South Putuo or Nanputuo () is a famous

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 founded 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 ...

in the Chinese city of

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an ...

. It is so named because it is south of the Buddhist holy site Mount Putuo in Zhejiang Province.

Location

The South Putuo Temple is located on the southeast of Xiamen Island. It is surrounded by the graceful sea and the Wulao Peaks behind the temple. The Wulao peaks is a small mountain range that rises on the island. It enjoys a picturesque view of Xiamen and the surrounding district of Haicang,

Gulangyu The Gulangyu, Gulang Island or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about in area, and is reached by an 8-minute ferry ride fro ...

and

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...

City. South Putuo Temple has many deep caves and verdant woods. It is adjacent to

Xiamen University Xiamen University (; Southern Min: ''Ē-mn̂g-toā-o̍h''), colloquially known as Xia Da (; Southern Min: ''Hā-tāi''), is a national public research university in Xiamen, Fujian, China. Founded in 1921 by Tan Kah Kee, a Chinese patriotic e ...

and Lu River.

History

During the final years of the

, Buddhist monks who inhabited the place had established it into a sacred Buddhist temple. It used to have different names. The temple was dismantled during Yuan dynasty and reconverted into a Buddhist temple in Ming dynasty. In 1684, around the beginning of 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 ...

, general Shi Lang donated generously to rebuild and expanded the temple buildings, where a shrine hall for Guanyin Bodhisattva was installed and worshipped. The general named the temple after the Buddhist sacred site Mount Putuo of Zhejiang Province, which is considered the abode of Guanyin. In 1924, Master Hui Quan was appointed the first abbot of the South Putuo Temple and he set up Minnan Buddhist College in 1925. Several prominent scholarly monks like

Hong Yi Hong Yi (23 October 1880 – 13 October 1942; , or ''Hung Yit'' and ), born Li Shutong (李叔同 and 李漱筒) was a Chinese Buddhist monk, artist and art teacher. He also went by the names Wen Tao, Guang Hou, and Shu Tong, but was most com ...

and Yin Shun taught in the college. The temple suffered much damages by the red guards during Cultural Revolution and was converted into a factory. The temple underwent further renovation in the 1980s and the first abbot after cultural revolution was elected in 1989.

References

External links

Xiamen City Community Website
(厦门社区网, includes business listings, jobs, blogs, picture galleries, and other services)
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:South Putuo Temple Buddhist temples in Xiamen Buildings and structures in Xiamen Guanyin temples

Location

History

See also

References

External links