Yingjiang Temple

Yingjiang Temple

Yingjiang temple, located on the Yangtze River outside Zongyang gate in Anqing City, Anhui Province, covers an area of more than 30000 square meters. It is composed of Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall, Zhenfeng tower, Pilu hall, sutra library, Dashi Pavilion, Fatang hall, Guangsi hall and other buildings.

Yingjiang temple, the whole temple is built on the highland on the Bank of the Yangtze River. Its majestic hall can be seen from ten miles away. Anqing is a national historical and cultural city. Yingjiang temple is in the southeast of the city. It is connected with Jiuhua Mountain on the top, kuanglu on the bottom, Tianzhu in the north, and the Yangtze River on the south. It can be said that it has the aura of heaven and earth and occupies the glory of humanity.

Brief introduction to temples

Yingjiang temple, the gate above the book "Yingjiang Temple" three characters plaque (Guangxu eight years grain Dan), the door on both sides of each anchor, weighing about 3 tons, which is different from other temples unique.

According to folklore, Anqing is like a boat, and the tower is the mast. If it is not anchored, Anqing city will follow the east of the river, so it is set up. The words on the wall on the right side of the gate are: "the Buddha's day brightens, and the Dharma revolves constantly", and the words on the wall on the left side of the gate are: "solemn land, happy and affectionate".

Main building

The main building of the temple is a four hall and a tower. The first one is the heavenly king hall. The hall is 10.4 meters high and covers an area of about 300 square meters. Sitting in the middle is a Buddha statue of Maitreya with open chest and belly, and a smile. Standing behind is a statue of Wei Tuo, facing Sakyamuni Buddha. On both sides of the hall are the "Four Heavenly Kings", each of which is more than 3 meters high and majestic.

The main hall is 17.72 meters high and covers an area of 409 square meters. Among the three great Buddhas in the hall, Sakyamuni Buddha, the leader of the Suva world, is in the middle. On the East and west sides are the disaster relief and longevity medicine Buddha and Amitabha Buddha. At the back of the hall, Manjusri Bodhisattva rides the lion, and Puxian Bodhisattva rides the elephant. Eighteen Arhats, such as dragon subduing and tiger subduing statues, are placed on the hatchback platform, with different poses and vivid shapes. The ridge of Pilu palace is 17.7 meters high and covers an area of 580 square meters. In the middle of the hall is the pilufo, on the left is the great Vatican king, and on the right is the God of heaven. On the hanging wall behind pilufo is an island more than 10 meters high. On the island are more than 100 statues of shancai boy 53can in the Huayan Sutra. Under the island is the Guanyin of sihailong Dynasty. The whole statue is exquisite and lifelike.

The building is 16.2 meters high and covers an area of 981 square meters. It is divided into upper, middle and lower floors. There are more than ten thousand volumes of Buddhist scriptures on the upper floor, as well as the Lotus Sutra, Guanyin Bodhisattva's general product, and the Heart Sutra, which are well preserved. This Sutra has a history of more than 500 years. There are also many statues of Buddha and universal salvation. Downstairs is the Dharma hall for preaching and important religious activities. The middle is the western three saints.

ZHENFENG pagoda stands in the temple. It was first built in Song Dynasty and rebuilt in 1570, the fourth year of Longqing in Ming Dynasty. It was originally named "Wanfo pagoda". It is a rare seven level floating picture of Yingjiang River in the Yangtze River Basin. From a distance, it looks like an upright cone, straight and beautiful, and majestic; from a close view, the pavilion style buildings made of brick and stone are exquisite and dignified. The tower has seven octagonal floors with 168 steps, and each floor has a stone fence for sanitation. The center of the tower is the octagonal melon skin headspace hall.

The layout of the gate of Zhenfeng tower is changeable. After climbing the second floor, visitors often run into the wall and can't go up the gate. Therefore, people can't stop talking and laughing. Once they get up the gate, they will have a lot of fun. The eaves on each floor are decorated with a bronze bell, which rings with the wind and is melodious and far away. At the bottom of the tower, there is a 5-meter-high Jieyin Buddha, Maitreya Buddha on the second floor and five square Buddha on the third floor. There are more than 600 relief Buddha statues on the fourth floor and above. The top of the tower is octagonal xumizuo, with a semicircular covered bowl, five iron balls (Buddha called Xianglun) and a gourd vase. The pagoda is made of copper shafts.

Beautiful scenery in the temple

The thick body of the tower is lined with the beautiful shape of the Tasha, towering, straight into the sky. "Tower shadow across the river" is a beautiful and strange picture with clear sky and moonlit night, known as one of the scenic spots in Anqing. The reputation of "not to mention the tower after anqing", "the first tower of the Yangtze River" and "the king of pagodas" has attracted many writers and poets in history, leaving beautiful poems.

In addition, Yingjiang temple also has Yiyuan (release pool), Dashi Pavilion, Ciyun Pavilion, Yingjiang tower and other buildings with magnificent structure. There is also a vegetarian restaurant in the temple. There are more than 400 kinds of refined vegetarian dishes with unique flavor. Visitors can enjoy themselves here.

The scale

Yingjiang temple in Anqing is located in the east gate of Anqing, adjacent to the Yangtze River, covering an area of more than 30000 square meters. It was first built in the seventh year of Kaibao in the Northern Song Dynasty (974), and has been renovated or built in successive dynasties.

