Hanging Temple

Hanging Temple

Xuankong Temple, located between the cliffs of Cuiping peak on the west side of Jinlong gorge, Hengshan, Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province, was originally called Xuankong Pavilion. Xuankong comes from Chinese Taoist doctrines, while emptiness comes from Buddhist doctrines. Later, it was renamed Xuankong Temple because the whole temple is like hanging on a cliff. In Chinese, "Xuankong" is homonymous with "Xuan", so it gets its name. Built in 491 ad, it is a unique Temple integrating Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. "Xuankong Temple" is a very special building, which is famous for its precipitousness like facing an abyss. It is known as the slang "Xuankong Temple, half a day high, three horsetails hanging in the air", which is famous for its precipitousness like facing an abyss.

Xuankong Temple is a key cultural relic protection unit in Shanxi Province. It is the "first scenic spot" among the 18 sceneries of Hengshan Mountain

. In 2010, it was selected as one of the top ten dangerous buildings in the world by time magazine

.

Historical evolution

In the first year of Tianxing (398 AD), the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty was Pingcheng (today's Datong City). Kou Qianzhi (365-448 AD), the Taoist priest of the Northern Wei Dynasty, left a message before his death: to build a temple in the sky, so as to achieve the goal of "ascending the sky and descending the sky". The temple was built in 491 ad, the 15th year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

In the 23rd year of Kaiyuan (735 AD), Li Bai wrote the word "spectacular" on the cliff after visiting Xuankong Temple. The existing architecture of Xuankong Temple is a relic of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In 2010, Xuankong Temple was selected as one of the top ten dangerous buildings in the world by time magazine

.

In April 2019, Xuankong Temple completed the establishment of high-precision real 3D model, making it a real digital asset that can be inherited for thousands of years.

Architectural pattern

Xuankong Temple, with a total length of about 32 meters and 40 pavilions and temples, is arranged like "one courtyard and two floors". The general layout of Xuankong Temple includes temple, Zen room, Buddha Hall, three Buddha Hall, Taiyi hall, Guandi temple, Drum Tower, bell tower, Jialan hall, Songzi Guanyin hall, dizang King Bodhisattva hall, Qianshou guanjian hall, Sakyamuni hall, Leiyin hall, Sanguan hall, Chunyang palace, plank road, Sanjiao Hall, five Buddha Hall, etc. The two magnificent three eaves high-rise buildings in the north and south of Xieshan mountain seem to face each other in the air, hanging on the cliff like a knife, surrounded by three ring corridors, six halls and pavilions intersect with each other, and the trestle road flies, each connected, and the height is scattered. At first glance, there are only a dozen wooden pillars about the diameter of the bowl mouth to support the temple, and the highest point is about 50 meters above the ground. The mechanical principle is based on half inserted beam, with the help of rock support, corridor railings, upper and lower beams and columns are closely connected to form a whole wooden frame structure, which also increases the seismic degree.

Main buildings

South Tower

The south building is three stories high, about 8 meters long and 4 meters wide, with Chunyang palace, Sanguan palace, Sanjiao palace and Leiyin palace. Chunyang palace, also known as luzu temple, is mainly dedicated to LV Dongbin, one of the eight immortals of Taoism; the third palace is the largest one in the whole construction of Xuankong Temple, with statues of clay sculpture treasures of Ming Dynasty; the third official refers to the heavenly official who blesses people, the earth official who forgives people, and the water official who relieves people of their misfortunes. The clay sculpture, about 2 meters high, is the largest statue in Xuankong Temple. Below it are maids, young and old ministers, marshal Tianpeng and two generals of tortoise and snake. Leiyin hall is a Buddhist hall, located at the top of the south tower. Buddhism believes that when Sakyamuni carried forward Buddhism, his voice was as loud as thunder, so it is called Leiyin hall.

North Building

The north building is three stories high, about 7 meters long and 4 meters wide. It is divided into five Buddha Hall, Guanyin hall and Sanjiao hall. The five Buddha Hall is located on the lowest floor, which is named after the five Buddhas. Guanyin hall is in the middle of the building, and Sanjiao hall is a typical Pavilion embodying the unity of the three religions, which is located at the top of the third part of Xuankong Temple. The three religious leaders gathered together. Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, was in the middle. Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, was on the left. Laozi, the founder of Taoism, was on the right. The three religions were dedicated to one hall, which is extremely rare in temple buildings all over the country. The architecture of Xuankong Temple embodies the lofty state of the Chinese nation and the world.

Long line bridge

The long line bridge, about 10 meters long, is located between the South Building and the north building. A building is built on the bridge, a hall is built inside the building, and Buddha is served in the hall. Long line bridge combines Buddhist temples, buildings and other landscape together, forming a fantastic, dangerous and ingenious landscape.

