Water god Hall

Water god Hall

Shuishentang, located in Hushan, Huquan Town, Guangling County, Shanxi Province, China, was listed as the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units in 2006.

Water temple, formerly known as Yangshui temple, was built in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty, Wenchang Pavilion was added and renamed Shuishentang. Shuishentang is located in the south, covering an area of 7600 square meters. The main buildings are Lingying pagoda, Notre Dame hall, Zen house, Wenchang Pavilion, Mountain Gate, bell and Drum Tower, Laojun hall, etc.

Historical evolution

The earliest written record is that the bell was cast in 1526.

Wenchang Pavilion was built in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty.

In 1899, the Lingying pagoda was repaired.

Before liberation, Shuishentang was destroyed several times, and in the "Cultural Revolution", it suffered misfortune again, and the murals were plastered with mud.

In May 1983, Guangling county government announced shuishen hall as a key cultural relic protection unit at the county level.

In 1989, the people's Government of Shanxi Province announced shuishen hall as the third batch of provincial key cultural relics protection units.

On May 25, 2006, Shuishentang, as an ancient building from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be listed in the Sixth Batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Layout features

Shuishentang is now on the scale of the Qing Dynasty. The overall plan of the complex is octagonal, with each side about 13 or 4 meters long and a construction area of 900 square meters. The layout of the building is peculiar. It adopts the North-South central axis. Besides the main body in the middle, it is surrounded by doors, corridors, halls and rooms. The structure is compact and integrated. There are more than 40 buildings of different sizes, which are scattered and orderly, without any sense of narrow and disordered. The typical appearance of baheyuan is rare in the history of architecture.

There are pavilions, halls and pagodas on the mountain, and there are lots of vegetation at the foot of the mountain. "Jiujiang Notre Dame Temple" and "Guanyin nunnery" are the main buildings of the water god hall. They are equipped with East West viewing hall and dragon tiger corridor. There are seven level brick towers more than four feet high in the courtyard. There is a pavilion in the northeast corner. Climbing up the stairs is a hexagonal pavilion. Entering from the south gate, the palace is magnificent and decorated. The bell on the tower is Qingyuan, and the birds are singing up and down among the pines. The shape of the left and right wing rooms is unique, and the arches on both sides are more deep and secluded. If you enter through the back door, the house will be different in shape with the mountain situation, and the secluded path will circle around the hall, making people feel like entering a fairyland, like entering Penglai.

Temple architecture

Shanmen

The gate of Shuishentang mountain faces south and is the beginning of the central axis of the complex. It is of single eaves and hard mountain style, 6.1 meters deep and 8.25 meters wide, with open columns supporting eaves and gables made of brick. The original tablet of "small square pot" written by Zhu xiudu, the magistrate of the Qing Dynasty, means that this place can be compared with the abbot (square pot), one of the "three islands" in the fairyland on the sea. There is a back door at the north end of the central axis.

bell tower

On the east side of the mountain gate is the bell tower, on which are the cast iron bells of the fifth year of Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1526). On the west side is the drum tower, which is now donated by xiyixing village. There are brick doors under the bell and drum towers, which connect the inside and outside. Both floors are 4.5m deep and 2.45m wide. There is a pair of stone lions squatting in front of the mountain gate. The stone lions are moved from Jianxi village, with simple shape and unique style.

audience hall

Two hall system and body building, is the center of the whole building complex, located in the middle of the central axis later, for single eaves hanging mountain type, 10.4 meters deep, 13.75 meters wide. The main hall is majestic and solemn, enjoying the group; there are bright pillars on both sides of the front and back supporting the cool corridor, which makes the depth of the hall increase. Facing the south is Jiujiang Notre Dame hall, where the goddess of water is worshipped. It is said that the goddess of Jiujiang and the Tang God of yinjiazhuang used the method of fighting with water. The goddess could not bear the drought in the land, and accepted defeat and released the sweet spring. People are deeply grateful and worshipped from generation to generation. From the Dragon King Shi Yu's pictures on the East and west walls of the hall, we can see that the goddess of Jiujiang has become the embodiment of the dragon mother, which can be confirmed by the inscription of Qing Dynasty that Huquan lake is called "Dragon Mother pool". In the old days, on June 18 of the lunar calendar, people held temple fairs, presented dramas and newspaper competitions, prayed for good weather and a long life. This year's County material exchange conference is still based on this date.

The hall is separated by a door, which can be opened from the front to the back. Facing the north is the Guanyin hall, dedicated to the three great scholars. The stone well in the old records has been destroyed by falling into a child.

There are not only "Fengshui Temple" and "shuishen hall", but also "Dashi Temple" and "Dashi Pavilion". The reason is undoubtedly that the two halls were built together. At the same time, there are several white marble statues from the county sculpture factory and hundreds of scattered antiquities purchased from the folk for viewing.

