The Longxing Monastery or Longxing Temple () is an ancient

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

located in the town of

Zhengding Zhengding (), originally Zhending (), is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately south of Beijing. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of the province, and ...

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, China, approximately north of the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang. It has been referred to as the ''"Best Temple south of Beijing"''.

History

Layout of Longxing Temple, Liang Sicheng, 1933

The monastery was first built in AD 586, during the Sui dynasty. Its original name was Longcang monastery (). One of the oldest

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

s on the grounds of the monastery, the "Longcangsi Stele" (), dates from the year the monastery's foundation. Much of it was reconstructed during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

( AD 960–1279). Today, the Longxing Temple is open to the public as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and th ...

Landscape

Following a common pattern, the monastery complex features a central axis along which a sequence of buildings and focal points is arranged. The first building is the ''Hall of the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In th ...

''. At the opposite end of the axis is the Tower of Great Mercy (), a -high wooden structure, which houses a bronze statue of

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. Sh ...

cast during the early years of the

. Inside the hall, a staircase leads around the statue which allows it to be seen from top to bottom. Other notable artworks of the monastery include a colorful wooden carving of Guanyin sitting in a grotto and statues of

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 tradition, he was born in ...

sitting on a

lotus throne In Asian art a lotus throne, sometimes lotus platform, is a stylized lotus flower used as the seat or base for a figure. It is the normal pedestal for divine figures in Buddhist art and Hindu art, and often seen in Jain art. Originating in India ...

. A unique piece of 12th-century wood architecture from the Song dynasty in the temple is the ''Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang'', which was restored in the 20th century. The pavilion houses a rotating bookshelf which was formerly used to store holy texts and Buddhist

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an a ...

s. It is the oldest existent rotating repository of its kind.

Architecture

The whole monastery of Longxing Temple has its gate facing the south. There is a clear axis from the south to the north and all the buildings in the Longxing Temple are aligned to it.

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings

The Hall of

() is the first building along the axis of Longxing Temple. It also acts as the main entrance of the whole monastery of Longxing Temple. As is recorded, this hall was built in the early

(between AD 982 to AD 988). It was restored several times in history and some of them are recorded, which happened in the 37th year of the Wanli Period,

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

( AD 1609), 34th year of

Kangxi Period The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

( AD 1695) and 41st year of

( AD 1702). In the 45th year of the Qianlong Period,

( AD 1780), the restoration work tilted the hall to make it face the south as it is today and to be consistent with other major halls. The overall structural style was roughly kept despite all the restorations. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is 23.28m in length and 9.62m in width, with doors on both long sides, facing the south and north. The roof is in the

East Asian hip-and-gable roof The East Asian hip-and-gable roof (''Xiēshān'' (歇山) in Chinese, ''Irimoya'' (入母屋) in Japanese, and ''Paljakjibung'' (팔작지붕) in Korean) also known as 'resting hill roof', consists of a hip roof that slopes down on all four sid ...

style, which indicates its status as a high-level temple (roof styles are key elements in ancient Chinese to show the political or religious status of a building.). Four statues of the four heavenly kings, each of 4.8m in height, were worshipped on the east and west end of the hall, two on each side. The original statues were demolished in 1966 and what we see today are made in 1982. In the center of the hall sits a gilded statue of the Monk

Budai Budai ( zh, c=布袋, p=Bùdài; ko, 포대, Podae; ja, 布袋, Hotei; vi, Bố Đại) was a Chinese monk who is often identified with and venerated as Maitreya Buddha in Chan Buddhism. With the spread of Chan Buddhism, he also came to ...

which was also called the "Laughing Buddha" or "Fat Buddha" by the locals.

Hall of ''Dajueliushi'' (Relics)

The Hall of ''Dajueliushi'' () is the second hall of the monastery and should have been the main hall (if it didn't collapse), located right to the north of the Hall of Four Heavenly Kings. This hall is dedicated to the six mentors of Shakyamuni, namely

Vipassī Buddha In Buddhist tradition, Vipassī (Pāli) is the twenty-second of twenty-eight Buddhas described in Chapter 27 of the '' Buddhavaṃsa''. The ''Buddhavamsa'' is a Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and the twenty-seven Budd ...

Sikhī Buddha According to the '' Buddhavaṃsa'' and Buddhist mythology, Sikhī (Pāli) is the twenty-third of twenty-eight Buddhas. The penultimate Buddha of the '' Alamkarakalpa'' (Adorned Eon), Sikhī was preceded by Vipassī Buddha and succeeded by Vessa ...

, Vessabhū Buddha,

Kakusandha Buddha Kakusandha (Pāli), or Krakucchaṃda in Sanskrit, is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 22 of the '' Buddhavaṃsa'', one of the books of the Pali Canon. According to Theravāda Buddhist tradition, Kakusandha is ...

