The Jinding (), elevation , is the main peak of

Mount Emei Mount Emei (; zh, c=峨眉山, p=Éméi shān, O2-mei2 shan1), alternatively Mount Omei, is a mountain in Sichuan Province, China, and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Mount Emei sits at the western rim of th ...

, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

, China. It is also a common name for the

Buddhist 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 ...

Huazang Temple () built on the summit. Jinding is the highest Buddhist temple in traditionally Han areas of China. Jinding is known for its "four wonders": the sunrise, the

sea of clouds A sea of clouds is an overcast layer of stratocumulus clouds, as viewed from above, with a relatively uniform top which shows undulations of very different lengths resembling waves on the sea. A sea of fog is formed from stratus clouds or fog ...

, the " Buddhist halo", and the "divine light".

History

The Huazang Temple was originally built in 1377 during 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 ...

, but has been rebuilt multiple times because of fire. The most recent incident happened in 1972, 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 ...

, when the temple was used for transmitting signals of a local television station. On April 8 at 9:30am, flames caused by a power generator quickly engulfed the wooden temple. The fire burned for two days, destroying countless precious Buddhist relics as well as numerous trees. The only remaining relics are a bronze monument and a bronze doorway from the

, and a bronze statue from 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 ...

. In 2004, as part of the Jinding "Revival and Renovation Plan" by the Mt. Emei Buddhist Association, the Huazang Temple was rebuilt along with a 48-meter-tall

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

of the "Ten-faced Puxian

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

" (

Samantabhadra Samantabhadra (Lit. "All Good", or "Always Auspicious") may refer to: * Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva), a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation * ''Samantabhadra'' (Tibetan: ''Kuntu Zangpo''), the name of a Buddha, ...

). The rebuilt temple was officially opened on 18 June 2006. 300 notable Buddhist monks attended the grand ceremony, as well as 3,000 visitors. The reconstruction is seen as a prestigious project for the local authorities, and has helped to attract tourists and religious pilgrims alike. However, it has also been criticized as an attempt to increase revenue. The new structures have been called "inauthentic" and purely "invented". In March 2016, the Puxian stupa was temporarily closed for renovation. The authorities plan to cover the stupa with 160,000 gold leaves, at a cost of .

Structures

The complex is built along a central axis on a slope, from the lowest to the highest are the stupa, the main hall and the Puxian hall. The Ten-faced Puxian Stupa stands tall, weighs 660 tons and is surrounded by urns containing the ashes of Buddhists. On one side, the bodhisattva holds a

ruyi Rúyì (如意 "as desired") may refer to: * Ruyi Bridge, a bridge in Taizhou, Zhejiang, China *Ruyi (scepter), ceremonial Buddhist scepter or a talisman *Ruyi Island, off the coast of Haikou, Hainan * Ruyi Lake, near Chengde, Hebei * Ruyi, Shaosh ...

, while on the other, his hands forms the Dhyana Mudra meditation gesture. Inside the stupa is a statue of

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...

. The stupa was designed by the Taiwanese architect Chu-Yuan Lee. The Grand Hall of the Great Sage (; or

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

Hall) is the main hall, housing statues of the

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

and two disciples. The Puxian Hall (), built in 1615, is located behind the main hall at the highest point, and is over tall.

Gallery

Image:Mount Emei pic 3.jpg, Grand Hall of the Great Sage Image:China_-_Mount_Emei_-_EmeiShan_-_Sichuan_11.jpg, Golden Summit Image:Mt emei.JPG, Puxian Hall

Notes

{{Buddhist temples in China Buddhist temples in Sichuan Architecture in China Geography of Sichuan