Dazhao Wuliang Temple

Dazhao Temple

synonym

Dazhao Wuliang Temple generally refers to Dazhao temple

Dazhao temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple in the south of Yuquan District, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China, belonging to the Gelug Sect (yellow Religion). In Dazhao temple, "Zhao" means Tibetan temple. The Han name was originally "Hongci Temple", later changed to "Wuliang Temple". Because the temple is dedicated to a silver Buddha, also known as the "Silver Buddha Temple.". Dazhao temple is the first Huangjiao temple built in Hohhot. It is also one of the large-scale monasteries built by Mongolians who converted to Huangjiao only later than meidaizhao. It has a wide range of influence in Mongolia.

It was founded by Alatan Khan, the leader of the Mongolian Tumet tribe in the Ming Dynasty, in the seventh year of Wanli (1579 AD). Built in 1580, it is the earliest Lamaism temple in Hohhot, and also a rare temple without living Buddha in Mongolia. Because Emperor Kangxi had lived here for several days, in order to show respect for the emperor, the monks cancelled the reincarnation rule of living Buddha.

Dazhao is not only a Buddhist holy land, but also a famous tourist attraction at home and abroad. The splendid architecture, precious cultural relics and works of art, as well as the mysterious Qiamu dance and Buddhist music constitute the unique "zhaomiao culture" of Dazhao.

In February 2020, in order to express gratitude and respect to medical workers, Dazhao Temple implemented a free admission policy for all medical workers from the date of resumption of operation of the scenic spot to December 31, 2020.

Structural layout

The layout of Dazhao adopts the form of Han temple, covering an area of more than 30000 square meters, of which the building area is more than 8000 square meters. The main buildings include Mountain Gate, Tianwang hall, Bodhisattva hall, nine rooms, sutra hall, Buddha Hall, etc. among them, sutra hall and Buddha Hall are connected together, collectively referred to as "Da Dian". Da Dian is the only Lama Temple with Han Tibetan style in the whole temple, with double-layer and three Bay rooms There is a 2.55-meter-high silver Buddha statue in the middle of the hall, so Wuliang temple is also known as "Silver Buddha Temple". In front of the silver Buddha is a pillar to the sky, on which is a flying dragon. On the left and right of the silver Buddha are bronze statues of zongkaba and Dalai Lama III and IV. in addition, under the eaves of the gate of Dazhao mountain, there is a plaque of "the first spring on nine sides". "The first spring on the nine sides" refers to the yuquanjing well before the Da Zhao. It is said that Emperor Kangxi triumphantly passed by Da Zhao in order to quell the rebellion of gardan in the Mongolian Wei lat tribe, and there was a spring gushing out. According to the inscriptions, "the spring is light and clear in nature, sweet and beautiful in taste.".

Temple Decoration

The existing buildings of Dazhao include Mountain Gate, Guodian, Jingtang, Jiujianlou and Buddha Hall. Among them, Jingtang and Buddha Hall are closely linked, commonly known as the main hall. There are statues and murals in the Buddha Hall. The silver Buddha has gone through 400 years of vicissitudes and is still in good condition.

The architecture of Dazhao temple is exquisite. The main hall is a common Tibetan and Han style Lama Temple. The rest of the temple is built according to the traditional Chinese style temple. There is a silver statue of Sakyamuni in the main hall, so it is also known as "Silver Buddha Temple". There are also many cultural relics in Dazhao, which are valuable materials for the study of Mongolian history and religious culture.

When Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty welcomed Dalai V to Beijing, he once stayed in Dazhao. Later Emperor Kangxi cast the gold medal of "long live the emperor" for the silver Buddha in the main hall, and Dazhao was honored as "imperial temple".

During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1662-1721), the scale of the temple was expanded and the main hall was covered with yellow glazed tiles. There is a silver statue of Sakyamuni 2.55 meters high in the Buddha Hall. In front of the statue of Sakyamuni, there are a pair of golden wood dragons, coiled on the wooden pillars, in the shape of two dragons playing with beads. In front of the hall, there is a pair of hollow iron lions cast in 1627 A.D. on the white jade square stone pedestal. They look up with their heads raised and have a unique image.

Inside the hall stand three tall statues of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. On the wall of the hall are huge paintings depicting Kangxi's private visit to mingyuelou. Behind them are statues of Dalai IV, yundanjiacuo and Dalai V, two Buddha statues in Ming and Qing Dynasties, two Buddha statues in wood carving, two dragons playing with pearls in wood carving, 108 Ganzhuer sutras, as well as bronze and gold-plated magic tools and medicinal tools. Under the front steps of the Sutra hall, there is a pair of hollow iron lions cast in 1627. They hold their heads high and are of high artistic level. In the courtyard, there is a Qing Dynasty iron censer engraved with the names of Mongolian craftsmen.

Historical evolution

"YIKEZHAO" in Mongolian means great temple. During the reign of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1567-1572 A.D.), Altan Khan (translated as "Anpu" in the Ming Dynasty) was granted the title of Queen of Shunyi. He and his wife Sanniangzi jointly presided over Guihua city (the predecessor of Hohhot) and Hongci temple.

