Xiahai Temple

Xiahai Temple

Xiahai temple, located at 73 Kunming Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai, is located in the commercial downtown area of Tilanqiao. At that time, xiahaiyi king temple was located in xiahaipu, where Yangtze river ships enter the sea. Now the road facing the temple gate is called Haimen road. Residents and boat people often carry baskets and cross the bridge, so it is called Tilanqiao. Because the temple is near the sea, people along the coast worship Mazu, the God of protecting the sea, so they also worship the goddess of heaven and other local gods in the temple.

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Historical evolution

The origin of history

Xiahai Temple

It is commonly known as "xiahai Temple", "Yiwang Temple". Founded in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (l736-1795), there were only nine houses at that time. It was a folk temple for local fishermen and residents to pray for peace and worship the God of the sea.

In the middle of Jiaqing (1796-1820), it collapsed and was rebuilt by Xinyi nun. Since then, it has been used as a bhiksuni ashram of linjizong.

In the fourth year of Xianfeng (1854), she purchased more than eight mu (1.7%) of land and gradually expanded it. According to legend, when abbess Xinyi was 98 years old, abbess jiaofacheng took over and built more than 20 houses, such as the front hall.

In 1899, more than ten houses such as houdian were built. In the third year of Xuantong, facheng was 87 years old and was still alive. Since then, he has been succeeded by Fugen and juelian.

At the beginning of the Anti Japanese War, the houses of xiahai temple were completely destroyed by Japanese artillery fire. From 1941, juelian raised money to rebuild it, and after liberation, it basically maintained its original scale.

development

In 1990, it was approved by the Religious Affairs Department of Shanghai and Hongkou District, and was established and restored by the Shanghai Buddhist Association. On January 30, 1992, it was officially opened and restored to a Buddhist activity site.

The building area of xiahai temple is about 1800 square meters. The environment is quiet and elegant.

There are three halls, front hall, back hall and East Hall. The main hall in the front hall is for one Buddha and two disciples in the middle, and Sakyamuni Buddha, East Guanyin and West dizang Bodhisattva in the middle.

The back hall is dedicated to the western three saints, thousand handed Avalokitesvara and other statues. In the East Hall, there are statues of Tianfei and Niang Niang, and in addition, there are rooms for Zhaitang and other ancillary buildings. There are 16 bhiksunis, and the abbot is master Changxiu.

History and culture

The story behind

In 1955, when Chairman Mao visited Shanghai and toured on the Huangpu River, he suddenly asked his entourage a question: "do you know that there is another" going to the sea "in Shanghai All of a sudden, he was dumb.

It was the old man who provided the answer, he said firmly: Yes. Chairman Mao's words are like throwing a big stone in the Huangpu River, so Shanghai began to look for this unknown "going to the sea". A small temple called xiahai temple was found in Hongkou District, located at 73 Kunming road.

The origin of names

"Pu" of Huangpu River originally means artificial river in Wu dialect area. In the Song Dynasty, in order to solve the discharge capacity of Wusong River (the Shanghai section of Suzhou River), a waterway was opened on both sides of Wusong River about every five miles, which was called Pujiang River. There are 18 rivers on both sides of the Wusong River.

At that time, Wusong River was in Haimen section of Hongkou District, and there was a Pu on the south bank, called Shanghai Pu. On the north bank opposite to Shanghai Pu, there is also a PU called xiahaipu.

There is a custom in naming rivers in the south of the Yangtze River. The tributaries near the source are called Li or Shang, and those near the downstream are called Wai or Xia.

Shanghai Puhe and xiahaipu got their names because of their location. The name of Shanghai originated from Shanghai Puhe, and later built a town called Shanghai.

There is a Pu on the north bank, called xiahaipu. After several changes, it became Haimen road.

Xiahai temple is at the end of Haimen road. According to historical records, xiahai temple was founded in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. At that time, the area from dongdaming road to Shangqiu road was full of fishing villages. When fishermen go fishing, they need to pray for God's blessing, so this temple came into being. God is always created out of a need.

Later, the place names in this area were also related to this. For example, Tilan Bridge is named after fishermen carrying baskets of incense and candles to burn incense in xiahai temple.

In 2012, the renovated xiahai temple was reopened to the outside world. Two auxiliary gates were added to the main gate on the basis of the original. On the right wall of the gate, there were six characters "Amitabha Buddha in the South". It looked more grand and bold outside, which further consolidated the Buddhist status of xiahai temple in Shanghai!

Practical information

Admission: 5 yuan per person

Opening hours: 7:00-16:00

Traffic information

Subway: take line 12 to Tilanqiao station and get off at Exit 1.

Bus: take bus No.13 or 319 to Haimen Road East Changzhi Road station.

Address: No.73 Kunming Road, Hongkou District, Shanghai

Longitude: 121.50638539616

Latitude: 31.25508274803

Tel: 021-65410761; 021-654

Chinese PinYin : Xia Hai Miao