Shuanglin Temple

Shuanglin Temple

Shuanglin temple is located in Qiaotou village, six kilometers southwest of Pingyao County, Shanxi Province. It is the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units and national AAAA tourist attraction. As an important part of Pingyao ancient city, Shuanglin temple was listed as world cultural heritage in 1997.

Shuanglin temple is one of the national key Buddhist temples in the Han area. Shuanglin temple, formerly known as Zhongdu temple, was originally located in the old city of Zhongdu, hence its name. Zhongdu temple was founded very early, because of the lack of detailed records in ancient literature, it is difficult to confirm. The oldest existing stele in the temple is "the stele of aunt" in 1011, the fourth year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty. The 20th line of "rebuilt temple in the second year of Wuping" is still recognizable. The second year of Wuping (571) is the year number of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Since it was rebuilt, it must have been founded earlier than this. Even from the Northern Qi Dynasty, Zhongdu temple has gone through more than 1400 years. It embodies the wisdom and creativity of the ancient working people.

Historical evolution

Zhongdu temple was a scenic spot at that time. It was magnificent, fragrant and full of visitors. It once had a "seven tower Pavilion, which is high and can be saved". Unfortunately, it was destroyed by the fire. The foundation stone of the original Pavilion still exists today, with a diameter of more than one meter, which proves its scale.

Until Song Dynasty, Zhongdu temple was renamed Shuanglin temple.

According to the Buddhist scriptures, the place of Buddha Sakyamuni's nirvana is between the two Saro trees beside the Bati River in the ancient Tianzhu corpse city. At that time, the Buddha was under the two trees, with his head north to the west, lying on his right flank. He passed away and ascended to heaven, and the two trees on the four sides bloomed white flowers. It is called "double forest into extinction".

Major relics

After the Song Dynasty, there were nuns in the temple, so there were "monument of aunts" and "Zhenyi Temple", which were related to the memorial of nuns.

The building of Shuanglin Temple suffered from wind, rain and war for hundreds of years, and the temple gradually collapsed. Although it was repaired in all dynasties, it had reached the point of "the hall and couplets were damaged and the hall and corridor were collapsed" by the end of Yuan Dynasty.

As a result, large-scale reconstruction or reconstruction was carried out during the periods of Jingtai, Tianshun, Hongzhi, Zhengde and Longqing in the Ming Dynasty and Daoguang and Xuantong in the Qing Dynasty. All the existing temples were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Main attractions

Shuanglin Temple faces south from the north. The Temple group covers an area of about 15000 square meters, which is divided into East and west parts.

In the west, there are temples and courtyards. Along the central axis, there are three courtyards, which are composed of ten halls.

The front courtyard is the hall of Sakyamuni, the hall of arhat, the hall of wusheng, the hall of earth, the hall of Yama and the hall of heavenly king; the middle courtyard is the hall of Mahavira, the hall of Thousand Buddhas and the hall of Bodhisattva in the two chambers; the back courtyard is the Hall of Niangniang and the temple of Zhenyi.

In the eastern part of the temple, there are Buddhist temples, Scripture rooms, etc. (now used by primary schools). In the Ming Dynasty, a high rammed earth wall was built around the temple, with arrow buttresses on it, which looks like a small castle.

Tianwang Hall

Entering the arched gate, the first hall in the north is the Tianwang hall, which is five rooms wide and three rooms deep. A vertical plaque is hung under the eaves of the Ming Dynasty, with the four characters of "Tianzhu Shengjing" written in powerful writing. The front eaves are decorated with five pavilions to make a bucket arch. Ruyi's head is false and high.

The door is set between the light and the window between the light and the light. The roof is in the form of a mountain. The glazed roof in the middle of the ridge bears the inscription "August 26, 12th year of Hongzhi" of the Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty. Under the eaves of the temple of heavenly kings, there are four vajras, each of which is about three meters high and lined up.

The images of the Dharma protectors of these Buddhas have broken through the vicious and terrible modeling procedures of the common Vajra, and adopted realistic modeling techniques. In addition to the grand frame and large body in the space, people feel that they have the intimate feeling of the warriors in the world, and at the same time, they have the heroic spirit of "pulling out the mountains and being breathless". In the temple of the heavenly king, Maitreya, the heavenly crown, sits in the middle, with the emperor Shi and Brahma at his side. There are four heavenly kings on the south wall and eight Bodhisattvas on both sides of the north wall. The style of the statues in the hall is realistic and the figures are vivid.

In particular, the four heavenly kings, as high as three meters, held pipa, sword, snake and umbrella to protect the southeast and northwest respectively. The objects held by the four heavenly kings are earth, gold, wind and water according to the "four wheels" in the Buddhist Yuanjue Sutra. Because the Buddhist Scripture has been circulated for a long time in China, it is also attached with the saying of "good weather". The popular chapter by Zhai Hao in Qing Dynasty quoted Wang yeyan's Ge Zhi Xin Lu as saying that the four heavenly kings in every temple hold one thing, implying "good weather" and "abundant grain".

Sakyamuni Hall

Through the temple of heavenly king, to the north lies the hall of Sakyamuni, which forms the first courtyard with the hall of arhat, the hall of wusheng, the hall of Yama and the hall of earth.

The hall of Sakyamuni is one of the main halls of the temple. It is five rooms wide and three rooms deep. It has a broad column and a broad forehead. There are no brackets under the eaves. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a door in the middle of which was inscribed with the four characters "lingjiu legacy". The roof of the building is of mountain style, covered with grey tiles, and the whole architectural style is simple and simple. In the hall of Sakyamuni, Sakyamuni sits high in the middle, flanked by Manjusri and Puxian, which is the main statue of the hall. The four walls of the hall use the techniques of round carving, deep relief and shallow relief, and take the form of layered combination and serial wall sculpture, which shows the story of Sakyamuni's Buddhism biography from birth to nirvana.