Koṇāgamana Buddha Koṇāgamana (Pāli), also known as Kanakamuni in Sanskrit or alternatively Koṇāgon or Kanakagamana, is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 23 of the '' Buddhavaṃsa'', one of the books of the Pali Canon. ...

and Kasyapa Matanga. In Chinese, the "''liushi''" (六师) part in its name means "six mentors". There was a statue of Shakyamuni himself accompanied by six statues of the six mentors in the hall and over a hundred small statues of the

Arhat In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved '' Nirvana'' and liberated ...

s and

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schoo ...

s. So the locals also refer to this hall as "the hall of the seven buddhas". The hall was built in the Yuanfeng Period in the

( AD 1078–1085) with the

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thu ...

style, which is the highest level of roof styles in ancient China. In the following centuries, it was restored several times. In the early years of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...

, it collapsed due to poor maintenance and war. Now only the stone platform exists, on which the wooden structure stood in history. The hall is nine ''Jian'' (, the space between two columns on the façade) by six ''Jians'' (53.35m by 35.2m), covering , which is slightly larger than the largest existing Buddhist hall in China, the Main Hall of Fengguo Temple. Nine was the largest number allowed for the Jians of Buddhist halls in the hierarchy system in ancient China. The Hall of "''Dajueliush''", if still existing, should be the largest and highest-level Buddhist hall all over China.

Mani Hall

The Mani Hall () is the third hall along the axis of Longxing Temple and is regarded as the most important one of all the halls in Longxing Temple. The hall was constructed in the 4th year of the Huangyou Period of the Song dynasty ( AD 1052). It was one of the most intact building from the

in China. and was restored several times in history, among which the restoration in 1977–1980 was the most thorough one. The hall was built on a high brick and stone platform. The dimension is seven Jians by seven (33.29m by 27.12m), covering over . The

style was used here with two levels of eaves. The floor plan appeared to be almost a regular square but was added with one ''Baosha'' (, a smaller and loer structure protruding from the main building) on each of the four sides. This combination of square layout, ''Baosha'', and the roof style gave the building a unique exterior appearance, complicated and magnificent.

Liang Sicheng Liang Sicheng (; 20 April 1901 – 9 January 1972) was a Chinese architect and architectural historian, known as the father of modern Chinese architecture. His father, Liang Qichao, was one of the most prominent Chinese scholars of the early ...

, the respected Chinese architect, commented with a surprise when he first saw this hall in 1933: "Except for the coner towers of the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrific ...

, such layout can only be found in the paintings of the

. The picturesque elegancy, the solemn and vigorous ancient style gave me an indescribable feeling. In particular, from the perspective of its form, the Mani Hall is overlaying and magnificent, which is indeed one of the finest pieces of architecture art. It broadens our horizon of ancient

Chinese architecture Chinese architecture ( Chinese:中國建築) is the embodiment of an architectural style that has developed over millennia in China and it has influenced architecture throughout Eastern Asia. Since its emergence during the early ancient era, th ...

." The structural system of Mani Hall was derived from

Yingzao Fashi The ''Yingzao Fashi'' () is a technical treatise on architecture and craftsmanship written by the Chinese author Li Jie (李誡; 1065–1110), the Directorate of Buildings and Construction during the mid Song Dynasty of China. He revised m ...

. The ''

Dougong ''Dougong'' () is a structural element of interlocking wooden brackets, one of the most important in traditional Chinese architecture. The use of dougong first appeared in buildings of the late centuries BC and evolved into a structural net ...

s'' drew particular attention from researchers with there large quantity and various styles. The complicated roof was supported by 127 ''

s'', which can be categorized into over 20 styles. For example, the ''

s'' supporting the lower eaves are 1.2m in height, equivalent to 1/3 of the column height. Such dimensions ''

s'' are typical

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

style and can not be found in the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

style buildings. In the center of the hall stands a group of Buddha statues. The gilded Shakyamuni sits in the middle on an octangle ''Xumi'' platform with two of his

disciples A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in ...

standing on both sides. Besides, Samantabhadra and

Manjushri Mañjuśrī (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumāra ...

each sits on a lotus-like ''Xumi'' platform on the left and right ends of the group. On the back of the group of statues (the north side), near the north entrance of the hall, where should have been a plain wall like in other similar halls, another group of statues can be seen occupying the whole wall. It is way more complicated and beautiful than the frontal one.

