Chenxiang Pavilion

Chenxiang Pavilion

Chenxiangge, also known as Ciyun Temple, is located at No. 29, chenxiangge Road, Shanghai. In April 1983, it and five Buddhist temples in Shanghai, such as jade Buddha Temple, Longhua temple, Jing'an Temple and Yuanming lecture hall, were listed by the State Council as 142 key temples in the Han nationality area. Chenxiang pavilion was built in Wanli of Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in 1815. It was renamed Ciyun Temple, but it is still called Chenxiang Pavilion. The whole temple has a large scale, with Maitreya hall in the front, stone square at the mountain gate, Daxiong hall, Chenxiang Buddha Hall, zaohexuan hall, front hall Zen hall and left and right chamber buildings in the middle. The building form of the pavilion is solemn and elegant, which is very prominent in the whole temple. In the Qing Dynasty, the pavilion prayed for sunshine and rain for city officials. Before the Wanshou Palace was built in Shanghai, the birthday of the emperor and Empress Dowager was also celebrated here. As a result, it is famous in Shanghai.

Quick navigation

Panorama

brief introduction

Chenxiang Pavilion, also known as Ciyun Temple, is located in the south of Shanghai. It was founded in the 28th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1600). It is a famous Buddhist bhiksuni monastery in Shanghai.

In 1983, it was designated by the State Council as a national key Buddhist temple in the Han nationality area.

Chenxiangge Road, covering an area of 2378 square meters, is the only temple dedicated to chenxiangguanyin in Shanghai. According to Shanghai county annals by Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, "in the 28th year of the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a statue of chenxiangguanyin floating to huaikou, when pan yunduan was in charge of the water channel and the Huaihe River, he built a pavilion."

So it's called Chenxiang Pavilion. It's pan yunduan's home.

During the reign of Kangxi, Jiaqing and Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, there were many renovations and expansions, including Shanmen stone square, Maitreya hall, Daxiong hall, Chenxiang Buddha Hall, Hexuan hall and QianDian Zen hall.

The statue of Avalokitesvara is carved from the precious Aquilaria Aquilaria. It is unique to Buddhist temples. The statue is bent on one foot and in one hand, with a natural and lifelike look. Every rainy day, fragrance overflows.

Before the Wanshou Palace was built in Shanghai, the birthday of the emperor and Empress Dowager was celebrated by Shanghai officials. At the same time, it was also a place for people to pray for sunshine and rain.

In 1981, the State Council issued a document, which listed Chenxiang Pavilion as one of 142 key open temples in China.

In 1989, it was recovered by the Shanghai Buddhist Association and restored the Chenxiang Pavilion and the main hall. In 1992, the memorial archway and Tianwang hall were built. Chenxiang Pavilion became one of the largest nunneries in China. The memorial hall of master yingci, a famous monk in the east of the temple.

Naming source

Chenxiang Pavilion is famous for its worship of Chenxiang Guanyin. Guanyin is carved from the whole piece of agarwood with exquisite workmanship, smooth lines and unique shape. The statue of Avalokitesvara is in a sitting posture, with right foot bent, right hand hanging on the knee, left hand supporting, head slightly side. It is in the shape of meditation, with beautiful posture, so it is also known as "Ruyi Avalokitesvara". Its cultural relics and artistic value are very high. The statue of Avalokitesvara is dedicated to the pavilion, which was built in the Ming Dynasty and has a unique architectural form. It is listed as one of the national key temples and a municipal cultural relics protection unit.

Temple layout

In 1988, it was listed as one of the first batch of 142 key open monasteries in China by the State Council. It is the largest and characteristic bhiksuni monastery in Shanghai.

Memorial Archway

In front of the Chenxiang Pavilion, there are four pillars and three doors with double eaves. On the archway, there are three characters named "Shenxiang Pavilion" in shamenghai script. Because there is no "Shen" in the ancient characters, Shen and Shen are interlinked, so the word "Shen" is written as "Shen" to show the ancient Buddhist temple.

