Jiming Temple

Jiming Temple

Jiming temple, also known as the ancient Jiming temple, is located on the east foot of Jilong mountain in Xuanwu District of Nanjing city. It was built in the first year of Yongkang (300 years) of the Western Jin Dynasty and has a history of more than 1700 years. It is one of the oldest Buddhist temples and Royal temples in Nanjing. Its incense has always been thriving. It has been known as "the first temple in the Southern Dynasty" and "the first temple in the Southern Dynasty" since ancient times Dingshan temple, as well-known, was the Buddhist Center of China during the Southern Dynasties.

The history of Jiming temple can be traced back to Qixuan temple in the eastern Wu Dynasty. The site of Jiming temple is located in the back court of Wu state in the Three Kingdoms period. In the first year of Yongkang (300) of the Western Jin Dynasty, a temple was built on the mountain and a Taoist temple was founded. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was established as Tingwei department. In the first year of Datong of the southern Liang Dynasty (527), Emperor Liang Wu built Tongtai temple in jimingdai, where he "sacrificed his life" three times, making it a real Buddhist resort and Tianzhu temple Bodhidharma, an eminent monk, lived here when he came to Jiankang (today's Nanjing) from India; he changed his name to Jingju temple in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and later changed it to Yuanji temple; in the Song Dynasty, he changed it to Fabao temple.

In 1387, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty ordered the temple to be rebuilt and enlarged, and the title "Jiming Temple" was inscribed. After continuous expansion, the courtyard occupied more than 1000 mu, with more than 30 halls and pavilions. It was destroyed in the war in Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty and rebuilt in Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty. In 1958, it was changed into a Buddhist temple. In 1983, it was rebuilt according to the scale of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, In 1992, the crew of the legend of the new white lady came to Jiming temple in Nanjing to borrow the pharmacist's pagoda to take pictures of the Leifeng Pagoda because the new one had not been built.

Historical evolution

Temple predecessor

On Qixuan Temple

According to one theory, according to historical records, as early as the period of Sun Wu, there was a temple called Qixuan temple, which was named after Qixuan pond in the north of Jilong mountain. Liu Hong, the seventh Prince of Liu Yilong and king of Jianping in the Southern Song Dynasty, was modest and thrifty, which won the trust of his father and king. He was awarded the honor of building Hongchang mansion in the north of Jilong.

On his deathbed in the second year of the Ming Dynasty (458), Liu Hong ordered to donate the mansion at the east by north of Jilong mountain as a temple, which was named "Qiyuan Temple" in the same way as "Xuanyuan Temple" in the Yuan Dynasty, and was renamed Jianyuan temple in the Southern Qi Dynasty. During the period of Sun Wu, a north-south chaogou (near the west wall of today's Nanjing municipal organ compound) was opened up, which was connected with Chengbeiqu and Yundu in the south, and Xuanwu Lake in the north in front of Qixuan temple. Later, the chaogou was blocked when the city was built in the Ming Dynasty. However, the south end of the chaogou still existed until the early 1980s, and there were several old locust trees beside it. From these materials, we can see that Qixuan temple in the Three Kingdoms period was the predecessor of Jiming temple.

Some people think that Qixuan temple was the back court of Sun Wu's mansion in the Three Kingdoms period, and it was Tingwei's office in the Jin Dynasty. If Qixuan temple is indeed the predecessor of Jiming temple, then the history of Jiming temple can be extended for 300 years. However, there is controversy on this view.

 

Tongtai Temple

According to the second theory, Jiming temple was formerly known as "Tongtai Temple" in Liang Dynasty. Those who hold this view hold that the Tongtai temple built in the eighth year of Liang Dynasty (527) is the predecessor of Jiming temple. They think: at that time, the scope of Tongtai temple was very large, extending from the foot of the mountain to Jilong mountain.

There are six main halls, more than ten small halls, a nine storey pagoda and a seven storey Buddha Pavilion in Tongtai temple. The whole temple is built according to the Royal regulations. It is large-scale and resplendent. It is worthy of the reputation of "480 temples in the Southern Dynasty". Emperor Liang Wu is one of the most Buddhist emperors in ancient China. He once sacrificed himself in Tongtai Temple four times and often went to the temple to preach. If Tongtai temple is really the predecessor of Jiming temple, it is due to the strong Buddhist atmosphere in the Southern Dynasty and the prevalence of Jiankang (now Nanjing) Temple in the Southern Dynasty (the poem says: "480 temples in the Southern Dynasty, many buildings in the misty rain.") In particular, because emperor Liang Wu, the "Bodhisattva emperor", sacrificed his life in Tongtai Temple many times, Jiming temple is of course more meaningful. Of course, no matter its predecessor is Tongtai temple, Qixuan temple, or other temple relics, Jiming temple at the foot of Jilong mountain is also an ancient temple.

 

History of construction

Jiming temple is located in the eastern foot of Jilong, which began in the eastern Wu Dynasty.

 

During the Three Kingdoms period, it was the Houyuan of Wu state.

During the chiwu period (238-240) of the eastern Wu Dynasty, Qixuan temple was built, which was named after Qixuan pond in the north of Jilong mountain. At the end of Wu Dynasty, SUN Hao was destroyed.

 

During the Yongkang period of the Western Jin Dynasty (300-301), monks built houses on Jiming mountain and built five Buddhist temples. Because of their small scale, they had a small reputation.

In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the capital of Jiankang (now Nanjing) was established, and it was established as the Department of Tingwei.

 

During the Liu Song period of the Southern Dynasties, it is said that there was a black dragon in Xuanwu Lake, and the mountain was renamed Longshan.

In 439, the 16th year of Yuanjia in the Southern Song Dynasty, Lei Tzu Zong, the emperor of jingling, set up a school in Jilong mountain to teach his disciples. Xiao Ziliang, the king of jingling, set up a collection of five classics.

