Baisui Palace () is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

located on the top of Chaxiao Peak, in

Chizhou Chizhou () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Anhui province, China. It borders Anqing to the northwest, Tongling and Wuhu to the northeast, Xuancheng to the east, Huangshan to the southeast, and the province of Jiangxi to the southwest ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

, China. Over the course of 400 years, the temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times, due to war and natural disasters. Alongside Zhiyuan Temple, Dongyan Chan Temple and Ganlu Temple, it was venerated as one of the "Four Great Buddhist Temples in Mount Jiuhua".

History

Ming dynasty

The temple was first built in the Wanli period (1573–1620) of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368–1644) by monk Haiyu (), who more commonly known as "Master Wuxia" (). Haiyu died by age 110, his body became a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

Qing dynasty

The temple underwent five renovations in the whole

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(1644–1911). In 1717 in the reign of

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

(1662–1722), a disastrous fire consumed the temple, and it was restored in 1721 by abbot Sancheng (). It was refurbished and redecorated in 1814 and 1826 respectively. In 1853, in the ruling of

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), also known by his temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing, personal name Yizhu, was the eighth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper. During his re ...

, most of the temple buildings were destroyed during the war between the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...

of the Qing army. Part of the temple was destroyed by fire in the late Guangxu period (1875–1908). The mummy of Haiyu, gold seal, jade seal survived.

Republic of China

From 1931 to 1953, monk Changdi (), Juezhen (), Wuguang () and Xinmiao () successively served as abbot of the temple.

People's Republic of China

After the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the local government refurbished and redecorated the temple in 1982. The temple has been designated as National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area by the

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

in 1983.

Architecture

The temple occupies a building area of . The existing main buildings include the

Shanmen The Gate of Shanmen or Hall of the Shanmen or simply Shanmen (), is the entrance gate of a Buddhist temple. In ancient times, nearly all Buddhist temples had a single Shanmen gate leading into a large hall for the temple. Today, it is observed t ...

Mahavira Hall A Mahavira Hall, usually simply known as a Main Hall, is the main hall or building in a traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Buddhist temple, enshrining representations of Gautama Buddha and various other buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is encoun ...

, Body Hall (), Dining Hall, storehouse, and monk's House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baisui Palace Buddhist temples on Mount Jiuhua Buildings and structures in Chizhou Tourist attractions in Chizhou 18th-century establishments in China 18th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1721 Chan temples