Qizhen Temple

Qizhen Temple

Qizhen temple, located in the center of tiancunxu Town, Ganxian District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, is an ancient temple of Han Dynasty with a long history. Qizhen temple was originally named "abandon false Temple", later named "Qizhen Temple", and changed to "Qizhen Temple".

There is a five character poem in the Buddha seat of Luohan Hall of Qizhen temple, which says "abandoning the fake temple in Han Dynasty, changing Qizhen in Tang Dynasty"; the ancient couplet "Qijia temple in Han Dynasty, Tiancong mountain in Qin Dynasty" in the temple also shows the evolution of the temple name.

Historical evolution

Abandoned temple was first built in Tiancong mountain in the north of Tiancun village. In the early days of the temple's construction, it was very simple and not popular. In the Han Dynasty, eighteen Confucian students stayed in the temple and left behind the eighteen sutras, namely, the eighteen existing Buddhist scriptures. In the Tang Dynasty, the temple was relocated to tongluowo (today's site) in the center of Tiancun market, and was renamed Qizhen temple. Since the Tang Dynasty, the temple has experienced many vicissitudes, including restoration and expansion. In the early years of the Republic of China, there were 18 large and small temples, covering an area of 9.85 mu.

It is said that in the Han Dynasty, there were 18 Confucian students who stayed in Qijia temple and Jishu temple. The objects of the temple were the same as before, but they died, leaving only 18 volumes of Buddhist scriptures. The number of people and the number of sutras are both 18, so it is named "Eighteen Arhats Sutra". It is also called "Ruijing" because it has the light of Lingrui. Zhu Duoju in the Ming Dynasty had the book of Ruijing, Li Yuanding in the 13th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1656) wrote the book of raising and building Ruige, Huang Ruquan in the Kangxi Dynasty wrote the book of prayer for Buddhist scriptures, Lu Changchun wrote the story of Xiangyin Lou bin Tan, and so on.

Since the collection of the eighteen Arhats Sutra, the popularity of Qizhen temple has gradually increased, and the Tang Dynasty has become a famous temple in the south of the Yangtze River.

Buddhist activities

According to tradition, there are two Buddhist activities in Qizhen temple every year. The first is the Sutra ceremony on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month; the second is the arhat ceremony on the first day of the eighth lunar month. Legend has it that the fire broke out in Qizhen temple at the end of Tang Dynasty, and the eighteen Arhats flew into the pool. A commander saw the fire at the bottom of the boat and ordered the swimmers to get it.

Up to now, there are still traces of water and fire in the eighteen spirit scriptures. This is the origin of the Sutra Festival. According to the traditional custom, all believers who participate in the Sutra basking have a vegetarian meal together since the beginning of June. When they bask in the Sutra, they first have to bathe and change clothes, burn incense and worship the Buddha, and the monks hold a grand Buddhist ceremony.

During the Sutra drying, each of the eighteen monks holds a copy of the Sutra and enters the Sutra drying room slowly from the Sutra Pavilion. On the Sutra drying room, eighteen local celebrities and Shanxin people form a line, each holding a sandalwood stove and standing in the Sutra drying room waiting for the monks to hold the Sutra. At that time, the sound of firecrackers, drumming, chanting Buddhas and Buddhist scriptures became one. The front side of the Sutra is exposed to the sun, and the back side is edified by sandalwood fire.

Pilgrims gather

Arhat grand meeting is a grand temple fair commemorating the Scriptures left by Bodhisattva arhat. From morning till night, the temple is full of Buddhist activities, bright lights, burning cigarettes, loud sutras, chanting Buddha, ancient music and firecrackers. The pilgrims gather all over the south of the Yangtze River.

If the Mid Autumn Festival Lantern Festival is held once every three years, it will be even more grand. There is an endless stream of pilgrims and lantern watchers from far and near, who not only watch the lanterns, but also pay homage to the Buddha. The Lantern Festival, which lasts for half a month from the first to the fifteenth day of August, has a strong local cultural color.

traditional custom

Qizhen temple, which integrates traditional lanterns, dragon lanterns, cloud lanterns, lion elephant lanterns, unicorn lanterns, tea blue lanterns and other lanterns of Tian Village, is accompanied by stage performances such as walking on stilts, dressing up stories, folk martial arts, classical dramas, ancient bands and so on. It shows the prosperous scene of the market, which adds to the glory of the August arhat Festival and makes visitors forget to return.

Address: tiancunxu town center, Ganxian County, Ganzhou City

Longitude: 115.1493605674

Latitude: 26.158697128296

Tel: 0797-4623020

Ticket information: no ticket required.