There are more than 200 figures with different identities and different expressions. They live between buildings and rocks. The composition is amazing and full of the traditional characteristics of Chinese folk art. A sea crossing Guanyin is built behind the shadow wall of the Sakyamuni hall, which is a wonderful work among the colored sculptures of Shuanglin temple. Guanyin is shaped with round carving technique. It sits on the red lotus petals with one leg. The whole body protrudes out of the wall and looks calm. It forms a strong contrast with the choppy waves on the background. It has the artistic effect of moving in stillness, which is amazing to all viewers. The two sides of the hall of Sakyamuni each have four suspended mountain buildings. Because of the partition wall in the hall, it is divided into four small halls: arhat, wusheng, Yanluo and Tudi. The eighteen Arhats in the hall of arhat are rare art treasures. They are slightly as high as real people, and they are carved on both sides of Guanyin.

These arhat statues have proper proportion, accurate anatomy, thick body, beautiful shape, one by one full of vitality and personality. Ancient art masters used skilled traditional color sculpture techniques to make these arhat statues reach the artistic realm of being ready to come out and hearing its sound, which is called "divine products".

Wusheng Temple

The statue of Guan Yu sitting in the middle of wusheng hall was created in the early Qing Dynasty. It is magnificent and vivid. The four walls are covered with sculptures, which are the deeds of Guan Yu before his death. The contents include "Taoyuan Jieyi", "cutting Huaxiong", "cutting Caiyang" and "Shuiyan Qijun". The figures are about 40 cm high, vivid in shape, colorful and interesting to watch. The Bodhisattva of the Tibetan king sits in the middle of the hall of Yan Luo, and there are ten halls on the left and right, the king of Yan and the magistrates. Each statue is upright and solemn. According to the Buddhist scriptures, the king of Tibet is one of the four Bodhisattvas who command hell and save all suffering. This hall is designed and shaped according to the Buddhist scriptures of "six Samsara" and "three generations of cause and effect". The statue of land in the temple of land is the God of management in ancient Chinese mythology. The old custom of offering sacrifices to the land can ensure a bumper harvest of grain. The image of the land is shaped as an image of the elderly, kind and loyal. Around the attendants for the golden girl, people feel kind and lovely.

There are bell towers and drum towers on both sides of the hall of Sakyamuni. There is a big bronze bell in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty on the bell tower. The sound of the bell is heard for several miles, and the sound is endless.

main hall

On the central axis, the second courtyard is the main hall in the north and the second Hall of Thousand Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the East and West chambers. The main hall was rebuilt in the early Ming Dynasty. It is the tallest building in the whole temple. It has a single eaves resting on the top of the mountain, five rooms wide and three rooms deep with six rafters. The "side feet" and "rising" are obvious. It has a one-step front porch, five pavilions under the eaves, one ring of Dou Gong, and one column and one filling room. The beam structure is neat and reasonable, which is quite in line with the legal system. The decoration of doors and windows and the kissing beast on the roof are all typical Ming style.

The main statue in the hall is "three body Buddha", with Manjusri and Puxian sitting on both sides. In front of the three body Buddha, there is a cast iron wrapped clay "Jieyin Buddha" standing facing the door. These statues were re painted in the Qing Dynasty, which is slightly inferior to other palace statues. In the hall, there is also a mural "Buddha worship painting" painted in the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, it was covered with white powder in the early years of the Republic of China. From the parts washed out in 1982, you can still see a spot of the mural. The line drawing is straight and straight, the color is gorgeous, and there is a legacy of the Yuan Dynasty.

Thousand Buddha Hall

On the east side of the thousand Buddha Hall, there is a suspended mountain building with a width of seven rooms. There are more than 500 colored sculptures in the hall, accounting for a quarter of the temple. The main image is Kuanyin, with a quiet and charming face and a comfortable and natural posture. On the left and right sides are standing figures of Wei Tuo and yecha. The statue of Wei Tuo is a rare artistic masterpiece in Ming Dynasty. The hall is surrounded by hanging statues and wall statues. The five hundred Bodhisattvas are divided into five to six levels, either riding on auspicious clouds or riding on exotic animals. They are integrated with the main image. There are more than 30 statues on both sides of the window sill and door, which are very realistic. Their clothes and ornaments are valuable materials for studying the development and evolution of Ming Dynasty costumes.

Bodhisattva Hall

The Bodhisattva hall is on the west side of the central courtyard, opposite to the thousand Buddha Hall. The main image is Avalokitesvara with thousand hands and thousand eyes. Sitting in the middle of the knot, it has a plump and dignified appearance, a gentle and elegant manner, and a variety of gestures. It is very delicate and flexible. If you don't have a lot of arms stretched out behind your back, you can really see Qianshou Guanyin as a beautiful, elegant and graceful young woman. There are more than 400 Bodhisattvas hanging around. All of them walk on the colorful clouds with their feet. There is a great sense of wind on the wall. The numerous images, gorgeous colors and vivid shapes constitute a palace of ancient sculpture art. There are still a few Ming Dynasty murals on the eaves and walls of the second Hall of Thousand Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. They are paintings of Bodhisattvas in the fifth year of Ming Dynasty (1461).

Niangniang Hall

Niangniang hall is on the central axis of the whole temple

Chinese PinYin : Shuang Lin Si