Shengyuan Temple

Shengyuan Temple

Shengyuan temple is one of the key cultural relics protection units in Yunnan Province, which is rare in Bai villages. Shengyuan temple, formerly known as Shengyuan temple, has a bright view in the temple. It was built in 1450 A.D. to rebuild the west mountain of Shengyuan. Shengyuan temple was built in Nanzhao, and it was already a Buddhist temple with strong incense when it came to Dali. The building of the temple used to face south. After reconstruction in the Ming Dynasty, it was changed into a courtyard with west facing east when it was repaired in the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty.

Basic overview

Shengyuan temple is located in the west of Qingdong village, Xizhou Town, Dali, 20 kilometers away from the ancient city. It is a large-scale Buddhist building complex. It was built in the late Sui Dynasty and rebuilt many times later. It has a history of more than 1300 years. In the past, there were halls, pavilions, nunneries and halls. Due to the macroscopic construction, they were maintained in all dynasties. But because of the flood, there are only three remaining Temples: Shendu, Shengyuan temple and Guanyin Pavilion. Sitting in the west to the East, the temple has a strong architectural style of Bai nationality. Under the eaves of the screen wall connected with the door, there are rich and colorful artistic decorations, which are integrated with the gatehouse. The most amazing thing is that each of the 20 wooden lattice doors in the main hall is one foot high and two feet wide. They are all embossed with fine carving and transparent layers. The 20 embossed doors make up a set of legends about the cause of the white country. Each picture has a concise description, which is a very valuable art treasure.

Temple legend

In the north of Shengyuan temple, there is another temple called "Shendu". Shendu is the most typical and well-known Benzhu Temple of the Bai nationality in this area. The common people call it the central emperor's temple or "Jianguo Temple". They call the largest Benzhu God in the temple "five hundred God kings". He commands 71 villages around him. His name is very frightening: "Lingzhen Wufeng Jianguo emperor". This central emperor is really extraordinary. It is said that he was a meritorious official of Nanzhao and the distant ancestor of the Duan family of Dali king family. His name is Duan Zongbang. He was appointed one of the 18 meritorious officials by Nanzhao because he was sent by Nanzhao king to persuade Fengyou and led his troops to defeat the invading shiziguo troops at the request of Myanmar kingdom. The existing Benzhu temple was rebuilt in the 11th year of Guangxu reign (1885 A.D.), with three main halls, three South Wing rooms and three gatehouses facing east. There was a wooden square in front of the gate, with a plaque of "Shendu" hanging on it, and couplets on both sides: "this is to pray for rain for the people, and the main place is to enjoy the fragrance of the land." This couplet shows the essence of the worship of the Lord. Dali's famous "around the three spirits" is centered on "Shendu", which is known as the "Carnival" of the Bai nationality. From April 23 to 25 of the lunar calendar, men, women and children from hundreds of villages around Erhai Lake have to wear heavy makeup, form a long snake line, sing and dance around to Jingui temple and majouyi main temple by the Erhai Lake, and reach Shendu on April 24. In front of the temple, people dance or sing songs all night, praying for good weather and longevity.

It's said that this festival has been going on since Nanzhao. It's really a miracle.

Temple layout

The temple consists of three parts: the main hall in the middle, Shendu in the north and Guanyin Pavilion in the south. The "three Buddhas" worshipped in the main hall no longer exist. All the gods worship the God of wealth, the king of six animals and the place where he prayed for his son. The incense is very strong.

The pillars of the main hall are all surrounded by one person. On a pair of pillars in the center of the main hall, each has a lifelike dragon. The dragon's tail is almost close to the ground. The dragon's head, with its teeth open, seems to be flying in the clouds and reaching the beam on the top of the pillars. The hall is dedicated to the "Supreme Master" of the Bai nationality. Every year in April, when the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, people from nearby counties and prefectures come to worship. Snow spring, ring Temple gushing, visitors here, can drink

Dali's famous "around three spirits" is centered on "Shendu". From April 23 to 25 of the lunar calendar, men, women and children from hundreds of villages around Erhai Lake arrive at Shendu on the 24th. In front of the temple, people dance or sing songs all night, praying for good weather and longevity. It is said that this festival has continued since Nanzhao.

Temple characteristics

About 15 meters to the southwest of Shengyuan temple, there is another Guanyin Pavilion sitting in the west to the East. It used to be a bell tower facing south of Shengyuan temple, which was built at the same time as the temple. In the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, when the Shengyuan temple was rebuilt, the temple and the building were separated by walls and the orientation was changed. It was named Guanyin Pavilion. In 1873, the Qing army attacked Du Wenxiu's regime from huadianba, Cangshan. There was a fierce battle between the two sides. Shengyuan temple was burned down and the unique Guanyin Pavilion survived. This pavilion is a two-story Pavilion building with double eaves and wood structure on the top of Xieshan mountain. It has brick carvings and wooden brackets on it. It maintains the architectural style of the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. It is one of the earliest ancient buildings left now. It has certain value for the study of the architectural history of Bai nationality. Guanyin pavilion has also attracted worldwide attention because it once had a "mountain flower stele". The full name of Shanhua stele is Ci Ji Shanhua · Yong Cang'er Jing, which is carved in the Yin of the stele of Shengyuan Xishan Ji. The stele is 120cm high, 47cm wide and 9cm thick, and is made of marble.

Cultural value

The inscriptions are 20 words written by Yang Ming, a local scholar of Bai nationality in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. The author first wrote about the scenic spots of canger, and then expressed his feelings of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, which reflected the nihility of Bai literati in the turbulent period when Han culture and Bai culture collided strongly. Yang Ming was born in the early Ming Dynasty. His ancestors were famous officials of Dali state and Yuan Dynasty. His biography is contained in the reclusive biography of Ming history, which is rare among minority scholars. "Shanhua style" is a kind of poetic style commonly used in Bai folk songs. Each poem is composed of eight lines, divided into the first half and the second half. The first sentence of the poem is a rhyme with three syllables (sometimes five or seven syllables), the second and third sentences are two sentences with seven syllables, and the fourth sentence is a five character sentence. Therefore, this kind of folk song style is generally called "7775" or "3775". Shanhuabei is a poem tablet recorded by phonetic symbols which are similar to Chinese characters but not Chinese characters. This kind of symbol is commonly known as "Bai Wen". It is used to express Bai language in many ways, such as Chinese phonetic reading, exegesis, self-made new words and Chinese loanwords, which are mostly used by folk artists. "Shanhua stele" is now on display in the forest of Steles in Dali Museum. It occupies an important position in the history of Bai literature.

Temple address

Huansanling Shengyuan temple, Qingdong village, Xizhou Town, Dali City, Yunnan Province

Postal Code: 671004

Address: West of Qingdong village, Xizhou Town, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture

Longitude: 100.10665893555

Latitude: 25.826726913452

Ticket information: no ticket required.

Chinese PinYin : Sheng Yuan Si