Huishan Temple

Huishan Temple

Huishan temple is located at the foot of Jicui peak at the south foot of Songshan Mountain, 6 km north of Dengfeng City, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. It was built in the period of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (471-499). It is the Buddhist Center of ancient Songshan area. Together with Shaolin Temple, Fawang temple and Songyue temple, it is known as the four major monasteries of Songshan mountain.

Huishan temple is located in the north and faces the south. There are two courtyards, 11 in the West and 7 in the East. Among them, Daxiong hall was founded in the Yuan Dynasty and rebuilt many times later. With far-reaching eaves and huge Dougong, it is the only wooden structure of the Yuan Dynasty in Songshan area. In addition to the main hall, other buildings are hard mountain gray tile roof. In Huishan temple, there are more than 30 stone tablets carved in Eastern Wei Dynasty, Zhongyue Songyang Temple stele in Northern Qi Dynasty, more than 120 ancient trees from Tang Dynasty to Qing Dynasty, and a large iron bell cast in Ming Dynasty. In the west of the temple, there are Tang Jingzang Buddhist pagoda, and in the southwest and Southeast, there are five Qing Dynasty brick pagodas.

On June 25, 2001, Huishan temple was announced as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council of the people's Republic of China

. On August 1, 2010, the historical buildings in Dengfeng, including Huishan temple, were listed as world cultural heritage.

Historical evolution

Huishan temple, formerly known as the palace of Yuanhong, Emperor Xiaowen of Wei Dynasty, was rebuilt in the first year of Zhengguang (520). After the fall of the Northern Wei Dynasty, it became a place for Buddhist activities.

In 585, it was renamed Songyue temple, which was later named Huishan Temple by Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty.

Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty visited the temple, worshipped Daoan Chan Master as the national teacher, granted the name of Anguo temple, and placed the statue of Zhenguo steel Buddha in the temple. In Tang Dynasty, temples, altars and towers were built on a grand scale.

In the Five Dynasties, he accepted the Dharma at the glazed altar in Songshan, also known as Fengchan temple. The back beam is discarded.

In the fifth year of Kaibao (972), song Taizu was granted the name of "glass altar of Songyue" and "great assembly Temple".

From the Yuan Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty (1264-1295), it was named "Wanshou Temple".

Architectural features

The main hall of Huishan temple is a wood structure building, which skillfully uses the principles of mathematics, mechanics and architecture. The single eaves Xieshan tubular tile roof has a far-reaching eaves, and the Dougong is huge and simple in shape. Its typical practices, such as Dougong, angle beam, Rubu, Qiqian, dingbu, JuTou and Dinghua chin arch, all reflect the important characteristics of the architectural technology of Yuan Dynasty.

Huishan temple's Jingzang Buddhist pagoda is an octagonal brick Pagoda with fine workmanship and unique shape. It uses bricks instead of wood to vividly show the octagonal pavilion style wooden structure of the Tang Dynasty, such as columns, beams, brackets, doors and windows. It is really valuable, reflecting the architectural technology and characteristics of the Tang Dynasty.

Cultural relics

overview

Huishan temple is located in the north and south. Its axis contains eight historical buildings, including Zhaobi, Shanmen and main hall, with East and West rooms on both sides. The mountain gate is 5 wide and 3 deep, with a small gray tile top on the hard mountain, and 3 voucher gates built in the middle. In the Ming Dynasty, there is a rectangular plaque inscribed with the words "Huishan Temple" on the voucher, and one white jade Amitabha Buddha inside. It is a gift from the king of Zhou in the Ming Dynasty.

 

On the East and west sides of the Mountain Gate of Huishan temple, there are single rooms, hard mountain and ye gate, behind which there is Daxiong hall. On the platform, there is an iron bell in 1471, which is more than 1 meter high and weighs 650 kg.

On the Western hillside of Huishan temple, the original glazed altar built by the famous monk Yixing of Tang Dynasty was destroyed in the Five Dynasties. There are still two remnant stone pillars of Tang Dynasty, with heavenly kings carved on the surface and ghosts and beasts carved on the base. In the west of the temple, there are Tang Jingzang Buddhist pagoda, and in the southwest and Southeast there are five Qing Dynasty brick pagodas.

The main existing steles in Huishan temple include the stele of Songyang temple in Zhongyue in the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the stele of Huishan temple in the Northern Qi Dynasty, the stele of Zen master dao'an in the Tang Dynasty, and the records of the altar of Huishan temple.

 

Daxiong Hall of Yuan Dynasty

The main hall of Huishan temple is five rooms wide and three rooms deep. It has a single eaves, with grey tiles and green glazed tiles. Under the eaves of the hall, there are huge brackets, and the inside of the hall is made of reduced columns. On the front of the hall, the open room is a partition door, the other four rooms are all partition windows, and on the back, the open room is a board door. The hall was first built in the Yuan Dynasty, and has been rebuilt many times. Now the wooden frame and the bucket arch under the eaves are relics of the Yuan Dynasty.