 

In 458, the second year of song Daming in the Southern Dynasty, Liu Hong, the king of Jianping, built Jimingshan mansion into a temple named Qiyuan temple. In Qi Dynasty, it was renamed Jianyuan temple. It is said that emperor Xiaoyou of Qi Dynasty traveled to Zhongshan, and he heard the sound of chickens at the beginning, so the mountain was renamed jimingdai. During the reign of Liang Tong, he moved Ting Wei's office to liumenwai, and built Tongtai temple in the original place of Ting Wei's office.

 

The temple was built in 527, the eighth year of Liang Dynasty. In that year, the temple gave up its life in Tongtai temple and changed its name to the first year of Datong. The temple is behind the palace. It is located on the west side of beiyemenwai road. The south side of the temple is separated from Taicheng. It reaches to the west side of momennei road. The temple opens a back door opposite to the South Gate of the temple. It is called Datong gate. To the South Gate of the temple, the name of "Tongtai" is used as irony. The emperor enters the temple on the morning and evening, and often goes in and out of this gate. In the temple, there are seven storeys of Great Buddha Pavilion, nine storeys of pagoda, six main halls, and more than 10 small halls. There are three storeys of Prajna terrace in the East and West. The mountain is built and the ridge is built in the northwest. The Bai hall is in the northwest. The Xuanji hall is in the southeast. Outside the hall, there are stones and trees for the mountain, and there are Tianyi for the cover. The water is flowing with the drop.

 

In the first year of Liang Datong (535), ten silver statues were cast.

In the second year of Datong of Liang Dynasty (536), ten square bronze statues were cast. The temple is grand and magnificent, with 1000 permanent monks. It is the first of the 480 temples in the Southern Dynasty. Emperor Liang Wu sacrificed his life in Tongtai Temple four times, and often gathered famous monks to give lectures in Tongtai temple.

In the third year of Liang Datong (538) of the Southern Dynasty, the floating map of Tongtai Temple caught fire due to lightning strike, which led to a fire in the temple. Only Ruiyi and Botang, the two main halls of this huge temple, survived, and the rest were reduced to ashes.

 

In April of 546, the first year of Datong in Liangzhong of the Southern Dynasty, the nine storey pagoda was burned by lightning, extending to the whole temple, leaving only Ruiyi and Botang two main halls. Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty set out to rebuild the pagoda. The pagoda was twelve stories high. If he failed, he met Hou Jing to fight against Liang. After Hou Jing entered Jiankang, Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty was starved to death in Taicheng and Tongtai temple was destroyed by war.

In the Yongding reign of emperor Chen Wu of the Southern Dynasty (557-559), Tongtai temple was slightly restored. In Chen Dynasty, Zen master Huikai served as the abbot of Tongtai temple.

In the first year of Chen Taijian (569), Emperor Xuan Chen suozheng, Zen master Huisi, the second ancestor of Tiantai Sect, went to Qixuan temple to give lectures. Ten years later, he went to Nanyue.

After the "Houjing rebellion", Tongtai temple was deserted for many years. It was not until 1922 that Taicheng thousand Buddha Temple was built at the site of Tongtai temple.

In the Southern Tang Dynasty, it was called Jingju temple, built Hanxu Pavilion, and later renamed Yuanji temple.

In 922, half of the site of Tongtai temple was taken to build Taicheng thousand Buddha Pavilion, also known as Taicheng courtyard and Taicheng temple. There are four pieces of Sanpin stone in front of the temple, Bailian Pavilion in the west, and a small stone pool on your right, which is more than ten meters in front.

 

During the Song Dynasty, a magic temple was built on half of the foundation. In the seventh year of Chunyou (1247) of the Southern Song Dynasty, an elite army was created. The old bases of Tongtai temple were all Zhaiwu (Barracks). Jingyang jingtaiji and Yingchun, Jieqi, Wangxian three Pavilion sites and yanzhijing are in the village. Although it is a camp, the old temple houses of the Southern Tang Dynasty are reserved to worship the statue of Baogong, the Puji Zen master. At the end of Song Dynasty, it was damaged by the war.

During the Yuan Dynasty, there was a temple of Buddhist monk Puji on Jilong mountain. At the foot of the mountain was the execution ground for prisoners. There was a mass grave near the execution ground.

 

In the early Ming Dynasty, after Zhu Yuanzhang made great efforts to reorganize Buddhism, most of the monasteries in Nanjing moved to quiet places outside the city. However, the Puji Buddhist temple on Jiming mountain still stands in the city, and the white jade statue of Avalokitesvara, a Japanese tribute, was offered to the temple, and the abbot biefeng.

Six years (1373), Hongwu, Ming Dynasty, built ten temples in the south of Jiwei mountain (now Beijing East Road area), namely the early Qing Dynasty founding hero temple, imperial temple, Bian temple, Liu Yue king temple, Cao Wuhui king temple, Fu Shou temple, Town God's Temple, Zhenwu temple, Chiang Wang Temple and Guan Yu temple.

 

In February of 1387, the 18th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Jiming temple was built and five levels of floating pictures were made. Li Xin, the Marquis of Chongshan, was ordered to supervise the work. He rebuilt the temple at the site of Puji Buddhist temple, demolished the old houses of the old temple, expanded and expanded them, and moved to the mountain where Master Baogong of Linggu built a five level brick tower, named Puji tower. The coffin is about 5 inches long. There is a sacrificial hall in front of the tower, offering sacrifices on time every year. Its halls, doors and veranda are larger than the original scale. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered master Su Na to be the first abbot of the mountain, and gave him a copy of the golden word Huayan Sutra and the concept of Chenxiang

Chinese PinYin : Ji Ming Si