Luohan 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 in

Yuzhong District Yuzhong District () is the central district and heart of Chongqing municipality. It is the capital of the municipality and is also the political, economical, and entertainment center of the city of Chongqing. Located in the central portion of Yuz ...

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

. It is the site of the Buddhist Association of Chongqing. The temple was used for Ning Hao's

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

film '' Crazy Stone''.

History

Song dynasty

This temple was built by a prominent monk Zuyue () in the Zhiping period (1064–1067) of 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). At that time it initially called "Zhiping Temple", which was named after the reign title of "Zhiping".

Ming dynasty

In the Xuande period (1426–1435) 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), monk Xi'an () erected the dwellings, wing-rooms, and reception rooms.

Qing dynasty

In 1666, in the 5th year of

Kangxi period The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

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), governor-general Li Guoying () renovated the temple. Then the temple was refurbished in 1753 during the reign of

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 ...

. In 1885 in the Guangxu era, abbot Longfa () supervised the construction of 500 statues of Arhat, the temple was renowned "Luohan Temple".

Republic of China

After the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, Shi Haiqing () added the

Dharma Hall The Dharma Hall, also known as Lecture Hall, is an important building in Chinese Buddhism, Han Chinese Chan Buddhism, Buddhist temples. The Dharma Hall is the place for senior monks to preach and generally ranks right after the Mahavira Hall. Wit ...

, Ordination Hall, Meditation Hall in the temple. The temple was burned out in one of the numerous air raids that targeted Chongqing during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

on May 4, 1939. Only the Shanmen and Thousand Buddha Rock survived. By 1947, under the leadership of Zongxian (), 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 ...

, Buddhist Texts Library, Arhat Hall were gradually rebuilt.

People's Republic of China

During the ten-year

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 Red Guards had attacked the temple in 1966. The 500 statues of Arhat were smashed by them. After the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, according to the national policy of free religious belief, Luohan Temple was officially reopened to the public in 1984. The Chongqing Municipal Government appropriated a large sum of money for constructing the temple. Luohan Temple has been inscribed 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 September 2006, the temple has been designated as a provincial key cultural unit by the

Chongqing Municipal Government Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Counc ...

Architecture

Mahavira Hall

The

was built in 1947. In the middle of the hall placed the statue of

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 ...

, at the back of Sakyamuni's statue are statues of the Three Sages of the West (), namely

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 ...

, Amitabha and Mahasthamaprapta. The statues of Eighteen Arhats, Sixteen Arhats stand on both sides of the hall.

Arhat Hall

The Arhat Hall was constructed in 1986, a total of 524 statues of Arhat are enshrined in the hall.

National Treasure

The temple is renowned for its cliff inscriptions. Over 400 statues of Buddha are carved with integrate structural and exquisite techniques, they were made in the

Film

Luohan Temple was used for location filming of the 2006

film '' Crazy Stone''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luohan Temple Buddhist temples in Chongqing Buildings and structures in Chongqing Tourist attractions in Chongqing 20th-century establishments in China 20th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1947