Zhiyuan 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

Mount Jiuhua Mount Jiuhua () located in Chizhou, Anhui Province in China is an important Buddhist site and natural scenic spot. It is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China, one of the first batch of 5A level scenic spots in China, one of the ...

, in

Qingyang County Qingyang County () is a county in the south of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. It is the northeasternmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Chizhou Chizhou () is a prefecture-level city in the south of Anhui pr ...

Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

, China. Alongside Ganlu Temple, Baisui Palace and Dongyan Chan Temple are honoured as the "Four Buddhist Temple on Mount Jiuhua".

Name

The name of the temple is cited from Buddhist Stories, which says that

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 ...

resided in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

named "Zhiyuan" () or "Guduyuan" () or

Jetavana Jetavana () was one of the most famous of the Buddhist monasteries or viharas in India (present-day Uttar Pradesh). It was the second vihara donated to Gautama Buddha after the Venuvana in Rajgir. The monastery was given to him by his chi ...

for over twenty years.

History

Zhiyuan Temple was first built in the Jiajing period (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), and went through many changes and repairs through the following

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). Most of the present structures in the temple were repaired or built in the Qing dynasty. In 1841, during the reign of

Daoguang Emperor The Daoguang Emperor (16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanzong of Qing, personal name Mianning, was the seventh List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing e ...

(1840–1850) in the

, abbot Longshan () died. His body became a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

but was destroyed by the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

in 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 ...

. The temple was originally named "Zhishu'an" () and renamed "Zhiyuan Temple" after the extension under the leadership of monk Dagen (). Zhiyuan Temple has been designated as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area 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 ...

in 1983. On October 28, 2014, it was classified as a municipal cultural unit by the local government.

Architecture

The existing main buildings include the

Shanmen 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 temples had a single Shanmen gate leading into a large hall for the temple. Today, it is observed t ...

Four Heavenly Kings Hall The ''Tianwang Dian'' (; lit: ”Hall of the Heavenly Kings”) is the first important hall inside a shanmen (mount gate) in Chinese Buddhist temples and is named due to the Four Heavenly Kings statues enshrined in the hall. Maitreya Buddha is ...

Mahavira Hall A Mahavira Hall, usually simply known as a Main Hall, is the main hall or building in a traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Buddhist temple, enshrining representations of Gautama Buddha and various other buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is encoun ...

, Lingguan Hall,

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 ...

Hall, Reception Hall, Dining Hall, and Abbot's Room.

Shanmen

The

is flush threefold story gable roof style (). Statues of

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'' ...

and Lord Lingguan () are enshrined in the hall.

Four Heavenly Kings Hall

The

has a double-eave gable and hip roof (). Statues of

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 ...

are housed in the hall.

Mahavira Hall

The

is the main and third hall in the temple. It has a double-eave gable and hip roof () covered with yellow glazed tiles, which symbolize a high level in architecture because yellow was the symbol of the royal family. The hall houses three gilded copper statues of Three-Life Buddha, namely

Sakyamuni 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 legends, he was ...

, Amitabha and

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru (, zh, t= , , , , ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabha-rāja ("Medicine Master and King of Lapis Lazuli Light"; zh, t=藥師琉璃光(王)如來, , , ), is the Buddha of healing and medicine i ...

. They have an average height of about , which is the highest statues on Mount Jiuhua. The statue of

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 ...

is placed at the back of the three statues. The statues of

Eighteen Arhats The Eighteen Arhats (or Eighteen Luohans) () are depicted in Chinese Buddhism as the original followers of Gautama Buddha ('' arhat'') who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained the four stages of enlightenment. They have reached the ...

stand on both sides of the hall.

Cultural relics

The temple's kitchen keeps seven bronze

cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large cookware and bakeware, pot (kettle) for cooking or boiling over an open fire, with a lid and frequently with an arc-shaped hanger and/or integral handles or feet. There is a rich history of cauldron lore in r ...

s, the largest having in diameter and in height, which are known as "thousand monks cauldrons" () for its capacity of cooking of rice each time. The

Buddhist Texts Library A Zangjing Ge () (lit: “Buddhist Sutra Pavillion”) is a large building in Chinese Buddhist temples which is built specially for storing '' The Chinese Buddhist Canon'' (). It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese Bu ...

has the only ''

Tripitaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.

'' () collection in Chinese printed by the Qing imperial court and 1,669 other ''Tripitaka'' books.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhiyuan Temple Buddhist temples on Mount Jiuhua Buildings and structures in Chizhou Tourist attractions in Chizhou 19th-century establishments in China 19th-century Buddhist temples