Daci'en Temple () is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

located in

Yanta District Yanta District () is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, Northwest China. The district borders the districts of Weiyang to the north, Lianhu, Beilin and Xincheng to the northeast, ...

Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

. The temple is the cradle of

East Asian Yogācāra East Asian Yogācāra refers to the Mahayana Buddhist traditions in East Asia which developed out of the History of Buddhism in India, Indian Buddhist Yogachara, Yogācāra (lit. "yogic practice") systems (also known as ''Vijñānavāda'', "the d ...

in China. It is notable for the

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda Giant Wild Goose Pagoda or Big Wild Goose Pagoda (, ), is a monumental Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. It was built in during the Tang dynasty and originally had five stories. It was rebuilt in 704 during the reign o ...

. The pagoda was originally built under the supervision of the monk

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

, whose pilgrimage to India inspired the novel ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

''. Alongside

Daxingshan Temple Daxingshan Temple () is a Buddhist temple located in Yanta District of Xi'an, Shaanxi. The temple had reached unprecedented heyday in the Tang dynasty (618–907), when Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra taught Chinese Esoteric Bud ...

and

Jianfu Temple Jianfu Temple () is a Chinese Buddhist temple located at West Youyi Rd. outside the south gate of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China. It hosts the famous Small Wild Goose Pagoda. History Jianfu Temple was originally the residence of Em ...

, it was one of the three sutras translation sites () in the Tang dynasty.

History

Located in Jinchangfang () of

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

(today's

), the Daci'en Temple was first constructed in 648, in the 22nd year of Zhenguan period of the

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

(618–907). Prince Li Zhi, the later

Emperor Gaozong of Tang Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Tang dynasty, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife ...

, issued the decree building the temple in commemoration of his mother

Empress Zhangsun Empress Zhangsun (長孫皇后, personal name unknown, presumably Wugou (無垢) (15 March 601 – 28 July 636), formally Empress Wendeshunsheng (文德順聖皇后, literally "the civil, virtuous, serene, and holy empress") or, in short, Empr ...

. The renowned Buddhist monk

was in charge of the temple, where he founded the

in the Tang Empire. During his tenure, he managed the construction of the

. The temple was rebuilt in 1466, in the reign of

Chenghua Emperor The Chenghua Emperor (9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Xianzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Jianshen, changed to Zhu Jianru in 1457, was the ninth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1464 ...

in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368–1644). On March 4, 1961, the temple was listed among the first group of the "

Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shaanxi Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in music ...

" by the

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

. In 1983, the temple was authorized as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area by the State Council of China. In early 2001, it was categorized as an AAAA level tourist site by the

China National Tourism Administration The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) was a Chinese government authority responsible for the development of tourism affairs and was subordinate to the State Council. Its headquarters were in Beijing. History The predecessor was the ...

. On June 22, 2014, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was added to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's list of

World Cultural Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

Architecture

The complex include the following halls:

Shanmen The Gate of Shanmen or Hall of the Shanmen or simply Shanmen (), is the entrance gate of a Buddhist temple. In ancient times, nearly all Buddhist temples had a single Shanmen gate leading into a large hall for the temple. Today, it is observed t ...

Mahavira Hall A Mahavira Hall, usually simply known as a Main Hall, is the main hall or building in a traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Buddhist temple, enshrining representations of Gautama Buddha and various other buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is encoun ...

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings The ''Tianwang Dian'' (; lit: ”Hall of the 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 enshrined in the hall. Maitreya Buddha i ...

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 to ...

, Drum tower,

Buddhist Texts Library A Zangjing Ge () (lit: “Buddhist Sutra Pavillion”) is a large building in Chinese Buddhist temples which is built specially for storing '' The Chinese Buddhist Canon'' (). It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese Bu ...

, Xuanzang Sanzang Hall,

, Pagodas Forest, etc.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda

The

, also called the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Great Wild Goose Pagoda and Dayan Pagoda. Was built by Xuanzang in 652. The pagoda has the brick structure with seven stories and four sides of ancient Indian style. It has been renovated and redecorated several times since the Tang dynasty (618–907).

Mahavira Hall

The

enshrining statues of

Vairocana Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in text ...

Mahavairocana Vairocana (from Sanskrit: Vi+rocana, "from the sun" or "belonging to the sun", "Solar", or "Shining"), also known as Mahāvairocana (Great Vairocana), is a major Buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts ...

and Shakyamuni. The two disciples' statues are placed in front of the statue of Shakyamuni, on the east side is

Mahākāśyapa Mahākāśyapa () was one of The ten principal disciples, the principal disciples of Gautama Buddha. He is regarded in Buddhism as an arhat, enlightened disciple, being Śrāvaka#Foremost disciples, foremost in dhutanga, ascetic practice. Mah� ...

and the west side is

Ānanda Ānanda (Pali and Sanskrit: आनंद; 5th4th century BCE) was the primary attendant of the Buddha and one of his ten principal disciples. Among the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda stood out for having the best memory. Most of the texts of ...

. The statues of

Eighteen Arhats The Eighteen Arhats (or Eighteen Luohans) () are depicted in Chinese Buddhism as the original followers of Gautama Buddha ('' arhat'') who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained the four stages of enlightenment. They have reached the ...

sitting on the seats before both sides of the gable walls.

Xuanzang Sanzang Hall

The Xuanzang Sanzang Hall () enshrines the Sarira of

and houses a copper statue of Xuanzang. On the walls of the hall painted frescoes depict events from Xuanzang's life.

Pagodas Forest

The temple has almost 1,400 years of history, with nine pagodas, each enshrines the Buddhist relics of successive abbots of Daci'en Temple. Their names and birthdates are carved in their respective pagoda.

National treasure

The temple houses 20 slices of the

palm leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and spread to oth ...

, which were brought from ancient India by

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daci'en Temple Buddhist temples in Xi'an Buildings and structures in Xi'an Tourist attractions in Xi'an 15th-century establishments in China 15th-century Buddhist temples Buildings and structures completed in 1466 Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1460s