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The Gate of Shanmen or Hall of the Shanmen or simply Shanmen (), is the entrance gate of a Buddhist temple. In ancient times, nearly all
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 ...
s had a single Shanmen gate leading into a large hall for the temple. Today, it is observed that most of the surviving Chinese Buddhist temples follow the hall style but have three main gates incorporated into their construction. After successive wars and cultural discontinuity, most Chan Buddhist temples have changed the middle gate into a hall entrance, called "Hall of Shanmen". The Shanmen is the most important gate of a Chan Buddhist sect temple.


Etymology

One theory is that "''Shanmen''" takes its literal meaning of "Mountain Gate", because temples were traditionally built in forested mountain areas where Chan monks could seclude away from secular life. Another suggests that during various episodes of suppression of Buddhism in Chinese history, monks moved their monasteries deep into the mountains, and later built gates at the foot of the mountain to guide pilgrims to the temples. A further theory is that "Shanmen" is a corruption of "Sanmen", or "Three Gates", referring to the "three gateways" to liberations.() in the Dharma – the "Kongmen" (; emptiness liberation), "wuxiangmen" (; no-aspects liberation) and "wuyuanmen" (; desireless liberation). This latter view correlates with the traditional structure of Chan temples which included three gateways, said to symbolise the three gateways.


Architectural styles

Historic Shanmens in China are either a gateway of the
paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architecture, often used in arch or gateway structures. Etymology The word ''paifang'' ( zh, c=牌坊, p=páifāng) was originally a collective term for the top two le ...
style, or a more substantial building, typically with three archways. When a more substantial temple building is built, the two side gateways might be simplified to arched or circular windows, leaving only the middle gate for access. The gate building may be called the "Hall of Three Liberations" or "Hall of the Mountain Gate". Traditionally, if the Shanmen takes the form of a gate building, the statues of two figures from Buddhist lore are erected in that hall to guard the entrance, identified as "
Heng and Ha Heng and Ha () are two generals of the Shang dynasty in Chinese mythology, featured within the 16th-century Chinese fantasy novel ''Investiture of the Gods''. These two fictional characters were created by the author of ''Investiture of the Gods'' ...
" or the "''A-un''" Nio in Japanese. Such is the arrangement at the Jietai Temple in Beijing. In some Chan temples, the Shanmen building is combined with the Hall of the
Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...
, so that the Four Heavenly Kings serve as guardians of the gateway to the monastery. In other Chan temples, the Shanmen building is combined with the Maitreya Hall, with a statue of the Maitreya Buddha erected in the centre of the hall. This is the arrangement seen at Shaolin and Longhua temples. Some Chan temples combine both the Maitreya Hall and the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings with the Shanmen, so that the entrance building also features the statue of the Maitreya Buddha at the centre, as well as the Four Heavenly Kings on the sides. Such an arrangement is found at the Lingyin Temple, in
Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...
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Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...
, China.


Heng and Ha

In niches positioned on both sides of a Shanmen Hall, there will be enshrined a statue of a heavenly deity with a
Vajra The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...
in his hand. These deities are called Nio—Buddha's warrior attendant. They may also be known as the "Yakasha Deity" () or "Zhijingang" (). Vajra originally refers to the short metal weapon of the King of All Heavenly Deities, named
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
in Indian mythology. It symbolises solidness and sharpness in Buddhism. Nio is a
Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...
who protects Buddhism with the ever present Vajra in his hand. Originally, there was one Nio incorporated into a temple. After the introduction of Buddhism from India to China during the
Eastern Han Dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
(25-220), however, the Chinese people cast two Nio to safeguard the mount gate. This is to satisfy the Chinese custom of deities being in pairs. The Nio wear crowns, ethereal clothes (exposing the well-developed muscles of their upper bodies), and knee-length skirts. The Nio have wide-open eyes and protruding noses. They hold weapons in their hands and angrily glare at the ground, projecting an awesome persona. The Nio on the right has its mouth open to pronounce the sound "a", while the one on the left has its mouth closed in order to utter the sound "hong". The generic name for those statues with an open mouth is General Ha (; Japanese: ); and for those with a closed mouth General Heng (; Japanese: ).


Gallery

File:Hongfa Temple, Shenzhen 013.jpg, General Heng (哼將軍) inside the Shanmen Hall of the
Hongfa Temple Hongfa Temple () is a Buddhist temple located at Fairylake Botanical Garden, Luohu District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. History Hongfa Temple was built in 1985 by Chan master Benhuan. The construction lasted from July 1985 to June 1992. Arc ...
,
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
,
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
, China File:Entrance to Jietai Temple (20150117133227).JPG, The Hall of Mount Gate at the Jietai Temple, Beijing. The arched windows represent the traditional side gateways. File:Changsha Yuelu Shan Lushan Si 2014.03.04 11-09-11.jpg, The shanmen at the
Lushan Temple Lushan Temple (), is a Buddhist temple at Yuelu Mountain, Changsha, Hunan, China. It includes the Entrance, Hall of Great Heroes, Zazen room, and dining room, etc. History Jin dynasty In 268, in the fourth year of the Taishi era of Emperor Wu o ...
, in the Yuelu District, of Changsha City,
Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
province. File:Hongfa Temple, Shenzhen 014.jpg, General Ha guarding the Shanmen Hall inside the Hongfa Temple, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China


See also

* '' Sanmon or Sanmen''


Notes


References


Further reading

* *


External links

{{Buddhist temples in China Buddhist architecture Buddhism in China Chinese Buddhist architecture