Introduction
Qixia Temple is located at the western foot of the middle peak of Qixia Mountain in Qixia District, Nanjing City. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces the Yangtze River in the north. It is one of the four famous temples in China, the birthplace of the "Three Ethics" of Buddhism, and the center of Buddhism in China during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In the Southern Dynasties, it was as famous as Jiming Temple and Dingshan Temple.
Introduction to Qixia Temple
Qixia Temple is located at the foot of Qixia Mountain and is the most outstanding attraction in Qixia Mountain. The temple was built in the Southern Dynasties and not-to-be-missed monuments include the Ming Zhengjun Monument, the pagoda and the Thousand Buddha Rock, which is like a miniature Yungang Grottoes. During the Red Maple Festival, red maples, ginkgo biloba, ancient temples and autumn colors blend together, creating a picturesque scene.
Temple layout
The main building of the temple runs east-west. The gate is the Hengha Hall. At the westernmost end, there is a plaque reading "Sheshan Qixia Temple" (Qixia Mountain is also known as Sheshan). You can walk through the stone archway with "Qixia Temple" written on it outside the scenic area to reach the gate, which is also the gate of the entire Qixia Mountain. From west to east, visit Mingjing Lake (Rainbow Mirror) with the Guanyin statue in the middle. The Guanyin statues are located in the Bell Tower, Drum Tower and Crescent Pond on the north and south sides of the road, and then go to the main temple.
Ming Zhengjun Monument
Behind the Crescent Pond is the Maitreya Buddha Hall, which can be easily overlooked by the small pavilion on the north side. You must go and see it. There is a Ming monument in the temple, which was built to commemorate the founder of Shaolin Temple, Ming monk Shao. This is one of the only remaining Tang Dynasty calligraphy relics in China. The head of the stele is a six-dragon arched forehead, and the seal script "Zheng Mingjun Stele" was written by Wang Zhijing, a calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. On both sides of the monument, the lion's head is decorated with passion flowers. The inscription was drafted by Li Zhi and inscribed by calligrapher Gao. The entire inscription has 2376 words, four or six rhymes, ending with ten nouns.
Jade Buddha Tower
Other buildings in the temple include the Sutra Building; the Jade Buddha Tower, the Jade Buddha in the building was donated by Master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan; the Jianzhen Jianzhen Statue Memorial Hall (Duhai Master Memorial Hall), etc.
Relic Pagoda
Not far to the east from Baling Hall is the Buddhist pagoda. It was first built in the second year of Renshou in Sui Dynasty (AD 602) and rebuilt in the Southern Tang Dynasty. This pagoda has five floors and is 18 meters high. Look at the reliefs on the base and tower, which are engraved with various stories of Bodhisattvas and Buddhists. They are very beautiful.
Thousand Buddha Rock
Thousand Buddha Rock is next to the pagoda, and Nan Qi began to carve it. There is a cave carved with Buddha statues along the mountain wall. The largest one is in the Great Buddha Pavilion, also known as the Three Temples and Wuliang Hall. It is also the earliest grotto carved on Thousand Buddha Rock. The Infinite Buddha here is more than ten meters high. In Cave 102, you can see the graceful image of the Flying Apsara, which echoes the flying Apsara of Dunhuang and is called "East Flying". Interestingly, in the last grotto there is a statue of a stonemason holding a hammer and an iron awl. If you are interested, you may want to look for it.
Editor: Feiyu