Chongqing Temple

Chongqing temple is at the foot of Zishan mountain, 22.5km southeast of Changzi County, Shanxi Province. The mountain peaks behind the temple ring like a screen, and the pines and cypresses in front of the temple surround. On the top of the mountain stands the stone tablet of "Ziyun mountain" written by fan Zhiwan of Zhongzhou in Ming Dynasty. The temple was built in 1016, the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty. The temple is divided into two courtyards. In the backyard, there is the heavenly king hall. The four heavenly kings are glaring and magnificent. The hall of Buddha and the hall of three great scholars lie on the left and right. The northwest corner is the hall of dizang. The thousand Buddha Hall is located in the north of the backyard. The beams and brackets are made in Song Dynasty. There are three statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva in the hall, and the figures on the west wall are partially damaged. In xipeidian, the statues of Hercules and eighteen Arhats were made in the second year of Yuanfeng (1079) of the Northern Song Dynasty. In Xiduo Dian, the statues of dizang Bodhisattva and ten kings were made in the early Ming Dynasty.

Chongqing Temple

Chongqing temple was built in 1016, the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty. The statue was completed in 1079, and was expanded and repaired in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Located at the foot of Ziyun mountain, 22.5km southeast of Zhangzi County, Shanxi Province, it is a national key cultural relics protection unit.

Cultural relics protection

Located at the foot of Ziyun mountain, 22.5km southeast of Changzi County, Shanxi Province, Chongqing temple is a national key cultural relics protection unit. It was built in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD). In 1996, the State Council officially announced it as the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Scenic spot description

Chongqing temple is at the foot of Zishan mountain, 22.5km southeast of Changzi County, Shanxi Province. The mountain peaks behind the temple ring like a screen, and the pines and cypresses in front of the temple surround. On the top of the mountain stands the stone tablet of "Ziyun mountain" written by fan Zhiwan of Zhongzhou in Ming Dynasty.

The temple was built in 1016, the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty. The temple is divided into two courtyards. In the backyard, there is the heavenly king hall. The four heavenly kings are glaring and magnificent. The hall of Buddha and the hall of three great scholars lie on the left and right. The northwest corner is the hall of dizang. The thousand Buddha Hall is located in the north of the backyard. The beams and brackets are made in Song Dynasty. There are three statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva in the hall, and the figures on the west wall are partially damaged. In xipeidian, the statues of Hercules and eighteen Arhats were made in the second year of Yuanfeng (1079) of the Northern Song Dynasty. In Xiduo Dian, the statues of dizang Bodhisattva and ten kings were made in the early Ming Dynasty.

Scale of Temple site

Chongqing temple is located on the hillside of Ziyun mountain, 20km southeast of Changzi County, Shanxi Province. The temple is surrounded by mountains in the East, West and North. The temple site is small in scale. It sits in the north and south, surrounded by green pines and cypresses in front of the temple, and the peaks behind the temple are like a screen.

The whole temple consists of Tianwang hall, Qianfo hall, Wofo hall, Dashi hall, dizang hall and so on. On the South and east sides of the temple, there are Guandi hall, geigu elder hall and Abbot temple. The mountain gate and the heavenly king hall are the main gate of the temple. Now go by the side gate, pass by the Abbot's temple, and enter the temple through the moon gate. The temple was built in 1016 A.D. in the ninth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was repaired many times in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The thousand Buddha Hall is the main hall of the temple. It was built in 1016 A.D. in the ninth year of the Xiangfu reign of Song Dynasty. The original structure remains unchanged, and the statues in the hall are also molded at the same time. It has three rooms in width, three rooms in depth, six rafter houses, single eaves and nine ridge palace roof (Xieshan), and its plane is square.

The legacy of Tang Dynasty

In the Ming Dynasty, there are plate doors and broken lattice windows in the second room. The eaves columns are inclined inward to form side feet, and the corner columns are raised to make the roof load gather in the direction of the roof, so as to enhance the stability of the building. Under the eaves, there are all kinds of brackets between the capitals. On the columns, there are only Dougong on the capitals, which are simple and elegant. The Dougong head has obvious curly petals and deep Dougong, and its production technique still follows the style of Tang Dynasty.

