Jingju Temple

Jingju Temple

Jingju temple is located in Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province. It was originally named anyin temple. It was built in the first year of Tang Dynasty (705). Later, it was named Jingju Temple by Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty. Jingju temple was founded by Xingsi Zen master, a disciple of the sixth patriarch of Southern Buddhism. It is the ancestral court of Qingyuan sect of Zen Buddhism. It is divided into three sects: caodong sect, Yunmen sect and fayan sect, and has far-reaching influence in Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. There are diamond hall, Mahavira hall, Pilu Pavilion, dizang hall, nianfo hall, sutra building and Yaoshu hall, covering an area of about 10000 square meters. There are "seal of Buddha" and "Sutra" in the temple. Zhao Puchu, the former president of China Buddhist Association, inscribed the plaque of "Jingju Temple" and "Daxiong hall".

Jingju temple is the ancestral court of Qingyuan sect of Zen Buddhism

It is one of the key temples in China

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Historical evolution

Jingju temple was built in the first year of the Tang Dynasty (705), initially known as "Anyin Temple". In the second year of Tang Kaiyuan (714), Xingsi Chan Master was entrusted by Huineng, the sixth patriarch, to come to Qingyuan mountain in Jiangxi Province from Nanhua temple in Caoxi mountain, Guangdong Province, to open up a Buddhist temple and promote the "insight" Zen. Xingsi passed away in 741, the 28th year of Kaiyuan period in Tang Dynasty. After Jingju temple in Qingyuan mountain, Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty "granted Hongji Zen master a tower of returning to the truth", it was known as the seventh ancestor of Zen Buddhism.

In 749, the eighth year of Tang Tianbao, Jianzhen monk of Daming Temple in Yangzhou made his fifth eastward voyage to Japan. Due to the sea breeze, he turned back in the middle of the journey, went from Guangzhou, Shaoguan, Ganzhou to Ji'an, lived in anyin temple, and paid a visit to the "seven ancestral pagoda" with his Japanese entourage. During the Huichang period (841-846), the temple was destroyed. The fifth year of Dazhong (851), reconstruction.

In 1066, the third year of Zhiping in the Northern Song Dynasty, zhao shu, Emperor Yingzong, granted the "Anyin Temple". In 1104, Zhao Ji, the emperor of Huizong, granted the "Jingju Temple". At this time, there were more than 1000 monks in Jingju temple, which was a famous temple in Jiangxi Province and one of the main Buddhist temples in southern China.

Jingju temple was burned by war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

In 1376, the monk Gong was restored. In the ninth year of Zhengde (1514), when Wang Yangming knew Luling County, he often came to set up a hall to give lectures. Therefore, Jingju temple has the reputation of "the convergence of Confucianism and Buddhism, the intersection of Jing and Xing". At the end of Ming Dynasty, the temple was destroyed.

After the Qing Dynasty, mei'an, Xiaofeng, Yaodi, Gaoguang and other ministers succeeded as abbots. In 1657-1659, Xiaofeng rebuilt Pilu Pavilion, advocated Yanshou hall and Chuanxin hall, and created Qingyuan mountain records. Gaoguang successively presided over Jingju temple for more than 30 years. Until the eve of the founding of the people's Republic of China, he successively built Guanxin hall, zhaijiao hall, Gongde hall, Qizu pagoda, Yaoshu hall, Baojing hall, Daxiong hall, nianfo forest and guest hall, rebuilt the hall, Mountain Gate, ancestral hall and Buddha statue, and rebuilt Qingyuan mountain records in 1944.

After liberation, the temple was abandoned.

During the cultural revolution, all the Buddhist statues in the temple were destroyed, and almost all the buildings of Jingju temple were destroyed.

Since 1984, the central, provincial, prefectural and municipal people's governments have successively allocated more than 2 million yuan for the large-scale restoration of Jingju temple.

In the winter of 1990, Zhenru temple in Yunju mountain became the 42nd abbot of Jingju temple.

In 2002, Master Sheng Yan, a Buddhist monk in Taiwan, once led 500 monks to visit the Jingju temple in Qingyuan mountain.

In 2007, Jingju Temple cooperated with Qingyuan mountain scenic spot to create a national 3A scenic spot.

In 2008, a series of commemorative activities for the 1300 anniversary of the founding of China's Qingyuan mountain Jingju temple were successfully held, sponsored by Jiangxi Buddhist Association and organized by the people's Government of Qingyuan District, Ji'an Civil Religion Bureau, Ji'an Buddhist Association and Qingyuan mountain Jingju temple. During the commemorative meeting, a series of activities were held, including the first seminar on Zen culture of China's Qingyuan mountain Jingju temple, the opening ceremony for the completion of Pilu Pavilion, the ceremony for the completion of old monk Tiguang's relic tower, and the promotion of master miao'an from Jin Yuan to yuan.

In 2010, Jingju temple was rated as the national harmonious temple.

Since 2011, Jingju temple has raised more than 20 million yuan to promote the construction of the main project of Qingyuan pagoda courtyard; the construction of the abbot building, ancestral hall, Zen hall and Daliao has been completed and put into use.

In 2013, a series of celebration activities were held to commemorate the 1340th anniversary of the birth of Qingyuan Xingsi with the theme of "Xingsi, Xingsi Zen and Xingsi praise".

In January 2014, Qingyuan mountain Jingju temple was listed as the second batch of patriotic education bases for religious circles in China.

