshou Sutra, which was worshipped by Tanluan, is one of the three Sutras of the Pure Land Sect. At the request of Mrs. wetishi, it tells the believers about the body of Amitabha Buddha and the sixteen ways of thinking about the solemnity of the pure land of Bliss (sixteen views).

At the end of Sui Dynasty and the beginning of Tang Dynasty, the famous monk daochuo presided over Xuanzhong temple, and the temple flourished again. Daochuo went to Xuanzhong temple in the fifth year of Daye (609) of Sui Dynasty. He was moved by master Tanluan's chanting of Buddha in the tablet because he saw the tablet of monk Tanluan. Since then, he spread the doctrine of pure land around Xuanzhong temple and advocated pinching beads to chant Buddha.

In the ninth year of Zhenguan (635 AD), Emperor Taizong Li Shimin paid a personal visit to the temple with the respect of his son of heaven. He gave alms to the "treasures" and rebuilt the temple. He also named it "Shibi Yongning Temple" to pray for Empress changsun. In 645, daonao passed away in Xuanzhong temple. After that, Shandao went back to Chang'an to spread the doctrine of pure land. In 812, the seventh year of Yuanhe reign of emperor Xianzong of Tang Dynasty, it was named Yongning Temple on the stone wall of Longshan.

In 793 A.D., Emperor Dezong of the Tang dynasty built the "Ganlu Wuwu Yitan" in the temple, which is known as the three national abstinence altar together with the inspiration altar in Chang'an, the western capital, and the Huishan altar in Luoyang, the eastern capital.

In 1090, the fifth year of Zhao Xu's reign in Song Dynasty, and 1186, the 26th year of Dading's reign in Jin Dynasty, the temple was burned down twice, and most of it was restored by Daozhen and Yuanzhao.

At the end of Jin Dynasty, the temple was destroyed again.

In 1238, Emperor Taizong of the Yuan Dynasty granted Xuanzhong temple the title of "ten great Xuanzhong temple in Yongning, the protector of the state of Longshan", which has been called "Xuanzhong Temple" since then. With the support of Mongolian rulers, abbot Huixin revived the temple. In 1244, the Mongolian court sent envoys to Xuanzhong temple to attend a three day and three night water land Taoist temple to pray for heaven's blessing. During the reign of Kublai Khan, Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty, Guang'an, a disciple of Huixin, made a record of Lu Du monks in Taiyuan. With the support of the Yuan government, Xuanzhong Temple reached its peak. Not only does the temple have a large area of land and mountain forests, but it also has 40 lower houses.

In Yongle and Jiajing of Ming Dynasty and Qianlong and Jiaqing of Qing Dynasty, Xuanzhong Temple flourished with the prosperity of feudal dynasty, and the temple was rebuilt and expanded many times.

During the reign of Tongzhi and Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, with the decline of the Qing Dynasty, Xuanzhong temple was reduced to ruins, monks scattered and cultural relics were lost.

On May 10, 1994, Xuanzhong Temple held a grand opening ceremony for the bronze statues of Tanluan, daochuo and Shandao.

In 2011, Xuanzhong temple was awarded the title of "the first national advanced collective of building harmonious temples and churches" by the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and the State Bureau of religious affairs.

In November 2012, Xuanzhong temple was rated as AAAA scenic spot by the National Tourism Administration.

Architectural pattern

On the central axis of Xuanzhong temple, from south to north, there are Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall, seven Buddha Hall and Thousand Buddha Hall. From low to high, they are well arranged and integrated with the mountain. The mountain gate is a single eaves type door opening with four simple and vigorous characters of "Yongning Temple" in the middle. Tianwang hall is a single eaves Xieshan style, with the Maitreya Buddha statue in the middle for everyone's pleasure. On both sides are clay statues of Zhiguo Tianwang, Zhangchang Tianwang, Guangmu Tianwang and Duowen Tianwang. On both sides of Tianwang hall are bell and drum towers. On the East and west sides of the South Road from the heavenly king hall to the main hall, there are small stele pavilions, in which there are ancient steles. In the west is the stele of "Ode to iron Maitreya statue in Shibi Temple" established in the 29th year of Kaiyuan (741). To the East is the stele of Ganlu Yitan of Tang Shibi Chan temple, which was re carved in 1332 and established in 813.