Dragon and tiger Gallery

At the back of the bell and Drum Tower, there are corridors and halls facing out, which belong to the octagonal side. The corridor hall is separated from the inside and outside, and the outside and the inside are separated, and the door is reserved. The East corridor is 2.23 meters deep and 14.2 meters wide, with Kowloon painted on the wall; the west corridor is 4 meters deep and 13.45 meters wide, with five tigers painted on the wall. There is no original drawing, but the present appearance is a new one.

Wenchang Pavilion

Located in the east side of the main hall, the stele was donated by the literati of the whole county. It was founded in 1796, the first year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty. It was originally dedicated to Zitong. The pavilion is a double-layer and four corner Pavilion style wooden structure, which is the only ancient wooden building in Guangling. Its plane is square, 6.4 meters deep and wide. Exquisite structure and light shape. On the front of the ground floor, there is a cornice of a picture building, and the cool corridor is a little wider. Inside turn the screen window, there is a wooden ladder to the upper floor. The upper layer has four columns, double beams and a cornice with a sharp top; the door is opened to the East with three windows; the outer ring is surrounded by a corridor and protected by wooden railings. Several new plaques were made, and a copy of Fu Shan's handwriting was engraved on it to make it more elegant.

Baigong Society

Located in the west side of Notre Dame hall, it has single eaves and hard mountain style, with a depth of 7.57 meters and a width of 8.33 meters. It used to be the place where the three religions and nine schools worshiped their ancestors. Therefore, the statue is composed of Laozi, Luban, Confucius and Taoism, engineering and Confucianism. They work together with each other and are quite interesting. The original statue has been destroyed, the statue has been rebuilt and the mural has been restored, but the front mural has not been protected. The contents of murals are very rich, reflecting the handicraft industry and people's living conditions in Qing Dynasty. As far as the county is concerned, it belongs to the image of historical data and is precious. On February 15 and May 7 of the old lunar calendar, craftsmen from all walks of life gathered here to worship Luban.

Lingying pagoda

Lingying pagoda is located in the southeast corner of the hospital, with a height of 17.5 meters. The foundation of the tower is a 1.2m high hexagonal stone platform with a side length of 3.28M. The tower has seven stories and is 16.3 meters high. When the earthquake occurred in 1911, the above part of the pagoda brake bowl fell into the Hushan spring pool, and the Xianglun, Baozhu and the brake rod were replaced.

The tower is well preserved, with a wood like structure and a hexagonal cone, which shrinks layer by layer from bottom to top. The shape is smooth and elegant. The brick carving is exquisite and simple. The first and second floors are made of brick doors with different styles, and the third to fifth floors are made of semi-circular hollow brick doors, which can reduce the impact of wind. Inside the hollow door on the sixth floor, there is a carved brick tablet, 36 cm high, 15.8 cm wide, 4.7 cm thick and 6 cm high. In the center of the pagoda, the words "Lingying pagoda" are engraved on the right, which is consistent with the inscription of the false door on the third floor of the pagoda, and the words "manager: fuquandian, zhichenghao, yuhengdian" are engraved on the left. Clay workers: Bai E and Li Sheng. Each corner column of the tower body is made of brick, with a flat square on it and an forehead. Tower eaves ring with three steps on the arch, not Shi ang. Out of the top bearing head, configuration flat body four save, angle each save. Each layer of Dougong is carved with rafters and lotus eaves. The corner is made of wooden old corner beam and baby corner beam. The head of baby corner beam is made of brick, and the iron wind chime falls down. The Lingying Pagoda with imitation wood structure is the essence of Shuishentang building complex, which is regarded as the representative of Yanbei brick Pagoda in Qing Dynasty.

The spring stopped flowing

Around July 10, 2014, the lake water in Shuishentang scenic spot dried up rapidly and reached the bottom within a few days.

Even in dry years, the water temple is still rippling and foggy in winter. In Guangling, Shuishentang is not only a landscape, but also carries the memory of the tourists to their hometown. The sudden cut-off is unacceptable. Photos taken by netizen "Qi Hua" show that the water at the Longkou of Shuishentang's Huquan has stopped flowing, the bottom of the circular lake is exposed, and there are obvious traces of water retreating from the lakeshore. In the past, the water god hall surrounded by lakes is no longer the style of ancient buildings.

The Water Affairs Bureau of Guangling county is organizing experts to investigate and analyze the causes of water cut-off.

Tourism information

Opening hours: 8:00-18:00

Address: 0.5km south of the county

Self driving route:

From Guangling county to the northeast, drive along S303 and enter S201

Drive along S201 for 140 meters and turn left into Fuxi street

Drive 1.4 km along Fuxi street, pass the Haier store on the left for about 100 meters, then turn right into Yanling road

Drive along Yanling road for 620 meters and turn left ahead

Drive 480 meters to Shuishentang

Address: South Yili, Guangling County, Datong City

Longitude: 114.26044464111

Latitude: 39.747817993164

Ticket information: market price: 20.0 yuan

Chinese PinYin : Shui Shen Tang