Yunmen Temple (Hunan)

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Yunmen Temple
云门寺
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Yunmen Temple (Hunan) (China)
Basic information
Location Xiangxiang, Hunan
Geographic coordinates 27°44′31″N112°32′20″E / 27.741975°N 112.538884°E / 27.741975; 112.538884 Coordinates: 27°44′31″N112°32′20″E / 27.741975°N 112.538884°E / 27.741975; 112.538884
Affiliation Buddhism
Deity Chan Buddhism
Country China
Leadership Shi Fatong (释法通)
Website www.xxyms.com
Architectural description
Architectural style Chinese architecture
Date established 1050
Completed Daoguang period (1821–1850) [1]

Yunmen Temple (simplified Chinese :云门寺; traditional Chinese :雲門寺; pinyin :Yúnmén Sì) is a Buddhist temple located in Xiangxiang, Hunan, China. [2] [3]

Simplified Chinese characters standardized Chinese characters developed in mainland China

Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, they are one of the two standard character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the People's Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s to encourage literacy. They are officially used in the People's Republic of China and Singapore.

Traditional Chinese characters

Traditional Chinese characters are Chinese characters in any character set that does not contain newly created characters or character substitutions performed after 1946. They are most commonly the characters in the standardized character sets of Taiwan, of Hong Kong and Macau, and in the Kangxi Dictionary. The modern shapes of traditional Chinese characters first appeared with the emergence of the clerical script during the Han Dynasty, and have been more or less stable since the 5th century.

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.

Contents

History

The original temple dates back to the 1050, in the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song dynasty. At that time it initially called "Stone Stele Temple" (石碑寺). It was renamed Yunmen Temple during the Yongle era (1403–1424) of the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The present version still maintain the style of the Qing dynasty. [1] [4]

Emperor Renzong of Song emperor of the Song Dynasty

Emperor Renzong of Song, personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty in China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, and was the longest reigning Song dynasty emperor. He was the sixth son of his predecessor, Emperor Zhenzong, and was succeeded by his cousin's son, Zhao Shu who took the throne as Emperor Yingzong because his own sons died prematurely. His original personal name was Zhao Shouyi but it was changed by imperial decree in 1018 to "Zhao Zhen", which means 'auspicious' in Chinese.

Song dynasty Chinese historical period

The Song dynasty was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The Song often came into conflict with the contemporary Liao and Western Xia dynasties in the north. It was eventually conquered by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Song government was the first in world history to issue banknotes or true paper money nationally and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy. This dynasty also saw the first known use of gunpowder, as well as the first discernment of true north using a compass.

Yongle Emperor emperor of the Ming Dynasty

The Yongle Emperor — personal name Zhu Di — was the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.

In 1959, the temple has been authorized as the provincial key cultural unit by the Hunan Provincial Government.

In 2005, it was classified as a provincial key Buddhist temple by the Hunan Provincial Government.

The Politics of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China.

Architecture

Now the existing main buildings include Frontal Hall, Middle Hall, Mahavira Hall and Guanyin Hall.

Mahavira Hall main hall of a buddhist temple in China, Korea or Vietnam

A Mahavira Hall, usually simply known as a Main Hall, is the main hall or building in a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple, enshrining representations of Gautama Buddha and various other buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is encountered throughout East Asia, including in some Japanese Buddhist Main Halls.

Hall of Guanyin

The Hall of Guanyin or Guanyin Hall is the most important annex halls in Chinese Buddhist temples and mainly for enshrining Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara). Guanyin, also called "Guanshiyin" (觀世音), "Guanshizizai" (觀世自在), "Guanzizai" (觀自在), etc., is the attendant of Amitabha and one of the "Western Three Saints" (西方三聖). Guanyin is renowned for his mercy and sympathy. According to Chapter of the Universal Gate of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva (《觀世音菩薩普門品》), if people are in danger, they just need to call his name and he will hear them and go to save them. Since he has many manifestations, different places enshrine different statues of Saint Guanyin (圣觀音), Guanzizai (觀自在), and Thousand-armed and eyed Guanyin (千手千眼觀音菩薩).

