Cross the mountain gate to Baiting. We can see that the East-West Pagoda and the spacious and bright East-West Corridor are symmetrically arranged on both sides, and our position is on the central axis of Kaiyuan Temple. Buddhism was introduced into China 1000 years ago, and it blossomed in China, blending with China culture. The layout of Kaiyuan Temple highlights the characteristics of ancient buildings in China, which are dominated by the south and the central axis.
The Dashichang in front of the Baiting Pavilion is a "barren" worship venue for worship and activities of officials and people in ancient and modern times. On the 26th day of the lunar calendar, there is a sea of people here, and there is the voice of Bai Fan, which is a scene of Buddhism in South China. There are eight big banyan trees on both sides of the stone court, which are 200 to 800 years old, hidden in the sun and intertwined with each other, adding the quiet and solemn atmosphere of Kaiyuan Temple. Under the tree, there are 1 1 ancient classic buildings, small pagodas, and two long trees with different shapes in Tang and Song Dynasties. There is also a 3-meter-high stone carving and silk burning furnace in the court. Cover buttons, dragons, auspicious clouds, lotus petals and creeping weeds are carved around the furnace body. Beautiful shape and exquisite carving. Later, there were two square stone pagodas donated by Liu Sanniang in Nanxiang, Quanzhou in the 15th year of the Southern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1 145), on which were engraved the story of Prince Sahammer giving his life to feed the tiger, which was the trace left by Hinduism in the Southern Song Dynasty.
The main building on the central axis is the Great Hall in front of us. According to legend, Ziyun built land when the temple was built, so it is also called Ziyun Hall. Above the main hall, this huge plaque reads four Weibei tycoons of "Sanglian Dharma Circle" in response to Sankai Anbaili's statement. As early as the early Tang Dynasty, Quanzhou was rich in silk. This land was originally the mulberry garden of Huang Shougong, a rich man, and was later donated to Master Kuanghu to build a temple. There is a touching legend about this matter: One day, Huang Shougong dreamed that a monk asked him to raise land to build a temple, and he said that he would provide land and become attached to it after the mulberry trees in Bai Lianhua opened. A few days later, all the mulberry trees in the garden bloomed in Bailian. Huang Shougong was deeply moved by this boundless Buddhism, so he donated this mulberry garden. In fact, Huang Shougong was originally a charitable person, and the saying of mulberry opening lotus was made by people admiring the Buddha, but this magical legend was relished by Quanzhou people and passed down from generation to generation, so Kaiyuan Temple also got the reputation of "Mulberry Lotus Method".
Daxiong Hall was built in the second year of the Tang Dynasty (AD 686). It was influenced and rebuilt several times in Tang, Southern Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties. The existing building is a relic of the tenth year of Chongzhen in Ming Dynasty (AD 1637). The main hall is 20 meters high, nine rooms wide and six rooms deep, with an area of 1387.75 square meters. The arch of the main hall is far-reaching and magnificent in appearance, which preserves the magnificent architectural style of the Tang Dynasty.
In the center of the Ursa Mahayana Hall is the Pilu Jinna Buddha, which is given by the imperial government. Translated into Chinese, it is the highest god of Tantric Buddhism. On both sides are four giant buddhas sculpted during the five dynasties' renovation of Daxiong Hall, followed by Acheng Buddha in the oriental fragrance world, Amitabha Buddha in the south, Amitabha Buddha in the western bliss world and Lotus Buddha in the north, which are collectively called "Five Wisdom Tathagata". These five giant buddhas are glittering, with distinct clothing lines, kind faces and solemn testimonies. Their hands are used for presentation, giving, receiving and meditation, and their craftsmanship is exquisite and amazing. Five Dhyani Buddhas's threats include Manjusri, Pu Xian, Ananda, Ye Jia, Guanyin, Shi Zhi, Wei Tuo, Guan Yu, Brahma Heavenly King, Earth Division, and 10 Fashen. In the middle of the back of the main hall, there is the first holy Guanyin, the tantric six Guanyin, as well as eighteen arhats, dragons, and different wings. The abbots of Kaiyuan Temple converted to different sects in past dynasties, including Faxiang Sect, Legalist Sect, Pure Land Sect, Tantric Sect and Zen Sect. However, it is worth boasting and learning that the main hall can maintain this rare regulation.
