Daming Temple

Daming Temple

Daming Temple, located in the northwest suburb of Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, has been approved by the State Council as one of the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units

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Daming Temple was first built during the reign of emperor Xiaowu of the Southern Song Dynasty (457-464). Over the past 1500 years, the name of the temple has changed a lot, such as "Qiling Temple" and "Xi Temple" in Sui Dynasty, and "Xiping Temple" in late Tang Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, because of the taboo of the word "Daming", it was once called "Qiling Temple". In the thirtieth year of Qianlong, the emperor personally wrote "Chiti Fajing Temple". In 1980, Daming Temple was restored to its original name. In 2002, it was rated as national AAAA scenic spot. According to the history of the Old Five Dynasties, in 887 ad, Yang xingmi, the governor of Luzhou, and Qin Yan, the governor of Xuanzhou, camped here during the war

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Historical evolution

In the first year of Renshou (601) of the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Jian issued an edict to build 30 pagodas to support the bones of Buddhas. The pagoda is nine stories high and magnificent. It is known as "the most magnificent one in China", so it is also called "Qiling Temple". In Tang Dynasty, master Jianzhen was the abbot of Daming Temple, which made Daming Temple an important ancient temple in the history of Sino Japanese Buddhist cultural relic relations. In the third year of Tang Huichang (843), the nine storey Qiling pagoda was destroyed by fire. Later, the monks raised money for reconstruction, but it was often destroyed.

During the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu built Pingshan hall when he was the prefect of Yangzhou. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Wu Xiu, the governor of Yangzhou, rebuilt Daming Temple, and Yang Renyuan, the censor of Cao, rebuilt it again in the 12th year of Chongzhen. During the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, Daming Temple was expanded to be the first of the eight famous temples in Yangzhou. In 1765, Qianlong toured Yangzhou and changed the title of "Fajing Temple". However, in the third year of Xianfeng (1853), Taiping army occupied Yangzhou, and Fajing temple was destroyed in the war. In 1870, Fajing temple was rebuilt.

Full repair

In the fourth year of the Republic of China (1915), he presided over Changquan and Cheng Zhenxiang to raise funds, summoned craftsmen, and comprehensively repaired Fajing temple, which was completed in 1947.

After 1949, the people's Government conscientiously implemented the policy of freedom of religious belief and renovated and expanded this ancient temple for many times.

In August 1957, Fajing temple was listed as a cultural relic in Jiangsu Province.

In 1958, Daming Temple was listed as the protection unit of Jiangsu Province. During the "Cultural Revolution", the "Red Guards" smashed the Buddha statues in temples in the name of "breaking the four old".

Premier Zhou Enlai sent an urgent telegram, ordering that the historical sites of Daming Temple be firmly protected. The local government closed the temple in time

The ancient temple survived. 1963 is the 1200th anniversary of the death of Da Jianzhen in Tang Dynasty. In order to welcome the holding of the commemorative event, it was reorganized and renovated. In 1979, the temple was fully repaired, and the Buddha statues were gilded. Daming Temple took on a new look.

In 1980, in order to welcome master Jianzhen's return to China, he was renamed "Daming Temple".

geographical position

Daming Temple, located in Shugang, northwest suburb of Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, covers an area of 500 mu, No. 1, pingshantang East Road, Hanjiang District, Yangzhou city.

Natural climate

Daming Temple is located in subtropical monsoon climate, with high temperature and rainy in summer, mild and less rain in winter, sufficient heat, small annual temperature range, abundant precipitation, but large seasonal variation.

Main buildings

Memorial Archway

Along hundreds of stone steps, you can climb the square in front of Daming Temple, facing a solemn and elegant archway. The archway is built to commemorate the Qiling pagoda and Qiling temple. It has four pillars and three couplets. It is built with stone foundation under it and looks up like a canopy. On the south of the middle gate is the seal script "Qiling site", written by Yao Yu, the salt transportation envoy in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty.

A pair of stone lions standing south in front of the archway are particularly eye-catching. Carved according to the specifications of the Royal Garden, the stone lions are vigorous, upright, crouching, straight waist, front claws flat, and proud of the distance. They are ancient relics of Chongning temple, a famous temple in Yangzhou. They were moved here in the 1960s. There are two stone tablets on the walls of the East and West courtyards in front of the temple. In the East is Jiang Hengshan's "first view of huaidong" and in the west is Wang Shu's "fifth spring in the world".

Tianwang Hall

The word "Daming Temple" on the forehead of the main gate of Daming Temple is Zhao puchuji, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference and President of the Chinese Buddhist Association

It is engraved on the stele of longzangsi, with ancient style. There are Maitreya statues in the hall. On the back of the hall are Dharma protector Wei Tuo. On both sides of the hall are four heavenly kings, namely, the ruler of the state, the emperor of growth, the emperor of Guangmu and the emperor of Duowen. In the palace of the heavenly king, you can see the open courtyard, towering ancient trees, and cigarette smoke. Daxiong hall is a Qing Dynasty building with three wide faces, front and back corridors, triple eaves and hollow flower ridges. There are precious mirrors embedded on the top of the roof. In Yang there are four words of "peace and stability of the country" and in Yin there are four words of "good weather". In the main hall, the Dharma is solemn, the Scriptures are solemn, and the instruments are complete. Sakyamuni Buddha, sitting on the lotus platform in the middle, is honored as "Mahatma".

