Wangji Temple

Wangji Temple

Wangji temple is located in Paofang street, Dongguan, Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province. It was founded in the first year of Tang Dynasty (705). It has a history of more than 1300 years. It is a royal temple built by Princess Taiping of Zhenguo to pray for Empress Wu Zetian. The name of the temple comes from the book of songs, which says, "if you want to repay your virtue, you will lose your heaven.". In the heyday of Tang Dynasty, he lived between Daming Palace and Xingqing palace, and served as a royal court ritual in the imperial city of Tang Dynasty.

Monk Yixing, a famous astronomer of the Tang Dynasty, was buried in this temple after his death. The temple was rebuilt in the early Ming Dynasty. The site of the temple moved from the southeast corner of Daning square in Chang'an city to Anxing square in Tang Dynasty. It is now a nunnery temple, with the main hall, King Kong hall, bell and Drum Tower and mountain gate.

Wangji temple is one of the ancestors of Pure Land Buddhism in China. Its religious, cultural, cultural relics and historic sites are rare in China.

Historical evolution

Wangji temple is a key cultural relic protection unit in Xi'an. It is located in the north of Paofang street, Dongguan, Xi'an. In the first year of emperor Zhongzong of Tang Dynasty (705), Princess Taiping was established by her mother Wu Zetian. It is named after the book of songs, which means that "if you want to repay your virtue, you can be a great man, but not a great man". According to historical records, "poor and gorgeous, it is a famous temple in Kyoto." Monk Yixing, a famous astronomer of the Tang Dynasty, was buried in this temple after his death. The temple was rebuilt in the early Ming Dynasty. The site of the temple moved from the southeast corner of Daning square in Chang'an city to Anxing square in Tang Dynasty. It is now a nunnery temple, with the main hall, King Kong hall, bell and Drum Tower and mountain gate. Yao Chong, the famous Prime Minister of Tang Dynasty, often lived in the temple. During the Kaiyuan period, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty set up a temple of holy appearance in Wangji temple, where he placed portraits of his true appearance for people to worship. There are works of famous painters such as Wei Chi Yi Seng, Wu Daozi, Zhou Fang, Dong ER and Yang tingguang in the temple. During the period of Zhonghe, a tree peony in the temple blossomed more than 2000 in a year, which was a wonder.

In the eighth year of Kaiyuan, Emperor Xuanzong ordered to demolish Xingqing palace and Daming Palace to expand Wangji temple. In the twentieth year of Kaiyuan (732 AD), Emperor Xuanzong changed Wangji temple into "Xingtang Temple". In the first year of Changqing of emperor Mu Zong of Tang Dynasty (821 A.D.), the Tang Dynasty and Tufan erected a monument to build an alliance, which is the famous "Changqing alliance" in history. The alliance ceremony was held in the Wangji Temple (then known as Xingtang Temple). At present, the monument of Changqing alliance is still well preserved in Dazhao temple in Lhasa, which highlights the status of Wangji temple as the royal temple of Tang Dynasty.

Wangji temple was repaired on a large scale in 1443, 1789 and 1850. A pair of stone carvings on the left and right sides of the temple gate are the original stone carvings of the Tang Dynasty. In 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi later took refuge in Xi'an and wrote the word "tiger" for the temple's host. In 1935, the national government changed the Wangji temple into a forest of ten Buddhist nuns, with steles. At present, the four words "Da Xiong Bao Dian" in Wangji temple are inscribed by the late Mr. Zhao Puchu, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and chairman of the Chinese Buddhist Association. In 2005, Wangji Temple held the first "two monks preaching Dharma Association" in Shaanxi History, which had a far-reaching influence. After being presided over by master nengshun, there are Shenglian and Guofang. Now master Chang Rui presides over the ceremony.

Temple architecture

There is a grand and simple Pagoda Forest behind the Wangji temple, which is a precious cultural treasure house for studying the history of Pure Land Sect and Wangji temple. Talin is a cemetery for the burial of eminent monks and masters of the past dynasties in Wangji temple. Each tower is inlaid with a blue stone tablet, engraved with the eminent monk's name, resume, Dynasty, year, month, day, etc. Because Wangji temple is a temple built by imperial edict, the Yuanji pagoda of eminent monks is very magnificent, with a height of more than 10 meters, and its shape is like Beihai White Pagoda in Beijing. The world-famous pagodas of Shaolin Temple are all brick pagodas, while the pagodas of Wangji temple are mainly made of white stone, so they are much stronger. Although the pagodas more than one thousand years old are still intact, and are much higher and more magnificent than the pagodas of Shaolin Temple, the sun and moon on the top of the pagodas are still shining. The pagodas of Wangji temple are all Lama white pagodas, which are related to the famous "Changqing League" in history. The White Pagoda in the Pagoda Forest of Wangji temple has its own characteristics due to the different times and Dynasties when it was built.

Famous monk

In history, Wangji temple was welcomed by Xuanzong after he studied in India for 18 years. His disciple Cheng Yuan passed on his disciple FA Zhao again. He was revered as the third and fourth ancestors of the Pure Land Sect, and Yongming Yanshou. The thought of both Chan Renjing and Chan Jing inherited the thought system of cimin Huiri Sanzang, which had a far-reaching influence on the Pure Land Sect.

