Xishan Temple is located in the west mountain of Shiqi, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. It was originally named Renshou Zen Forest, also known as Renshou Temple. Also known as Wufeng and First Peak. It was first built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. It was a place where sages from the Ming Dynasty studied. It was later converted into a temple and the monks lived there for more than 400 years. The temple uses a land area of ??1,671.85 square meters and a construction area of ??1,363.46 square meters.
During the Shunzhi period of the early Qing Dynasty, Dai Ren, the governor of the city, renovated it for the first time. During the Kangxi period, Zhu Gongming renovated it. However, the leaks could not be repaired but could not be replaced. Hundreds and dozens of years later, wind and rain eroded the building, the buildings collapsed, and the Xishuang Terrace turned into rubble. During the Xianfeng period (185-1986), Jinshi Wangyan returned from Fujian to raise funds for reconstruction. Build Buddhist halls, sculpt Buddha statues, and rebuild temple gates. Master Yi Quan, the eighth generation abbot, raised funds to erect a plaque of "Renshou Zen Forest". The couplets on both sides of the temple door are "Red cotton old shade, blessed land heavy light", which was written by calligrapher Zhang Yutang of Xunzhou (still intact today). At that time, the six ancient kapok trees had withered, so the people of the city added six more (five remain), repaired the "Liumian Ancient Road", and erected a stone archway at the southeast end, with a couplet on both sides: "How can there be no clouds coming out of Xiu on such a small mountain? "The platform is high and there are towering trees." Zeng Wangyanshu, a local resident. Another well was dug at Qixingquan (now filled in). The temple still has a stele on the rebuilt Renshou Temple in Wufeng in the sixth year of Xianfeng. It was written by Zeng Wangyanji and his disciple Zeng Jieshu, and the abbot Xinheng set up the stele.
In the 10th year of the Republic of China, the temple was also renovated. Later, when Japanese invaders invaded, the city fell and the temple was damaged. During the Cultural Revolution, it suffered another catastrophe. The courtyard was damaged, the scriptures were lost, the Buddha statues were destroyed, the monks were dispersed, and the temple was in a state of depression. Only the dilapidated main hall, two couplets and the rebuilt first peak remained.
Due to the loss of data, it is difficult to trace the first to seventh generation abbots. What can be verified now are the eighth generation Yi Quan, the ninth generation Kuncheng, the tenth generation Haoming, the eleventh generation Lai En, the twelfth generation Liao Hua, and the thirteenth generation current abbot Chun Zhen.
The Zhongshan Municipal People's Government respects the religious beliefs of the people and protects historical sites. It lists Xishan Temple as a key cultural relic protection unit at the municipal level. In the spring of 1979, it established the Xishan Temple Preparatory Committee and allocated special funds for reconstruction. Donors in this city, overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan responded to the news and donated funds enthusiastically. In the past, the monks from the temple returned to the Zen Forest and took charge of the construction. Construction started in Xiamen in 1987, and the Mahavira Hall, Ksitigarbha Hall, Duobao Pagoda Hall, Jialan Hall, Weituo Hall, Sixth Patriarch Hall, Zhunti Hall, and Guanyin Hall were built successively. Reshape the statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Medicine Master Buddha, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, Jialan Bodhisattva and Wei Tuo Bodhisattva. Subsequently, the Eighteen Arhats, Zhunti, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng and Guanyin Bodhisattva were sculpted. President Zhao Puchu of the Buddhist Association of China happily wrote plaques with the inscriptions "Main Xiong Hall" and "Wande Solemnity". In mid-summer 1988, the first phase of the restoration project was completed. In 1993, Guanjian Hall was rebuilt. In the prosperous and prosperous years, the Buddha's light in Xishan Temple shone everywhere, and the bells often rang, bringing peace to the people and protecting the country.
In July 1992, the Xishan Temple Temple Affairs Committee was established, with Master Chunzhen as the director of the Temple Affairs Committee, responsible for temple affairs.
Construction started in the winter of 1993, and a sutra collection building was built behind the main hall, with a construction area of ??more than 200 square meters. The construction funds were donated by Ms. Lam Yu Po-chu, an honorary citizen of Zhongshan City and Hong Kong. It was completed in February 1994.
In the autumn of 1994, the Liumian Ancient Road of Xishan Temple and the stone-level sidewalk of the first peak of Xishan were rebuilt. The railings on both sides were all made of granite and majestic bluestone, which was antique and majestic.
The current abbot of Xishan Temple, Master Chunzhen