There is also a nickname "Baizhu Hall" in the Hall of Ursa Major. It was originally planned to set up 100 columns in the whole museum. Later, due to the need to place Buddha statues to make room for Buddhists to worship, the beams were lengthened and the columns were reduced, making it a "Baizhutang" with 86 columns. In the tenth year of Chongzhen (AD 1637), Zeng Ying, a right-wing political affairs and provincial judge, and Zheng Zhilong, the company commander, rebuilt the Ziyun Hall of Kaiyuan Temple and replaced all the wooden pillars with stone pillars. The columns of Baizhu Temple are rich and colorful, including begonia-shaped columns, columns and square columns in the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Shuttle column, dragon column, etc. In particular, the pair of 16 angular diabase columns between the verandah behind the temple are carved with 24 stories and flower patterns of Krishna, an ancient Hindu god circulating in ancient India and Ceylon, which have aroused great interest of Chinese and foreign scholars. Together with 72 diabase sphinxes and the lion relief at Sumitomo's waist on the platform in front of the temple, it was removed from the destroyed main Yinjiao Temple during the restoration of the temple in the Yuan Dynasty. They are the historical testimony of Quanzhou's prosperous overseas transportation and friendly cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
At the junction of Five Dhyani Buddhas Dianthus and Liang Heng, there are two rows of 24 plump goddesses with gorgeous ornamentation and colorful wings, which Sanskrit calls "myna" (birds with beautiful voices). According to Buddhist scriptures, this bird has a delicate voice and elegant fairy sound, even Kinnara, the god of songs, is not as good as her. They used to be waiters of the Buddha, but skillful craftsmen embedded their lower bodies in the tenons, their claws and feet exposed under their wings, their upper bodies stretched forward, their heads held high, their coats were half naked, their arms were stretched out, their wrists were tamed with bracelets, their hands were Four Treasures of the Study, and melons and fruits were snacks, dancing like fairies. They not only give people beautiful artistic enjoyment, but also replace the bucket arch, rely on the thick honing beam, reduce its excessive span, and skillfully integrate religion, art and architecture, which is amazing.
On the west side of Baizhu Temple, there is a thousand-year-old mulberry tree that is said to have opened in Bai Lianhua, namely "Sangpeng Monument". Seeing its doddering appearance, everyone believed that it was over 1000 years old, and most people ignored whether it had ever driven to Bai Lianhua. However, under the old mulberry tree, there is an ancient stone tablet, which seems to be true. /kloc-in a thunderstorm in 0/925, the old mulberry tree was chopped into three sections by lightning, and one of its skills fell to the ground, so the monk lifted it up with a piece of granite and carved a couplet "This pair of lotus flowers hangs for two years, which is not bad." The old mulberry tree miraculously survived, flourishing and full of youth. A few years ago, the strong wind blew the tree off the supported stone, but when people supported it again, it took root. Nowadays, the old mulberry tree with "three trees with the same root" is like a blooming flower, which extends in three directions: east, west, north and south, and is green all year round.
The Mana Ring altar behind the main hall was built on the second step of the central axis. It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, nectar often fell here, so a monk named Xing Zhao dug a nectar well here. In the third year of coming to Tianjin in the north (A.D. 10 19), an altar was built in Inoue, so it was called Ganlu Jietan. In the second year of Jianyan in the Southern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1 108), Dunying, a monk, thought that Tan Jie was not up to standard and rebuilt it into five floors according to Nanshan Tujing, during which the height and width were strictly limited. After many renovations in Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the existing building is a four-eaves octagonal structure rebuilt in the fifth year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (AD 1666). The caisson in the middle of the altar adopts wishful bucket arch, which is folded and gathered, like a spider web, like a brocade, and its structure is complex and exquisite. Around the altar, there are 24 "flying musicians" in the column arch and workshop, wearing ribbons and holding pipa, two strings, cave doors and castanets, singing and dancing freely. They are not only treasures of architectural art, but also precious image materials for studying Nanyin and Nanxi, just like the bent frame in Baizhutang.
There are five floors below the algae well. The top floor of the altar is dedicated to the woodcarving statue of Lushenafo in Ming Dynasty. There is a lotus petal on the lotus seat where it sits, and a 6 cm Buddha statue is carved on each lotus leaf, which is very beautiful. Around Lushena, there are four buddhas, namely, Jinganggou, Jingangsuo, Jingangling and Jingangsuo, as well as 24 Buddha statues, including Sakyamuni, Amitabha, Hanshan, Picked up, Guanyin with a Thousand Hands and General Wei Tuo. Among them, donkey kong Eight Honors is the most important. They glared, barefoot and shirtless, and looked extremely dignified. Around the waist of the altar, there are 64 trump cards of various gods to protect the three conversions and the five precepts. The ring altar is where Buddhists are ordained. This mysterious and solemn atmosphere can make people feel awe, destroy all thoughts and convert wholeheartedly. It is said that this kind of ring altar is rare in the country. As the saying goes, scarcity is precious, and everyone has a good time. Kaiyuan Temple landscape picture
After leaving the altar, it is the Sutra Pavilion, known as the "Baibao Building". It used to be a Buddhist temple, which was built by the eminent monk Liu Jianyi in the 22nd year of Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1285). During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it was rebuilt many times. In the 14th year of the Republic of China (AD 1925), Monk Yuanying was converted into a two-story pavilion with cement imitation wood structure. Downstairs is now a place where monks recite scriptures and worship Buddha. Upstairs, there are more than 3,700 volumes of various versions of scriptures. In the Five Dynasties, King Kaimin accidentally ascended the throne and ruled Fujian and Xinjiang. So when she became the queen of Fujian, she became attached to the Buddha, gained great confidence, made great wishes, converted to her heart and achieved psychological balance. He has donated millions of dollars to build halls and other buildings, collected 12 thousand gold and silver and ground them into mud. He asked Master Yiying of Kaiyuan Temple to write two gold and silver tripitages, and there were still pages left on the second floor. In addition, there are the Fire Sutra written by the Yuan Dynasty according to the blood pricking of the mage and the Baye Sutra written in Tamil. They are precious Buddhist classics in China. In addition, the sutra depository also preserved historical relics from the prosperous Tang Dynasty to the Republic of China. Among them, there are 32 jade, bronze, porcelain, wooden Buddha statues, bodhisattvas, arhats, heavenly kings and gods. The calligraphy and wooden couplets of Zhang Ruitu, a great calligrapher in the Ming Dynasty, and Master Hongyi, a modern monk, are also treasured here. There is also a 12 square clock in the lobby on the first floor since the Southern Song Dynasty. Among them, the iron clock placed in the suburb of Lugang in the 17th year of Qing Daoguang (A.D. 1837) bears the inscriptions of 46 firms that have trade relations with Quanzhou in the suburb of Lugang, which is very valuable information for studying the economic history of Taiwan Province Province and Quanzhou.
On both sides of the central axis, there are also some buildings: in the east, there is Tan Yue Temple, which was rebuilt by THE TEMPLE OF JIALAN Temple to commemorate the donor Huang Shougong. Descendants of Huang Si 'an (Nan 'an, Hui 'an, Tong 'an and Anxi) and overseas Ziyun families are proud of this. There is Zhunti Zen Forest, commonly known as "Xiaokaiyuan Temple", which was originally dedicated to Tiantai Sect Zhunti Bodhisattva; There is a sacred temple in the west, some of which have been opened as a memorial hall for Master Hongyi, and there is an amphibious Buddhist temple for monks to live in. [Edit this paragraph] Quanzhou Dongxi Pagoda stands in the squares on both sides of Baiting. About 200 meters apart, the octagonal five-story pavilion-style wooden structure stone tower is Quanzhou East West Tower, which is an important cultural relic of Kaiyuan Temple. It is famous for its majestic tower, wonderful shape, exquisite architecture and exquisite sculpture, and has attracted countless Chinese and foreign scholars and tourists to visit, watch, ponder and study since the Song Dynasty.