Tang astronomer and his group of monks lived in xiwangji Temple many times in their lives. In 727 ad, they died in Huayan Temple. Xuanzong Zhao ordered them to park their coffins in the temple and bury them in tongrenyuan. They were given the title of "Chan Master Dahui" and ordered Han Gan, a famous painter, to make a portrait of them and offer it to the temple for worship And so on have been stationed in xiwangji temple.

cultural relics and historic sites

The important cultural relics and historic sites of Wangji temple include the diamond hall built in the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty stele, the unicorn outside the mountain gate, and the lotus seat in the Tang Dynasty. Among them, the unicorn was made in the Tang Dynasty, which is regarded as the treasure of Suo temple; the flowers on the Ming stele are very rare because of their peculiar design. According to the records of sages in the pure land, Hui said that when the master was cremated, "at last, he saw the lotus in front of him like a wheel of the sun.". There are two relic pagodas in the temple, one of which is the Lama pagoda of Dongyuan built in Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty. In addition, there are six kinds of inscriptions in the temple, including the eighth year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty, the fourth year of Jiajing in the Qing Dynasty, the fifty fourth year of Qianlong, the thirtieth year of Daoguang and the twenty fourth year of the Republic of China.

A pair of stone carvings on the left and right sides of the temple gate are the original stone carvings of the Tang Dynasty.

Temple renovation

According to the records of Jingshi sages, "Shamen Hui of the Tang Dynasty said," visit India, return to Wangji, and promote the Pure Land Sect. " It shows that Wangji Temple used to be the pure land ancestral hall. Kaishan Xiangshi is master Huiri, also known as "cimin Sanzang".

Wangji temple was rebuilt on a large scale in the history, one in 1443, the eighth year of the Ming Dynasty, and the other in the beginning of the seventh year of the Qing Dynasty. After the reconstruction, it was the abbot of the Tibetan Lama, and then the nunnery. The last renovation was in 1992 after the reform and opening up.

There was no lane behind the Wangji temple. To the East was the Tallinn, and to the West there was some open space. At the beginning of liberation, immigrants from Henan, Hebei, Shandong and other provinces built some low houses in the West open space and became the first generation residents of Miaozi lane. In 1958, when the whole people were smelting steel, the residents of Miaozi Lane built a "local steel-making furnace" in the open space of the Pagoda Forest of Wangji temple, and then abandoned it. Then some people began to carve up and occupy the Tallinn. First, they built walls to divide the Tallinn, occupied the open space first, then demolished the White Pagoda and built it privately. A good talin with a history of thousands of years has been destroyed in this way, forming a chaotic shantytown. It's a pity to think of it!

In September 2007, Xi'an city carried out the transformation of shantytowns. Miaozixiang, one of the shantytowns, has been demolished. The talin site is now an open space, ready to build high-rise buildings. Although the pagoda in Tallinn was destroyed, the foundation of the houses built by the residents themselves was not deep enough. There are still many remains in the underground of Tallinn. In addition to the spiritual bones of the eminent monks of the past dynasties, there are many objects such as the cultural relics buried with them, the tower foundation of Tallinn, the stone tablets buried in the ground, and the components of the tower body.

In 1443, 1789 and 1850, large-scale steles were built and preserved. In 1900, Cixi came to Xi'an to seek refuge, and wrote about "tiger" and the abbot of the temple. In 1935, the national government officially changed the Wangji temple into a Buddhist forest with inscriptions. In 2005, Wangji Temple held the first "two monks preaching Dharma Association" in Shaanxi History, which had far-reaching influence. After being the abbot of nengshun, there are two new abbots, Sheng Lian and Guo Fang, and they are now the abbot of Chang Rui.

According to historical records, Yao Chong, the famous Prime Minister of the three dynasties of Tang Dynasty, often lived in the temple. During the Kaiyuan period, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty set up Shengrong temple in the Wangji temple, where he worshiped the portraits of his true face for the pilgrimage of all the people. There are masterpieces of the Ming Dynasty, such as Yuchi yiseng, Wu Daozi, Zhou Fang, Dong ER and Yang tingguang. During the period of Zhonghe, more than 1200 peonies blossomed in the temple, which was a wonder.

Wangji temple is quiet in the bustle, with rigorous layout and fragrant flowers. There are Mountain Gate, Weituo hall, Daxiong hall, Wofo hall, Jialan hall, ancestral hall, Zhaitang, sengliao, library, Buddhist Academy and other buildings, which are worthy of being a good place for worshiping Buddha and paying a visit to Buddhism.

Traffic information

Take bus No.8, 27, 37, 43, 102, 203, 300, 602, 622, 704, 709, 714, 715, 903 to jishiguai

Address: No.49, Paofang street, Dongguan, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province

Longitude: 108.9757232666

Latitude: 34.261840820312

Ticket information: Free

Chinese PinYin : Wang Ji Si