Huiji 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

Mount Putuo Mount Putuo (, from Sanskrit: "Mount Potalaka") is an island in Putuo District, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China. It is a renowned site in Chinese Buddhism and is the bodhimaṇḍa of the bodhisattva Guanyin. Mount Putuo is one of the four sacre ...

, in

Zhoushan Zhoushan , formerly romanized as Chusan, is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of H ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

, China. Huiji Temple is commonly called the temple on the Buddha Summit and it is the third largest Buddhist temple on Mount Putuo, after Puji Temple and

Fayu Temple Fayu Temple (), also called Stone Temple, is one of three major temples in Mount Putuo, Zhejiang, China. Its grand hall was rebuilt in 1699 during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). History Fayu Temple is the second largest temple in Mount ...

History

Huiji Temple is situated at the top of

, so it also known as the "Buddha Summit" at an altitude of , the highest point on Mount Putuo. Originally it was just a stone pagoda with a Buddhist statue inside. It was built in 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) by renowned monk Yuanhui (). And in 1793 during the Qianlong period 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), halls such as the Yuantong Hall (), Jade Emperor Hall () and Dining Hall were added and formed the temple. In 1907, in the reign 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 ...

, monk Dehua () brought the ''Tripitaka'' () to the temple and at that time it became one of the largest Buddhist temples on Mount Putuo. On May 3, 1949,

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

visited Puji Temple and Huiji Temple before he settled down in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. 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 goal ...

, the

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

presided over the destruction of thousands of temples. The Meditation Hall was demolished by the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

. The

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

resided in the temple. After the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, according to the national policy of free religious belief, the temple reactivated its religious activities. The

Guanyin Hall The Hall of Guanyin or Guanyin Hall ( or ) is the most important annex halls in Chinese Buddhist temples and mainly for enshrining Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara). Guanyin, also called "Guanshiyin" (), "Guanshizizai" (), "Guanzizai" (), etc., is the at ...

was erected in 1988 and the Free Life Pond was established in 1992. Huiji 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 ...

Architecture

Unlike other Buddhist temples, Huiji Temple has a unique layout with all major halls built along a horizontal line, a typical landscape architectural style in eastern Zhejiang. The temple occupies an area of and the total area including temple lands, forests and mountains is over , and consists of 145 halls and buildings.

Mahavira Hall

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 ...

is wide, deep and high. In the middle is

Sakyamuni 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 Lu ...

, statues of Ananda and

Kassapa Buddha Kassapa Buddha (Pāli), known as Kāśyapa (काश्यप) in Sanskrit, is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 24 of the ''Buddhavaṃsa'', one of the books of the Pali Canon. He was the last Buddha before th ...

stand on the left and right sides of Sakyamuni's statue. The statues of the Twenty Protective Devas () stand on both sides of the hall. At the back of Sakyamuni is the statue of

Guanyin Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...

Guanyin Hall

The

enshrines a high statue of

and houses 123 stone carved statues of Guanyin based on paintings from famous painters of Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Huiji Temple Buddhist temples on Mount Putuo Buildings and structures in Zhoushan Tourist attractions in Zhoushan 1793 establishments in China 18th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1793