Jingci Temple () is located at the foot of Huiri Peak of Nanping Hill. It is the second prominent Buddhist temple beside

West Lake West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural is ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

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 ...

. Together with Lingyin Temple, it is called the jewel of the southern and northern hills. The temple was claimed as a key national Buddhist temple in Han areas by the State Council in 1983.

History

Jingci Temple was originally called Huiri Yongming Temple (). It was first built in 954 by King

Qian Chu Qian Chu (September 29, 929 – October 7, 988, courtesy name Wende), known as Qian Hongchu before 960, was the last king of Wuyue, reigning from 947 until 978 when he surrendered his kingdom to the Song dynasty. Life Qian Chu came to power aft ...

of the

Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...

kingdom for a famous monk

Yongming Yanshou Yongming Yanshou (; ) (904–976) was a prominent Buddhist monk during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and early Song Dynasty in China. Biography Yongming Yanshou is first mentioned in biographical form by Zanning (贊寧) in a work ca ...

. In the

Southern 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 ...

, its name was changed to Jingci Temple, and the "500 Luohan Hall" was built. The temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times in the history. The current building of the temple was built in the 1980s. Specially, there is a newly forged copper bell in 1984 with the assistance of

Eihei-ji 250px is one of two main temples of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, the largest single religious denomination in Japan (by number of temples in a single legal entity). Eihei-ji is located about east of Fukui in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. In En ...

, one of the head temple of Soto Zen Buddhism. The bell is to replace the original one that was forged in

Hongwu Hongwu () (23 January 1368 – 5 February 1399) was the era name of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty of China. Hongwu was also the Ming dynasty's first era name. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Hongwu * Ch ...

period of Ming dynasty and went missing during late Qing period. It is weighing over 100 kilograms and is carved The

Lotus Sutra The ''Lotus Sūtra'' ( zh, 妙法蓮華經; sa, सद्धर्मपुण्डरीकसूत्रम्, translit=Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtram, lit=Sūtra on the White Lotus of the True Dharma, italic=) is one of the most influ ...

(), with 68,000 characters. It hosts one of Ten Scenes of

, "Evening Bell Ringing at the Nanping Hill" (). File:净慈寺钟楼铜钟.jpg, New Bell in Jingci Temple that inscripted with Lotus Sutra {{DEFAULTSORT:Jingci Temple Buddhist temples in Hangzhou Wuyue architecture 10th-century establishments in China Religious buildings and structures completed in 954 10th-century Buddhist temples