Architectural pattern

There are three gates in Jingju temple. The first gate is the Red Pavilion on the roadside of Qingyuan mountain scenic spot, the second gate is "zuguan", and the third gate is a screen like hill, which is also a real gate. Jingju temple has an elephant on the left and a lion on the right. The temple covers an area of more than 20 mu. It has three rooms, three eaves and a brick wood structure on the top of the mountain. It has the typical courtyard characteristics of Jiangnan Water Town. With the main hall as the central axis, Tianwang hall and Pilu pavilion are in the middle, Gongde hall, zushi hall, Chan hall, Zhai hall, Jialan hall, Hakka hall and dizang hall are evenly distributed on both sides. The upper left corner of the release pool leads to the living water of Qingyuan River, and the four arch bridges connect the main hall to the heavenly king hall, Zen hall, piluge and Zhaitang respectively.

Main attractions

main hall

The main hall, with a depth of five rooms, is about 25 meters long and 20 meters wide, covering an area of more than 500 square meters. Three Buddha statues stand in the middle, with 18 Arhats on both sides, with different shapes. There are four stone tablets on both sides of the outer walls of the main hall, on which are engraved some lines of long poems by Huang Tingjian, a poet and calligrapher of the Northern Song Dynasty (1045-1105 A.D.). The title of the poem is "the second Zhou Dynasty, Yuan Weng and Cao you, Qingyuan mountain temple, Changyun", with 46 sentences and 230 words. The poem describes the prosperity of Jizhou at that time: "overlooking the line of grinding ants, the chariots and horses ride through the city of Kuma"; describes the origin of Buddhism in Qingyuan mountain: "the water is still like Caoxi, the mountains think openly"; describes the Zen philosophy of Xingsi seven ancestors: "Luling is rich and cheap, leaving it for future generations to guess"; and describes the descendants of Qingyuan faction: "a corner of the stone Lin, the price of the road is straight Jiulong". Huang Tingjian became the magistrate of Taihe County in 1080. Because he loved the mountains and waters of Jizhou, he visited Jingju temple in Qingyuan mountain many times and wrote this poem for his friend Zhou yuanweng. 19 years later, Wang Zijun, a man of Yongxiu, asked him to write. Later generations engraved its ink on 8 pieces of bluestone slabs and embedded it on the outer wall of the main hall as a permanent memento. Unfortunately, it was weathered for a long time and seriously eroded.

When Jingju temple was rebuilt, only four stone tablets were left. His stele is named "four treasures of Qingyuan ink" as Yan Zhenqing's "zuguan" stele, "Qingyuan mountain" written by Wen Tianxiang and Li Gang's stele.

Pilu Pavilion

Pilu Pavilion is located behind the main hall. It is about 30 meters long and 23 meters wide. It is a two-story brick concrete structure with a total area of 680 square meters. The Buddha of viluzana, which is worshipped in piluge, is a Dharma Buddha, which represents the Buddha image when the Buddhist truth condenses. It is said that when the seventh patriarch built the temple, because of the inconvenience of transportation and the difficulty of transporting building materials, the immortals helped him secretly. All the wood was transported from the well by the immortals. One of them was taken away and another came out of the well to help the seventh patriarch build the temple. After the completion of the temple, someone yelled, "no, enough wood.". So a piece of wood was tied across the well, which could not get out or go down. Therefore, the well was called "chumujing".

Tianwang Hall

Tianwang hall is about 18 meters long and 15 meters wide. Maitreya Buddha is worshipped on the front, with four heavenly kings on the left and right sides. The four heavenly kings were instructed by the Buddha to guard the mountain gate, protect the Dharma and the monks, and keep peace forever. Behind Maitreya is the venerable Wei Tuo. He used to be a God General under the southern growth heavenly king, and his image was solemn and solemn. He is the incarnation of Bodhisattva, holding a pestle to suppress demons and supporting Buddhism.

Qizu pagoda

The "Qizu tower" and the pagoda protection Pavilion cover an area of 240 square meters, with a height of 3.5 meters. The tower is of granite structure. It is a regular pentagonal shape, with a five storey high spire. The pagoda protection Pavilion is also of granite structure. On the front of the tower is engraved with the words "Tang Qizu Hongji Zen master's return tower".

On December 13, the 28th year of Kaiyuan (738), Xingsi was promoted to a Buddhist temple and died. At the age of 68, he was buried in the right back mountain of Pilu Pavilion. The following year, during the reign of Qianfu (874-879), Emperor Fu Zong granted Xingsi the posthumous title of "Hongji". Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty "ordered the seventh patriarch Hongji to build the tower of returning to the truth.".

Damage protection

Jingju temple was destroyed six times. During the "Cultural Revolution", a few people used explosives to blow up the Qizu pagoda. All the ten thousand volumes of Buddhist scriptures hidden in Pilu Pavilion were lost. The main hall was used as a cowshed by farmers.

In 1983, Jingju temple was listed as one of 142 key temples in China by the State Council.

In 1984, the people's Government of Ji'an City set up the leading group and office for the restoration of Jingju temple in Qingyuan mountain, and carried out large-scale restoration of Jingju temple.

Cultural value

The earliest Academy in Ji'an, Qingyuan Academy (later renamed Yangming Academy), is also located here. The famous scholars of the past dynasties visited the site and left a lot of precious ink. Yan Zhenqing, a calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, inscribed the word "zuguan"; Wen Tianxiang, a national hero of the Southern Song Dynasty, inscribed the plaque of "Qingyuan mountain" for the gate of the mountain three times; Huang Tingjian, a literary giant of the Northern Song Dynasty, inscribed eight steles on both sides of the hall; Li Tianxiang, the Prime Minister of the Southern Song Dynasty

Chinese PinYin : Jing Ju Si