Shuxiang Temple () located in southwestern of Taihuai in

Mount Wutai Mount Wutai, also known by its Chinese name Wutaishan and as is a sacred Buddhist site at the headwaters of the Qingshui in Shanxi Province, China. Its central area is surrounded by a cluster of flat-topped peaks or mesas roughly correspondin ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

, China. Shuxiang Temple is one of the

National Key Buddhist Temples in Han Chinese Area National Key Buddhist Temples in Han Chinese Area are national key ("important") Buddhist temples in areas traditionally associated with the Han Chinese in the People's Republic of China (excluding Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang). The list was ...

. It is also listed in Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected in Shanxi Province, China.

About

Shuxiang Temple was built during the early years of the

East Jin dynasty East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

, and was rebuilt during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

(in year 1325), and

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 ...

(in year 1496). It is located on the southwest side of

Tayuan Temple Tayuan Temple () is located in the central area of Taihuai town in Mount Wutai, Shanxi Province, China. Tayuan Temple was originally a stupa of Xiantong Temple. The stupa, named the Great White Pagoda, was constructed in the 6th year of of t ...

, covers 6,400 square meters (7,654.6 square yards), and encompasses over 50 palaces and halls. The name of the temple comes from the fact that it was built for worshiping

Manjushri Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents '' prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word " mañju" and an honorific " śrī"; it can be literally transla ...

. There is a color statue of

riding suan ni (a son of a dragon, with a lion's appearance) within the Manjushri Hall in Shuxiang Temple. With a height of 9.87 metres, it is the highest

Manjusri Manjushri () is a ''bodhisattva'' who represents ''Prajñā (Buddhism), prajñā'' (transcendent wisdom) of the Buddhas in Mahāyāna Buddhism. The name "Mañjuśrī" is a combination of Sanskrit word "wikt:%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%9E%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%9C%E0 ...

Statue in all the

temples. On the walls of the hall, there are sculpting paintings which inscribe the story of five hundred Arhats crossing the river. In front of the entrance of Shuxiang Temple, there is a clean spring, known as "Prajna Spring", which does not freeze in winter. In 1983 it was designated as a " National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area". In 1988, it was listed among the third group of " State Cultural Protection Relics Units" by the

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

References

External links

{{National Key Buddhist Temples in Han Chinese Area Buddhist temples on Mount Wutai Wutai County Xinzhou Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shanxi