Huashan Yuquan Temple

Huashan Yuquan Temple

Huashan Yuquan Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Nanjing City.

Nanjing Huashan Yuquan Temple

Nanjing Huashan Yuquan Temple is the only ancient Buddhist temple preserved to date in Gaochun County. Located halfway up Huashan Mountain, about 15 kilometers southeast of Gaochun County in Nanjing City, the temple is said to have been first built during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. It got its name from the white peonies (some say stone peonies) that grew in the mountains and the “twisting ridges, clear springs, and never-drying streams even in prolonged droughts.” It is now a cultural relic protection unit at the county level of Gaochun.

Legend has it that as early as the Five Dynasties period, the lay Buddhist Luo Yin came to Huashan one day. When he reached this spot, he saw two peaks embracing each other on both sides — the left representing the Azure Dragon and the right the White Tiger. To the southeast, five continuous mountain peaks stood in the distance, echoing this spot and resembling “five tigers lying on the ground.” Luo Yin composed a poem in praise: “The land resembles a stone lion exuding warmth; the peaks form five tigers lying in cold mist. With little wind and the moon as a lamp, the place gathers vital energy and always thrives with monks.”

Initially, Yuquan Temple was a small monastery with just one or two main halls, a few meditation rooms, and very few monks. However, it gained widespread fame for its tranquil location, abundant flowers, and plentiful springs. According to the temple’s records, 83 steps southwest of the original temple, there was an area enchanting visitors due to the blooming white peonies. Gardens were built to the north and south of the blooming site, and at the mountaintop behind the main hall, a flower-viewing terrace and pavilion were erected. Whenever spring arrived and flowers blossomed, worshippers and tourists flocked to the temple to admire the flowers, filling the air with incense and the sound of temple bells.

Yuquan Temple has gone through many trials and tribulations, being destroyed and rebuilt repeatedly. During the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty, the abbot Danxing raised funds to add two more halls. In the Kangxi and Qianlong eras of the Qing Dynasty, the monks successively cultivated the land, adding over 400 acres of fields and constructing more than 20 monk rooms. During the Xianfeng era, both the temple and the peonies were destroyed in a war. The existing temple buildings were renovated with funds raised by local gentry during the Republican era.

The mountain gate is inscribed with the horizontal plaque “Ancient Yuquan Temple,” and the couplet on both sides reads: “Jade chimes and golden bells ring in the Buddha’s land; the sound of springs and the charm of breezes guard the Zen gate.” The main hall features a double-eaved gable-and-hip roof with fire walls, and its beams, brackets, and carvings are exquisitely crafted and painted. On the west wing room’s wall inside the temple is the “Guanyin Gilding Stele Inscription” from the 54th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1715). From 1995 to 2001, Yuquan Temple underwent another round of renovations, including the main hall and the east and west wing rooms. The main hall houses three Buddha statues, along with a pair of blue lions and white elephants on each side, restoring the scene described as “the land resembles a stone lion exuding warmth; the peaks form five tigers lying in cold mist.”