Langya 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 Langya (), in

Langya District Langya District () is a district of Anhui Province, China. It is under the administration of Chuzhou Chuzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Anhui Province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south and southwe ...

Chuzhou Chuzhou () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Anhui Province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south and southwest, Huainan to the west, Bengbu to the northwest, and the province of Jiangsu to the east. According to ...

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.

History

Tang dynasty

The temple was first built by the then provincial governor of Chuzhou Li Youqing () and monk Fachen () between 766 and 770, during the reign of Dali period (766–779) in the

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). After construction, Emperor Daizong (763–779) honored the name "Baoying Temple" ().

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

The temple was devastated by war between 954 and 960, during the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen concu ...

(907–960), but was soon rebuilt by the provincial governor Wang Zhu ().

Song dynasty

In 978, in the 3rd year of Taiping Xingguo period (976–984) 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 ...

(960–1279), Emperor Taizong (976–997) inscribed and renamed it "Kaihua Chan Temple" (), more commonly known as "Langya Temple" ().

Yuan dynasty

Langya Temple was badly damaged by war between the Mongolian and the

Red Turban Rebellion The Red Turban Rebellions () were uprisings against the Yuan dynasty between 1351 and 1368, eventually leading to its collapse. Remnants of the Yuan imperial court retreated northwards and is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan in historiogr ...

in the late

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 ...

(1291–1368).

Ming dynasty

After

Zhu Yuanzhang 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 ...

(1368–1398) ascending the throne, the founder 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), also adopted the policy to protect Buddhism. In 1373, monks Shaoning () and Wuwei () restored and refurbished the temple under the support of the government.

Qing dynasty

In the ruling 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 ...

(1796–1820) in 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), master Haoqing () renovated and redecorated the temple. The name was changed into "Kaihualü Temple" (). Langya Temple became dilapidated during the war between 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 ...

and the Qing army under the rule of

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), or by temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing (), given name Yizhu (), was the eighth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1850 t ...

(1851–1861). In 1904, 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 ...

(1862–1874), master Daxiu () raised funds to rebuild the temple.

People's Republic of China

After the establishment of the

Communist State A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...

in 1952, the Chuzhou Municipal Government has allocated moneys for the renovation project. The temple was inscribed to the Provincial-level Cultural Heritage List of Anhui by the Anhui Provincial Government in 1956. Langya 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 ...

in 1983. In June 1990, the Temple of Ultimate Happiness in

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

presented a high sitting statue of Sakyamuni to the temple.

Architecture

The existing main buildings include 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 ...

Four Heavenly Kings Hall 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 ...

Bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, Drum tower,

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 ...

and Buddhist Texts Library.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langya Temple Buddhist temples in Chuzhou Buildings and structures in Chuzhou Tourist attractions in Chuzhou 1904 establishments in China 20th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1904