Baoying Wanshou Temple

Baoying Wanshou Temple

Baoying Wanshou Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Wanshou Temple was built in the 13th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1748), located to the north of Fushui Town, with Monk Xilin as its founding abbot. In the 20th year of Qianlong’s reign, Monk Fangxu constructed the Great Compassion Pavilion within the temple, thus establishing it as an ordination site. Later, Monk Yuanfu served as abbot for 40 years, bringing the temple back to prosperity. Not only were previous debts repaid, but Wanshou Temple also expanded its original scale, renovated its halls, and acquired several plots of land. By the Daoguang era, under the leadership of Monk Chengxi, the temple further expanded its grounds, constructing upper and lower halls as well as dozens of corridor rooms, and once again held ordination ceremonies. Over the following decades, Wanshou Temple continued to grow in size, flourish in incense offerings, and gain widespread renown, becoming a highly influential Buddhist temple within Baoying County. It was destroyed in the fires of war in 1948. In the first half of the 20th century, Wanshou Temple produced a highly accomplished monk named Faming, who possessed profound Buddhist knowledge. He spent many years traveling and preaching across different regions and made multiple trips to Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and Japan to propagate Buddhism. During the Anti-Japanese War, he returned to his hometown and served as abbot of Wanshou Temple. During his tenure, he built extensive connections and the temple's reputation grew steadily. Faming was also skilled in calligraphy and gained fame for his artistry. In the 1980s, after the implementation of the Party’s policy on freedom of religious belief, and in response to the wishes of many devotees, the town government decided in 1989 to repurpose the former memorial hall, which had been used to store urns, into Wanshou Temple. At that time, it was considered that the area south of the temple was a martyrs’ cemetery, and its location to the north of the town center roughly corresponded to the original site of Wanshou Temple. After 2002, with the help of lay supporters, the temple’s monastics successively built a five-room chanting hall, a five-room Kṣitigarbha Hall, and a sixteen-room two-story comprehensive building. Given the temple’s influence and the actual circumstances of its leadership in terms of studies and work, in 2010, with approval from the Yangzhou Buddhist Association, the county Buddhist association conducted a ceremony to elevate Master Fangyin to the position of abbot. Master Fangyin became one of the few abbots in the county. Due to historical reasons, the current Wanshou Temple does not conform to the traditional layout of a Buddhist monastery and lacks many of the functions typical of such temples. The monastics and devoted lay followers have long aspired to uphold and promote the prestige of the ancient Wanshou Temple. They look forward to receiving support from higher authorities to expand the existing temple, revive this historic site, and allow Buddhism to better contribute to advancing the region’s economic development and fostering a civilized and beautiful Fushui Town.