Architectural features

Hengshan Xuankong Temple is based on half inserted flying beams by using mechanical principles. It is supported by rocks. The beams and columns are integrated up and down, and the corridors and railings are connected left and right. The twists and turns are extraordinary, and the virtual and the real coexist. There are more than 80 bronze, iron, stone and clay Buddha statues in the temple. The word "spectacular" is on the rock under the temple, which is the ink treasure of Li Bai, the poet of Tang Dynasty. The whole temple is a wooden frame structure. It is built on a cliff and inserted with a cantilever beam. The pavilions are connected by a plank road. It is backed by a steep cliff and next to a deep valley. The temple is not big, but it is exquisite and spectacular.

The distribution of the halls and towers is symmetrical with changes, scattered with connections, twists and turns, virtual and real with each other, small and exquisite, rich in space, changeable in level, small in size, small in size, compact in layout and scattered in dependence. Xuankong Temple is not only breathtaking, strange and spectacular in appearance, but also has distinctive architectural structure with rich and colorful forms. The eaves have single eaves, double eaves and three-tier eaves. The structure includes beam lifting structure, flat roof structure and bucket arch structure. The roof has main ridge, vertical ridge, berm ridge and poor ridge. The overall appearance, skillfully constructed, and overlapped, creates a unique style with buildings in caves, caves in buildings, Banbi Lou Dian, Banbi Ku, Kulian Dian and dianlian Lou. It not only integrates the art of Chinese garden architecture, but also does not lose the pattern of Chinese traditional architecture. Among the existing bronze, iron, clay and stone sculptures in Xuankong Temple, many styles and styles have the characteristics of early times, which are treasures of high artistic value.

Cultural relics protection

In 1957, Xuankong Temple was listed as a key cultural relic protection unit in Shanxi Province. In 1982, it was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit.

In September 2007, Hengshan Management Committee invested nearly 10 million yuan to carry out the comprehensive environmental treatment project of Xuankong Temple. The project has completed a total of 200000 cubic meters of riverbed dredging and the restoration of the historical height of the temple 80 meters from the bottom of the valley.

In October 2013, there was someone secretly digging coal behind Cuiping mountain, which caused great damage to the environment of Xuankong Temple scenic spot.

Temple evaluation

Xuankong Temple is one of the most famous temples in the world for its dangerous location, marvelous architecture, ingenious structure and rich connotation. It is not only a national treasure of the Chinese nation, but also a precious cultural heritage of mankind. A British architect wrote: "China's Xuankong Temple integrates mechanics, aesthetics and religion to achieve perfection. Such a unique art is rare in the world. Only through this visit can we really see the splendid culture, art and civilization history of this ancient nation. Xuankong Temple is not only the pride of the Chinese people, but also the pride of the people of the world.

Nino, an archaeologist in Venice, Italy, believes that the hanging temple and everything it symbolizes reflect the great cultural achievements of the Chinese nation and the outstanding embodiment of the wisdom of the Chinese people. Just for this unique temple, it is worth visiting China.

Temple legend

It is said that many years ago, there was a temple on the mountain opposite Xuankong Temple. The temple is not big, with high mountains and steep slopes. Few people come except for some pilgrims who are seriously ill at home. There is a monk in the temple. His name is master Baima. The temple is also called Baima temple. Master Baima doesn't abide by the rules of Buddhism. Whenever he sees pilgrims coming to Xuankong Temple, he is very jealous.

One day, master Baima was determined to meet Taoist Jingwu. He pointed to the South with a brush, and the Tangyu River started a flood. The water was fierce and frightening. Then he pointed with his hand, and the flood rushed to Xuankong Temple. Taoist Jingwu is meditating in the temple. When he hears the sound of water, he knows that it is master Baima. He is not in a hurry, the mouth is chanting, the water slowly back down. Seven times in a row, the water was only five feet away from Xuankong Temple, but there was no water. Master Baima couldn't help it. He pointed out with his hand that the water flowed down the river and scraped off a corner of Hunyuan city.

When Taoist Jingwu saw master Baima looking for something, he got angry and yelled to the air, "Black Hawk, where are you?" As soon as the words came down, a big black hawk flew out of the cave and landed on the corner of the hanging temple. Jingwu Taoist said: "Black Hawk, white horse is a bad animal of Buddhism. If you don't teach, people will be restless. Go to teach him and don't hurt your life." The Black Hawk flapped and flew. Master Baima didn't know how big Taoist Jingwu was, and what's more, he didn't know the magic power of his elder disciple. He saw the Black Hawk flying to Baima temple, flapping his wings and whistling. In the blink of an eye, the fire was raging. Master Baima dodged aside. It was dangerous. A temple soon turned to ashes. Master Baima was afraid, so he rode a broom and fled to the air. When he left, he swept the dust, pumped out a stream of water, and rushed to the Black Hawk's nest. However, his magic power was limited, and he only washed the gravel and mud from the Black Hawk's hole clean.

People go to Xuankong Temple, walk into tangyukou half a mile, look up, you can see a hole in the middle of the mountain. Further inside, on the mountain peak of Hengshan opposite to Xuankong Temple, there is a piece of flat ground with some broken walls. This is the site of Heiying cave and Baima temple.

Travel Tips

admission ticket

The full ticket is 115 yuan (15 yuan for admission and 100 yuan for boarding fee); the half ticket is 58 yuan（

Chinese PinYin : Xuan Kong Si