Changshou Temple Pavilion

Changshou Temple Pavilion

Changshou Temple Pavilion is a cultural relic protection unit of Yangzhou City.

Changshou Temple Pavilion

Located on the banks of the ancient canal at the northeast corner of Yuejin Bridge. Originally named Changshou Chanlin, the temple was established and converted into a Buddhist monastery in the 16th year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty (1811) through the fundraising efforts of Monk Dajing. After being destroyed in a fire during the military conflict in the 3rd year of the Xianfeng reign (1853), the entire temple was razed, leaving only rooms for monks to reside in. In the 34th year of the Guangxu reign (1908), Monk Zhuxian raised funds through painting, constructing a five-bay hall and tower, but later left for another place. His disciples, Xinglian and Puxia, continued his work, carrying out annual construction that gradually restored the temple’s former scale. Nowadays, Changshou Temple itself no longer exists, but the three-story, pagoda-style Changshou Temple Pavilion built in the late Qing Dynasty still stands, evoking nostalgia. At that time, Xiao Weisheng, the widow of Yangzhou’s wealthiest salt merchant, devoted herself to Buddhism and came to know Ke Duan. Deeply committed to her faith and eager to accumulate merit, Xiao Weisheng funded the construction of the three-story Maitreya Pavilion at Changshou Temple, often seeking Ke Duan’s guidance on the key teachings of Buddhist scriptures. The Maitreya Pavilion she built at that time is today’s Changshou Temple Pavilion. The pavilion is octagonal with three levels, topped with a bronze gourd, and is a traditional Buddhist structure. It was designated as a Yangzhou Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Unit by the Yangzhou Municipal People’s Government in June 1982. Later, it was destroyed in a major fire. In 2002, the municipal government invested hundreds of thousands of yuan to renovate and rebuild it. On April 26, 2015, another fire broke out, but fortunately, the overall structure remained relatively intact without suffering severe damage. Each side of the Changshou Temple Pavilion features a stone lintel above its arched doorway, inscribed with Buddhist terms such as “Unity of the One and the Many,” “All Dharmas Are One,” “No Obstruction Between Narrow and Wide,” “Integration of Subtlety and Splendor,” “Manifestation of Events Reveals Dharma,” and “Indra’s Net.”

Further Reading:

· The First to Third Batches of Yangzhou Municipal Cultural Relic Protection Units