Shaolong Temple

Shaolong Temple

Shaolong Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Shaolong Temple

Shaolong Temple is located in ??jiangpu, and was built during the reign of Emperor Shizong (1131–1162). It was rebuilt in the 44th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1616). In the 23rd year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1684), Emperor Kangxi made his first southern tour and stayed at Jinshan in Zhenjiang. He decreed that Shaolong Temple be designated as a subordinate temple of Jinshan Temple, and later granted it as a site for burying ancestral stupa halls. Historically, Shaolong Temple was also known as Lianjue Temple and Lingjue Temple.

Before the Cultural Revolution, Shaolong Temple had nearly 300 relic stupas. The ashes of fourteen eminent monks from Jinshan Temple during the Qing Dynasty were laid to rest here, including Master Tiezhou Hai and Master Guanxin, who are mentioned in *The History of Chinese Buddhism*. Master Tiezhou Hai was the teacher of Emperor Kangxi’s mother. The seal script inscription on the “Stele of Master Tiezhou Hai’s Stupa” was inscribed by Cao Yin, the grandfather of Cao Xueqin. The relic stupas for monks are divided into communal stupas and individual ones. As the name suggests, communal stupas are collective burial sites for the cremated remains of ordinary monks without official rank. Individual stupas are the final resting places of accomplished monks after their passing. Originally, the majority of the nearly three hundred stupas enshrined the remains of common monks.

Shaolong Temple houses several rare treasures. For example, a bronze bell from the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty, which could not be rung when moved from Mount Wutai to Jinshan Temple, produces a deep, resonant sound that lingers when placed in Shaolong Temple. Additionally, the temple enshrines a statue of Guanyin seated in a reclining posture, with her upper body partially bare and her skin depicted as full and supple, exuding strong artistic appeal. This Guanyin statue was brought from a Tibetan monastery in the snowy regions and was originally imported from India, the birthplace of Buddhism.

China is a country that reveres the dragon. Despite being a temple, Shaolong Temple is no exception.

Legend has it that Shaolong Temple itself was built on a dragon-shaped piece of land, and the overall layout of the temple resembles a giant dragon lying dormant in the deep mountains and valleys: the 63 stone steps in front of the temple gate represent the dragon’s whiskers; the east wall of the temple gate forms an “eight” shape, representing the dragon’s mouth; the dragon’s mouth faces the mound-like Hengshan Mountain several miles away, symbolizing the dragon pearl; a blood-red zelkova tree and a Chinese honey locust tree growing on either side of the temple entrance represent the dragon’s horns; in the center of the hall beneath the scripture depository inside the temple gate lies a roughly one-square-meter raised area, representing the dragon’s tongue; there is a well on each the eastern and western sides of the temple, representing the dragon’s eyes; and in the northwest corner of the temple stands a hanging boulder, representing the dragon’s nose. The dragon’s body lies across ??jiao, ??thus connected to the Yangtze River. It is said that farmers once plowed the land here. It is said that when Emperor Kangxi first visited during his southern tour and saw this, he was greatly alarmed, fearing that this “dragon vein” might give rise to a true dragon who could overthrow the Qing Dynasty. His advisors suggested that nuns should not reside in the temple, reasoning that the excessive yin energy of women would be insufficient to suppress the dragon’s power. Kangxi nodded in agreement and then decreed that Shaolong Temple be given to Jinshan Temple as a subordinate temple and designated as the burial site for the stupa of Master Tiezhou Hai, his mother’s teacher. As a result, the courtyards of Shaolong Temple are far less spacious than those of other temples, maintaining a quaint and delicate layout that preserves the style of monastic life from before the Qing Dynasty.