The main buildings of Kaiyuan Temple distributed on the central axis are: Ziyunping, Tianwang Hall, Baiting Pavilion, Ursa Major Hall, Ganlu Jietai and Tibetan Scripture Pavilion. On the east side are Tan Yue Temple and Zhunti Zen Forest; On the west side, there are Gongde Hall, Zun Sheng Yuan and Shuilu Temple. The twin towers of Zhenguo and Renshou stand in the East and West Square respectively.
The zhaobi in front of the temple was built in the Ming Dynasty, and it is embedded with the stone carving of "Ziyunping" inscribed by the calligrapher Chen in the Ming Dynasty. After entering the mountain gate, it is the Temple of the King. On the left and right, there is a sitting statue of the king of heaven, standing tall and glaring, which is very imposing. There is a pavilion at the top of the mountain behind the temple, and a stone court in front of the pavilion for the worship 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 silk-burning furnace in the court, with buttons, dragons, auspicious clouds, lotus petals, creeping weeds and other patterns carved around the furnace body. Beautiful shape and exquisite carving. Later, there were two square stone pagodas built by Liu Sanniang in Nanxiang, Quanzhou in the 15th year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1 145), on which were engraved the story of Prince Sachan laying down his life to feed the tiger, which was the trace left by Hinduism in the Southern Song Dynasty. At the end of the stone court, there is a hall of heroes.
Daxiong Hall is the main building in the temple. It was built in the second year of the Tang Dynasty (686). According to legend, when the temple was built, there was a "Ziyun Gaidi", also known as Ziyun Hall. The existing building was rebuilt in Ming Dynasty, with double eaves and a mountain-resting style. It is 20 meters high, nine rooms wide and six rooms deep, and covers an area of 1000 square meters. Because there are 100 stone pillars in the temple (six pillars are subtracted from the mess inside), it is also called Baizhu Hall. These stone pillars and columns have various shapes, such as begonia, dragon, square and cylinder, and some are engraved with fairy tales spread in ancient India and Sri Lanka, which are the products of the blending and absorption of Chinese and foreign cultures. The stone pillars and the paving furnace are lotus-shaped, and the roof truss is stacked with heavy beams, which is beautiful and exquisite. There are 24 flying musicians carved in the archway, some holding musical instruments and some holding Four Treasures of the Study, singing and dancing lightly between the beams. Different from the image of the flying sky in Dunhuang, the flying sky here has wings, and these wings are not only decorations, but also the support points of the vault. The mechanics principle of architecture is skillfully combined with the aesthetics principle of art, and this 24-flying sculpture is rare in Buddhist temples in China.
The Buddha statues enshrined in the Ursa Major Hall are also different. Generally speaking, there is a statue of Sakyamuni or three Buddha statues, such as III Buddha and Three-body Buddha, in the Daxiong Hall of a temple. There are five Buddha statues here, with Sakyamuni in the middle and Baosheng Buddha in the south, Amitabha Buddha in the west, Amen Buddha in the east and Achievement Buddha in the north on both sides. Offering five statues of Buddha is a unique form of sculpture in tantric Buddhism, which is really rare in the Ursa Mahayana Hall of Buddhist temples in China.
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 the Northern Song Dynasty (10 19), an altar was built in Inoue, so it was called Ganlu Tan Jie. In the second year of Jianyan in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 108), monk Dunyi thought that the circular altar did not meet the standard, and it was rebuilt into five grades 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-eaved octagonal structure rebuilt in the fifth year of Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty (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 column arches and workshops, wearing ribbons, holding pipa, erhan, flute and castanets, singing and dancing lightly and freely. They are not only treasures of architectural art, but also very valuable video materials for studying Nanyin and Nanxi.
The highest point of the central axis complex is the Sutra Pavilion, which was built by the eminent monk Liu Jianyi in the 22nd year of Yuan Dynasty (1285). During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it was rebuilt many times, and in the 14th year of the Republic of China (1925), the monk Yuan Ying converted it into a two-story pavilion with cement imitation wood structure. There are also 12 square clocks in the lobby on the first floor since the Southern Song Dynasty. Among them, the iron clock of the seventeenth year of Qing Daoguang (1837), which was "publicly located in the suburb of Lugang", is engraved with the inscriptions of 46 firms in the suburb of Lugang, which have trade relations with Quanzhou, and is a precious material for studying the economic history of Taiwan Province Province and Quanzhou.
Zhen Guo Tower and Renshou Pagoda, collectively called Ziyun Pagoda, are another group of important cultural relics of Kaiyuan Temple. The East Tower Zhenguo Pagoda was built by master Wen in the sixth year of Tang Chengtong (865). It used to be a wooden tower, but it was destroyed by fire. In the year of Song San (1227), Master Shouchun was converted into a seven-story brick tower. From the second year of Song Xixi to the tenth year of Chun Hu (1238 ~ 1250), it was rebuilt and changed into an octagonal five-story wooden tower, which has been preserved to this day. This tower is 48.24 meters high. There are more than 30 relief stories of Sakyamuni on Sumitomo Island in Taki. Each niche in the tower has a relief Buddha statue, and Buddhist figures such as dharma protector and Chinese and Indian monks are carved on both sides of the niche and the door. * * * 80 reliefs with different expressions and exquisite carvings are the best sculptures in the Song Dynasty. The center of the tower is a huge solid cylinder with steps around it, which can climb to the top of the tower. The whole tower has 40 large stone pillars, 40 girders, 120 large arches and 80 small arches. The copper gourd-shaped tower gate at the top of the tower is still dazzling after more than 700 years.
The West Tower, Renshou Tower, was built in the second year of the Five Dynasties Liang Dynasty (9 16). Formerly known as Infinite Life Pagoda and Wooden Pagoda, it was 7 stories high and was later destroyed by fire. During the reign of Song Baoqing, Master Shouchun was transformed into a brick tower. From the first year of Song Shaoding (1228) to the first year of Jiaxi (1237), the self-certified monk turned into a stone pagoda. The appearance of this tower is the same as that of the East Tower, with a height of 44.06 meters and octagonal five steps. The base is carved with patterns of animals and flowers. In particular, a walker relief on the northeast wall on the fourth floor of the West Tower has attracted the interest and attention of tourists and scholars at home and abroad. This walker wears a straight braid, a golden hoop, several beads around his neck, a gourd and a roll of Peacock King Mantra around his waist, a ghost knife in his hand and a small Buddha statue on his right shoulder, which is similar to the Monkey King in The Journey to the West, but the West Tower was built 300 years earlier than The Journey to the West. Therefore, some domestic scholars and professor Miyoko Nakano of Hokkaido University put forward the view that "the Monkey King was born in Fujian". The East-West Twin Towers, with reasonable structure, exquisite carving and magnificent momentum, are rare treasures in ancient stone buildings in China and receive millions of tourists and pilgrims every year.
Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, with its long history, magical legends, unique laws and regulations, exquisite architecture, precious cultural relics, beautiful art and excellent reputation, is attracting thousands of monks, believers and tourists from all walks of life to worship.