Chongshan 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

Yingze District Yingze District () is one of six districts of the prefecture-level city of Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, North China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of co ...

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

. It is the headquarters of the Buddhist Association of Shanxi.

History

Tang dynasty

The original temple dates back to 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). It initially called "White Horse Temple" () and later became "Yanshou Temple" () and "Zongshan Temple" (). The current name dates to the

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).

Ming dynasty

In 1381, in the 14th year of Hongwu period (1368–1398) in the

, Zhu Gang (), the third son of

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...

, expanded the temple on its ruins in memory of his mother.

Qing dynasty

In 1864, in the reign of

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Aisin Gioro clan, was the ninth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1 ...

(1862–1874) in the

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), a disastrous fire destroyed most of its buildings with only the Hall of Great Compassion remaining. In 1881, under the rule of

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

(1875–1908),

Zhang Zhidong Zhang Zhidong () (4 September 18375 October 1909) was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Qing dynasty. Along with Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, Zhang Zhidong was one of the four most famous officials of the late Qing ...

, the then provincial governor of Shanxi, established a Confucious temple on the ruins.

People's Republic of China

Chongshan Temple has been designated as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area 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 ...

in 1983. On March 5, 2013, it was listed among the seventh batch of "

Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shanxi Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

" by the State Council of China.

Architecture

The temple occupies a total area of . Now the existing main buildings include

Shanmen The Shanmen (), also known as the Gate of Three Liberations, is the most important gate of a Chinese Chan Buddhist temple. Etymology The origins of the name "sanmen" are debated. One theory is that "''Shanmen''" takes its literal meaning of "Mo ...

Bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, Drum tower,

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 ...

and Hall of Great Compassion.

Hall of Great Compassion

The Hall of Great Compassion is seven rooms wide and four rooms deep with double eaves gable and hip roofs. It still preserves the structural and architectural style in the Ming dynasty. In the middle of the hall placed the statue of Thousand-armed and eyed Guanyin with statues of Thousand-armed and bowls Manjusri and

Samantabhadra Samantabhadra (Lit. "All Good", or "Always Auspicious") may refer to: * Samantabhadra (Bodhisattva), a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with practice and meditation * ''Samantabhadra'' (Tibetan: ''Kuntu Zangpo''), the name of a Buddha, ...

stand on the left and right sides. The statues were made in the Hongwu period of the Ming dynasty. Each of them is high.

National Treasures

Chinese guardian lions

A pair of

Chinese guardian lions Chinese guardian lions, or imperial guardian lions, are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament, but the origins lie deep in much older Indian Buddhist traditions. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi (). ...

stands on both sides of the

. They were cast in 1391, in the 24th year of Hongwu period (1368–1398) in the

(1368–1644).

Ming dynasty bell

An iron bell hanging on the Bell tower. It is high and weighting . Its outside diameter is . It was cast in 1506, in the Zhengde period (1506–1521) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chongshan Temple Buddhist temples in Taiyuan Buildings and structures in Taiyuan Tourist attractions in Taiyuan 14th-century establishments in China 14th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1381