Baoguo Temple

Baoguo Temple

Baoguo temple is located at the foot of Lingshan mountain in Hongtang Town, Jiangbei District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. It is 15 kilometers away from the urban area. It was first built in the Shizu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty and was initially named Lingshan temple, which is the predecessor of Baoguo temple. In the fifth year of Huichang in Tang Dynasty, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt in the first year of Guangming Dynasty (880). Li Fu, the emperor of Fu Zong, granted the plaque of "Baoguo Temple", which was later renamed Baoguo temple.

Baoguo temple is not famous for its religious temples, but for its superb construction technology. The main hall (also known as Wuliang Hall) in the temple is one of the oldest and best preserved wooden buildings in the south of the Yangtze River. There are many historic buildings, such as the main hall, Tianwang hall, Jingchuang of Tang Dynasty, Guanyin hall, jingtuchi and so on.

Baoguo Temple ancient building complex covers an area of 13280 square meters, with a construction area of 7000 square meters, and 28 hectares of natural mountain forest outside the temple. In March 1961, it was announced as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

In 2013, it was rated as a national AAAA tourist attraction.

From February 22, Ningbo's A-level tourist attractions will be opened in an orderly manner. From the date of opening up to December 31, they will be open free of charge to medical staff with valid certificates (doctor's practice certificate, nurse's practice certificate and ID card).

Historical evolution

The son of General Zhang Yi lived in seclusion in Lingshan when he was the ancestor of the Eastern Han Dynasty. According to the records of the temple, Zhang Qifang, the son of Zhang Yi, a general of Hushi, lived in seclusion in Lingshan in the Shizu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

During the reign of emperor Wuzong of Tang Dynasty, Lingshan temple was abandoned. In the second to fifth year of Huichang (842-845), the government ordered the temple to be demolished and ordered the monks and nuns to return to the secular life. According to statistics, more than 4600 large temples and 40000 small temples were demolished at that time. Lingshan temple was abandoned in this activity.

In the first year of Tang Guangming, the temple was restored and named Baoguo temple. In the first year of Tang Guangming (880), Ke Gong, a monk of Guoning temple in Ningbo, went to Chang'an at the request of the benefactor to petition the imperial court for the restoration of the temple, which was approved by Li Fu, Emperor Fu of Tang Dynasty.

The architecture of Baoguo temple, which was founded in the Tang Dynasty, has not survived. When Baoguo temple was founded in Tang Dynasty, its scale was not large. In addition, Buddhism developed slowly in the late Tang Dynasty, and the objective social conditions were not ideal. The temple buildings did not survive until now.

In 1011, the fourth year of dazhongxiangfu, Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, Dexian "went back to Lingshan and saw that the (Baoguo) Temple had been destroyed. He stroked his hand and sighed. He could not bear to go.". As a result, he became the abbot of the temple and ushered in the first resurgence of Baoguo temple.

In the Shaoxing period of Emperor Gaozong of Song Dynasty (1131-1161), monk Zhongqing built the Dharma hall. Monk Zongpu dug a pure earth pond and planted four-color lotus. At that time, Zhongqing and Zonghao also built the 16th Guantang, which was in the west of the FA Tang and later abandoned. In the Southern Song Dynasty, only the pure land pool remains. The location of the Dharma hall still exists, but the building has been rebuilt several times.

In 1064, the first year of the reign of emperor Yingzong of Song Dynasty, Jingjin temple was granted by the government, indicating that it had a certain status in the Buddhist temples at that time.

In the sixth year of Hongzhi in Ming Dynasty, Guichou monk Qingyin rebuilt his ancestral hall and renamed it Yuntang.

In the Hongzhi period of Ming Dynasty (1488-1505), Qing Yin Tang was built and later abolished.

During the Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty (1522-1566), the main hall was rebuilt.

During the reign of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (1628-1644), sengyu nunnery expanded the base of the cloud hall and renamed xuanlanzhai, with two verandas and a front frame photo hall. It was abolished in the first year of Qianlong.

In the Ming Dynasty, Yingxun building was built in the west of Daxiong hall. After the waste. In the northeast corner of Daxiong hall, Guanfang was built and later abandoned.

In 1684, Seng xianzhai and Jing'an rebuilt the main hall. They "moved forward to patrol the two wings, widened the double eaves, and renovated the royal palaces of arhat.". Stone railings were erected around the Jingtu pond, and Yan Jing, the censor of the Ming Dynasty before the Qing Dynasty, filled the Jingtu pond with the word "Yi Bi Han Kong".

In the 54th year of Kangxi reign (1715), the abbot xianzhai said that "jiugongzhucai, peipianbu, and huanlun were beautiful in a few years".

In 1745, Seng Wei'an and Ti Zhai "moved beams and columns, set up walls and planted couplets" in the main hall, and rebuilt the temple of heavenly king. In the first year of Jiaqing (1795), the main hall was rebuilt and the prime ministers of Luohan were refitted.

In 1808, the bell tower was moved to the east of the main hall. In 1810, the new drum tower was built in the west of the main hall.

In 1910, Tianwang hall and dongke hall were destroyed by fire. In the third year of Xuantong, the monk yizhai was rebuilt.

