Xixin Chan Temple or Soul Refreshing Chan 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 at the foot of Mount Gaoding (),

Wangcheng District Wangcheng District () is one of six urban District (China), districts of the prefecture-level city of Changsha, the capital of Hunan, Hunan Province, China. It is the largest district of Changsha by area. The district is bordered to the north by M ...

, which is north of

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

History

According to the record of ''Shanhua County Annals'' (), the temple was first built by Chan Master Hanyue Fazang () in the 48th Year (1620) of

Emperor Wanli The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...

(1573–1620) 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) with the name Xixin An (; Soul Refreshing Temple). During the

Republic of China (1912-1949) 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 northeast ...

, the temple was on a noble scale, it has 107 houses, 70 monks and over 400 mu lands. During the

Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward (Second Five Year Plan) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social campaign led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1958 to 1962. CCP Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to reconstruc ...

, Xixin Chan Temple was completely destroyed. At the beginning of 21st century, the Venerable Master

Yi Cheng Yicheng (; 2 February 1927 – 21 December 2017) was a Chinese Buddhist monk, Chan master and religious leader. Yicheng was best known as Venerable Master of the Buddhist Association of China. Early life Yicheng was born Zhou Yunsheng () into a f ...

, swore to have the temple rebuilt. In September 2002, he appointed his close disciple, Shi Wusheng (), as his deputy and told him to manage the rebuilding. In December 2006, the 1st phase ended at the coast of nearly 50 million RMB yuan, the temple covered an area of and had buildings with a floor area of over . On February 24, 2008, the temple invited a Four-faced Brahma from

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, a national treasure enshrined by the Thai First Generation Emperor Charity Fund.

Architecture

The temple at the foot of Mount Gaoding. The temple consists of 14 buildings. The complex includes the following halls:

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 ...

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 ...

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings 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, Founder's Hall, Dharma Hall, Dining Room, etc.

Famous monks

*Fazang *Yi Cheng *Shi Wusheng

Gallery

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xixin Chan Temple Buddhist temples in Changsha Wangcheng District 1620 establishments in China 17th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1620 Linji school temples