The East Tower is called "Zhenguo Tower". In the sixth year of Xian Tong (AD 865), the founder, Zen Master Wen Zhuo, built a five-story wooden tower. After several times of destruction and reconstruction, it is easy to turn wood into bricks. It was not until the second year of Jiaxi (A.D. 1238) that Master Benhong turned bricks into stones, and then it was jointly built by Master Faquan and Master Tianxi, which took ten years to complete. The East Tower is 48.24 meters high, and the plane of the tower is divided into four parts: the cloister, the outer wall, the cloister in the tower and the octagonal column in the center of the tower. This tower is a frame structure. The central column of the tower runs through all floors and is the support of the whole tower. Liang Shi is installed at eight corners of each tower core column, connected with the tower wall and inclined column with a thickness of 2m, and the protective bucket of the top column is lifted out of the arch frame layer by layer, thus reducing the span of Liang Shi. The Liang Shi is jointed with the beam frame like a tenon, which makes the stress connection between the tower core and the tower wall become a whole, greatly strengthening the firmness of the tower body. The tower wall is carved from granite, criss-crossing and overlapping, with accurate calculation and meticulous construction. The solid foundation and the solid tower core in line with the mechanical principles make this building weighing more than 10,000 tons still stand up after more than 700 years of wind, frost and rain. The earthquake of magnitude 8 in A.D. 1604 could not shake its foundation. This stone tower is not only strong, but also beautifully shaped. The eaves of the tower extend outward in an arc shape, and the eaves are high, which makes the tower feel flying in the air and appear light. Each floor has four doors and four niches, which are interchanged at different levels. This can not only disperse gravity evenly, but also make the tower more vivid and beautiful. Each tower has a pair of bronze doublets tied to the eaves. The breeze blew, and the duet 1 jingled and sounded beautiful. There are eight big chains at the top of the tower, which connect the eight corners with the top of the brake. It looks magnificent and purple. Each tower wall is also engraved with 16 reliefs, in which there are 80 statues of people riding heaven, hearing, bodhisattva and Buddha, which are lifelike. Exquisite knife work, smooth lines and wonderful craftsmanship. 1997, the East Tower was selected as one of the four famous tower stamps in China, making it the king of stone towers.
The west tower is called Renshou Tower. In the third year of the Five Dynasties Liang Dynasty (AD 9 17), Wang built this tower from Fuzhou Fanhai Mulai Spring, formerly known as "Infinite Life Tower". In the fourth year of Beilaizheng (A.D.114), it was named "Renshou Tower", which was destroyed and rebuilt many times before and after. From the first year of Song Shaoding to the first year of Jiaxi (A.D. 1228- 1237), the self-certified master turned bricks into stones. The west tower is 44.06 meters high, slightly lower than the east tower, and its scale is almost the same as that of the east tower. Only the male-bearded Guanyin and the walker's relief have aroused the extensive interest of tourists and scholars.
The stone pagoda of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou is a treasure of ancient stone buildings in China. From the aspects of building scale, modeling and skills, this stone tower can be said to be exquisite. It fully embodies the high wisdom and great creativity of the working people in the Song Dynasty. It is not only the best stone pagoda in China, but also second to none in the world. It is not only a symbol of unprecedented social prosperity in the heyday of overseas traffic in Quanzhou in the middle ages, but also a unique symbol of Quanzhou's historical and cultural city. Now, the shadow sculpture of the East West Tower has become a precious gift from the top leaders of our city to all the distinguished guests. Therefore, it can be said that the East West Tower has become a symbol of Quanzhou. It is not only the pride of Quanzhou people, but also the rural image that overseas Chinese and compatriots in Taiwan Province Province yearn for. Even people who haven't been to Quanzhou often say "stand like the East West Tower and lie like Luoyang Bridge", which shows the weight of the East West Tower in their minds. [Edit this paragraph] Every famous monk in the temple must be a monk. Monks in Kaiyuan Temple in the past dynasties were famous for their Buddhism, poems and articles, or for their greatness, or for joining the WTO. Instead, they were eminent monks: Master Kuang Hu, the founder of the Tang Dynasty, the only known master of the Five Dynasties, Master Lu, who released Hongze, the Pure Land Sect, the South Zen Buddhism Exhibition, the wave release into the bridge of nature, the first abbot of Zen Buddhism, and Master Yan.
Many monks from Kaiyuan Temple also went abroad to preach the Dharma. For example, during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Zen master Mu An crossed the ocean and became famous in Japan, becoming the second generation descendant of Japanese Berber religion; After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he became an old monk and traveled all over Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Master Daoyuan, who now lives in Daoyuan, was also invited to Brazil to preach Buddhism, and the Zen style spread far and wide.
Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou attracts thousands of Buddhist believers and tourists from all over the world to worship and visit with its long history, magical legends, unique laws and regulations, exquisite architecture, precious cultural relics, beautiful art and excellent reputation.