Youxian Temple

Youxian Temple

Youxian temple is located at the foot of Youxian mountain, 10km south of Gaoping City. The mountain is beautiful, with lush trees. The temple is located in the valley, quiet and elegant.

Historical origin

Youxian temple is a large-scale temple with a grand gate, a grand Pavilion, a three entrance courtyard, a front hall, a middle hall and a seven Buddha Hall, and a side hall, a wing room and a veranda.

Youxian temple was founded in the Chunhua period of the Northern Song Dynasty (990-994). It was renovated repeatedly in the Jin, yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The existing front hall is still the original of the Northern Song Dynasty. Three square, single eaves Xieshan, before and after eaves are equipped with wood spirit flower fan hall. The brackets are bright and bright, and the beams are made of huge materials.

Layout structure

Youxian temple, built in the Jin Dynasty, has five bay suspended mountain style, six rafter houses, regular beams, solid structure, steady and solemn. This temple is a masterpiece of wood architecture in the song and Jin Dynasties. There is one octagonal seven level brick on the east slope outside the temple, which was built in the seventh year of the Yuan Dynasty (1290).

Cultural relics protection

Youxian temple, announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit on May 26, 2001.

Youxian temple was founded in the Northern Song Dynasty Chunhua years (990-994). The existing front hall is still the original of the Song Dynasty, and the rest are added to the later generations. Pilu Hall (front hall), the main building of the temple, was built in the first year of Chunhua in the Northern Song Dynasty (990), and is now made in the Song Dynasty.

There are three halls in Youxian temple, which are square in plane, gentle in lifting and folding, far-reaching out of eaves, solemn and steady in appearance. Under the eaves, there are five pavilions of Dougong, which are made by double copying. The Dougong on the head of a column is made of a single copy and a single bottom, and is of the bamboo style. Although this form has been seen in other Song Dynasty buildings in Shanxi Province, it is more than 100 years later than the front hall of Youxian temple in Gaoping, which is a precedent in this form.

Great significance

With a long history and rich cultural heritage, Jincheng is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. As early as in the late Paleolithic period 20000 years ago, the footprints of human life were left here. It is said that Nu Wa, Shen Nong, Chi you, Yao, Shun and Yu, the leaders of the Jiuli tribe, once lived here.

Historical legends such as Nuwa mending the sky (it is said that the site and habitat of Nuwa's mending the sky, the ancestor of Chinese culture, is also in the North Valley of Fushan mountain on the North Bank of Danhe River in Shuidong Township, Zezhou county), Shennong sowing (Yangtou mountain and ancient tombs where Shennong, the first emperor of China, collected grains and tasted herbs are also in Gaoping City), Yu chiseling the stone gate (there is a stone gate in Yangcheng County), Yugong moving the mountain and so on.

Historical records

In the ancient book Mozi, there were records of "Shun ploughed in Lishan" (now there is shunwangping in Lishan county) and "fishing in huoze" (now there is huoze River in the east of Yangcheng County). There are also primitive cultures represented by Qinshui Xiachuan, Lingchuan tashuihe and xiyaoquan, and Neolithic cultures represented by Zezhou Gaodu and Qinshui baliping. In 260 BC, the famous "battle of Changping" in history took place in Gaoping City, Jincheng.

Address: at the foot of Youxian mountain, 10km south of Pingxian County, Gaoping City, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province

Longitude: 112.92320259944

Latitude: 35.727338054138

Tel: 0356-2057555

Chinese PinYin : You Xian Si