Yongning Temple in Fengxian County

Yongning Temple in Fengxian County

Yongning Temple in Fengxian County is a cultural tourism attraction.

Yongning Temple in Fengxian County originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty, flourished under imperial patronage, and is considered the first folk Buddhist temple. In the early years of the Yongping era during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han, after Indian Buddhism was introduced to China, temples were initially established only in the capital and royal estates for worship. As Fengxian County was the ancestral home of the Han imperial family, it received special imperial favor. Emperor Ming of Han decreed the construction of Yongning Temple on the original site of the ancestral home. The temple complex was neat, magnificent, solemn and dignified, built in the style of a palace, with halls, corridors and side rooms complementing each other, forming a “Seven-Hall Monastery” layout, making it a renowned temple in the region. In the second year of the Tianbao era of the Northern Qi Dynasty (551 AD), it was renovated and renamed Baita Temple. It was destroyed in the sixth year of the Tianhe era of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (571 AD). In the first year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty (581 AD), it was rebuilt, and in the thirteenth year of Kaihuang (593 AD), it was renamed Daocheng Temple, but was abolished again in the first year of the Daye era (605 AD). In the early years of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong sent Yu Chijingde to personally supervise its reconstruction, and the temple was relocated to Sanheli in the northwest corner of the county. In the second year of the Shangyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (675 AD), it was renovated and renamed Chongguang Temple. In the fourth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Song Dynasty (1011 AD), it regained the name Yongning Temple; it was renovated during the Jianyan era and relocated to the former residence of Lu Wan in the northeast corner of the county town, adjacent to the original Eastern Han site of Yongning Temple. In the nineteenth year of the Dading era of the Jin Dynasty (1179 AD), the monk Pujing renovated it. In the fourteenth year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty (1277 AD), the monk Wenshu renovated it; in the seventh year of the Dade era (1303 AD), the monk Fashu carried out repeated repairs. During the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1398 AD), the monk Zhongda renovated it and renamed it Xingjiao Temple; in June of the fifth year of the Jiajing era (1526 AD), the Yellow River burst its banks, flooding the entire county and leveling the county town, and the temple was also destroyed by the flood. In the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing era (1566 AD), the county magistrate Ren Weixian renovated the temple, still naming it Xingjiao Temple, and relocated it to the northwest corner of the county. In the tenth year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1653 AD), the local resident Qu Jing demolished the old main hall and rebuilt it. It was abolished in the early 20th century. The current temple has been rebuilt in the northwest corner of the moat.