 

Jingzang Buddhist pagoda

Located in the west of Huishan temple, Jingzang Buddhist pagoda was built in 746, the fifth year of Tianbao in Tang Dynasty. The plane is equilateral octagonal and the tower is 10.3 meters high. The lower part is a 2.6-meter-high base, the upper part of which is built with a simple Xumi base, and each side of the waist part is built with three horizontally long pot doors. On the base of the tower is the octagonal tower body imitating the wooden pavilion style of Tang Dynasty, with leaning columns built at each corner. There is a single ticket door in the south, which can enter the tower room. The interior plane is also octagonal with a dome. The East and west sides of the tower are carved with a forest like gate and a herringbone bucket arch on the appendix and forehead. A stone inscription is embedded on the north side of the pagoda to record the life of Zen master Jingzang. The other four sides are carved with broken lattice windows, and each corner column has a bucket arch. Above the tower is a folded eaves, on which there is a layer of xumizuo style and decorative carved bricks such as mountain flowers and banana leaves, and on the top is a stone lotus seat and a flame pearl shaped Tasha.

 

Stele of Songyang temple in Zhongyue

The stele of Songyang temple in Zhongyue, which remains in Huishan temple, was carved in 535, the second year of Tianping, Emperor Xiaojing of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. There are six dragons and Buddha statues at the head of the stele. The dragon's claws are twisted into an arched niche, in which a single Buddha is embossed. On the south side of the stele, there are 12 Buddha statues, with 8 Buddhas on each of the upper 11 floors, and 6 Buddhas on the lowest floor, totaling 94 Buddhas. In the middle of the upper part of the shrine to the north of the monument, there is a large Buddha statue, surrounded by several small Buddhas. There are small flying Apsaras flying around the forehead, with plump skin and calm posture. The relief pattern on the side of the monument is very shabby. The fine carving, the beauty of lines and the symmetry of layout structure of the whole monument are rare in the ancient stone carvings of Songshan mountain.

 

History and culture

Famous monks of all ages

Daoan Zen master Sushou is 128 years old. He has gone through the Sui and Tang Dynasties and eight emperors. Because he is 20 years older than his fifth ancestor Hongren, he has the good name of "Lao an". When dao'an traveled to Songshan Mountain, he saw that Huishan temple was quiet and quiet, and said, "it's the place where I end up." He then settled here for 45 years.

 

In the Tang Dynasty, there were many eminent monks in Huishan temple, such as Yuantong, Jingzang, and astronomers

 

. In Huishan temple, monk Yixing once set up a "five Buddhas' meditation altar" and specifically presided over preaching precepts, making Huishan temple the Buddhist Center of Songluo area at that time.

 

Academic point of view

There are two opinions about when Huishan temple will be built. One theory began in the Han Dynasty and the other in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The article "Huishan Temple" in Song Shu of the Ming Dynasty, Shuo song of the Qing Dynasty, records of Songshan Mountain, travel notes to Songyue and Dengfeng County annals is similar. For the construction of Huishan temple, it is said that "Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty left the palace", which is also a popular saying.

 

Liang Sicheng, an expert in ancient architecture, commented that "Jingzang Buddhist pagoda really reflects the imitation wood structure of the Tang Dynasty.". In the 1930s, Liang Sicheng and Liu Dunzhen also pointed out: "among the brick and stone structure tombs of the Tang Dynasty, the only one with the most wooden structure is the Jingzang Buddhist pagoda. The wooden structure of the prosperous Tang Dynasty can be inferred from this. But as far as the octagonal plane is concerned, none of the data we know is more important or more ancient. "

 

Ancient poetry

Wu Sanle, a man of the Ming Dynasty, wrote a poem entitled "the stone inscription on the tea table of Huishan temple after the rain", in which he said: "the rain in the temple is still passing, so the fragrance of flowers and wine goes with it. When you look for the source, the water is exhausted, and you look at the mountain with fog. The trees smell the fragrance, and the mosses recognize the stele. Huxi monk sees off the guests and knows each other with a smile. "

 

Cultural relic value

Huishan temple is a place where Buddhism participates in astronomical activities and studies the evolution history of ancient Chinese cosmology. It is also a witness of Buddhism and the concept of "between heaven and earth".

 

The main hall of Huishan temple is the only existing wooden structure building of Yuan Dynasty in Songshan area. Its architectural form and technology are of great significance to the study of Chinese architectural history.

 

Jingzang Buddhist pagoda provides precious material materials for the study of the integration of Buddhist architecture into traditional Chinese architecture after it was introduced into China, which is of great value in the history of architecture.

 

The inscriptions in Huishan temple have important artistic value of calligraphy and historical literature value.

 

protective measures

On June 25, 2001, Huishan temple was announced as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council of the people's Republic of China.

 

In March 2006, the Huishan Temple renovation project with an investment of more than 4 million yuan and a duration of three years was completed

 

. In December of the same year, the State Administration of cultural heritage published the revised "China's world cultural heritage preliminary list", among which Dengfeng's "in heaven and earth" historical buildings were listed. During the period of applying for the world heritage, the State Administration of cultural relics has repeatedly sent personnel and organized experts to visit the site to guide the work. Henan provincial Party committee and government and Zhengzhou municipal Party committee and government have conscientiously implemented the opinions of the State Administration of cultural relics, and have successively completed the compilation of the application documents, the protection and display of the heritage, the environmental improvement, the construction of special laws and regulations, the construction of management institutions, the construction of archives, the monitoring of heritage, and social publicity.

 

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