Chongsheng Temple

Chongsheng Temple

Chongsheng temple, facing Erhai Lake in the East and Cangshan Mountain in the west, is located one kilometer north of Dali ancient city in Yunnan Province, at the foot of Cangshan Mountain and the shore of Erhai Lake. In history, nine Dali emperors became monks in Chongsheng temple, which is called "Tianlong Temple" in Jinyong's martial arts novel Tianlong Babu.

Chongsheng temple was once famous for its five important weapons (three pagodas, Nanzhao Jianji clock, rain bronze Avalokitesvara, Sansheng gold statue, and "Buddha capital" plaque). However, Chongsheng temple and the other four important weapons were destroyed by wars and natural disasters of past dynasties

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In the 1990s, the reconstruction of Chongsheng temple was put on the agenda. On August 8, 2003, the reconstruction project started. On April 22, 2005, the reconstruction project of Chongsheng Temple with a total investment of 182 million yuan was completed

. The three pagodas cultural tourism area of Chongsheng temple is a national AAAAA scenic spot.

Historical evolution

Chongsheng temple was built in Nanzhao period, and there are different opinions about the specific construction situation. According to the records of Meng Duan's different monks, "the original Chongsheng temple was built in the early period of Nanzhao, which was the place where Luofeng of Zhaowang Pavilion and zancuo zhengmeng of Tubo national master were located, and it was the residence of Tubo envoys." In Dali's domestic history, there are five types of monks in Dali: "the Meng family worships Taoism and Buddhism, and built eight temples and four Taoist temples in the west of the city. Among them, the most spectacular is Chongsheng temple, in which the national master lives. When Nanzhao advised Fengyou, he made great use of master haishou, who gave advice: "take Nanzhao as the Buddhist kingdom, rebuild Chongsheng temple as the great Chongsheng temple to protect the country."

. According to Nanzhao unofficial history (Huben, Wangben), baigutongji and other historical records, when Chongsheng temple and the main tower were built, the temple base was 7 Li, the sage Li Chengmei built three towers, the house was 890, the Buddha was 11400, and the copper was 40590 Jin. It was built from the 10th year of fengyoubaohe to the year of Tianqiyuan (834-840 A.D.), which cost more than 708000 yuan, and consumed 43514 Jin of gold, silver, cloth, silk, silk, silk, silk and brocade.

After Nanzhao, Buddhism in Dali was more developed than that in Nanzhao, which was called "Buddhist kingdom" and "Miaoxiang kingdom". After the completion of Chongsheng temple, it was the center of Buddhist activities in Nanzhao state and Dali state. At that time, the worship of Guanyin was very popular in Dali

. Among the twenty-two emperors of Dali, nine went to Chongsheng temple to become monks. In 1056 A.D., the king of Myanmar came to Chongsheng Temple twice to welcome the Buddha's teeth. The Dali emperor Duan Silian presented the Jade Buddha in the temple

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During the reign of emperor Wuzong of the Yuan Dynasty, he was granted the imperial edict to release Jue Xing as the abbot monk to protect the temple property and exempt from food tax. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was also repaired, so that "the hall and veranda were rejuvenated, the three pagodas stood upright, the splendor of the golden and blue, and the Juli and Shanlong (equal)"

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On May 6, the ninth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1514 AD), a strong earthquake occurred in Dali, causing serious damage to Chongsheng temple. According to historical records, the pagoda cracked three feet, and the middle pagoda (the big pagoda) was broken like a broken bamboo. After ten days, it suddenly disappeared. In addition to the Yutong Guanyin hall, other halls and buildings were destroyed and valuable cultural relics were lost. Li Yuanyang renovated the temple and wrote "a record of the important treasures of Chongsheng Temple", which said: "there are five important weapons in the temple: one is the three pagodas, the second is the Hongzhong, the third is the rain copper Guanyin, the fourth is the plaque of Zhengdao song and Buddha, and the fifth is the gold statue of Sansheng."

Among them, Cangshan Shengguan building was built in Chongsheng temple, Sanli northwest of Fucheng, in the Ming Dynasty's Yunnan Tong. It was built during the reign of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty. It was built in Hongzhong and Xiantong in the Tang Dynasty

. When Xu Xiake arrived in Dali, there were still three towers standing in front of Chongsheng temple Nuo is surrounded by tall pines. In the west, there is a bell tower opposite to the three pagodas, which is very majestic. "Behind the building is the main hall, and behind the main hall is" Yuzhu Guanyin hall, which is a standing statue made of cast copper, three Zhang high "(Xu Xiake's travels to Yunnan diary 8)

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Chongsheng temple was burned in Xianfeng Period of Qing Dynasty, and only the three pagodas remained intact

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Since the 1980s, Chongsheng temple has been restored continuously. In 1997, the clock tower was rebuilt and the "Jianji clock" was recast. Later, it built "juyingchi" and rebuilt "yutongguanyin hall"

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In order to change the situation that there are pagodas but no temples, Dali Cultural Bureau spent 182 million yuan to rebuild Chongsheng Temple in 2004. The reconstruction project takes the protection of the three pagodas as the core. On the basis of maintaining the environmental pattern of the completed bell tower, Yutong Guanyin hall and the leading area, the building community is arranged according to the main and secondary three axes, eight platforms, nine entrances and eleven floors. The main buildings are golden winged bird square, Mountain Gate, Dharma hall, Temple of protection, Temple of protection, Temple of protection and temple of protection Maitreya hall, shiyimian Guanyin hall, Daxiong hall, achaoye Guanyin Pavilion, Wanghai tower, Luohan hall, zushi hall, thousand Buddha Gallery, etc. the Buddhist statues in each hall are based on the painting scroll of Zhang Shengwen (also known as the scroll of Buddhist statues of Dali state), the "five hundred Arhats" of Qiongzhu temple and the cultural relics found in the three pagodas 617 Buddhist statues and ritual vessels were cast in bronze, 599 of which were painted with gold. The whole antique building community covers an area of 600 mu, with a construction area of 20080 square meters, belonging to the Han Buddhism temple

