Gaomin Temple () is a historic Buddhist Temple in Hanjiang District of

Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...

, Jiangsu Province of China. During 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 ...

, it was considered one of the eight great temples of Yangzhou. The temple is situated in a semi-rural setting about 7 km south of downtown Yangzhou. It is on the western shore of the Old Channel of the

Grand Canal of China The Grand Canal () is a system of interconnected canals linking various major rivers and lakes in North and East China, serving as an important waterborne transport infrastructure between the north and the south during Medieval and premodern ...

, just south of its junction with the Yizheng-Yangzhou Canal.

History

Gaomin temple was first built in the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

, and achieved its largest area in the

, when it was expanded twice. In 1651, Tianzhong Tower was built, as well as a temple next to it called the Tower Temple. During the

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 ...

's (r. 1661–1722) stay in the temple in his fourth southern tour, he climbed on Zhongtian Tower, overlooking the scenery, which was very beautiful and vast. Then named the temple for Gaomin Temple. 42 years after the Kangxi Emperor was enthroned (1703), Towerbaypalace (Chinese name: 塔湾行宫) was built in west of Gaomin Temple. During the Kangxi Emperor's fifth southern tour, his palace's area was much bigger than Gaomin Temple, and they were separated by high walls. At that time, Gaomin Temple, Zhenjiang's Jinshan Temple, Chengdu's Geyuan Temple and Xindu's Baoguang Temple were known as the greatest four

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

temples. During the Kangxi era, there were five halls in it to worship

Buddha 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 ...

, and pavilions(Chinese:碑御亭) on the left and right. Behind it, there was Gold Buddha hall, behind which Zhongtian Tower stood. They were all destroyed in the Daoguang and Xianfeng eras. Then in the Tongzhi and Guangxu eras, they were rebuilt, with an installation of two- layer Yushu Building. During

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 ...

Laiguo's chairing the temple, he got rid of the old disadvantages and regressed to the old system, which made a great achievement. The pagodas, halls,

rooms, Yanshou Tang were rebuilt, that made Gaomin Temple take shape. After 1949, Gaomin was used and managed by Buddhists. However, during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, it was occupied by the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

. They dismantled the halls and fixed other buildings, setting the temple on the verge of waste. After the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, a policy of some religious freedom was implemented. In 1983, Gaomin Temple was listed as one of the key Han national temples. After the efforts of the relevant departments, Gaomin temple was handed over to the Buddhists. In recent years, Gaomin Temple steps to rebuild temples with the foundings. With

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Buddhists' donations, Gaomin Temple's new Zen halls held an opening ceremony in November 1989.

Layout

In the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) Gaomin Temple and the palace's area was larger than now. The palace, located in the center, covered fourth fifths of the area, whereas the temple, which lay east of the palace, occupied only one fifth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaomin Temple Qing dynasty Buddhist temples in Yangzhou