Qianming Temple

Qianming Temple
	黔明寺
Religion
Affiliation	Buddhism
Deity	Chan Buddhism
Location
Location	Nanming District, Guizhou, Guiyang
Country	China
	Shown within China
Geographic coordinates	26°34′50″N106°43′32″E / 26.580532°N 106.725445°E Coordinates: 26°34′50″N106°43′32″E / 26.580532°N 106.725445°E
Architecture
Architectural style	Chinese architecture
Date established	17th century
Completed	1771 (reconstruction)

Last updated May 03, 2019

Qianming Temple (Chinese :黔明寺; pinyin :Qiánmíng Sì) is a Buddhist temple located in Nanming District of Guizhou, Guiyang, China.^[1]

Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases not mutually intelligible, language varieties, forming the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the ethnic Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in China. About 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language.

Hanyu Pinyin, often abbreviated to pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese in mainland China and to some extent in Taiwan. It is often used to teach Standard Mandarin Chinese, which is normally written using Chinese characters. The system includes four diacritics denoting tones. Pinyin without tone marks is used to spell Chinese names and words in languages written with the Latin alphabet, and also in certain computer input methods to enter Chinese characters.

A Buddhist temple is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represent the pure land or pure environment of a Buddha. Traditional Buddhist temples are designed to inspire inner and outer peace. Its structure and architecture varies from region to region. Usually, the temple consists not only of its buildings, but also the surrounding environment. The Buddhist temples are designed to symbolize 5 elements: Fire, Air, Earth, Water, and Wisdom.

History

Qianming Temple was first established in the 17th century, in the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the modern temple was founded in 1771 in the reign of Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). During that time, monk Xiandu (显笃) settled at the temple and taught Buddhism there. After the fall of the Qing Empire in the 19th century, most part of the temple were ruined in wars and natural disasters. A local landlord Shu Zhuping (舒竹平) occupied the temple and changed it as his ancestral temple.^[2]

The Ming dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China – then known as the Great Ming Empire – for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last imperial dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, regimes loyal to the Ming throne – collectively called the Southern Ming – survived until 1683.

The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. Born Hongli, the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. On 8 February, he abdicated in favour of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor—a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power as the Emperor Emeritus until his death in 1799; he thus was one of the longest-reigning de facto rulers in the history of the world, and dying at the age of 87, one of the longest-lived. As a capable and cultured ruler inheriting a thriving empire, during his long reign the Qing Empire reached its most splendid and prosperous era, boasting a large population and economy. As a military leader, he led military campaigns expanding the dynastic territory to the largest extent by conquering and sometimes destroying Central Asian kingdoms. This turned around in his late years: the Qing empire began to decline with corruption and wastefulness in his court and a stagnating civil society.

The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was the last imperial dynasty of China. It was established in 1636, and ruled China proper from 1644 to 1912. It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted for almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for modern China. It was the fifth largest empire in world history. The dynasty was founded by the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria. In the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming Jianzhou Guard vassal, began organizing "Banners", military-social units that included Manchu, Han, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Manchu clans into a unified entity. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of the Liaodong Peninsula and declared a new dynasty, the Qing.

In 1932, three steles were unearthed in the temple which records the reconstruction history of Qianming Temple. Abbot Guangmiao (广妙) of Qixia Temple (栖霞寺) accused Shu Zhuping of embezzlement of temple buildings to the court. Shu Zhuping returned the occupied hall and it restored the original name. Guangmiao was proposed as the new abbot of Qianming Temple. During his tenure, he added the Hall of Maitreya and Buddhist Texts Library. After he died in 1946, Xukuan (续宽) replaced him as the new abbot.^[2]^[3]

A stele, or occasionally stela, when derived from Latin, is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in the ancient world as a monument. Grave stelae were often used for funerary or commemorative purposes. Stelae as slabs of stone would also be used as ancient Greek and Roman government notices or as boundary markers to mark borders or property lines.

Maitreya (Sanskrit), Metteyya (Pali), is regarded as a future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. In some Buddhist literature, such as the Amitabha Sutra and the Lotus Sutra, he is referred to as Ajita.

