Xiantong Temple - China Travel

introduce

Xiantong Temple, located in Taihuai Town, Wutai Mountain, is the second temple in Chinese history, built only later than Baima Temple in Luoyang. Emperor Han Ming invited Indian monks She Moteng and Zhu Falan to build the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Kyoto; in the same year, they came to Wutai Mountain and built Xiantong Temple, which revealed the history of Wutai Buddhist Kingdom. Xiantong Temple has a large scale and a long history among the temple complexes on Mount Wutai. It is commonly known as the "ancestral temple". It is also a royal temple in the past dynasties. The main buildings of Xiantong Temple are arranged on the central axis. From south to north, they are Guanyin Hall, Dawenshu Hall, Daxiong Hall, Wuliang Hall, Qianbo Manjusri Hall, Copper Hall, Tibetan Scripture Building, etc. The green pines and cypresses in the temple are uneven In the meantime, the atmosphere of Buddhism is very strong. There are three major points of interest when visiting Xiantong Temple: the Great Buddha Hall with an all-wood structure, the Copper Hall with an all-copper cast, and the Wuliang Hall with a pure brick structure. The Great Buddha Hall (Daxiong Hall), rebuilt in the 25th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1899), is an all-wood structure building. On the beam directly in front of the main hall, there is a wooden plaque of "Zhenru Quanying" written by Emperor Kangxi. On the hall platform, there are three main Buddhas side by side. On both sides of the hall wall are eighteen Arhats, all of which are sculptures left over from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Every big Buddhist activity day is hosted by the Mount Wutai Buddhist Association, and monks and nuns from all temples must wear cassocks and gather here to hold Buddha rituals. The Bronze Hall of Xiantong Temple, which is about 8 meters high, was built in the 37th year of Wanli (1609) in the Ming Dynasty. It is a copper imitation wood building. There are six grid fans on each of the four sides of the upper layer of the copper hall, and eight grid fans on each of the four sides of the lower layer. There are Buddha statues cast on the inner wall of the lattice fan, which are stacked one after another. It is said that there are ten thousand Buddha statues. On the central platform sits a big bronze Buddha. The outer wall of the grid fan is cast with various patterns, flowers, birds and animals, which are very vivid and full of interest in life. There were originally five copper pagodas cast in the same period in front of the hall, three of which were looted by the Japanese army during the Anti-Japanese War, and now there are only two east and west towers. The Wuliang Hall of Xiantong Temple is a "pure brick structure". It was built in the 34th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1606). There are thousands of Buddha statues cast on the four walls of the hall, so it is also called "Wanfo Hall". The column forehead, Dougong, beam frame, roof and animal kissing ridge decoration of the hall are intact. The lattice flower patterns on the surrounding partitions and the figures of flowers and birds on the skirt board are exquisite in craftsmanship. There are also many precious cultural relics left over from history in the temple, including the Nether Bell and the stone stele of the Tang Dynasty, etc., which are worth taking time to read carefully.