Country Guarding Temple

Country Guarding Temple

Zhenguo temple, located in Haodong village, 15 kilometers northeast of Pingyao County, Shanxi Province, was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Shanxi Province in 1965, a national key cultural relic protection unit in 1988, and a world cultural heritage as an important part of Pingyao ancient city in 1997.

Introduction

On December 3, 1997, Pingyao ancient city, together with Zhenguo temple and Shuanglin temple, was listed in the world heritage list.

Zhenguo temple, formerly known as Jingcheng temple, was renamed Zhenguo temple in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty, and has been used up to now. The temple is divided into two courtyards: the front courtyard is built with the Tianwang Hall of the mountain gate and the second floor of the left and right bells and drums. There are three main halls in the center, also known as the ten thousand Buddha Hall. The back courtyard is the Guanyin hall in the East, and the dizang hall in the west, with five rooms each. There are three Buddha halls in the middle. Zhenguo temple is divided into two temples, with a total area of 10892 square meters. On the central axis, there are Tianwang hall, Wanfo hall, Sanfo building and other buildings. In the front yard, there are bell tower, Drum Tower, sanlinghou, caifushen, Erlang and earth halls on both sides. In the backyard, there are Luohan hall, Yama hall and other halls. The temple of Heavenly Kings is at the front end of the temple. There are four statues of heavenly kings in the temple, each with a powerful look and full face. The Tianwang hall, with a single eaves hanging on the top, was built in the Yuan Dynasty.

On both sides of the Tianwang hall, the bell and drum towers stand opposite each other. On the bell tower is an iron bell cast in the fifth year of Emperor Tong of the Jin Dynasty (1145 A.D.). It is an ancient and rare thing in Pingyao County with elegant shape and unique workmanship.

Inscriptions in the temple

It can be seen from the inscriptions in the temple that the yuan and Ming dynasties used the open space to create the Tianwang hall and the second floor of the bell and drum in the front of the mountain gate, and then built the third Buddha building and the East-West corridor, Guanyin and the second floor of the dizang hall.

During the reign of Yongzheng and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the eastern and Western corridors were repaired again. From the first year to the 20th year of Jiaqing, the dancing pavilion was built outside the gate of the mountain (destroyed), and the Sutra hall was built on the two wings of the Buddha Pavilion, with six additional rooms. When it was rebuilt in 1815, the ten thousand Buddha Hall was repaired again. Among the existing wooden buildings in China, the Wanfo hall is only later than the two temples of Nanchan and Foguang in Wutai Mountain. The overall beam structure of this hall is strict, the material specifications are in line with the mechanical principles, the workmanship is exquisite, and the workmanship is fine. It has been as good as ever for more than 1000 years.

In the backyard of Zhenguo temple, there are Guanyin hall in the East, dizang hall in the west, and Sanfo hall in the middle. In addition to Guanyin hall, there are statues in each hall, and murals of Ming Dynasty in Sanfo hall. In Zhenguo temple, there are many trees and green leaves. In the temple, Robinia pseudoacacia looks like an umbrella. Its branches are crooked and interweaved like a net. It is quite ancient and interesting.

historical background

The temple was first built in the Five Dynasties and has a history of more than 1000 years. According to the inscriptions in the temple, in the yuan and Ming Dynasties, the Tianwang hall was built in front of the mountain gate, the second floor of the left and right bell and drum, the third Buddha building, the East and West Wing rooms, the second Hall of Guanyin and dizang, and the East and West corridors were rebuilt during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty.

In order to facilitate monks' practice, temples were built on mountains or in some remote places. The first characteristic of the general Buddhist temple architecture is that it has a mountain gate, and the general Mountain Gate has three gates, one in the middle, which is often built into a temple form, and each side is equipped with a small gate. Therefore, it is also called "three gates", which is to symbolize the meaning of the three liberation gates, that is, empty gate, no phase gate and no work gate.

Buddhism believes that you can be liberated by entering the three gates of liberation. The Mountain Gate of the temple is the junction of the Buddhist world and the secular world. The three gates stand side by side, showing the sanctity of Buddhism. The words on the small gates on both sides also show this point, which are "worshiping emptiness" and "chuiyou". In Buddhism, the noumenon of truth is omnipresent, but there is no visible image. Nothingness is the meaning of being and emptiness "You" means seclusion and seclusion. On the one hand, it means secluded environment, but more secluded sincerity of learning Buddhism.

Architectural features

The center of the front courtyard is the hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas. The shape of the temple is unique. Its plane is nearly square. The roof is a single eaves mountain style. The eaves are far-reaching. The huge seven auxiliary arches are used as Dou Gong. The total height is more than 2 / 3 of the column height, making the top of the temple like an umbrella. It is quite rare in the temple buildings of past dynasties.

This hall was first built in the Five Dynasties. It has an ancient appearance and a peculiar structure. It is unique in architectural art. It is a rare wooden building in the existing five dynasties in China.

