Chongyuan Temple () is a

Liang Dynasty The Liang dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Liang () in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the South ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple located along

Yangcheng Lake Yangcheng Lake () is a freshwater lake about northeast of the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, and ranges in depth from . The lake is -long from north to south, with an average width of from east to west. It is the most famous area of orig ...

at Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, China.

History

The original Chongyun Temple was built in the 6th century during the reign of

Emperor Wu of Liang Emperor Wu of Liang () (464 – 12 June 549), personal name Xiao Yan (蕭衍), courtesy name Shuda (叔達), childhood name Lian'er (練兒), was the founding emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty, during the Northern and Southern dynasties peri ...

. On its inauguration, the second character was mistaken for xuan and so the temple was officially named Chongxuan. The temple was ransacked under the reign of Emperor Wuzong of Tang during the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution and the building was later rebuilt under

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

. The temple was destroyed by a fire in the 14th century, but again repaired. 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 ...

, the temple gained its present name Chongyuan so as not to bear the same name as the emperor - whose personal name was Xuanye. In the mid-20th century, Chongyuan Temple was destroyed during the

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 goa ...

. In 2003, the

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

provincial government approved the reconstruction of Chongyuan Temple and the rebuilt temple opened on November 17, 2007. At the time of its opening the temple's main hall was both the largest () and highest () main temple hall in China. A gilded bronze statue of

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 ...

stands within the hall structure. In 2010, the temple was upgraded to a national 4A level tourist attraction.

References

External links

* Buddhist temples in Suzhou Suzhou Industrial Park {{Suzhou-stub