Gaomin Temple () is a Buddhist Temple in Hanjiang District of

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 ...

, Jiangsu Province of China. During 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-spea ...

, it was considered one of the eight great temples of Yangzhou. The temple is situated in a semi-rural setting about 7 km south of downtown Yangzhou, on the western shore of the Old Channel of the

Grand Canal of China The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (, or more commonly, as the「大运河」("Grand Canal")), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting in Beijing, it passes ...

, just south of its junction with the

Yizheng Yizheng () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, with a population of about 600,000 (2007). It borders the prefecture-level divisions of Chuzhou (Anhui) to the north, Nan ...

-Yangzhou Canal.

History

Gaomin temple was first built in the Sui dynasty, and achieved its largest area in the

, when it was expanded twice. In 1651, Tianzhong Tower was built, as well as a temple next to it called the Tower Temple. During the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

's (r. 1661–1722) stay in the temple in his fourth southern tour, he climbed on Zhongtian Tower, overlooking the scenery, which was very beautiful and vast. Then named the temple for Gaomin Temple. 42 years after the Kangxi Emperor was enthroned (1703), Towerbaypalace (Chinese name: 塔湾行宫) was built in west of Gaomin Temple. During the Kangxi Emperor's fifth southern tour, his palace's area was much bigger than Gaomin Temple, and they were separated by high walls. At that time, Gaomin Temple, Zhenjiang's Jinshan Temple, Chengdu's

Geyuan Temple Geyuan Temple () is a Buddhist temple located in Laiyuan, Hebei Province, China. The temple consists of three main buildings and other auxiliary structures. The main hall of the temple, the Wenshu Hall dates from 966 CE.Steinhardt (1997), 59. Hist ...

and Xindu's Baoguang Temple were known as the greatest four

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

temples. During the Kangxi era, there were five halls in it to worship

Buddha 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 tradition, he was born in L ...

, and pavilions(Chinese:碑御亭) on the left and right. Behind it, there was Gold Buddha hall, behind which Zhongtian Tower stood. They were all destroyed in the Daoguang and Xianfeng eras. Then in the Tongzhi and Guangxu eras, they were rebuilt, with an installation of two- layer Yushu Building. During

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

Laiguo's chairing the temple, he got rid of the old disadvantages and regressed to the old system, which made a great achievement. The pagodas, halls,

rooms, Yanshou Tang were rebuilt, that made Gaomin Temple take shape. After 1949, Gaomin was used and managed by Buddhists. However, during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

, it was occupied by the Red Guard. They dismantled the halls and fixed other buildings, setting the temple on the verge of waste. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the policy of religious freedom was implemented. In 1983, Gaomin Temple was listed as one of the key Han national temples. After the efforts of the relevant departments, Gaomin temple was handed over to the Buddhists. In recent years, Gaomin Temple steps to rebuild temples with the foundings. With

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Buddhists' donations, Gaomin Temple's new Zen halls held an opening ceremony in November 1989.

Layout

In the Qing dynasty (1644–1912) Gaomin Temple and the palace's area was larger than now. The palace, located in the center, covered fourth fifths of the area, whereas the temple, which lay east of the palace, occupied only one fifth.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaomin Temple Qing dynasty Buddhist temples in Yangzhou