Jinshan Temple () 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 on an island of Wulongjiang River, in

Cangshan District Cangshan District (, Fuzhou dialect: Chŏng-săng) is one of 6 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian Province, China. History * Cangshan District was formerly known as "Guatengshan" (literally, "Melon Vi ...

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

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 the only Buddhist temple in the river in China and the only Buddhist temple on the water in Fujian.

History

Song dynasty

The original temple dates back to the Shaoxing period (1131–1162) of the

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an 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 Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

(1127–1279).

Ming dynasty

In the Jiajing era (1522–1566) of 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), Zhang Jing lived here. In 1615, in the reign of

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shenzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Yijun, art name Yuzhai, was the 14th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reig ...

(1573–1620), the bridge, which connected the island and the bank, was destroyed by

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

Qing dynasty

In 1870, in the Tongzhi period (1862–1874) of 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 ...

(1644–1911), Scottish photographer John Thomson visited the temple and took a lot of pictures, which published in his album ''Foochow and the River Min''.

Modern China

The temple was restored in 1934 after damage by a series of floods.

Architecture

The temple consists of five buildings: Hall of Mazu, Hall of Great Compassion, left wing-room and right wing-room, and a

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 ...

stone pagoda.

Hall of Mazu

The Hall of Mazu is the main hall in the temple enshrining statues of

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

and

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 ...

. Under the eaves is a plaque with the Chinese characters "Jinshan Temple" written by former Venerable Master of the

Buddhist Association of China The Buddhist Association of China (BCA, zh, 中国佛教协会) is the official government supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China. The association has been overseen by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Centra ...

Zhao Puchu Zhao Puchu (November 5, 1907 – May 21, 2000) was a religious and public leader who promoted cultural progress and religious tolerance in China. Zhao was best known as president of the Buddhist Association of China and also one of the most r ...

Stone Pagoda

The seven-story, tall,

octagon In geometry, an octagon () is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, which alternates two types of edges. A truncated octagon, t is a ...

al-based Chinese pagoda is made of brick and stone is situated within the temple.

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jinshan Temple Buddhist temples in Fuzhou Buildings and structures in Fuzhou Tourist attractions in Fuzhou