Chenxiang Pavilion, also known as "Ciyun Temple" in the past, covers an area of 2378 square meters. There are Tianwang hall, daxiongbao hall and Guanyin hall on the central axis, Jialan hall and yingci Memorial Hall on the two verandas.

Tianwang Hall

The second entrance is the temple of the heavenly king. The crowns of Maitreya, Weituo and the four statues of the heavenly king are all newly molded with gold. In the temple of heavenly kings, there are generally four heavenly kings, so it is called the temple of heavenly kings. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the statues of the four heavenly kings basically became the fixed form, that is, the heavenly king in the East, with white face and Pipa in hand; the heavenly king in the south, with black face and sword in hand; the heavenly king in the west, with red face and a dragon or snake in hand; the heavenly king in the north, with green face and a big treasure (rain umbrella) in hand. There are four heavenly kings on both sides. Their standing posture is different from that of ordinary Buddhist temples.

According to Buddhism, the four heavenly kings can protect the Buddha, the law, the country and all living beings. The magic weapons held by Buddhist believers from the Four Heavenly Kings (the sword carries the wind, the pipa tune, the baochuang metaphor for rain, and the dragon and snake metaphor for following people's heart) can bless the five grain harvest, the six livestock prosperity, and the annual "good weather and rain".

In the center of the temple of heavenly kings, facing the south, is Maitreya Bodhisattva. In Buddhism, Maitreya Bodhisattva is the future Buddha who receives Buddha's instruction and educates all living beings in the world after the Buddha, so it is also called Maitreya Buddha. Inside the Chenxiang Pavilion, there is a statue of Maitreya with a crown of heaven, which is now the Dharma phase of Bodhisattva, when Maitreya was still in the inner courtyard of heaven. Nowadays, most monasteries have statues of smiling cloth bag monks. It is said that in the Five Dynasties, there was a monk named Qiqi in Fenghua, Zhejiang Province. He was often unkempt, holding a cloth bag in his hand and begging on the street. People called him "cloth bag monk". One year, on the third day of the third lunar month, before the end of his life, he said a verse: "Maitreya, true Maitreya, incarnate in tens of billions. It always shows to the world, and the world often doesn't know it. " Buddhists think that he is the incarnation of Maitreya, and he is kind-hearted, which makes people happy when they see him. Therefore, in general Buddhist temples, he is modeled as a monk with a cloth bag.. In the temple of heavenly king, Maitreya wears a crown of heaven and his right foot is placed on his left foot. This is the Bodhisattva image of Maitreya when he was practicing in the temple. It is the real body image of Maitreya, which is quite different from the general temple Dadu Maitreya.

Behind Maitreya is the statue of Wei Tuo Tian Jiang. Buddhism says that he often travels around the East, West and South continents with a magic wand in his hand, facing the Buddha and guarding the Dharma, which is called "three continents induction". He is the patron saint of the temple, also known as Wei Tuo Bodhisattva. The common statue of Wei Tuo is standing. One is holding hands together and the pestle of subduing demons is placed horizontally in the bend of two arms. The other is holding the pestle column with both hands, or holding the pestle column with left hand and crossing the waist with right hand, facing the main hall and watching the people coming in and out. In some temples, Wei Tuo is modeled as a sitting statue. For example, in Dinghui temple in Rugao, Jiangsu Province, a sitting statue and a standing statue of Wei Tuo are modeled.

main hall

In the center of the main hall is the "three saints of Huayan".

In the middle is Lushena Buddha, with Manjusri and Puxian standing on both sides, as well as Vatican and Emperor Shi standing on both sides.

This kind of offering is also rare in Jiangnan temples.

On both sides are eighteen Arhats, head up, eyes open, arms raised and palms raised, lifelike.

