Kōzan-ji

Kōzan-ji

Gaoshan temple is located in Dongshan (also known as Gaoshan) in Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, formerly known as fahua temple.

Gaoshan temple, built in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, has a history of more than 1300 years. It is one of the eight scenic spots in Yongzhou. Covering an area of more than 20000 square meters, the temple is a famous Zen temple with historical and cultural value in Hunan Province. It has been a holy land for Buddhist religious activities since ancient times.

Brief introduction to temples

Gaoshan temple, located in Dongshan (also known as Gaoshan) in Yongzhou City, Hunan Province, formerly known as fahua temple, covers an area of more than 20000 square meters. It is a famous ancient Zen temple with historical and cultural value in Hunan Province. Gaoshan temple was built in the middle of Tang Dynasty and has a history of more than 1300 years. The original temple has a large scale. It rings the bell in the evening and sounds all over the city, so it is named "mountain temple evening bell". It is one of the eight scenic spots in Yongzhou.

The scale

Gaoshan temple, covering an area of more than 20000 square meters, is a famous Zen temple with historical and cultural value in Hunan Province. It has been a holy land for Buddhist religious activities since ancient times. Built in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the building is simple and magnificent, the environment is quiet and elegant, and has a history of more than 1300 years. It is one of the eight scenic spots in Yongzhou. Cultural relics and historic sites can be called national treasures. Monk huaisu, a famous calligrapher, once hung a list here and studied Buddhism deeply.

Ancient poetry

Liu Zongyuan, a famous writer of the Tang Dynasty, lived in the temple for more than ten years in the first year of the Tang Dynasty. He built the West Pavilion of the temple, which is called the "West Pavilion". He wrote many famous poems, such as "night drinking in the West Pavilion of fahua Temple", "constructing the West Pavilion of fahua Temple" and "notes on making the West Pavilion of fahua temple in Yongzhou". Fan Zhongren, the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, lived in Xixuan of fahua temple when he was demoted to Yongzhou.

Historical evolution

From Tang, song, yuan, Ming to Qing Dynasty, the name of the temple changed many times. It was named "fahua Temple" in Tang Dynasty, "Wanshou Temple" in Song Dynasty (later renamed "Baoen Temple"), and "Gaoshan Temple" in Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty. It was destroyed by fire at the beginning of Wanli in Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt in 1613 and destroyed again at the end of Qianlong. In 1856, Hu Shihuai, the magistrate of Lingling County, advocated donation and asked the abbot to rebuild. At the right time, he planned macroscopically and built many temples. It is said that there were 18 temples with more than 200 monks at most. In 1949, he held a ceremony of receiving precepts for more than 1000 people. It is one of the main places for Buddhist religious activities in Hunan Province.

Surrounding scenery

At the back of Guandi Temple of Gaoshan temple, there is the ancient temple Lutian temple, which is the home of monk huaisu, a calligrapher of Tang Dynasty. Huaisu loves calligraphy very much. Because he is poor and paperless, it is convenient for him to plant thousands of musas at the edge of the nunnery. With leaves instead of paper, thousands of musas shade the sky, so he named it "green heaven nunnery", one of the eight sceneries in Yongzhou. The "wild grass" written by huaisu has a great influence on the calligraphy of future generations, and the world respects it as the "sage of grass".

There was a thousand character inscription on huaisu in the nunnery. Now only the Qing Dynasty's copy is left. The characters are strong and majestic. Li Bai once wrote a poem praising: "my teacher leans on the bed of hemp, so I have to sweep thousands of pieces. The wind is blowing and the rain is blowing and the snow is falling

Status quo of temples

During the "Cultural Revolution", the millennium old temples were destroyed, monks and nuns were forced to move, and temples were demolished and occupied.

Restore the original appearance

After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the party's religious policy was gradually implemented. People at home and abroad yearned for the "eight sceneries of Yongzhou". Buddhist children also took the task of reforming the mountain gate and promoting Buddhism. In order to repair and restore the original appearance of the temple, Yongzhou believers and people from all walks of life at home and abroad have raised millions of money from their families. The reconstruction project is still in progress, and it is believed that it will be completed soon. By then, the millennium old temple will be rejuvenated. The virtuous person who donated money to prosper the temple will also be engraved in front of the temple. The Gaoshan temple in Yongzhou has been partially restored.

The temple was built in the Song Dynasty and rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, the reign of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty and in March 1953. There are Bodhisattva temple, Songzi Niangniang Temple and Shengxian Laoye temple, which were destroyed later.

Address: Dongshan, Lingling District, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province

Longitude: 111.43499755859

Latitude: 26.661100387573

Chinese PinYin : Gao Shan Si