Zhuntaisi Temple

Zhuntaisi Temple

Zhuntaisi Temple is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Jiangsu Province.

Zhuntaisi Temple is located at No. 10 Yanfu East Road, Guangling District, Yangzhou City. It was originally constructed during the Ming Dynasty as the Shulidao Office, an administrative building for managing salt affairs. In the late Ming period, it was converted into Zhuntaisi Temple, which enshrines Zhunti Guanyin, regarded as the mother of all Buddhas in Buddhism, symbolizing a pure heart as bright as the moon. The temple was renovated in the 12th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1673), and features two stone steles commemorating land donations and one stele banning military use and land rent. During the ten-day massacre when Qing troops captured Yangzhou, parts of Zhuntaisi Temple were burned down. In the Yongzheng era, thanks to the strong support and fundraising efforts of Imperial Censor Chen Bowen and his teacher Sun Zhongyi, the mountain gate and main hall were rebuilt, and Zen Master Zhong was invited to reside in the temple, establishing Zhuntaisi as a prominent temple in Yangzhou. Monks from Shita Temple also donated 385 mu of temple fields to Zhuntaian. In the 11th year of the Jiaqing reign (1806), the renowned scholar Ruan Yuan discovered the Song Dynasty Three Dukes Stone in the vegetable garden of Erlang Temple and moved it to the eastern corridor of the temple, later embedding it into the western wall. In the 8th year of the Daoguang reign (1828), another round of renovations was carried out on the temple. In the 3rd year of the Xianfeng reign (1853), all structures except the main hall were destroyed in a fire during wartime, but they were later rebuilt during the Tongzhi and Guangxu eras. The existing structures include the mountain gate hall, the Heavenly King Hall, the main hall, and the scripture depository, with a total floor area of 1,419 square meters.

The main gate of Zhuntaisi Temple faces south. The first section is the mountain gate hall, which has three southern-facing gates. On both sides are semicircular brick-framed gates, while the middle one is a finely carved stone gate inscribed with the plaque “Great Zhuntaisi Buddhist Temple.” The second hall is the Heavenly King Hall, spanning five bays in width and seven rafters in depth, with the plaque “Gate of Non-Duality” embedded above the door. The third section is the Mahavira Hall, a relic from the Ming Dynasty that was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. It spans three bays in width and seven rafters in depth, featuring a flush-gable double-eave roof. At the center of the roof ridge is an image flanked by the characters “Feng Tiao Yu Shun” (favorable weather) on the front and “Guo Tai Min An” (peace under heaven) on the back. Originally, there were two ginkgo trees in front of the main hall, but only the western ancient ginkgo remains today, still thriving after 500 years. The fourth section is the two-story scripture depository, spanning five bays in width and seven rafters in depth, with narrower side sections. A plaque reading “Mountain Hides, Sea Embraces” hangs from the eaves of the scripture depository. Two couplets are displayed on the pillars: the central one is a composed verse — “The pavilion near water opens to a sacred shrine; the railing by the flat hill leans against the blue sky.” The side couplets are famous lines: “For whom do I stay, listening to the same moon flute over Yangzhou, as in Du Mu’s time? O master, ask not, but let the spring breeze pen decorate Yangzhou.” The main ridge of the scripture depository features a tile-strip tube-flower design, with dragon heads (chīwěn) and finely crafted brick bases at both ends. The middle section includes a brick relief of “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl,” and the front and back are adorned with carved brick plaques inscribed with “Buddhist Light Shines Brighter” and “Lotus Sea of Sutras.” The exterior walls are finished in clear water gray plaster, while the rest uses mixed mortar, preserving the traditional Yangzhou style of exposed raw bricks while effectively reinforcing the wall strength. Visitors can climb the stairs along the east wall inside the scripture depository to find that beams and columns are connected via mortise-and-tenon joints without iron nails. The decorative patterns are relatively simple, reflecting architectural features of the Ming Dynasty.

On December 19, 2011, the People's Government of Jiangsu Province designated it as a seventh batch provincial-level cultural heritage site.

Further Reading:

· Yangzhou Municipal Cultural Heritage Sites (First to Third Batches)

· Seventh Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites