Guangji 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 on the southwest hillside of Mount Zhe, in

Jinghu District Jinghu District () is a district of the city of Wuhu, Anhui Province Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city i ...

Wuhu Wuhu () is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Anhui province, China. Sitting on the southeast bank of the Yangtze River, Wuhu borders Xuancheng to the southeast, Chizhou and Tongling to the southwest, Hefei city to the northwest, Ma'anshan ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Alongside Puji Temple, Nengren Temple and Jixiang Temple, Guangji Temple is known as one of the "Four Buddhist Temples in Wuhu". Guangji Temple has been praised as "Little

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 fir ...

". Guangji Temple experienced expansion and repair for many times and now still maintain the basic architectural pattern of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911).

History

Tang dynasty

Guangji Temple traces its origins to the a temple built in the Qianning period (894–897) of

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). In the Guanghua period (898–901), it was renamed "Yongqing Temple" ().

Song dynasty

In the reign of

Emperor Zhenzong Emperor Zhenzong of Song (23 December 968 – 23 March 1022), personal name Zhao Heng, was the third emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 997 to his death in 1022. His personal name was originally Zhao Dechang, but was changed ...

(1048–1085) 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 ...

(960–1276), it was renamed "Guangji Temple" which it still in use now.

Yuan dynasty

In the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

(1368–1644), a poet named Ouyang Yuan () wrote a poem ''Mount Zhe'' () to eulogize the beautiful and picturesque landscape of Mount Zhe and Guangji Temple.

Ming dynasty

Guangji Temple was abolished in the Yongle period (1403–1424) of 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) and reactivated its religious activities in the Jingtai period (1450–1456).

Qing dynasty

In 1756, in the period of the

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 ...

of 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), Dai Tianpu () and Wang Zhaohe () donated property to renovate the temple. In 1798, in the reign of

Jiaqing Emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, born Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, fro ...

, abbot Yuejiang () repaired the temple. In the Xianfeng period (1850–1861), a fire consumed the temple. The modern temple was rebuilt in the

Guangxu period 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 ...

(1874–1908).

People's Republic of China

In 1983 it has been designated as a " National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area". Guangji Temple has been categorized as an AAAA level tourist site by the

China National Tourism Administration The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA; ) was a Chinese government authority responsible for the development of tourism in the country. The CNTA was subordinate to the State Council. Its headquarters are in Beijing, with regional branche ...

Architecture

Guangji Temple is built along the up and down of Mount Zhe (). Along the central axis are the

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings or Four Heavenly Kings Hall (), referred to as Hall of 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 enshr ...

, Hall of Bhaisajyaguru,

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 ...

, Hall of Ksitigarbha and the Pagoda.

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings

The

is also the

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 ...

of the temple which is the first important hall in Guangji Temple.

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...

is enshrined in the hall and at the back of his statue is a statue of Skanda.

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' ...

, also known as Nryana, are enshrined in the left and right side of the hall.

Hall of Bhaisajyaguru

The Hall of Bhaisajyaguru is the hall to enshrine

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

which is the second hall of Guangji Temple.

Mahavira Hall

The Mahavira Hall is the main hall of Guangji Temple. The Three-Life Buddha are enshrined in the temple. The statues of

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 ...

stand on both sides of the hall.

Hall of Ksitigarbha

The Hall of Ksitigarbha is the most important annex halls in Guangji Temple. A high statue of Ksitigarbha is placed in the hall, which is magnificent and become the symbol of Guangji Temple. Two standing statues of Min Wen () and Daoming () are placed on both sides of Ksitigarbha.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guangji Temple Buddhist temples in Wuhu Buildings and structures in Wuhu Tourist attractions in Wuhu 9th-century establishments in China 19th-century establishments in China 9th-century Buddhist temples 19th-century Buddhist temples