Kaishan Temple is a

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 in Xincheng village near

Gaobeidian Gaobeidian () is a county-level city in central Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Baoding Prefecture-level city. Gaobeidian has 4 subdistricts, 6 towns, and 4 townships, and a total of 442 villages. It ...

Hebei Province Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The temple was first founded in the Tang dynasty, and grew large and important in the subsequent centuries until declining in recent centuries. In the 20th century, the main hall of the temple, dating from 1033 during the

Liao dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

, was used as both a school and as a granary. In 2002, the hall underwent a restoration that was completed in 2007.

History

The current temple was founded during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, prior to the founding of Xincheng in 832 CE.Steinhardt (1997), 164. In 929 CE, Xincheng was walled, with Kaishan Temple located in the northeast corner of the walled town. During this time the temple was known to locals as ‘Dasi’, literally, ‘Big Temple’. The oldest structure that is currently standing at the temple site is the main hall, which according to a date written on a beam within the temple, was built during the

in 1033. By the sixteenth century, the temple had become very large, but by the early 20th century it was in decline. In 1928, the main hall became a

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

educational hall, and ceased to function as a temple.Steinhardt (1997), 169. During the Cultural Revolution, many houses were built on the grounds of the temple, damaging the temple's surroundings. In 2001, a restoration project funded by the government began with the goal of returning the temple to its prior state.Xinhua (2007
开善寺修缮完毕即将开放
. Retrieved on 2010-06-25.

Main Hall

The Main or

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 ...

(, ''Dàxíongbǎo Diàn'') is five by three bays and measures 30.4 by 18.5 meters in size. It is built on a stone platform, and has a large ''yuetai'' in front of it which measures 27.6 by 11.4 meters.Steinhardt (1997), 165. Columns implanted into square stone bases support massive eaves whose length is 55% of the columns’ height. The back and side pillars incline towards the interior of the hall, a feature that is associated with pre-

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 fifth ...

Chinese architecture Chinese architecture (Chinese:中國建築) is the embodiment of an architectural style that has developed over millennia in China and it has influenced architecture throughout Eastern Asia. Since its emergence during the early ancient era, the ...

.Steinhardt (1997), 167. Prior to its conversion in 1928 to a school, the hall's main devotional image was probably

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 ...

, with four esoteric

boddhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

s on either side, as well as luohans on the sides of the hall.

References

Citations

Bibliography

*Liu Zhimin. "Xincheng Kaishansi Daxiongbaodian Xiushan Yuanze ji Gongcheng Zuofa," ''Wenwu'' (Issue 5, 2004): 60–68. *Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman. ''Liao Architecture''. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997. {{Buddhist temples in China Buddhist temples in Hebei Gaobeidian Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Hebei