Yuantong Temple () is an ancient Buddhist temple in Kunming,

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

, China.ttraction of Kunming
/ref> It is located in a protected natural depression and in recent years it has been expanded with funding 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 b ...

. In the 1950s, it hosted a grand ceremony to greet and send on the sacred teeth of

the Buddha 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 ...

and so became important in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

History

It was first built in the late 8th and early 9th century, the time of the

Nanzhao Kingdom Nanzhao (, also spelled Nanchao, ) was a dynastic kingdom that flourished in what is now southern China and northern Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries. It was centered on present-day Yunnan in China. History Origins Nanzha ...

in the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

. After two major restorations and expansion in the Chenghua period (1465-1487) of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

and in 1686 during the reign of the

Kangxi Emperor 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 ...

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-spea ...

, the temple took on its present design, with covered corridors, bridges and grand halls.

Architecture

The extant buildings include the Yuantong Wonderful Realm (), Octagonal Pavilion (), Yuantong Hall (), Copper Buddha Hall (), etc.

Yuantong Wonderful Realm

This old temple is noted for its unusual structure which is high at the front and low at the back, From the front archway named "Yuantong Shengjing" (Wonderland), one can behold the entire garden.

Yuantong Hall

To the north is the splendid Yuantong main hall. At both sides of the hall are covered corridors running beside clear pools. This structure of a Buddhist hall surrounded by water is unique in China. The main hall maintains the style of the

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 fift ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. Circling the two central pillars inside the hall are two giant dragons carved during the Ming dynasty. The blue and yellow dragons face each other, as if they are ready to fight. The stone staircases on both sides of the main hall are carved out of the cliff and are known as the "Caizhilu." From here one can climb to the top of the mountain. Beside the path are the most ancient inscriptions in Kunming. Weathering in the wind and rain for centuries, the characters are still clear today, and they are one of the most important historical relics in the city. Behind the main hall are two caves, the "Yougu" and "Chaoying". The caves wind far into the mysterious depths of the mountain, and, according to local legend, were once the home of dragons. In the Nanzhao Kingdom, a monk built a temple beside the cliff to entice the dragons. When the temple was destroyed, he built a terrace on which to perform magic on the dragons. Sun Ranweng, author and writer of the long antithetical couplet hung on the Daguan Belvedere, used to make a living by predicting people's fortunes here.

References

Bibliography

External links

Attraction of Kunming
{{National Key Buddhist Temples in Han Chinese Area Buildings and structures in Kunming Buddhist temples in Yunnan Tourist attractions in Kunming