In the sixth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1578 AD), Altan Khan of the tumed tribe of Mongolia welcomed Tibet's Dalai III, sonanjatso, in Qinghai Province, and vowed to make the statue of Sakyamuni in Huhhot solemn with precious stones and gold and silver. From then on, the construction of Dazhao began. The second year, it was completed. Emperor Wanli gave it the name of "Hongci Temple", because the statue of Sakyamuni in silver was worshipped in the temple, also known as "silver Temple" "Buddhist temple".

Wanli eight years (AD 1580) temple, is the earliest construction of Hohhot temple. According to reports, soon after the construction of meidaizhao, Alatan Khan, the tumed tribe, decided to build a second temple. With the support of the Ming court, the construction of the second temple was officially started in the seventh year of Wanli (1579 AD). The new City Temple separates the city from the temple. The temple is located on the west side of the road in the south of the city. It was completed the next year, and the city was completed another year later. Ming tingci temple is called Hongci temple, namely Dazhao temple, and the city is called Guihua City, namely the old city of Hohhot.

In the 14th year of Wanli (A.D. 1586), Dalai III suonanjatuo came to Hohhot and personally visited the Da Zhao, and presided over the silver Buddha "Kaiguang Fa Hui". Since then, the Da Zhao became a famous temple in Mongolia. Mongolian ministries sent people to Hohhot to worship and invite monks to learn Buddhist scriptures, such as 1586 The erhzhaonizhao, built by the Mongolians of kalka in Mobei in, is based on the drawings of DAHAO in Hohhot.

In 1632, Emperor Taiji of the later Jin Dynasty pursued lindan Khan of the Chahar tribe of Mongolia and arrived in Hohhot. In order to calm the hearts of the Mongols, the rulers of the later Jin Dynasty announced: "the gegenhan temple in Guihua city (i.e. Dazhao) should be worshipped and destroyed. If anyone dares to demolish it and takes the utensils, our soldiers will have done so. Is there any reason why it is no longer possible? If you find out, you will never lightly borrow money "(Volume 12 of the treasure records of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty). So the lamas in Hohhot surrendered to Houjin.

In 1640, Huang Taiji ordered the reconstruction and expansion of Dazhao temple. After the completion, Huang Taiji gave the temple forehead in Manchu, Mongolian and Han languages. The Han name "Hongci Temple" was changed to "Wuliang Temple". This is the origin of today's Han name "Wuliang Temple". In the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652 A.D.), Tibet's Dalai V passed Hohhot and was stationed in Dazhao. Up to now, there is a bronze statue of Dalai V in Dazhao.

The printing office of zhasakda Lama in Hohhot in Qing Dynasty was set up in Dazhao. In the 37th year of Kangxi (1698 AD), Kangxi appointed neiqituo to seal the Lama in the Eight Temples of Hohhot, and handed over the seal of Dazhao to him. Neqitoyin II petitioned Emperor Kangxi to use his temple property to repair the Dazhao. At that time, because the Dazhao was in disrepair for a long time, the glazed tiles were damaged, and the main hall was covered with yellow glazed tiles.

The official number of lamas in the Dazhao temple in the Qing Dynasty was 80, and the Qing government issued ID cards or preferential treatment cards (i.e. "Dudie"). However, in the Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties, due to the strong promotion of Buddhism, the number of lamas in Dazhao was far more than that of other temples in Mongolia. According to the Mongolian archives of the Lama printing office in Hohhot in 1816, there were 187 lamas in Dazhao at that time, which was more than 107 in the early Qing Dynasty.

After the founding of the people's Republic of China, the Chinese government invested heavily in the large-scale renovation of Dazhao, demolishing the dangerous old houses and commercial buildings around the temple. In this way, Dazhao and xilituzhao face each other across the street. The two temples are resplendent and antique, and the incense is flourishing, and the name of the Dharma is booming. It reproduces the style of "Zhaocheng" in Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the west side of Dazhao is a well preserved street in Ming and Qing Dynasties, with green bricks and grey tiles, cornices and brackets. Received the attention of many directors, become the location of ancient costume film shooting. It is famous for its antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jades, Mongolian leather paintings, bronze wares and other handicrafts.

Collection of cultural relics

The collection of Dazhao temple is very rich. Silver Buddha, Dragon carving and mural have become the "three wonders" of Dazhao temple. They are historical relics of Ming Dynasty and have high craft level and ornamental value. There are mingxuande stove in Dazhao temple, Dragon Phoenix peacock umbrella used by Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty, eight pearl and eight treasure palace lanterns in Emperor Kangxi's palace, long live dragon card of Emperor Kangxi, gold-plated God of wealth given by Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty, Thangka of Ming and Qing Dynasties, and various magic tools and face tools used in religious activities. They are extremely precious historical relics and art treasures.

Silver Buddha

Silver Buddha, the statue of Sakyamuni worshipped in the Buddha Hall, is made by Nepalese craftsmen, and its whole body is made of 30000 taels of pure silver.

 

 

More than 400 years ago, it is one of the largest existing silver Buddhas in China. The statue of Buddha is sitting, up to 3 meters high, and is made of pure silver. According to historical records, when the silver Buddha was completed, the Dalai Lama of Tibet

Chinese PinYin : Da Zhao Wu Liang Si