Buddhist culture

On both sides of the Great Buddha are JIAYE and Ananda, the top ten of his disciples. On the East head sits the pharmacist Buddha, and on the west head sits Amitabha Buddha. Behind the Buddhist altar are the clay sculptures of "island Guanyin". On both sides are eighteen Arhats. All the Buddha statues in the hall have been renovated. They are golden and dignified.

There are several famous buildings near the main hall. Built in 1985, the Sutra collection building has five couplets on the second floor, open porches and sparse corridors. On the top of the roof, there are "Fa Lun Chang Zhuan" inlaid in the sun and "Guo Tai min an" engraved in the shade. On both sides of the main hall, there are sentences and couplets of the Vajra Sutra collected by Zhao Puchu: "we should know that it is a place of respectful support, and we should not say its merits and virtues; if someone is read again, it is no longer the good root of the three, four and five Buddhas."

There is Pingyuan building in the east of Daming Temple courtyard. This building was built in 1732 by Wang yinggeng, the Shaoqing of Guanglu temple. The name of the building is from the Song Dynasty painter Guo Xi's Shan Shui Xun: "from near mountain to far mountain, it is called Pingyuan." During the reign of Xianfeng, the building was destroyed by war. During the reign of Tongzhi, Fang Junyi, the salt transportation envoy of Huaihe River and Huaihe River, rebuilt the building. He added the title of "Pingyuan building" and wrote a couplet: "the three-level purse is higher, and the two-point gold coke helps to sing in the cup; the two peaks are now towering, and ten thousand pines are pouring in."

The couplet is powerful and appropriate to describe the scenery outside the building. Pingyuan building has three floors. It is exquisitely constructed. It has a courtyard of bamboo and stone. Now it is the Abbot's room. In the north of Pingyuan building is qingkong Pavilion, which is now the exhibition room of Jianzhen deeds.

Pingshan Hall

On the west side of the hall, there is the gate of "old hall of immortals", which is known as Pingshan hall.

Pingshan hall was built by Ouyang Xiu, a great scholar of Northern Song Dynasty, when he was the governor of Yangzhou. The flowers and trees in front of the hall are sparse, and the courtyard is quiet. You can see the mountains in the south of the Yangtze River from the railing, which is just level with the line of sight. "The distant mountains are level with this hall", so it is called "Pingshan hall". There is a couplet in front of the hall, which says, "when you cross the rivers and mountains, you come to the hall and enjoy the banquet of the prefect and the guests." it is a vivid portrayal of Ouyang Xiu's natural and unrestrained fortune in those years. Later, when Su Dongpo was the governor of Yangzhou, he often came here to pay homage and built "Gulin hall" and "Ouyang River" for Ouyang. Gulin hall is taken from Su Dongbi's poem "gentle and graceful in the deep valley, harmonious and sparse in the high forest". In Ouyang temple, there are stone carvings of Ouyang Xiu for people to hang on.

Xiyuan

In the west of Pingshan hall is a classical garden full of mountains and forests. Xiyuan is also called Fangpu. It was built in 1736, the first year of Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. It was destroyed by war in Xianfeng and rebuilt in Tongzhi. It was rebuilt many times after 1949. In the garden, there are towering ancient trees, jagged rocks, pools and elegant pavilions. There are lakes in the mountains and the fifth spring in the world. According to Zhang Youxin of Tang Dynasty, the spring here was rated as the fifth in the world at that time. Song Ouyang Xiu said in the spring of Daming Temple: "this well is the beauty of water." Today, when people visit Daming Temple, they still enjoy drinking the fifth spring in the world.

In addition, there are "imperial stele Pavilion" in the park, including three imperial steles of Emperor Qianlong. In the garden, the mountains and rocks are towering, the pines and cypresses are green, and the sky is shaded. Rockery, ponds, pavilions, pavilions and so on decorate the garden exquisitely.

Memorial Hall in the temple

The most distinctive building of Daming Temple is Jianzhen Memorial Hall. According to the instruction of Premier Zhou Enlai, the memorial hall was built in 1973 to commemorate the 1200 anniversary of Jianzhen's death in 1963 between China and Japan.

Jianzhen was the abbot of Daming Temple before he went to Japan. From the first year of Tang Tianbao (742), he went through many difficulties and dangers for more than ten years. Until his sixth successful eastward voyage, he introduced China's Buddhism, medicine, language and literature, architecture, sculpture, calligraphy, printing, etc. to Japan, making an important contribution to the development of cultural exchanges between China and Japan.

In 1922, Japanese scholar changpan Dading set up a monument in front of the temple. It imitates the model of Japanese Nara tangzhaoti temple and is designed by architect Liang Sicheng. It consists of three parts: stele Pavilion, corridor and memorial hall, with a total area of 700 square meters.

Layout structure

Inside the pavilion stands a horizontal stele of white jade, Xumi. On the front is the "monument to the great monk Jianzhen of Tang Dynasty" written by Guo Moruo. On the back is the inscription and eulogy written by Zhao Puchu to commemorate the 1200th anniversary of Jianzhen's death. Therefore, it is known as the "three unique steles" of contemporary times. In 2007, Premier Wen Jiabao said in a speech to the Japanese Parliament: "there is a stone lantern in Daming Temple in Yangzhou. It is a pair of stone lanterns from tangzhaoti temple in Japan. It is still burning today, symbolizing the everlasting friendship between China and Japan."

The main hall imitates Jianzhen and presides over the construction in Japan

Chinese PinYin : Da Ming Si