, the Buddhist figure representing great compassion and mercy in Chinese culture sits elegantly on a colored cloud in the center, with right foot stepping on a lotus, and left leg casually put on the right one. Around

, the reliefs depict the scene of a colorful mountain in the vast and wavy sea, which is supposed to be the

Mount Putuo Mount Putuo (, from Sanskrit: " Mount Potalaka") is an island in Putuo District, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China. It is a renowned site in Chinese Buddhism and is the bodhimaṇḍa of the bodhisattva Guanyin. Mount Putuo is one of the four ...

, where legends say

manifested itself and inspired people. That's why this statue is also called the "Guanyin in Mountain". This group of statues is unique for making the Buddhist figure look like a kind and pretty lady instead of the traditional serious or solemn image, giving people a closer and even intimate feeling. Some researchers believe this group of statues was made in the 42nd year of the Jiajing Period of the

( AD 1563) according to a tablet embedded in the wall. The famous Chinese writer

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...

love this Guanyin statue in particular and put a photo of it on his working desk so as to see it every day. Some opinions say it was built during the

. The inner surfaces of the walls of the Mani Hall are all decorated with fresco. They are painted in the same period when the hall was constructed. All of the frescos depict the Buddhist stories or figures. There were originally of frescos, of which remain. They are regarded as some of the finest pieces in the history of Chinese paintings.

Precept Platform

The Precept Platform () is the place for monks and worshipers to undertake the

precept A precept (from the la, præcipere, to teach) is a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action. Religious law In religion, precepts are usually commands respecting moral conduct. Christianity The term is en ...

s of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and for Buddhist ceremonies. The platform consists of a two-level square stone platform in the form of ''Xumi'' platform (a style of the stone platform in ancient Chinese architecture) and a wooden structure covering it. The first level of the stone platform is 12.93m by 12.93m in layout and 0.88m in height; the second level is 10.35m by 10.35m by 1.16m. The stone platform is believed to be constructed during the

. However, the wooden structure, in the style of a tented roof, shows typical

style features, where the ''

s'' are small and mainly function as decoration instead of key structural elements. It is inferred that the wooden structure was constructed during the early

. The stone platform, covered by a wooden structure, sits a bronze double-faced Buddha statue, which was cast in the 6th year of the Hongzhi Period of the

( AD 1493). The south face is

Amitābha Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awar ...

and the north face is

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

. There was a circle of cloister around, which was recorded by

in 1933 when he did a survey in Longxing Temple. But it can no longer be seen today.

Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang and Pavilion of Maitreya

The Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang () and the Pavilion of Maitreya () are both two-floor buildings. They are located to the north of the precept platform with the Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang in the west and the Pavilion of Maitreya in the east, face to face. There is no clear record of when these pavilions were constructed. However, judging from the structural features, researchers believe the Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang was constructed during the early

, while the Pavilion of Maitreya was built later. The Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang acted as the library in the monastery. An octagonal Zhuanlunzang (, a rotating wooden used as a sutra cabinet) was installed in the center of its ground floor, which remains intact today but is no longer used. Zhuanlunzangs are not rare in history, but an early-built large one that was kept today like this in the Longxing Temple is rarely seen in other parts of the world. To accommodate this Zhuanlunzang, the building adopted some unique structural techniques, including shifting the columns, using some curved beams, etc. This structure system drew particular attention from architects and researchers including

. The Pavilion of Maitreya is dedicated to Maitreya. The building has two floors while the first floor is only a circle of passageways. In the center stands a tall statue of Maitreya that was carved from a single piece of wood and decorated with colorful paints. This statue was during the

Royal Stele Pavilions

The two Royal Stele Pavilions () are located in between the Hall of Great Mercy and the Pavilion of Zhuanlunzang and the Pavilion of Maitreya, on both sides of the axis, facing the south. They each cover a royal stele on which engraved an article written by the Emperor. The east stele shows the article hand-written by the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

during the 52nd year of the

of the

( AD 1713) both in

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

and in

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

characters. The west shows the article by the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

hand-written in the 45th year of the Qianlong Period of the

( AD 1780). The west one is engraved in four languages:

on the front (south) and

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...

, Mongolian on the back. Both pavilions are in a regular square floor plan, which is 6.88m by 6.88m 12.97m in height. They have four arch doors on their four sides, allowing people to read the texts on both the front and back sides of the steles. The roofs of the pavilions are in

style, covered with yellow

glazed tiles Porcelain tiles or ceramic tiles are porcelain or ceramic tiles commonly used to cover floors and walls, with a water absorption rate of less than 0.5 percent. The clay used to build porcelain tiles is generally denser. They can either be g ...

. The color of these tiles manifests the hierarchical status of these pavilions since yellow tiles are only allowed to be used on royal buildings in ancient China.

