Shuxiang Temple

Shuxiang temple, founded in Yuan Dynasty, is one of the top ten temples in Qingmiao temple. It is said that it was shaped according to Qianlong's appearance. Because it was the place where the Empress Dowager often visited, the facilities were more elegant and had a garden style. Manjusri Bodhisattva in Manjusri temple is the largest statue of Manjusri Bodhisattva in Wutai Mountain. Five hundred Arhats are painted on the three walls of the hall, which is a picture of the world of Buddhism. It condenses the Buddhist world of ancient India. There is also a arhat squatting on the pillar in the hall. It is said that it is the Chinese monk Ji Gong. Just like the temple archway, there is a spring that is warm in winter and cool in summer, clear and flowing. This is the "Prajna spring" that people regard as the holy spring. There are many springs in Wutai Mountain. The famous ones are Prajna spring, mabao spring, Baisha spring, Mannu spring, zhuoxi spring, Mingyue pool, etc. Among them, Prajna spring is the most popular.

Shuxiang Temple

Shuxiang temple, located at the mouth of Fenglin Valley in Shanxi Province, faces Fanxian mountain with elegant scenery. The temple was founded in Yuan Dynasty and rebuilt in Hongzhi and Wanli years of Ming Dynasty.

As one of the top ten temples in Qingmiao temple, Shuxiang temple is famous for its five Buddhist places, namely Xiantong temple, Tayuan temple, Bodhisattva peak and Luoshan mountain.

Brief introduction to temples

Shuxiang temple, one kilometer southwest of huaizhen Town, Wutai Mountain, Shanxi Province, is also one of the five Buddhist temples in Wutai Mountain. It is named after the worship of Manjusri Bodhisattva. It was founded in the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420 A.D.), rebuilt in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), rebuilt in the second year of yuantaiding (1325 A.D.), and then destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in the ninth year of Hongzhi (1496) of the Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in the Wanli (1573-1620) period. There are steles in the temple.

Shuxiang temple was designated as the national key temple in Han nationality area in 1983.

Construction period

The most famous building of Shuxiang temple is Wenshu Pavilion (main hall). The existing hall was built by Zen master tielinguo in 1489. The main hall is five rooms wide and three rooms deep, with double eaves and nine ridges resting on the top of the mountain. It is the largest hall in Taihuai central area of Wutai Mountain. The statue of Manjusri riding a lion, nearly 10 meters high, is the tallest statue of Manjusri among the temples in Wutai Mountain.

The story of five hundred Arhats crossing the river is also shaped on the wall of Manjusri hall in Shuxiang temple. The 48 meter long, 6.8-meter-high, 326.4-square-meter colored hanging sculpture reflects the various forms of Luohan in the steep mountains, such as subduing the dragon and subduing the tiger, shaking the mountain and exploring the sea, listening to lectures, sitting upright, stepping on water animals, crossing the sea by boat, flying in the air and so on. It depicts the asceticism of the Arhats and shows their magic power. This huge color hanging sculpture, with large scale, rich content, numerous characters and changeable scenes, gives people a broad and far-reaching feeling of thousands of years and tens of thousands of miles. It is a dynamic and static, colorful and realistic color hanging sculpture.

architectural style

Shuxiang temple is a typical Han style temple, which is 15 meters from east to west and 200 meters from north to south, covering an area of 2.7 hectares. Using garden layout techniques, large-scale stacked rockery, scattered pine trees, creating its own unique style. The gate of the mountain faces south, with three broad couplets, two deep rooms, and a single eaves resting on the top of the mountain. Inside, there are two generals, the Dharma God hum and ha. There is a pair of stone lions on the left and right in front of the mountain gate, with waist gates on both sides. On both sides of the hall, there are pendulum bells and drum towers, with three broad couplets, one deep room and one single eaves. To the north of the mountain gate is the heavenly king hall, with five broad couplets, two deep rooms and a single eaves. The front and back of the hall are covered with wooden panels, and the middle three rooms are equipped with huanmen, while the middle three rooms are equipped with huanchuang, and the two sides of the hall are equipped with waist walls. The first entrance courtyard is bounded by the waist wall, and the waist door is connected with the second entrance.

On the north side of the Tianwang hall are the East and west side halls. The East Hall is called the food and fragrance room, and the West Hall is called the yanfan hall. In the north of Tianwang hall, the terrain is higher, and the platform can be reached by multi-level large stone steps. The platform starts from Huicheng hall in the main hall in the north, with seven wide Ying on the surface and five deep rooms. The double eaves of huangliuli rest on the top of the mountain. The lower eaves are equipped with five step single cocked single cocked arch, and the upper eaves are equipped with seven step single cocked heavy cocked arch. Before and after the Ming Dynasty and the second period, there were water chestnut doors, and the front eaves were covered with sill windows, and the back walls were sealed. In the hall, there are Manjusri Bodhisattva (riding a lion), Guanyin and Puxian (riding an elephant) on both sides. In front of the altar, there are Wanshou pagodas with three layers of anise. Today, the longevity pagoda still exists. The gold-plated copper Buddha was stolen when Jiang GUI was appointed as the governor of Rehe.