Buddhist Texts Library is a large building in Chinese Buddhist temples which is built specially for storing The Chinese Buddhist Canon (大藏經). It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese Buddhist Kyōzōs (経蔵). The Chinese Buddhist Canon is the total body of Buddhist literature deemed canonical and was called "all the sutras" (一切經) in the ancient time. With four thousand kinds, it includes Āgama (經), Vinaya (律) and Abhidharma (論) texts. Āgama aretheories made by Buddha for disciples to practice, Vinaya are the rules formulated by Buddha for believers and Abhidharama are the collection of theories explanations by Buddha disciples.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, masters Taixu and Hsu Yun once lived in the temple chanting and practicing scriptures. In 1945, Tibetan Tulku Shenglu (圣露活佛) taught Vajrayana at the temple.^[2]

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from July 7, 1937, to September 2, 1945. It began with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937 in which a dispute between Japanese and Chinese troops escalated into a battle. Some sources in the modern People's Republic of China date the beginning of the war to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931.

Taixu, was a Buddhist modernist, activist and thinker who advocated the reform and renewal of Chinese Buddhism.

The Tibetan people are an ethnic group native to Tibet. Their current population is estimated to be around 6 million. In addition to living in Tibet, significant numbers of Tibetans live in other parts of China, as well as India, Nepal and Bhutan.

After the establishment of the Communist State in 1949, the temple became dilapidated for neglect. Qianming Temple was badly damaged in the following Cultural Revolution. Almost all of the scriptures and historical documents, statues of Buddha, and other works of art were either removed, damaged or destroyed. Monks were forced to return to secular life.^[2]^[3]

Communist Party of China Political party of the Peoples Republic of China

The Communist Party of China (CPC), also referred to as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China. The Communist Party is the sole governing party within mainland China, permitting only eight other, subordinated parties to co-exist, those making up the United Front. It was founded in 1921, chiefly by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao. The party grew quickly, and by 1949 it had driven the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government from mainland China after the Chinese Civil War, leading to the establishment of the People's Republic of China. It also controls the world's largest armed forces, the People's Liberation Army.

The Cultural Revolution, formally the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in China from 1966 until 1976. Launched by Mao Zedong, then Chairman of the Communist Party of China, its stated goal was to preserve Chinese Communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society, and to re-impose Mao Zedong Thought as the dominant ideology within the Party. The Revolution marked Mao's return to a position of power after the failures of his Great Leap Forward. The movement paralyzed China politically and negatively affected both the economy and society of the country to a significant degree.

After the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, according to the national policy of free religious belief, regular scripture lectures, meditation and other features of temple life were resumed. The local government allocated one million yuan to refurbished the temple.^[2]

Qianming Temple was designated as a municipal cultural unit in 1981 and a provincial level key cultural heritage in 1983. Qianming Temple was officially reopened to the public in 1983, that same year, it was classified as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area by the State Council of China.^[2]^[3]

Architecture

The complex of Qianming Temple include the following halls: Shanmen, Mahavira Hall, Dabei Pavilion, Bell tower, Drum tower, Buddhist Texts Library, Dharma Hall, dining Room, etc.^[2]

Mahavira Hall

The Mahavira Hall is the main hall in the temple. In the middle is Sakyamuni, statues of Ananda and Kassapa Buddha stand on the left and right sides of Sakyamuni's statue. And statues of Manjushri and Samantabhadra stand at the back of Sakyamuni's statue. The statues of Eighteen Arhats stand on both sides of the hall.^[2]

Dabei Pavilion

The Dabei Pavilion (大悲阁; 'Great Compassion Pavilion') enshrining the statue of Thousand Handed and Eyed Guanyin, with Shancai standing on the left and Longnü on the right. Statues of Amitabha and Kṣitigarbha are placed on both sides. Under the eaves is a plaque with the Chinese characters "Dabei Pavilion" written by Zhao Puchu, the then Venerable Master of the Buddhist Association of China. In front of the hall, a wooden plaque with a couplet is hung on the two side pillars. It says "誓愿宏深处处现身说法；慈悲广大时时救苦寻声". It was inscribed by the honorary president of Guizhou Museum Chen Heng'an (陈恒安).^[2]^[3]

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References

↑ 黔地寻古：那些随着历史更迭的建筑. gog.cn (in Chinese). 2016-10-08.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 贵阳黔明寺 [Qianming Temple in Guiyang]. zytzb.gov.cn (in Chinese). 2017-10-17.
1 2 3 4 贵阳黔明寺 [Qianming Temple in Guiyang]. people.com (in Chinese). 2015-06-25.

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[1] 黔地寻古：那些随着历史更迭的建筑. gog.cn (in Chinese). 2016-10-08.

[pumpkin-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 贵阳黔明寺 [Qianming Temple in Guiyang]. zytzb.gov.cn (in Chinese). 2017-10-17.

[mango-3] 1 2 3 4 贵阳黔明寺 [Qianming Temple in Guiyang]. people.com (in Chinese). 2015-06-25.