Liurong Temple
On Liurong Road in Guangzhou, there is an ancient Buddhist temple with a history of more than 1,400 years - Liurong Temple. The temple is a national key point for Han Buddhism determined by the State Council Temple.
Liurong Temple is a Zen monastery. Together with Haizhuang Temple, Guangxiao Temple and Hualin Temple, it is known as the "Four Great Jungles" in Guangzhou. It was built in the third year of Datong in the Southern Dynasties (537). Master Tansu, the uncle of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty Xiao Yan, traveled all the way to Cambodia to obtain Buddha relics and brought them back to Guangzhou. Xiao Yute, the governor of Guangzhou, built Baoyan Temple to welcome the offerings. It was later renamed Changshou Temple. In the third year of Yuanfu in the Song Dynasty (1100), Su Dongpo After being demoted to Hainan, he was ordered to return to the north. He passed by Guangzhou and visited the temple. He was attracted by the six banyan trees in the temple that were as vigorous as horned dragons. He happily wrote the two characters "Six Banyan Trees" with a graceful and vigorous handwriting. The monks carved it On the stone wall. The temple has since been commonly known as the Liurong Temple. When the Liurong Temple was rebuilt in 1982, Su Dongpo's two characters "Liurong" were made into a plaque and hung on the mountain gate. On both sides of the mountain gate are "One Pagoda with Dr. Shiliu wrote the couplet "The Six Banyan Trees Remember Dongpo", which records the relationship between the Liurong Temple and Su Dongpo.
The most distinctive building preserved in the Liurong Temple is the Flower Pagoda. It was originally called Baoyan Relic Pagoda, which was built together with Baoyan Temple in the third year of Datong (537) of Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, Wang Bo praised it as "a palace with immortal couplets like rain, and rocks covered with clouds. When you pick couplets and face the wind, you feel like you are encountering a distant place." Road". In the early years of the Song Dynasty, the pagoda was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in the first year of Yuanyou of the Song Dynasty (1086), and it took 11 years to complete. It houses thousands of Buddha statues and was renamed Thousand Buddhas Pagoda. The body of the pagoda was originally a brick and wood structure. Today, it is inside the pagoda wall. There are also inscriptions from the Northern Song Dynasty. During the renovation in 1933, the interior was reinforced with steel and cement. It has been renovated in recent years and still retains the architectural style of the Song Dynasty. The tower is exquisitely constructed and has a unique shape. It is 57 meters high, has an octagonal nine-level appearance, and is covered with glazed tiles. The body of the pagoda is gorgeous and beautiful. On the top of the pagoda, there is a pagoda composed of orbs, double dragon beads, Jiuxiao disk, etc. The whole pagoda is gorgeous in shape, exquisite and clear, like a flower column standing in the blue sky, so it is commonly known as the "flower pagoda". There is a large copper pillar in the flower pagoda from the bottom to the highest floor, on which are engraved bronze statues of thousands of Buddhas. This copper pillar, together with the pagoda, weighs 5,000 kilograms. The pagoda has nine floors on the outside, and each floor has a dark layer. **Seventeenth floor, the dark floor is used for going up and down, and the exposed floor is only used for aisle ventilation. You can reach the top of the tower along the steps. When climbing the flower tower, turn right when going up the tower, and turn left when going down the tower. Otherwise, the tower has eight sides, and people cannot enter the tower. The toilet is like entering an eight-dimensional map. After going around eight directions, you can find the stairway to the next floor. Remember the tips for climbing the tower and you can avoid taking six unnecessary steps on each floor. The Flower Tower is the largest existing tower in Guangzhou, the Flower City. The ancient building is also a witness to Guangzhou's long history. Climb the tower and lean on the railing to overlook the whole city.
The main hall of Liurong Temple was completed in June 1984. The renovated hall is 14 meters high and covers an area of ??14 meters. 300 square meters, glazed tile surface, solemn and majestic, reflecting the ancient architectural style of southern China. On the main entrance of the main hall hangs a gold plaque with "Wande Solemnity" written by Mr. Zhao Puchu, with vigorous writing and full of charm. Under the tile eaves of the main hall is the "Mainxiong Palace" "The four characters were written by Lian Deng, the president of the Yangcheng Calligraphy Society. The three bronze statues enshrined in the middle of the Main Hall are 6 meters high and weigh 10 tons. They were cast in the second year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1663). They are the largest ancient bronze statues in Guangdong Province. The statue has now been re-installed with gold. There are also various ritual instruments, curtains, long banners, etc. displayed in the hall, making the hall colorfully decorated. In front of the Buddha, there are three lotus lanterns composed of 48 small lamps, which reflect each other's light and make the Buddha statue more colorful. It is magnificent. On the south side of the main hall, there is a Dharma Hall.
The Guanyin Hall was rebuilt in 1987. It is 13 meters high and covers an area of ??233 square meters. The hall houses the bronze statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva cast in the second year of Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1663). The statue is 4 meters high and weighs 5 tons. It has a peaceful and calm expression and exquisite casting technology. In July 1985, Master Sanlian, the brother of the King of Thailand and the abbot of the Vietwei Ludwaanalam Temple in Thailand, presented a wooden relic to the Liurong Temple. The stupa. The stupa is about 60 centimeters high and is made of finely carved wood. The stupa is enshrined in the Main Hall. Master Sanlian and the monks of Liurong Temple worshiped the Buddha and chanted sutras together, wishing world peace, China and Thailand People are happy. In late July, the Ministry of Education of Thailand presented a bronze statue of Sakyamuni Buddha to Liurong Temple. It is 1.8 meters high and weighs 800 kilograms. August 5, which is the 19th day of the sixth lunar month, is the day when Guanyin Bodhisattva became enlightened. ,six
The Banyan Temple held a grand enshrining ceremony for the Buddha statue. More than 4,000 monks and believers participated in the ceremony, and the bronze statue of Sakyamuni was enshrined in the Friendship Buddha Hall.
There is a collection of cultural relics in the Liurong Temple. In the stele gallery, there are more than 20 steles from the Song Dynasty preserved, some with pictures and texts, which are important physical materials for studying the history of the Liurong Temple and the Flower Pagoda. Among them is a stone inscription of "Song Su Wenzhong's public robe statue", which is on the stele. The carving shows Su Dongpo wearing a bamboo hat and wooden clogs walking in the rain. There is a short story here. It tells that Su Dongpo was visiting friends one day. It rained on the way and he took shelter in a farmhouse. The farmer was very enthusiastic and entertained him with sweet potatoes. He wore bamboo hats and wooden clogs. After Su Dongpo said goodbye to the farmhouse, he lost his way in the muddy bamboo forest. When he was in a hurry, he met a shepherd boy. Su Xiang saw his savior and asked about the path. The shepherd boy said, just follow the path with cow dung. The road is just around the corner. Whenever Su Dongpo recalled this incident, he always said with emotion that he not only knew poetry and could be an official in the court, but when he went to the countryside, he was not even as good as a shepherd boy. From then on, every rainy day, He especially liked wearing bamboo hats and wooden clogs, so someone drew this picture of bamboo hats and wooden clogs for him.