In 1913, Seng Yi Zhai built five Sutra collection buildings (the lower level is fa Tang) and ten guest rooms and one lane on the west side.

During the national cultural relics survey in 1954, teachers and students of Nanjing Institute of technology found this ancient building, which was later verified by Professor Chen Congzhou and Professor Liu Dunzhen as a building of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Architectural features

Baoguo temple was originally composed of Mountain Gate, Tianwang hall and other buildings. Daxiong hall was rebuilt in 1013, the sixth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is the oldest and best preserved wooden Buddhist building in the south of the Yangtze River. It has unique structure and magnificent momentum. Qing Kangxi 23 years (1684) to build additional eaves, forming a Xieshan. The main features of the main hall are: the depth of the plane layout (13.38 meters) is greater than the width (11.83 meters), which is a longitudinal rectangle; three hollow caissons are placed on the front trough ceiling; complex bucket arch structure; four cooperative melon prisms with obvious side feet; the beam is made of two shoulder rolling brake, and so on. All these are close to or consistent with the Song Dynasty's "construction method", inheriting some architectural heritage of the Tang Dynasty, and providing valuable examples for the study of architecture in the Song Dynasty.

Others are mostly Qing Dynasty buildings. In 1983, it moved to three halls in the Ming Dynasty and two jingchuangs in the Tang Dynasty in 1984. Now Baoguo temple has become a group of wooden buildings in Tang, song, Ming, Qing and Republic of China. It covers an area of more than 13000 square meters and a construction area of more than 6000 square meters. On the central axis, there are five buildings, namely, the mountain gate, the heavenly king hall, the main hall, the Guanyin hall, and the Sutra collection building. On the east-west axis are the bell tower, the drum tower, and the guest hall.

Cultural relics

main hall

Daxiong hall, which was rebuilt in 1013, is one of the oldest and best preserved wooden buildings in the south of the Yangtze River. The architectural features are distinctive: Hall type frame system, plane layout is rectangular, depth is greater than surface width; Dougong structure is complex, the ratio of height and width of timber section is 3:2, which achieves the highest timber yield and the strongest force effect; the earliest example in China is the small and large four section hegua prism, which has obvious side feet, which is not only economical but also firm and beautiful, which is rare in the existing ancient wooden architecture; The two shoulders of the forehead are rolled and killed, the cicada belly is used under the forehead, and there are seven Zhu and eight Bai paintings on the forehead. These unique designs make the structure of the hall extremely scientific. In addition to keeping the air circulation so that the hall is free from cobwebs and dust, and keeps clean for many years, the whole hall does not use an iron nail. Relying on the ingenious connection between the brackets and the accurate mortise and tenon technology, each component is firmly combined to support the weight of more than 50 tons of the whole hall roof.

Sutra Library

The Sutra tower was built after the ninth year of the Republic of China, and it is also the product of the last exhibition site of Baoguo temple. The location of the Sutra tower is more than 7 meters higher than that of Fatang. The building itself is five bay wide, with a width of 22.79 meters, a depth of 11 frames and 12 purlins, and a hard top. A front porch is attached at the front, which is separated from the main structure, but the gable is connected into one. The beam frame of the building adopts the lifting beam type frame, which is made into three forms. The beam frame of the building is composed of seven beams, five columns for double step beam in front, single step beam in back and double step beam in back, six columns for three step beam in front and back, double step beam in back and single step beam in back. The beam frame of the building is similar to the bucket beam frame in the tip. The whole beam frame uses eight columns, and the length of the beam is only two or one. Floor beam also followed, but in the two products between the beam set to wood, the upper floor. The stone columns on the first floor of the front porch frame are connected with the eaves columns of the main frame, and the small eaves are raised forward at the same time. On the second floor, there is only a row of thin wooden columns, with independent front and back slope roof on the upper part. On the back slope, vertical lotus columns and inserted square through short beams are set, which are connected with the main frame.

In the main structure of the Sutra house, there are beam mats with wood carvings at the beam ends or at the entrance to the columns. The wood carvings on the front eaves gallery are increased, especially on the second floor, which is made into a boat canopy Xuan type ceiling. There are more wood carvings on the Xuan beams and lotus columns. On the other floor, the front porch is carved with stone pillars and stone foundations.

The doors and windows of the Tibetan Scripture building have strong characteristics of modern Chinese architecture, such as multiple wooden frame glass windows between the columns of the front eaves, and double wooden frame glass windows with curved window brows on the gables.

Buddism godness Guanyin Temple

Guanyin hall, formerly known as FA Tang, was first built in Shaoxing period of Southern Song Dynasty. It was rebuilt many times in Qing Dynasty. FA Tang was rebuilt in the 52nd year of Qianlong, which laid the foundation for what we see today. In the ninth year of the Republic of China, it was rebuilt and renamed Guanyin hall to worship Guanyin. Guanyin statues of past dynasties have been listed.

The Dharma hall is seven in width and six in depth. It is 24.8m wide and 12.57m deep. It has a single eaves, a front porch and an additional back eaves. It has two eaves from the front and back. There is only one floor in the three Bay room. The two-story interior of the tip room and the end room at both ends. A 1.3-meter-wide narrow corridor and a row of columns are set up downstairs,

Chinese PinYin : Bao Guo Si