The Bishan Temple or Guangji Maopeng ( or ) 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 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 the ...

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 (), 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. As ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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 Tuoba Hong (拓拔宏), later Yuan Hong (元宏), was an emperor of China's Northern Wei dynasty, reigning from September 20, 471 to April 26, ...

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

Emperor Yingzong of Ming , succession = Emperor of the Ming dynasty , reign-type = First reign , reign = 31 January 1435 – 22 September 1449 , coronation = 7 February 1435 , cor-type = Enthronement , regent = , reg-type = Regents , ...

(1435-1449 and 1457-1464) in 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), 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, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

(1711-1799), because the temple is surrounded by mountains, it is also called Bishan Temple. Later in the reign of

Emperor Xuantong Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

(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 was ...

". On August 26, 2017, master Dayun (), a student of Chan master 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 architecture, often used in arch or gateway structures. Etymology The word ''paifang'' ( zh, c=牌坊, p=páifāng) was originally a collective term for the top two le ...

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

Tianwang Dian

Tue bodhisattva Mi Le is enshrined in the ''

Tianwang Dian The ''Tianwang Dian'' (; lit: ”Hall of the 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 enshrined in the hall. Maitreya Buddha is ...

'', or Hall of the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...

, and at the back of his statue is a statue of

Weituo Skanda (), also known as Weituo () and Idaten (Japanese: 韋駄天), is a Mahayana bodhisattva regarded as a devoted guardian of Buddhist monasteries who protects the teachings of Buddhism. He is also sometimes called in the Chinese tradition " ...

. Statues of

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, Mi Le, Weide Zizai, Jingzhu Yezhang and Yuanjue (). On the right, from back to front, they are statues of Puxian, 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

Shijiamouni Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

which was brought from

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

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

Eighteen Arhats The Eighteen Arhats (or Eighteen Luohans) () 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 ...

, they were made in the Shunzhi period (1644-1661) of

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 ...

(1644-1912).

Zangjing Ge

The

Zangjing Ge A Zangjing Ge () (lit: “Buddhist Sutra Pavillion”) is a large building in Chinese Buddhist temples which is built specially for storing '' The Chinese Buddhist Canon'' (). It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese Budd ...

, or Tower of Buddhist Texts, is a two-story wooden structure. The sitting statue of Mi Le is placed with his head to the two-story.

References

External links

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