Tower of Great Mercy

The Tower of Great Mercy () is the major hall of the whole monastery of the Longxing Temple, which is the largest building and accommodates the largest Buddha statue. The tower was constructed during the early

and was restored during the Yuan,

, and

dynasties at the orders of the emperors. In 1933, when Liang Sicheng came to survey the Longxing Temple, he recorded that the Tower of Great Mercy was also called the Foxiang Tower (, meaning the Tower of Buddhist Incense). The original tower had already collapsed back then and a new one was under construction. However, the new one, finished in 1944, was designed as a huge but simple brick shrine to cover the bronze statue. The original style was discarded, and the affiliated buildings were ignored due to the limit of fundings. In 1992, the State Bureau of Cultural Relics decided to reconstruct the Tower of Great Mercy and its affiliated buildings. The project finished on September 15, 1999. The reconstructed tower is in the

style as is seen today. The tower itself is a -tall three-floor building with

style. The ground floor is seven ''Jians'' by six (28.98m by 27.87m), occupying an area of . The affiliated buildings, ''Yushu'' Pavilion and ''Jiqing'' Pavilion, in the identical style, structure, and dimensions, stand to the east and west of the Tower of Great Mercy and are connected to the tower with wooden arch bridges on the second floor. They are both -tall two-floor buildings with

style, the ground floor of which are five ''Jians'' by four ''Jians'' (). In the center of Tower of Great Mercy, on a -tall ''Xumi'' platform, stands a huge bronze statue of the Thousand-Armed Thousand-Eyed

( Chinese: 千手千眼觀音;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

: ''Qiānshǒu Qiānyǎn Guānyīn''), a manifestation of Guanyin with a “thousand hands and thousand eyes”, which is in height. The thousand hands and eyes are abstractly represented with 42 arms and one eye on the palm of each hand. This statue is the major and iconic statue of the Longxing Temple. The locals called Longxing Temple "''Big Buddha Temple''" () because of this statue. It is listed as one of "the four preciouses of Hebei Province" (the other three are the Liaodi Pagoda,

Anji Bridge The Anji Bridge () is the world's oldest open-spandrel segmental arch bridge of stone construction.This title strictly applies only to the ''sum of attributes given'' (O’Connor, Colin: ''Roman Bridges'', Cambridge University Press 1993, , p.171 ...

, and the Iron Lion of Cangzhou). The statue was cast in the 4th year of the Kaibao Period of

( AD 971) at the order of

Emperor Taizu of Song Emperor Taizu of Song (21 March 927 – 14 November 976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founder and first emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguis ...

, the founding emperor of the

. The emperors in the following dynasties put particular attention to it and ordered several restorations. It was also loved and worshipped by the local people, who often donated money and treasures for the daily maintenance of the statue.

Others

Except for the major buildings mentioned above, there are several other halls and pavilions located behind (to the north of) the Tower of Great Mercy: *Hall of Amitābha () is located right to the north of the Tower of Great Mercy. Constructed in the 5th year of the

Zhengde Period Zhengde () (24 January 1506 – 27 January 1522) was the era name of the Zhengde Emperor, the 11th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Zhengde * China ** ''Mingzheng'' (明正, 1511): Ming pe ...

of the

( AD 1510), it is a single floor building with

. Its dimensions five ''Jians'' by four ''Jians''. A statue of

was worshipped in this hall. *Hall of Vairocana () was constructed in 1959 to accommodate the statue of

Vairocana Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the '' Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In Ea ...

moved here in the same year from the ''Chongyin'' Temple. The statue, in height, was finely designed in the appearance of a pagoda. It consists of a thousand individual statues of

that are divided into three levels. It is the last building on the main axis and marks the north end of it. *Pavilion of ''Longquan'' Well () is located in the northeast corner of the garden in the north end of the whole monastery. First constructed in the 7th year of the Tianshun Period of the

( AD 1463), it was the only building with a "''Lu'' roof" (, a roof style of ancient Chinese architecture with a plain in the top center and four slope roofs around it) in Longxing Temple. It acts as the shelter of an octangle well called "''Longquan'' Well" ("''Longquan''" means "the spring of the Chinese dragon"). *A Paifang is located in between the Mani Hall and the Precept Platform. It is constructed as part of a partition wall that divides the whole monastery of Longxing Temple into two parts, the front (south) part and the major (north) part.

recorded this

paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's '' torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...

as a small but exquisite piece of architecture. The

standing there today was reconstructed according to Liang’s record in 1986.

References

External links

Longxing Monastery, Architectura Sinica Site Archive
{{Hebei topics Buddhist monasteries in China Buddhist temples in Shijiazhuang Buildings and structures in Shijiazhuang Song dynasty architecture 6th-century Buddhist temples 6th-century establishments in China Religious organizations established in the 6th century Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Hebei Religious buildings and structures completed in 586 Colossal Guanyin statues