Main attractions

Architecture

The most ancient building in the temple is the temple of heavenly kings, seven Buddhas, Thousand Buddhas and four temples built in the 33rd year of Wanli reign of emperor Shenzong of Ming Dynasty (1605 A.D.). In addition, there are the second floor of the bell and drum, the north and south tower courtyard, the ancestral hall, the dove hall, the reception hall, the zhunti hall, the monk's house, the Zen courtyard, the guest room, the Zhaitang and other buildings scattered everywhere; Qiurong tower, the East Peak of Xiongzhi temple, is a relic of the Song Dynasty.

main hall

Daxiong hall is the main building of Xuanzhong temple. It is five rooms wide, about 25 meters long and 20 meters wide, with a single eaves. In the middle of the hall is a wooden statue of Amitabha, solemn, kind and solemn. Amitabha is the main belief object of Pure Land Sect. It is considered to be the leader of the Western Paradise. It can lead the Buddhists to the "Western Pure Land", so it is also called "Jieyin Buddha". Therefore, the Mahatma Hall of Xuanzhong temple does not worship Sakyamuni Buddha as the Mahatma Hall of other temples, but only the Buddha statue of Amitabha. There are sixteen Arhats hanging around the hall, with different postures and detached forms. In the courtyard on the west side of the main hall, there is the ancestral hall. On the front of the hall are the portraits of Tanluan, daochuo and Shandao. On September 18, 1957, the three portraits were presented by a Buddhist delegation headed by elder Huiqing kanhara and Takahashi to visit Xuanzhong temple. They were painted by Japan's Pure Land Sect, nobuyama Zhien temple, zengshang temple, Zhenzong Benyuan temple and dongbenyuan temple. In front of the niche hang a pair of beautiful building flags, which were presented by Japan's Pure Land Sect in 1980 to commemorate the death of master Shandao in 1300 years. The ancestral hall also displays the sutras, religious objects, photos and other gifts given by the Japanese Buddhist community.

Seven Buddha Hall

On the hall of the seven Buddhas, there is a plaque of "the holy land of the west". In the temple, there are gold-plated clay statues of the seven Buddhas, all of which are sitting statues. These seven Buddhas are vipassa corpse Buddha, corpse abandoning Buddha, vishe Buddha, kelousun Buddha, kanahan Buddha, Kaya Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha.

Tombstone Pavilion

The tower is Pavilion style, single-layer stone structure, with a height of 2.31 meters and a base diameter of 1.5 meters. The pagoda is square, the base of the pagoda is square lotus seat, and the seat is square diamond throne. Lotus reliefs are carved on three sides of the waist. The top of the tower is supported by a group of lotus flowers. It is designed according to the traditional form of si'a Ding in ancient China. On the top of the tower, there are four layers of astringent inward, on which a group of beautiful and straight leaves are supported. The Tasha part consists of three groups of lotus patterns with a mani pearl on it. There are 108 lotus petals in the whole tower, which means that chanting Buddha can get rid of the worries of hundreds of people and gain the ignorance of hundreds of people.

inscriptions on a tablet

There are 48 steles in the temple. There are steles of statues in the Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Sui dynasties, steles of altar, steles of Sizhuang mountain forest and steles of iron Maitreya in Shibi temple in Tang Dynasty. In addition, there are dozens of inscriptions in song, yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Among them is a rare basiba imperial edict tablet, which was carved in 1271, the eighth year of the Yuan Dynasty. On the front is basiba, and on the back is Chinese characters. In addition, there is a stele in 823, which records the beginning and end of Xuanzhong temple and the situation of Tianzhuang.

The inscriptions not only record the rise and fall of Xuanzhong temple, but also provide valuable information for the study of Chinese Buddhism history, especially the history of Pure Land Sect.

Buddha statue

The statues in the fourth year of Yanchang in the Northern Wei Dynasty (515) and the statues of Thousand Buddhas in the third year of Heqing in the Northern Qi Dynasty (564) are two of the oldest cultural relics in the temple and important materials for studying the early history of Xuanzhong temple. There are also cast iron Maitreya Buddha of Song Dynasty and wood carving Buddha of Ming Dynasty, both of which are precious cultural relics. These cultural relics are not only important materials for the study of Chinese Buddhist history, but also have reference value for the study of social economy and culture at that time.

There are statues of Buddha, donors and inscriptions on the steles of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The inscription reads: "in the fourth year of Yanchang in the great dynasty, on the seventh day of the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, the seventh day of the fifth lunar month, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the seventh day of the seventh

In 1954, two gilded iron Buddhas of the Song Dynasty were unearthed from the ruins of the Thousand Buddhas Hall of Xuanzhong temple, which is also helpful to the study of foundry technology of the Song Dynasty.

Temple protection

Xuanzhong temple was reborn after the founding of new China. In order to implement the policy of freedom of religious belief and properly preserve Buddhist cultural relics, the local government has protected the temples, Buddha statues and cultural relics in the temple. Since 1954, the whole temple has been repaired on a large scale. The main hall was rebuilt

Chinese PinYin : Xuan Zhong Si