Wenshan Temple

Wenshan Temple

Wenshan temple, located in the lane of Prime Minister Wen in the northwest of Suzhou City, is the only Buddhist Jungle (commonly known as nunnery) in Suzhou. Although it is not as eye-catching as Xiyuan temple, Hanshan Temple and lingyanshan temple, it has a long history of more than 800 years. Wenshan temple in Suzhou is an ancient temple in the Southern Song Dynasty. It covers an area of 2206.19 square meters and a building area of 2889.69 square meters. It has a history of more than 800 years. The original site of Wenshan temple is the coexistence of Wenshan temple, Chaoyin temple and Yunlin temple. During this period, it has experienced many vicissitudes.

Introduction

After 1958, Wenshan temple was changed to bhiksuni dojo. Master wenjue was the first abbot, and then master Runtian took over. The current abbot is master Zhaolian. There are more than 40 nuns in the temple. During the cultural revolution, Wenshan temple was occupied by many factories. After the implementation of the party's religious policy in October 1988, with the support and help of the relevant municipal and district government departments, the ancient temple of Wenshan temple was returned and rebuilt. It was officially approved to open in 1990 and became a Buddhist temple in the ancient city of Suzhou.

Life in the temple is serious and tense. These monks and nuns get up at 5:00 in the morning, do morning classes at 5:30, have breakfast at 6:00, then work separately, and do evening classes at night. The whole temple has a quiet and orderly environment. Security, fire-fighting equipment, hall management, environmental sanitation, and maintenance are all done by themselves. Since its opening in 1990, Wenshan temple has been visited by many Buddhists and tourists every year. It has become a Buddhist tourist attraction in Gusu city.

Temple History

Wenshan temple, also known as Wenshan temple and Wenshan Chaoyin temple, was originally located in Wenshan temple, Chaoyin temple and Yunlin temple. Facing the central city, it is a famous temple in the south of the Yangtze River since the Southern Song Dynasty. The years are long and the vicissitudes are great. By the early Qing Dynasty, it was nearly decadent. Chaoyin temple is an ancient temple in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the early Qing Dynasty, it was a Buddhist temple in Jiaqing.

In Jiaqing, the eminent monks insisted that the master had come to zhuoxi and vowed to rebuild the main hall and Chongguang the Buddhist temple. After the change of Hongyang in Gengshen, the three temples were destroyed by war. During the reign of Tongzhi, in the 10th year of Xianfeng, Seng Jingru, abbot of Chaoyin nunnery, revived his foundation, restored the Buddhist temple and built an additional guest hall. "The statue of the grand master was built on the 5th day of Tongzhi, and Jinrong, Emperor Weituo of Guandi, was reorganized when he was over years old." after Jingru's death, the eminent monk jieding took over one after another. On the Abbot's day, he took up the post of Xingfu. However, his ambition failed, and he died in the fifth year of the Republic of China.

In the 10th year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty, Buddhist mirrors were rebuilt, Buddhist statues were added, and bases were purchased widely. Temples were revived day by day. In the early years of the Republic of China, master Xinchuan merged the three temples into one temple, which was called "Wenshan Chaoyin Temple".

It is said that the master is the abbot. The master is patient and hard-working, and vows to turn the master's last wish into a grand plan. At that time, Wenshan temple has gradually declined, and Yunlin nunnery is scattered. It is said that his capital has been merged with Wenshan temple and Yunlin nunnery. In 1925, the temple was rebuilt. At that time, there were 65 magnificent temples. Its name is Yunshan Chaoyin temple.

Temple layout

Wenshan temple has a strict layout, magnificent temples and solemn Buddha statues. Master Ming, vice president of China Buddhist Association, inscribed the plaque of "Daxiong hall" and "cangjing Pavilion", while master Xing Kong and master Miao Sheng, vice presidents of Shanghai Buddhist Association, inscribed the plaque of "Wenshan Temple" and "Jingye hall" respectively. In the main hall, there are statues of Sakyamuni and the three Western saints. In the Jingye hall, there is a standing statue of Guanyin Jade Buddha. In the Sutra collection building, there is a newly built Dazheng collection.

The main hall of Wenshan temple has double eaves, nanmu gold columns, equal height of inner and outer columns, and forked hands under the ridge truss. The architectural technique is common before Yuan Dynasty. The bucket arch is Ming style. The ceiling is made of straw. The beams are painted with Erlong Xizhu and tangsanzang master and apprentice's Sutra drawing, as well as animal and plant patterns. There are written records of Tianshun in Ming Dynasty, Daoguang in Qing Dynasty and built in 1957. The hall is five rooms wide and six rooms deep. The tiles and dripping water are decorated with dragon and phoenix patterns. From the overall style of the hall, it belongs to the mid Ming Dynasty style, and the roof inherits the architectural techniques of the Tang Dynasty. The double eaves roof style of the veranda is generally used in the main buildings of the imperial palace to show respect or solemnity.

