The Bishan Temple or Guangji Maopeng ( or ) is a Buddhist temple located in

Taihuai Town Taihuai () is a town in Wutai County, Xinzhou, Shanxi, China. it had a population of 10,525 and an area of . The Han, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan live here. Taihuai located in the northeastern Wutai County. It borders the Yedou Peak () in t ...

Wutai County Wutai County () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Xinzhou, in the northeast of Shanxi Province, China, bordering Hebei province to the east. It is named after Mount Wutai, which is located within its borders. It w ...

Xinzhou Xinzhou, ancient name Xiurong (秀荣), is a prefecture-level city occupying the north-central section of Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei to the east, Shaanxi to the west, and Inner Mongolia to the northwest ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, China.

History

In the ''Qingliangshan Annals'', a poem described Bishan Temple as "". Baiyun Temple was first established in the reign of

Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei ((北)魏孝文帝) (October 13, 467 – April 26, 499), personal name né Tuoba Hong (拓拔宏), later Yuan Hong (元宏), was an emperor of the Northern Wei from September 20, 471 to April 26, 499. Under the r ...

(467-499) and initially called "Beishan Temple" (). In the period of

Emperor Yingzong of Ming Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in ...

(1435-1449 and 1457-1464) in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

(1368-1644), it was renamed "Puji Temple" (). In the reign of the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

(1711-1799), because the temple is surrounded by mountains, it is also called Bishan Temple. Later in the reign of Emperor Xuantong (1908-1912), it was also named "Guangji Maopeng" (). In 1983 it has been designated as a "

National Key Buddhist Temples in Han Chinese Area National Key Buddhist Temples in Han Chinese Area are national key ("important") Buddhist temples in areas traditionally associated with the Han Chinese in the People's Republic of China (excluding Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang). The list wa ...

". On August 26, 2017, master Dayun (), a student of

Chan master Zen master is a somewhat vague English term that arose in the first half of the 20th century, sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and subsequent authorizat ...

Miaojiang () served as abbot of Biyun Temple.

Architecture

Paifang

Under the

paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's '' torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...

is a horizontal inscribed board with the Chinese characters "". A wooden plaque with a couplet is hung on the two side pillars. It says "".

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings

Maitreya is enshrined in the

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings or Four Heavenly Kings Hall (), referred to as Hall of Heavenly Kings, is the first important hall inside a shanmen (mount gate) in Chinese Buddhist temples and is named due to the Four Heavenly Kings statues ens ...

and at the back of his statue is a statue of Skanda. Statues of

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In th ...

stand on the left and right sides.

Pilu Hall

The Pilu Hall (), also known as "Leiyin Baodian" (), in the middle is Pilu Buddha (), the twelve Bodhisattva stand on the platform of gable wall. On the left, from back to front, they are statues of Miaode, Puyan, Maitreya, Weide Zizai, Jingzhu Yezhang and Yuanjue (). On the right, from back to front, they are statues of Samantabhadra, Jingangzang, Qingjinghui, Bianyin, Pujue and Xianshan (). A pair of Buddha's warrior stand on both sides of the gate.

Zhaobi

The ''Zhaobi'' () is built by stones and bricks. A Chinese poem is carved in the ''Zhaobi''. It reads: ""

Jietan Hall (Hall of Ordination Altar)

Jietan Hall (Hall of Ordination Altar), the most important hall in the temple, is the third hall of the temple. A large square ordination altar () which is long, wide and high and made of bluestone is placed in the middle of the hall. The present ordination altar was built in the

(1368-1644). A sitting statue of Sakyamni which was brought from

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

in 1928 stands on the ordination altar. Both sides of the statue enshrine the

Eighteen Arhats The Eighteen Arhats (or Luohan) () are depicted in Chinese Buddhism as the original followers of Gautama Buddha (''arhat'') who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained the four stages of enlightenment. They have reached the state of Ni ...

, they were made in the

Shunzhi period The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succe ...

(1644-1661) of

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

(1644-1912).

Buddhist Texts Library

The Buddhist Texts Library is a two-story wooden structure. The sitting statue of Maitreya is placed with his head to the two-story.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishan Temple Buddhist temples on Mount Wutai Wutai County Xinzhou