Hall of Guanyin

The Hall of Guanyin is 17.5-metre (57 ft) wide, 35.4-metre (116 ft) deep and 15-metre (49 ft) high with double eaves gable and hip roof (重檐歇山顶). A 11.4-metre (37 ft) wood carving statue of Thousand Armed and Eyed Guanyin is preserved in the center of the hall, which is the largest wood carving statue of Guanyin in Jiangnan. [1] [4]

Guanyin East Asian deity associated with compassion

Guanyin or Guan Yin is the most commonly used Chinese translation of the bodhisattva known as Avalokiteśvara. In English usage, Guanyin refers to the Buddhist bodhisattva associated with compassion and venerated chiefly by followers of Mahayana Buddhist schools as practiced in the sinosphere. Guanyin also refers to the bodhisattva as adopted by other Eastern religions such as Daoism, where she is revered as an immortal, as well as Chinese folk religions, where the mythical accounts about Guanyin's origins do not associate with the Avalokiteśvara described in Buddhist sutras.. In English, she is often known as the "Goddess of Mercy" or the Mercy Goddess. The Chinese name Guanyin, is short for Guanshiyin, which means "[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World".

Jiangnan

Jiangnan or Jiang Nan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu Province, the southeastern part of Anhui Province, the northern part of Jiangxi Province and the northern part of Zhejiang Province. The most important cities in the area are Shanghai, Anqing, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Wenzhou and Zhenjiang.

The statues of Eighteen Arhats are placed in the corridor of the temple. They were carved in 1893 with stone. Each of them is 1.5-metre (4 ft 11 in) high. [1] [4]

The Eighteen Arhats are depicted in Mahayana Buddhism as the original followers of Gautama Buddha who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained the four stages of enlightenment. They have reached the state of Nirvana and are free of worldly cravings. They are charged to protect the Buddhist faith and to wait on earth for the coming of Maitreya, an enlightened Buddha prophesied to arrive on earth many millennia after Gautama Buddha's death (parinirvana). In China, the eighteen arhats are also a popular subject in Buddhist art, such as the famous Chinese group of glazed pottery luohans from Yixian from about 1000 CE.

Xiangxiang Museum

The Xiangxiang Museum is located in the temple. It was constructed in 1959 by Xiangxiang Municipal Government. A total of 7,000 cultural relics houses in the museum.

Related Research Articles

Xiangxiang County-level city in Hunan, Peoples Republic of China

Xiangxiang is a county-level city under the administration of Xiangtan, Hunan province, China. Located on Central Hunan and the west of Xiangtan, Xiangxiang is bordered by Ningxiang County and Shaoshan City to the north, Xiangtan County to the east, Shuangfeng County to the south, Louxing District of Loudi City to the west, it has an area of 1,912.7 km2 (738.5 sq mi) with a population of rough 850,000. It has 4 subdistricts, 15 towns and 3 townships under its jurisdiction, the government seat is Wangchunmen (望春门街道).

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Yunmen Temple, may refer to:

Yunmen Temple (Guangdong)

Yunmen Temple is a Buddhist temple located in Rucheng Town of Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, Guangdong, China. Yunmen Temple is the cradle of Yunmen school, which is one of the five schools of Chan Buddhism. It was first built in the Tang dynasty (618–907), and went through many changes and repairs through the following dynasties. Most of the present structures in the temple were repaired or built between 1943 and 1951.

Luohan Temple (Chongqing)

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Wuyou Temple

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Longchang Temple

Longchang Temple is a Buddhist temple located on Mount Baohua, in Baohua Town of Jurong, Jiangsu, China. It is the cradle of Chinese Buddhism Risshū. The temple is renowned not only for its Copper Hall and Beamless Halls, but also for the 400-years-old ginkgo trees.

Longshan Temple (Jinjiang) Buddhist temple

Longshan Temple is a Buddhist temple located on the foot of Mount Long in Anhai Town of Jinjiang, Fujian, China. The eldest thing in the temple is the statue of Thousand-armed and eyed Guanyin, which was supposed carved by ancient Indian monk Yilisha (一粒沙). It was transformed and expanded many times throughout Chinese history till now. There are dozens of which are built after the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Longshan Temple is the ancestral temple of 400 Buddhist temples with the same name in Taiwan.

Lingguang Temple (Beijing)

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Yingjiang Temple

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Jiangxin Temple buddhist Temple on Jiangxin Island, Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China

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Chenxiang Pavilion

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Putong Temple

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Ciyun Temple (Chongqing)

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Puguang Temple (Zhangjiajie)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Xiangxiang Yunmen Temple". Official website (in Chinese). 1 November 2011.
  2. ↑ 湘乡云门寺停止对外开放 倡导全市人民文明祭祀. Tencent (in Chinese). 4 April 2018.
  3. ↑ Wei Xiangyan (24 February 2015). 年味：湘乡云门寺里的来年祈福. Tencent (in Chinese).
  4. 1 2 3 Zhu Chanqi (14 November 2016). Liu Feiyue, ed. 湘乡云门寺解说词. rednet.cn (in Chinese).


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