The main hall of Wenshan Temple faces east from the west, with an irregular cross shape. There are only one layer left, and the other two layers were destroyed in the Holocaust of ten years. The main hall has stone walls, neat and beautiful. In front of the main hall, there is a wooden lion with half body and buckteeth grinning on the top of the left and right corners, which is exquisitely carved. On the outer wall of the temple, there are stone Buddhist patterns and figures. The first floor is mainly composed of porch, sutra hall, Buddha Hall and cloister.

The porch has two square pillars, covering an area of 34.2 square meters (17.1 meters long from north to South and 2 meters wide from east to West). There are four heavenly kings, deer and elephant in the mural. There is also a small door on both sides of the porch, which is very rare.

The gate of Wenshan temple is a three arched wooden gate with a total width of 6 meters and a height of 5.8 meters. In the middle of the door is a woven wire mesh. On the lower side of the board are painted Bodhisattvas and the four heavenly kings, and on the top are three pairs of bronze lions. On the lintel there are Dougong to support the roof. Around the temple, there is an ambulatory with murals on its two walls. The main content is the story of Sakyamuni's birth, followed by the Thousand Buddhas. There are also the Buddha of limitless longevity, the donor, the Guanyin Bodhisattva, the four heavenly kings of beast head, the Dharma protector King Kong, the big huziyu, and the cowhide boat. Among them, the Dharma protector statues have the most distinctive features: red face, long white beard, bun, bare upper body, short skirt around the waist, and head around the waist With the left hand holding the fire ball and holding the long handle magic weapon, with the right hand holding the skull and holding the long handle magic weapon; with each foot stepping on one person, two people are leaning on the right and covering the left, and the long magic weapon on the right is also inserted into the chest of the person under the foot.

Temple construction

In 1958, Wenshan temple was transformed into a Buddhist monastery, where more than 30 Buddhist jungles were merged. At that time, there were more than 40 nuns living here. Ten years of catastrophe, Buddhism suffered. In the autumn of 1966, the Buddha statues of Wenshan temple were destroyed, the magic weapons disappeared, the temple was occupied, and the Buddhist nuns were killed. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the party's religious policy was gradually implemented, and temples were reopened one after another. Runtian, Xinfa and Mingfu proposed to restore Wenshan temple.

Since October 1988, six units including Suzhou nail clipper factory have been relocated. Wenshan temple was renovated in April 1989 and lasted for five years. Now the building area of Wenshan temple is more than 2000 square meters, which is one third larger than the original. Weituo hall, wuguantang and the living area of the nuns have been newly built. Daxiong hall, sutra library, Yunshan hall and the three western holy halls have been renovated. A Buddha statue has been rebuilt, a jade Buddha has been invited, and a new 15 meter high copper pagoda has been cast to make Wenshan Temple more beautiful A new look. After the restoration of Wenshan temple, Buddhist nuns gathered all over the city. They worked hard in the morning and at night, continued the wisdom of the Buddha, and practiced Dharma constantly. In 1990, with the approval of the people's Government of Jiangsu Province, Wenshan temple was reopened as a place for religious activities.

After the restoration of Wenshan temple, Buddhist nuns gathered all over the city. They worked hard in the morning and at night, continued the wisdom of the Buddha, and practiced Dharma constantly. There are 23 Buddhist nuns in the temple, the oldest 88 years old and the youngest 23 years old. Five of them are young. They are from Wuhan, Jilin, Zhejiang and Northern Jiangsu. Another one is going to Fujian Buddhist College for further study.

On November 15, 1999, the abbot of Wenshan temple was ceremoniously inaugurated. We sincerely invite master Zhaolian, the supervisor of the temple, to succeed him. Monk Ming XueDa, vice chairman of advisory committee of China Buddhist Association, vice chairman of Jiangsu Buddhist Association and chairman of Suzhou Buddhist Association, presented a seat to master Zhaolian. More than 400 leaders from the Religious Affairs Bureau of Jiangsu Province, the provincial Buddhist Association, the relevant departments of Suzhou City, and the elders of temples in Suzhou, Shanghai, and Wuhan were invited to attend and express congratulations. Master Zhaolian, who is only 43 years old, has been living in Wenshan temple in Suzhou since 1990. He has helped the former abbot Runtian to do a lot of work in the restoration of Wenshan temple.

Master Zhaolian has been actively assisting the government to implement religious policies since 1993. Especially after abbot Runtian passed away in 1994, she took on the important task of Wenshan temple. In the past few years, she worked hard. Under extremely difficult conditions, she managed a Buddhist jungle in Suzhou City in an orderly way, which was highly praised by the relevant departments of Suzhou City and the religious circles . Master Zhaolian is a member of the CPPCC Committee of Suzhou and Jinchang District, and Deputy Secretary General of Suzhou Buddhist Association

Address: no.30-1, Prime Minister lane, Gusu District, Suzhou

Longitude: 120.6125519098

Latitude: 31.318232493664

Tel: 0512-67276971

Ticket information: free.

Chinese PinYin : Wen Shan Si