Pingyang Temple

Pingyang Temple

Pingyang temple is located at the foot of Hualu mountain at the source of RUOYE river. It was founded in 1666. It is a huge building group with six main halls and hundreds of side rooms. In its heyday, the temple had thousands of monks and was a famous temple in the south of the Yangtze River. According to legend, in 1705, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty visited here and granted him the "chuandeng Zhi", so Pingyang temple is also known as "chuandeng Temple". In the past, Pingyang temple had a Dharma Sutra written in the blood of Zen master HongJue, a yellow bowl and a Thousand Buddhas CASA, which Emperor Kangxi gave to Zen master HongJue during his southern tour. In 1941, when Du Wei was the Commissioner of the eastern Zhejiang administrative office, he moved the "Pingyang three treasures" to Tiantai Guoqing temple for collection.

Due to the passage of time and the invasion of wind and rain, most of the buildings of Pingyang temple were damaged, only one Sutra building and several side rooms were left. The dust-free phenomenon in Pingyang temple is known as the highest in the world, which is evidenced by the present Sutra collection building. In the three hundred years since the temple was built, the dust is hard to avoid, but the Sutra library is clean. After liberation, it was rebuilt into a tea factory, and there was dust everywhere, but the beams, rafters and every corner of the building were always as clean as ever. There is no trace of insect eaten black peck in it, and even spider silk is hard to find. It is a rare "spotless" ancient temple in the world. Visitors here are surprised. Over the years, groups of curious and enigmatic people have come in droves, but the mystery of Pingyang temple has not been solved.

Architectural structure

The temple originally covers an area of 19980 square meters, with nearly 100 halls and houses, and a real estate area of 2000 mu. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were more than 100 monks, statues of Taoists, and a stele of "rebuilding the main hall of Pingyang Temple" with the text of "Xihe collection" by Mao Qiling.

artistic characteristics

The most distinctive Buddhist building in Pingyang temple is the Sutra collection building. The simple beams and columns in the building are always clean and dust-free, and the roof rafters and beams are free of insect marks, just like they were just scrubbed. It is said that since the building was built more than 300 years ago, there has been no dust on the duster. It is a wonder of the world. Many famous people at home and abroad have heard about this wonder and come here with admiration. In 1971, the representatives of Yugoslavian culture made a special investigation here. News organizations at all levels, from the central government to the local government, made special reports many times. However, no one has yet reached a final conclusion on this issue. According to historical records, Pingyang temple was built by master Tianyue after Taoists, and the temple was worshiped by thousands of people.

Historical evolution

To sum up, Pingyang temple is a famous temple of the Qing Dynasty, which has lived in two generations of national teachers and three dynasties of emperor's grace. In 1936, the east side of the temple collapsed, and the temple's monk Fu hall and Shaoxing Buddhist monk Tong Guogan were raised for cultivation. In the same year, the Anti Japanese war broke out and shelved, and the main buildings were in disrepair and collapsed repeatedly.

In Pingyang temple, there were all the Dharma sutras written in HongJue's blood, yellow bowls and cassocks of Thousand Buddhas given by Kangxi, which were known as "Pingyang Po Bao" at that time. In 1941, Du, director of the eastern Zhejiang administrative office of the Kuomintang, moved the "three treasures of Pingyang" to the Guoqing temple in Tiantai Mountain for collection. In 1951, the religious activities of the temple were stopped, and the houses were rebuilt from the villages where they lived into houses and tea houses. As a result, all the Scriptures and cultural relics in the temple were lost. In 1956, the typhoon rolled up the temple, leaving only a few Sutra collection buildings and side chambers. In 1958, when the "great steelmaking" was carried out, the pan with 1000 people and the big bell with scriptures weighing about 3 tons were destroyed. In 1988, the enthusiastic residents raised money to build the Sutra collection building and use it as a temple. The statue of Buddha was rebuilt and the offering utensils were purchased. The Pingyang temple was revived and the scale of the building began to take shape. On September 28, 1992, Shaoxing County Government approved Pingyang temple as an open temple. There are 44 statues of Buddha, big and small.

Shaoxing Municipal government has listed the temple as a major development project in Kuaiji scenic area, and restored its former construction scale in 2000. Under the leadership of Abbot Yin Xiang, Pingyang Buddhist temple promoted Buddhism to help students. Pilgrims from inside and outside the province raised funds, built temples and purchased all Buddhist vessels. It was common for good men and women to do Buddhist accounts and hang colored banners, which showed a new atmosphere in the main hall and the Sutra library.

Address: at the foot of Hualu mountain, the source of RUOYE River, Keqiao District, Shaoxing City

Longitude: 120.615759

Latitude: 29.845257

Ticket information: free.

Chinese PinYin : Ping Yang Si