Inside the hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas, there is a Buddhist altar in the center, 6.09 meters long and 6.09 meters wide. Xumizuo is set up in the middle of the hall, with a sitting statue of Sakyamuni on it. Next to him stood the two disciples of JIAYE and Anan. Even Buddha, disciples, Bodhisattvas, Vajra, donors a total of 11 statues. These statues have plump and plump faces, tall and strong bodies, and slightly curved trunks. Their modeling techniques are similar to those of the Tang Dynasty, and are full of the charm of the statues of the Five Dynasties.

Main structure

Among the existing wooden buildings in China, the Wanfo hall is only later than the two temples of Nanchan and Foguang in Wutai Mountain. The overall beam structure of this hall is strict, the material specifications are in line with the mechanical principles, the workmanship is exquisite, and the workmanship is fine. It has been as good as ever for more than 1000 years.

In the backyard of Zhenguo temple, there are Guanyin hall in the East, dizang hall in the west, and Sanfo hall in the middle. In addition to Guanyin hall, there are statues in each hall, and murals of Ming Dynasty in Sanfo hall. In Zhenguo temple, there are many trees and green leaves. In the temple, Robinia pseudoacacia looks like an umbrella. Its branches are crooked and interweaved like a net. It is quite ancient and interesting.

Main attractions

There are statues in every Hall of Zhenguo temple, among which the statues in the hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas are the most precious. They were created during the Tianhui period of the northern Han Dynasty in the Five Dynasties. The Buddhist altar in the hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas is wide, 6.09m square in length and width, and 55cm high. It is made of green bricks along the side, accounting for about half of the hall area. In the middle of the altar, there is a waist bound Xumi seat, on which Sakyamuni Buddha sits. There are 14 statues in the hall.

Except for the three statues (Guanyin, shancai and Longnv) which were shaped in Ming Dynasty and re painted with oil paint in Qing Dynasty, the rest are original works of Five Dynasties. The style of Buddhist altar and the configuration of statues are similar to the main hall of dichan temple built in Tang Dynasty in Wutai Mountain. The statue of Sakyamuni is tall and upright, with a sitting posture and a Zen hand print. The Buddha's appearance is dignified and kind, reflecting the style of the Tang and the Five Dynasties.

Historical records

The Five Dynasties is a period of war. Since then, only a few ancient buildings have been preserved in the country, and the colored sculpture works are rare. Except for a small number of colored sculptures in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, the colored sculpture in the ten thousand Buddha Hall of Zhenguo temple is the only one of the five dynasties works preserved in temples and temples throughout the country. Although the number is small, the historical era is very important for the study of sculpture in our country The exhibition provides valuable information for us to understand the process of sculpture speech in Tang and Song dynasties.

Cultural value

Zhenguo temple, formerly known as Jingcheng temple, is located in Haodong village, 12 kilometers northeast of Pingyao County. It was changed into Zhenguo temple in the 19th year of Jiajing reign of Ming Dynasty.

The whole temple faces south and consists of two courtyards, It covers an area of 10892 square meters, with a construction area of more than 5000 square meters. It was announced as a key cultural relics protection unit at the provincial level as early as 1965, and in 1988 On January 13, it was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit. In February of the same year, it was officially opened to the public. On December 3, 1997, Pingyao ancient city was listed in the world cultural heritage list. Then, in the list of definition of Pingyao ancient city, there are "one city, two temples". One of them is Shuanglin temple, which is famous for its painted sculptures, and the other is architecture Zhenguo temple, which conquered the world, is one of the three national security units in Pingyao.

Cultural relics protection

Zhenguo temple is a national key cultural relic protection unit. It is located in Haodong village, north of Pingyao County, Shanxi Province, and 15 kilometers northeast of Pingyao ancient city, a world cultural heritage. The main hall was first built in 963 A.D., and rebuilt in 1816 A.D., leaving a lot of ink marks on the inner beam of the Buddha Hall and the existing steles in the temple, providing reliable historical support Evidence.

The building of the town hall is the earliest one of the oldest wooden buildings in Chinese mainland. Zhenguo temple is different from other wooden buildings in that there is no nail in the temple. All the structures are made of wood and wood, which is a great treasure of ancient Chinese architecture.

favoured policy

In February 15, 2020, novel coronavirus pneumonia was visited by the Pingyao County area. In order to pay tribute to the medical workers in the new crown pneumonia epidemic situation, to protect the people's health and defend their lives, the national health workers visited the town hall for a year with their valid documents (doctors, nurses' practicing license and identity cards).

Address: 237 provincial road, Gaoyou suburb, Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Longitude: 119.430902

Latitude: 32.772331

Tour time: 2 hours

Ticket information: 30 yuan

Opening hours: [spring and summer] 8:00-19:30

[autumn and winter] 8:00-18:00