Lushena Buddha is the body image of the Tathagata. There are 348 small Buddhas in the caisson, which contain 348 precepts of bhiksuni. Chenxiang Pavilion is a nunnery with 20 nuns.

Behind the "three saints of Huayan" is the Guanyin crossing the sea, holding a pure bottle in hand, standing on the fish, with the boy of good fortune on the left and the Dragon Girl on the right.

Goddess of Mercy Pavilion

Guanyin Pavilion is ancient and elegant. There is a horizontal plaque on the pavilion with the title of "Nanhai treasure raft flying across Guanyin Dashi Pavilion".

On the ground floor, there is a Zhang's room, and on the upper floor, there is Chenxiang Guanyin. The height of Guanyin is about 1 meter. It sits with one foot bent, its head hanging on its knees, its head slightly on its side. It is called "Ruyi wheel Guanyin".

Whenever it rains, the fragrance of aloes overflows. Pan yunduan, the governor of the Ming Dynasty, got it from huaishui in the 28th year of Wanli (1600).

Therefore, it has been nearly 400 years since the Chenxiang pavilion was built.

According to the book of Sui, there were envoys visiting Malay countries in the Sui Dynasty. Among them, the laterite country presented Chenxiang Guanyin. When the envoys came back to meet emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty, they encountered a strong wind in the Huaihe River and the boat capsized. Pan Yunduan was the owner of Yu Garden in Shanghai.

It has been sunk in the Huaihe River for thousands of years, but it was destroyed in the "ten years of Cultural Revolution". Now it is donated by Hong Kong believers.

On the left of the two verandahs of Guanyin Pavilion is the Jialan hall for Guan Yu. On the left, Guan Ping holds the seal, and on the right, Zhou Cang holds the knife. There are 40 arms of Guanyin in the right ventricle, which is a simple type of Qianshou Guanyin, and the left ventricle is the guest hall. On the right is the memorial hall of master yingci.

The whole temple has a large scale, with Maitreya hall in the front, stone square at the mountain gate, Daxiong hall, Chenxiang Buddha Hall, zaohexuan hall, front hall Zen hall and left and right chamber buildings in the middle. The building form of the pavilion is solemn and elegant, which is very prominent in the whole temple.

In the Qing Dynasty, the pavilion prayed for sunshine and rain for city officials. Before the Wanshou Palace was built in Shanghai, the birthday of the emperor and Empress Dowager was also celebrated here. As a result, it is famous in Shanghai.

overview

On the central axis of the Chenxiang Pavilion, the first building point is the restored Ming Dynasty stone archway. It has flying eaves and Dougong, which is full of vigor. The plaque "Chenxiang Pavilion" inscribed by the famous calligrapher Mr. Sha Menghai is suspended in the middle of the archway. The second entrance is the temple of heavenly kings, in which the crowns Maitreya, Weituo and the four statues of heavenly kings are all newly molded with gold. According to Buddhism, the four heavenly kings can protect the Buddha, protect the French soil, protect all living beings, and protect one side of the people with abundant grain, prosperous six animals, and "good weather" every year.

Second step

The second entrance is the temple of the heavenly king. The crowns of Maitreya, Weituo and the four statues of the heavenly king are all newly molded with gold. In the temple of heavenly kings, there are generally four heavenly kings, so it is called the temple of heavenly kings. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the statues of the four heavenly kings basically became the fixed form, that is, the heavenly king in the East, with white face and Pipa in hand; the heavenly king in the south, with black face and sword in hand; the heavenly king in the west, with red face and a dragon or snake in hand; the heavenly king in the north, with green face and a big treasure (rain umbrella) in hand.

According to Buddhism, the four heavenly kings can protect the Buddha, the law, the country and all living beings. The magic weapons held by Buddhist believers from the Four Heavenly Kings (Sword carrying the wind, pipa playing the tune, baochuang referring to the rain, dragon and snake referring to the heart of the people) can protect the grain and the livestock

Chinese PinYin : Chen Xiang Ge