The beam frame of thousand Buddha Hall is made by the top exposed, with six rafters, four rafters and three columns. Most of the beam frame components are original structure of Song Dynasty, with reasonable structure and standard production. The beam frame of thousand Buddha Hall is a representative work of small temples in Song Dynasty. It has no false components, no repeated configuration, skillful techniques, balanced load and reasonable structure. The color of the glaze on the top of the hall is gorgeous, the shape is vivid, and the style of the window lattice is ancient. In the hall, the Buddha altar is in the form of waist binding Xumi. The waist binding is carved with grass patterns and the pillars are carved with animal faces. It is no doubt made in the Song Dynasty.

Although the statue of one Buddha and two Bodhisattvas on the altar and the statue of Avalokitesvara on the side seat on the back of the altar have been re decorated by later generations, and the face, clothing, technique and gorgeous clay sculpture backlight are sculptures of the Ming Dynasty, the layout position, body shape and hair bun on the head of the painted sculptures still retain the style of the Song Dynasty.

Song Dynasty original

Sandashi hall, commonly known as xipeidian, also known as Luohan hall, is three rooms wide in the West and has a suspended mountain style roof. Although it has been repaired by later generations, its appearance has been in the style of Qing Dynasty, and its beams, Fang, columns and forehead are almost all original objects of Song Dynasty. In the hall, the Buddha platform is relatively low, and three Bodhisattvas, Guanyin, Manjusri and Puxian, are molded on the top. On both sides of the Bodhisattva statue are eighteen Arhats. The size ratio is slightly the same as that of the real person. The flesh is rich, the bone is strong, the pleats are graceful and smooth, and the expression is vivid and natural. They gather together with the beautiful and elegant Bodhisattvas, and the style is very different. At the waist of the brick carving at the front of the Buddhist altar, there are two inscriptions, bearing in mind the age of the statue and the name of the giver, confirming the exact age of the statue. After more than 900 years, the statue is well preserved, which is indeed a rare treasure in the history of Buddhist culture and sculpture in China.

The dizang hall is located on the south side of the thousand Buddha Hall, with three bays and hanging on the top of the mountain. The temple is small and simple in structure, with four eaves and Dougong. The glaze on the top of the hall and the decoration of the doors and windows are all relics of the Ming Dynasty. There are bodhisattvas and waiters in the hall, ten halls of Yama on the left and right, six magistrates on the two Gables, and Buddha, Bodhisattva, king of heaven, disciple and king of Ming on the top. All of them are works of the Ming Dynasty. They are well preserved. The inscription in the niche on the back of the ridge temple on the top of the hall: "on May 15 of the 10th year of Jiajing (1531 AD), the monks of the Japanese Temple burned a glazed hall by Ming Zhong. "The inscription in ink under the ridge board in the hall:" in 1548 ad, Chongqing temple was established on the day of guimao in the 27th year of Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty The two inscriptions are the exact chronological records for the study of the architecture and the painted sculptures of the hall.

Architectural integrity

The whole temple is decorated with magnificent and solemn colored sculptures. The building is elegant and quiet. On both sides of the corridor in front of the main hall, there is a cluster of Millennium peonies. If you visit here in April, you will also enjoy the colorful and fragrant peonies of the Song Dynasty.

Not far from the south of Chongqing temple, there is a Ming Dynasty temple, called "lingfuwang Temple", which is also called Qiansi. There are more than 40 Pinus bungeana trees on the hillside in front of the temple. The crown is not big and the shape is peculiar. The trees are more than 500 years old. Lingfuwang temple and Chongqing temple, one before and one after, one song and one Ming, one Buddha and one, reflect the religious prosperity of Ziyun mountain at that time and the cultural consciousness of the villagers.

Traffic routes

Go from Changzhi to G207 in Gaoping, to dongliangtian Town, and then go straight to Jue village. There is a memorial archway at the end of the hill in front of it. After passing the memorial archway, go up the hill along the Shashi road. You can see the location of Chongqing temple after 2 kilometers. There is a small open space in front of the gate for parking.

Address: at the foot of Ziyun mountain, 685 County Road, Changzi County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province

Longitude: 112.967911

Latitude: 35.97008

Chinese PinYin : Chong Qing Si