Daming Temple () is a temple located at the middle peak of Shugang Mountain,

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

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 ...

, China. This temple is known for a famous monk,

Jianzhen Jianzhen (; 688–763), or Ganjin in Japanese, was a Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times. Ganjin finally came to Japan in the year 753 and ...

, who studied the

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

s and initiated people into monkhood here in 742 AD before he left for Japan.

History

Daming Temple is so named because it was constructed during the periods in the reign of

Xiaowu Xiaowu is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Emperor Xiaowu of Jin (362–396), an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (266–420) in China * Emperor Xiaowu of Liu Song (430–464), an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song * Emp ...

Emperor of the

Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

dynasty during the period of Daming (453–464 AD). In the first year of Renshou in the Sui Dynasty (601), Emperor Yang Jian issued an edict to build 30 pagodas across the country for the worship of Buddhist relics (佛骨) to celebrate his birthday. So the Qi Ling Tower was build in this temple. The magnificent tower had nine floors and was known as "China's most magnificent and special architecture", so the temple was also called "Qi Ling Temple". During the periods of the Wuzong reign of 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 was called Qiling Temple. 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), due to social taboo of "Daming" (Daming Chinese: means

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 ...

), its name was changed into "Qiling Temple" (). In 1765, during the 30th year of Qianlong period (1736–1795),

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

honored the name "Fajing Temple" (). In 1922, Japanese scholar

Tokiwa Daijo Tokiwa, usually written , , or , may refer to: Places * Tokiwa, Fukushima, a town in the north of Japan's main island *Tokiwa, Aomori, a village in the far north of Japan's main island Colleges and universities *Tokiwa Junior College, Mito, Ibarak ...

() built a pavilion, a gallery and a memorial hall before Daming Temple to commemorate master Jianzhen. In 1973, Jianzhen Memorial Hall, designed by

Liang Sicheng Liang Sicheng (; 20 April 1901 – 9 January 1972) was a Chinese architect and architectural historian, known as the father of modern Chinese architecture. His father, Liang Qichao, was one of the most prominent Chinese scholars of the early 20t ...

, was constructed. In 1980, the temple reverted to its former name of "Daming Temple".

Architecture

The temple was constructed around the hill, which consisted of three parts. The central part consistes of the Hall 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 ...

" ("Fēng Tiáo Diàn") and the Great Hall. The eastern part consisted of Pingyuan Hall and the "Jianzhen Memorial Hall". The western part consisted of Pingshan Hall, Si Garden and other features. The palaces and pavilions are well integrated with each other and well-arranged in structure.

Memorial Hall

The Memorial Hall modeled the style of the Main Hall in the

Tōshōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Risshū sect in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. The Classic Golden Hall, also known as the '' kondō'', has a single story, hipped tiled roof with a seven bay wide facade. It is considered the archety ...

which was organized and built by Jianzhen in Japan. A wood carving sitting statue of Jianzhen which was dry-lacquered and wrapped with linen layer by layer is enshrined in the hall.

Pingshan Hall

The Pingshan Hall () was built by Song dynasty scholar

Ouyang Xiu Ouyang Xiu (; 1007 – 1072 CE), courtesy name Yongshu, also known by his art names Zuiweng () and Liu Yi Jushi (), was a Chinese historian, calligrapher, epigrapher, essayist, poet, and politician of the Song dynasty. He was a renowned writer a ...

in 1048 during the Qingli period when he was prefecture chief of Yangzhou. When people overlook the distant scenes, the mountains are at the same level with sight line, hence the name "Pingshan Hall" (; Ping means the same level and shan means mountains).

Qiling Pagoda

Some time during the

Renshou Renshou County () is a county in Meishan City, Sichuan Province of China. It is located in Middle-West of Sichuan Basin. It has an area of , and population of 154,040,000. Founded in the Qin dynasty. Its name may derive from the first Sui Dynasty ...

reign of the Sui Dynasty - between 601 and 604 AD, the nine-story "Qiling Pagoda" () was completed.

References

Bibliography

External links

{{Jiangsu topics Buddhist temples in Yangzhou Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Jiangsu