The Jiming Temple () is a renowned Buddhist temple in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

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. One of the oldest temples in Nanjing, it is located in the Xuanwu District near

Xuanwu Lake Xuanwu Lake () is located in Xuanwu District in the central-northeast part of Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is near the Nanjing Railway Station and Jiming Temple. Five islands within the lake are interconnected by arched bridges. Within the park are temp ...

.Lonely Planet.
Lonely Planet Jiangsu: Chapter from China Travel Guide
'. Lonely Planet; 1 June 2012. . PT14.

History

The temple, which literally means "rooster crowing" was first constructed in 527 during the

Liang dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

and has been destroyed and reconstructed many times. The existing temple was initially constructed during 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 ...

Chung Wah Chow;

David Eimer David Alexander Eimer is a journalist and author. Eimer is a former foreign correspondent for ''The Daily Telegraph'' covering China and for the '' South China Morning Post'' covering Southeast Asia. Career Eimer is a former correspondent in sout ...

; Carolyn B. Heller.
China
'. Lonely Planet; 2009. . p. 283. during the reign of the

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 ...

in 1387.Nanjing Scenic Spots
Meet China. It was destroyed during the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...

but was rebuilt later. By 1931 most temple buildings had been appropriated as barracks by police and army of the Nationalist government of Republican China. The main hall had been emptied completely apart from the large Buddha statue. Only one hall, near the city wall was still being used for worship. The temple remained popular primarily because of its tea house which was also situated in that hall.Krug, Hans Joachim (*1893); ''Wanderungen und Wandlungen in China;'' Berlin 1941 (Scherl), p. 42-3 (based on a visit in spring 1931)

Description

Within the temple are Guanyin Hall (), Huomeng Building (), and the Medicine Buddha Pagoda (). The Rouge Well (), got its name from a legend that the emperor of the

Southern Tang Dynasty Southern Tang () was a state in Southern China that existed during Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, which proclaimed itself to be the successor of the former Tang dynasty. The capital was located at Nanjing in present-day Jiangsu Province. ...

and his concubine hid themselves in the well to escape enemy pursuit. The stains of rouge were left on the well: hence the name of Rouge Well. The seven-story pagoda overlooks Xuanwu Lake. There is an entrance to the

Nanjing City Wall The City Wall of Nanjing () was designed by the Hongwu Emperor (1328–1398) after he founded the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and established Nanjing as the capital in 1368. To consolidate his sovereignty and defend the city against coastal pirates ...

from the rear of the temple. Behind the temple there remains a section of palace wall called Taicheng. It is the busiest temple in Nanjing, particularly during the

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named " Chinese New Year" becau ...

. The newly opened Line 3 metro line has a stop for the temple called Jimingsi File:Jiming Temple door Nanjing.jpg, Jiming Temple entrance File:Jimingsu.JPG, Jiming Temple entrance File:Jiming Temple, Nanjing 20101125.jpg, Jiming Temple File:Jimingsu-Pagoda.JPG, Pagoda File:Jiming Temple Cherry Blossoms.jpg, The area around Jiming Temple blooms with cherry blossoms in late February

References

External links

寺院介绍 (Jiming Temple)
(Chinese and English) * {{Jiangsu topics Buddhist temples in Nanjing