According to annals of Anqing Prefecture and annals of Huaining County, Yingjiang temple was rebuilt by Ruan Zihua, a gentry of Huaining County, before Wanli of Ming Dynasty (1619 AD). Mingguang sect wrote a plaque of "Yongchang temple to protect the country". In 1650, Yingjiang temple was changed. Emperor Qianlong granted the plaque of "good lion roar". In 1882, Yingjiang temple was inscribed. In 1882, Yingjiang temple was inscribed In 1998, Yue Xia, a famous monk in modern times, came to Yingjiang temple as Abbot shortly after she founded China's first Buddhist College in Jiuhua Mountain. During her period as abbot, she left behind a famous case against Yuan Shikai's becoming emperor. Before Yuexia left, he sent his disciple Xinjian to Yingjiang temple as abbot.

Yingjiang temple is located on the Bank of the Yangtze River outside Zongyang gate in Anqing City, Anhui Province. The whole temple is built on the highland on the Bank of the Yangtze River, with towering halls.

Historical evolution

Yingjiang temple was founded in the seventh year of Kaibao of Song Dynasty (974) and was once known as "Guwan Buddhist temple". In 1619, it was rebuilt. In the early Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt, then renovated and expanded, and finally became a famous temple along the river.

It was destroyed in the war in 1861. It was rebuilt in 1862, the first year of Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. It is called "Yingjiang Temple", which means that the temple stands facing the Yangtze River. In 1875, Empress Dowager Cixi gave Yingjiang temple a plaque called "miaoming garden", which was hung on the Sutra Pavilion.

In 1983, Yingjiang temple was listed as a key Buddhist temple in China in the Han nationality area, and in 1984, it was handed over to the Buddhist community for management and use. After 1949, the government maintained and protected the temples many times.

Layout structure

The temple is composed of Tianwang hall, Daxiong hall, Zhenfeng tower, Pilu hall, sutra library, Renmin Pavilion, FA hall, Guangsi hall, etc. Tianwang hall and Daxiong hall are built on the high platform, which is very magnificent. It is a hard peak with a small green tile roof. Pilu hall has a double eaves on the top of Xieshan mountain and clay tiles. There are Faxi, tizhan and no Dougong. The Sutra house is a modern temple building with double eaves and a small green tile roof.

The temple has a rich collection of cultural relics, the most valuable of which is the Ming Dynasty gold powder Sutra "miaofe Lotus Sutra. Guanyin Pumen product" (with "Heart Sutra").

The Sutra is written on porcelain blue paper with gold water. It is regular script in Zhao style, with solemn and elegant writing style. There are 50 Buddha statues and Bodhisattvas' drawings in the Sutra, with superb painting skills, and it is designated as a first-class cultural relic by the state. In addition, there are bamboo fans by Weng Tong and Zeng Guofan from the Qing Dynasty, landscape and flower works by Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi, and Zen traditional Chinese paintings by master langwu, a Buddhist monk. In addition, there are nine kinds of inscriptions in Ming and Qing Dynasties. ZHENFENG pagoda is the most characteristic building of Yingjiang temple, also known as "ten thousand Buddha pagoda". It was first built in the second year of Longqing in the Ming Dynasty (1568). The existing Zhenfeng tower has seven stories and is 60 meters high. The plane shape of the tower is octagonal, the bottom side is about 5.5 meters long, and the distance between the two opposite sides is about 13 meters, shrinking layer by layer. The tower is hollow with stone steps leading to the top of the tower.

Ancient pagodas in the temple

The second floor of Wanfo pagoda is from the outside entrance, and the third floor is set between two octagonal sandwich walls. In the center of the pagoda, there are three or four culverts in the top space of the octagonal melon skin, which lead directly to the outside of the pagoda. The entrance and exit of the stone steps are set on one side of the arch culvert. An arch niche is set on the surface of the pagoda without arch culvert. One to five small niches are set symmetrically on both sides of the arch culvert or niche. More than 600 brick Buddha statues are provided in the niches. There are cracks behind the niches, which directly lead to the wall Buddha in the corridor of the pagoda and on the top of the empty hall, so that the Buddha lamps are always bright. On the bottom floor of the tower, there is a columned corridor about three meters wide. On the two floors above, there is a columnless corridor. There is a play at the eaves corner. Under the play, there is a bronze bell, and the sound of Brahma often sounds.

At the top of the tower is an octagonal xumaitreya base, which is connected with a covering bowl, a phase wheel, a bottle, etc., and is connected by a copper shaft to form a tower brake. ZHENFENG tower has been listed as a key cultural relic protection unit by Anhui provincial government. Since the establishment of Yingjiang temple, incense has flourished in all dynasties. After 1949, the government maintained and protected the temples many times.

In 1983, Yingjiang temple was listed as a key Buddhist temple in China. In 1984, it was handed over to the Buddhist community for management and use. In recent years, Yingjiang temple has established a management committee composed of monks, restored the jungle system, set up vegetarian restaurants, and realized the maintenance of the temple by the temple. The halls and pavilions of Yingjiang temple have also been renovated, becoming a pearl of Anqing City, inlaid on the Bank of the Yangtze River.

Historical evolution

Yingjiang temple was founded in the seventh year of Kaibao of Song Dynasty (974). It was once called "Guwan Buddhist temple" and was built by Seng HANWAN. In the 47th year of Wanli (1619), Ruan Zihua, a gentry of the Ming Dynasty, built a new temple on this basis. Emperor Guangzong of the Ming Dynasty granted it the name of "Yongchang temple to protect the country".

Reconstruction in the early Qing Dynasty, Kangxi two years (1663), governor Zhang Chaozhen repair hall and gate, so far Yingjiang temple into scale. Later, it was renovated and expanded to become a famous temple along the river. In 1861, Xianfeng was destroyed by war. It was rebuilt in 1862, the first year of Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty. It is called "Yingjiang Temple", which means that the temple stands facing the Yangtze River. In 1875, Empress Dowager Cixi granted it

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