Daxiangguo Temple () is a famous Chinese Buddhist Temple in

Kaifeng Kaifeng ( zh, s=开封, p=Kāifēng) is a prefecture-level city in east-Zhongyuan, central Henan province, China. It is one of the Historical capitals of China, Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and ...

in eastern

Henan province Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Luo ...

People's Republic of 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 ...

. It is located in the center of Kaifeng City. It played a key role in the development of Chinese Buddhism. The views of the temple earned many honors, include "Ten Miracles of a Chinese Temple", "Eight sights of Bianliang", "Xiangguo Frosty Bells," which is also one of the most famous views of this temple. It is also considered among the top ten famous temples in China. A famous computer game called "Moonlight Blade Online" created by Tencent Games recognizes this temple.

History

It was first built in 555 A.D., the sixth year during Emperor Wenxuan's reign of the Northern Qi period (550–577) and it was named "Xiangguo Temple"(. From the historical record, the temple is built on the land belonging to Mr. Xinling, who was one of "Four Gentlemen" during the

Warring States The Warring States period in Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and struggles for gre ...

period. Then it was renamed Daxiangguo Temple in memory of Emperor Ruizong of Tang, who took the throne as Xiangwang (), the king of Xiang, in 712 A.D. The temple reached the height of its status as a Royal Temple in the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. This temple was worshipped and respected by emperors; therefore they reconstructed it in its new area, which is about 540 mu (about 360,000 square meters), managed 64 departments of

Chan Buddhism Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning " meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and Song ...

and commandment with several thousand of

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s. After the reconstruction, the temple became one of the largest

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temples in China. It's also known as a big hub of poets, musicians and a meeting place for all citizens in that period. Also, the Daxiangguo temple was known as an international Buddhism center; many foreign tourists visited, and many monks went there to study. It was a place for the Chinese to exchange their culture with foreigners. However, it was destroyed in the late

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 ...

due to the flood of the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

. It was reconstructed under the

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 ...

. Today, the constructs that remain were basically built during the

Architecture

Tianwang Dian

The Tianwang Dian ( Chinese: 天王殿;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Tiānwángdiàn''; lit: ”Hall of the Heavenly Kings”) includes three red doors and five rooms. The roof was made of golden glazed tiles. The statue of Maitreya Buddha is located in the center of the hall. He sits on a lotus, smiling. On both sides of the hall, Four Heavenly Kings stand there as the guard. Maitreya Buddha is also known as the successor of Sakyamuni (Gautama Buddha), who is the founder of Buddhism.

Bell tower

Almost every Buddhist temple in China has a

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

, as does the Daxiangguo temple. The bell tower is the first major building that visitors see after they step through the main gate. A bell is hanging in the tower, it weighs about 5 tons, and its height is about 2.23 meters. It had been built in 1748. In winter, the sound echoes of the bell can be heard all over the city.

Mahavira Hall

The Mahavira Hall (

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...

: 大雄寶殿,

: ''Dàxióng Bǎodiàn'') is the main hall of the temple. It is an individual building which does not connect with other constructs. Bluestone Banister is around the hall. In front of the hall, there are ten little vivid stone lions. Ancient Chinese thought lions could be the guards. Now, there is no statue in this hall.

Luohan Dian

The Luohan Dian (

: 羅漢殿,

: ''Luóhàndiàn''; lit: “Hall of Arhats”) is a hall with eight angles. The constructor used a colored glaze to make the roof. This design makes the hall unique and beautiful; it's very rare in the whole world. In the hall, there are 500 Buddhist

arhat In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...

s standing on both sides of the building. In the center, there is a wooden

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

Statue ( Avalokitesvara).

Festival

There are many festivals held in the temple every year; the most popular one is the Lantern Festival. During the Lantern Festival, there is a big lantern exhibition in the temple. It is a place to feel traditional Chinese culture.

References

External links

Website of Daxiangguo Temple
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