. On April 22, 2005, the reconstruction project of Chongsheng temple was completed

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Main attractions

Scenic spots in front of the temple

Main entry: Chongsheng Temple three pagodas cultural tourism area

The Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple are composed of two small pagodas. The big tower is called Qianxun tower.

The distance between Qianxun tower and the two small towers in the north and the south is 70 meters, showing a tripod. Qianxun pagoda is 69.13 meters high and 9.9 meters wide at the bottom. It is a square hollow brick Pagoda with dense eaves, with a total of 16 levels. It is one of the highest existing pagodas in China. It is a typical building of the Tang Dynasty, similar to the big wild goose pagoda and the small wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an, and is one of the typical pagodas of the Tang Dynasty. The inner wall of the tower runs up and down vertically, with wooden stairs.

Dapeng golden winged bird Plaza

In front of the gate of Chongsheng temple, on the square of Dapeng golden winged bird, there is a 6.9-meter-high double-sided statue of Dapeng golden winged bird. It is based on the golden winged bird unearthed from the three pagodas. The original is 18.5cm in height and 125g in net weight. The statue was reproduced and enlarged. The Dapeng golden winged bird perches on a blooming lotus flower. It holds its head high and leads its neck. Its head is decorated with a feather crown. Its head and tail feathers are bent up in a flame shape. Its tail feathers are inlaid with five crystal beads. On the square, there are also imitation crystal beads embedded in the wings. The whole statue is made of copper and gilded

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Nanzhao Jianji clock

Nanzhao Jianji clock was cast in 871 ad, and it was named Nanzhao Jianji clock in the 12th year of Nanzhao Jianji. According to Xu Xiake's diaries on a trip to Yunnan, "the clock is very big, with a diameter of more than Zhang, and its thickness is as thick as feet, and its sound can be heard for 80 li..." It is one of the five important weapons of Chongsheng temple. Together with the three pagodas, it is the treasure of the temple. It was destroyed in the war between Xianfeng and tongzhi (1856-1872).

On the occasion of Hong Kong's return to China in 1997, the Nanzhao clock tower was rebuilt and the clock tower was recast. It was designed by Beijing Ancient Bell Museum according to historical materials and cast by Nanjing Chenguang machinery factory. The recast Jianji clock is divided into upper and lower layers. The upper layer is decorated with six bolomi patterns, and the lower layer is decorated with six King statues. The height is 3.86 meters, the diameter is 2.138 meters, and the weight is 16.295 tons. The recast Nanzhao Jianji clock is the fourth largest clock in China since the Opium War, and the first in Yunnan Province

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Yutong Guanyin Hall

According to the unofficial history of Nanzhao, the rain bronze statue of Guanyin in Chongsheng temple was cast in the second year of Guanghua (AD 899), the last emperor of Nanzhao, shunhuazhen period. It is "standing statue, cast in copper, three Zhang high." It's a gilded statue of a Taoist temple with a crown on its head, a thin waist and bare feet, a dew bottle on its left arm and a thin skirt on its right arm

. There is a big bell in the front porch of the Yutong Guanyin hall. There is a small tower in the north and south of the patio. In the leakage Pavilion of the hall, there is a goddess of earth. On the opposite side of the hall, there is a Bodhisattva of Weituo. During the Xianfeng Period of the Qing Dynasty, the Yutong Guanyin hall was destroyed by fire, and the hands and corners of the bronze statue were also damaged. It was not until the 22nd year of Guangxu (1896 A.D.), when Cai Biao was the governor of Dali, that the damaged part was repaired. However, the original rain bronze Avalokitesvara was made of black copper, and later the part on the supplementary casting was made of bronze, so its luster and quality were not as good as the original casting. In the early 1950s, the Yutong Guanyin hall was guarded by two monks who were called Chaochen and chaosu. In the period of the cultural revolution, it was smashed as the object of "breaking the four old".

In 1999, the Yutong Guanyin hall was expanded and rebuilt on the original site, with a height of 29.99 meters, an area of 8100 square meters and a building area of 4384 square meters. In the center of the hall, on the 2.2-meter-high white jade Xumi seat, there is a 1.8-meter-high copper lotus seat. On the lotus seat stands an 8.6-meter-high copper rain copper Avalokitesvara. The recast Guanyin, weighing 11 tons, was carefully reproduced according to the photos of the late Qing Dynasty. The kind and kind-hearted women's faces and strong and straight men's figures are the statues of male Guanyin to female Guanyin in the middle and late Nanzhao period

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Scenic spots in the temple

stone carving

Chongsheng temple is mainly made of fine white marble, Putian green grass stone and white marble from Fujian Province. Among them, the dragon pool in front of the mountain gate is based on the description of "Tianlong Temple" in Jin Yong's novel "Tianlong Babu" and the natural shape of a 5-meter-high and 4.5-meter-wide bluestone excavated from the original site

Chinese PinYin : Chong Sheng Si