There are three sutras, one in Tokyo, one in Paris, one in Western Europe, and one in unknown. In the hall, there is a horizontal plaque "connecting the three realms" and a banner "devoting one's heart to the Bodhisattva's fruit of good power for all living beings. Now it looks like the third Buddha living in Manshu bed". In front of Huicheng hall, there are side halls on both sides, with Zhifeng in the East and mianyue in the West. In the north of Huicheng hall, there are rockeries, rocks, bridges, ravines and deep winding paths, which are the epitome of Wutai Mountain. Rockery is like many auspicious clouds. It carries a high Pavilion, which is called Baoxiang Pavilion, also known as Jingpu Pavilion. It has double eaves and octagonal eaves, yellow glazed tile top and green trimming. It has doors in the East, West, South and North, and sill windows in the four inclined planes.

In the Shuxiang temple, the stone Xumi seat in the pavilion has an 11.6-meter-high wooden statue of Manjusri Bodhisattva riding a lion, which is said to be shaped according to Qianlong's appearance.

Banners in the Pavilion

There are two statues on both sides of Shuxiang temple, each 3 meters high. The banner in the pavilion is "well-known". The banner "Buddha said that it was benshihong who preached Xiangjiao, and the beginning of heaven showed the Lion Peak.". In front of Baoxiang Pavilion, there are three side halls in the East and three in the west, with Yunlai in the East and Jingxue in the West. On the second floor of the rockery, there is a building in the north, named Qingliang building, also known as Xianghe Taihuai. There are two floors, nine rooms on each floor. The building is for Manjusri. On the first floor, the gate is "miaowuford". The banner in the building "shows the country's residence at the foot of the platform, and supports the clouds at the peak of the hammer.". In front of the Qingliang building, there are two side halls with five broad couplets. In the East is Jihui, in the west is Huixi, and in the west is the hexagonal pavilion. There is a small courtyard in the west of Jingxue hall, with three main rooms and a famous fragrant forest room. There is a moon gate behind the room.

In front of the temple, there is a Square Pavilion in the East and a small building in the west, named Yiyun building, with two floors. When the emperor went to the special statue temple to offer incense, the queen dressed here, so it was also called dressing house. The original large pot in the temple is 2.41 meters in diameter, 2 meters in height and 6 cm in wall thickness. It is made of 88 pieces of copper and weighs about 5 tons. It is supported by 18 iron pillars. Usually, water is stored to prevent fire. Every eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, lamas in this temple use this pot to cook "Laba porridge". Lamas from Chengde temples come here to eat porridge.

Shuxiang temple is a place where the emperor and Empress Dowager are often lucky. Its architectural layout is high and low, its interior furnishings are exquisite, its environment is elegant, and its garden atmosphere is strong. It is even more famous for its stacked stones. Today, the hall, the gate and the bell and drum tower are all destroyed.

Folk characteristics

Among the ethnic minorities in Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Tibet, the "buckwheat head Manjusri Bodhisattva" in Wutai Mountain, which is known by many people, refers to the statue of the Shuxiang temple. According to the legend, it was Manjusri who showed his true face that made the statue. It was a day in midsummer, when the green lion was finished, Manjusri had to shape his head. The craftsmen are in trouble. No one has ever seen the face and manner of the Bodhisattva. When you say it's going to be like this, he says it's going to be like that.

The cook was cooking buckwheat noodles in the kitchen. When he heard the noise in the courtyard, he thought it was something. He rushed out and crowded among the people to inquire. After finding out the cause of the noise, the Cook said in a loud voice: "Manjusri's appearance is not made by random manipulation. It's useless for you to quarrel any more!" In a word, we will not open our mouths. When the cook returned to his room, he was preparing to make buckwheat flour. Suddenly, the golden light in the courtyard was shining. The cook looked at the open window and saw that it was Manjusri Bodhisattva who showed his true face! It was too late for the painter to describe it, so he moved the buckwheat flour out of the drawer and pinched it up like a Bodhisattva. With his head pinched, Manjusri also disappeared in the air. When the craftsmen came, they quickly put the buckwheat flour on it and pasted gold outside. People regard the Bodhisattva as "buckwheat head Bodhisattva". The story has spread widely.

It seems that the word "Shu" in Shuxiang Temple refers to the statue of this Bodhisattva. On the three walls of Manjusri hall, there are five hundred Arhats. The shape of the suspended sculpture is like the inverted ice ridge in the cave. It is also like the hollow out relief inlaid on the top and walls of the hall. With the contrast of blue, green and red, the whole hall is more colorful.

Buddhist inheritance

It is said that in order to publicize the Buddhist doctrine, Sakyamuni not only sent his disciples to lobby around, but also personally carried out missionary activities in ancient India and won many followers. Anan, the famous elder disciple, is good at remembering and is famous for "hearing more first". JIAYE is famous for its resourcefulness. King pinpisa was also a faithful Buddha and became a arhat.

Amiro, a beautiful prostitute in sherry, also accepted Buddhism, lived a chaste life, loved charity and became a arhat. In addition, his wife yeshutuora and son romuhoula, who were before Sakyamuni became a monk, also won the Rohan fruit. The 500 Arhats hanging in this hall epitomize the Buddhist world of ancient India.

There is also a arhat squatting on the pillar in the hall. It is said that it is the Chinese monk Ji Gong. The Arhats will be promoted to the arhat Hall of heaven. On the day they enter the hall, they are ranked according to their contributions. Jigong should have been sitting in a good position, but because he came a step late, all the seats were occupied by Rohan from India, so he had to squat on the post.

The architecture of Shuxiang temple is divided into two parts: Huicheng temple and Huicheng temple

Chinese PinYin : Shu Xiang Si