Baosheng Temple () is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

located in the town of

Luzhi Luzhi Town () is a famous historic old town located in the Wuzhong District, 18 km east of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China. Etymology It was also known as Puli (),() has two pronunciations, 'fu' and 'pu'. () is pronounced as Pu-li, not Fu ...

, in

Wuzhong District Wuzhong District () is one of five urban districts of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. It has a land area of and had a population of 590,000 in 2001. Administrative divisions In the present, Wuzhong District has 8 subdistricts and 7 towns. ;8 s ...

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

. It is dubbed "one of the top 4 Buddhist temples of

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

region".

History

The original temple dates back to early 6th century, in China's

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

(502–557), it has a history of more than 1510 years.

Xiao Yan Emperor Wu of Liang () (464 – 12 June 549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), childhood name Lian'er (練兒), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty, during the Northern and Southern dynasties perio ...

, an emperor of the Liang dynasty and a devout Buddhist, went in for large-scale construction of Buddhist temples. Baosheng Temple is the architecture from that period. In its heyday, it had more than 5,000 halls and rooms as well as thousands of monks, and its area covers half the town. In the summer of 1918,

Ye Shengtao Ye Shengtao (28 October 1894 – 16 February 1988) was a Chinese writer, journalist, educator, publisher and politician. He was a founder of the Association for Literary Studies (), the first literature association during the May Fourth Movement ...

invited

Gu Jiegang Gu Jiegang (8 May 189325 December 1980) was a Chinese historian best known for his seven-volume work '' Gushi Bian'' (, or ''Debates on Ancient History''). He was a co-founder and the leading force of the Doubting Antiquity School, and was hig ...

to the temple and they founded the clay statues of the

Eighteen Arhats The Eighteen Arhats (or Luohan) () 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 state of Ni ...

were made by a famous sculptor named "Yang Huizhi" () in the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(618–907). They wrote articles in newspapers and magazines calling for the protection of these cultural relics, but they didn't attract the attention of the local government. In 1928, half of the

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

collapsed for neglect, 9 statues of the Eighteen Arhats were demolished. Two years later, architect Fan Wenzhao designed and built the

Arhat Hall The Arhat Hall is a hall used for enshrining an arhat or arhats in Chinese Buddhist temples. Arhat is another term for Arahant, one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved Enlightenment and liberated from the� ...

to house the remaining statues of Eighteen Arhats. During the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

, the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

invaded the temple and smashed the clay statues 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 the a ...

. In 1961, the arhat statues of Baosheng Temple were listed among the first batch of "

Major National Historical and Cultural Sites A Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National LevelEnglish translation for "全国重点文物保护单位" varies, it includes Major Site (to Be) Protected for Its Historical and Cultural Value at the National Level, Major Histo ...

" by the

State Council of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the p ...

National treasures

The 9 statues of Eighteen Arhats created by Yang Huizhi of the

(618–907) are well preserved after a thousand years. A stone Dhvajo named ''Zunsheng Tuoluoni Jingzhou'' () made in 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 rest ...

(960–1279) is housed in the temple. Statues of Buddha and Buddhist sutras were carved on its surface. An iron bell which was cast in late

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 ...

(1368–1644) and early

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 ...

(1644–1911) is collected in the temple. The temple has a 1500-year-old and tall

ginkgo ''Ginkgo'' is a genus of non-flowering seed plants. The scientific name is also used as the English name. The order to which it belongs, Ginkgoales, first appeared in the Permian, 270 million years ago, and is now the only living genus within ...

tree.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baosheng Temple Buddhist temples in Suzhou Buildings and structures in Suzhou Tourist attractions in Suzhou 20th-century establishments in China 20th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1932