Fahai Temple on Dongshan Island of Taihu Lake

Fahai Temple on Dongshan Island of Taihu Lake

Fahai Temple on Dongshan Island of Taihu Lake is a cultural relic protection unit of Suzhou City.

Fahai Temple is located in Fahai Valley at the western foothills of Molizhi Peak. Legend has it that it was built on the site of a residence donated by General Molizhi during the Sui Dynasty. By the time of the Later Liang Dynasty during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the temple was renamed Qiyuan. In the fifth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Song Dynasty (1012 AD), its original name, Fahai Temple, was restored. In the first year of the Hongxi era of the Ming Dynasty (1425 AD), a bronze bell and a bronze statue of Guanyin were placed inside the temple. In the sixth year of the Tian Shun era (1462 AD), a stone tablet inscribed with "Record of the Reconstruction of Fahai Temple" written by Wu Hui, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations from Dongshan, was erected inside the mountain gate. During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, the temple was rebuilt with both the Heavenly King Hall and the Amitabha Hall, earning it the title “Monastic Temple.” A ceremonial column was also erected in front of the temple, giving it an impressive scale. Folklore claims there were over a thousand halls, chambers, and monastic living quarters at that time. Further renovations were carried out during the Chongzhen era.

Fahai Temple enjoys a tranquil setting, boasts grand architecture, and thrives in incense offerings, attracting many literati who have composed poems about it. The Ming poet Wu Qiao expressed his nostalgic sorrow and reflections on the vicissitudes of life in his poem “Visiting Fahai Temple Again with Wang Shaoxi in Winter,” which reads: We once gathered in joy, memories of those years, With music and song reaching the sacred hall. Now I return, grown old, and find the temple desolate, Amid ancient woods and the hazy smoke, Before the cold mountains and the setting sun. I wonder how many more times The moon beyond this worldly realm will wax full.

Legend has it that behind Fahai Temple lies the ruins of a “Dragon Palace,” while in front of the temple are two springs—one blue and one white—referred to as the “Dragon’s Eyes.” Though no trace of the Dragon Palace remains today, the Blue Spring and White Spring still exist. The Blue Spring is clear and bright, while the White Spring is murky and rich in taste, and both are counted among the Five Famous Springs of Dongshan. Monks of the temple used to draw their drinking water from these sources. The famous poet Ge Yilong wrote in his poem “Ode to the Blue Spring”: Two springs lie within one temple, blue and white, each fair. In the chill, few come to draw; silent blooms shine in the air. Beneath the two springs lies a pool of emerald water, spanned by a small stone bridge made of bluish rock, named “Fragrant Flower Bridge,” built during the Ming Dynasty. A great fire during the Qianlong era razed most of the temple, leaving only about twenty monk rooms and minor halls. The main hall seen today was constructed after the Qianlong era, with a modest design that falls far short of its former glory. However, surrounded on three sides by overlapping peaks and shaded all around by greenery, with birds chirping all day, it is a pity that Fahai Temple is situated within a cemetery area, buried among endless tombstones.

Fahai Temple currently has two halls, front and rear, reconstructed during the Republican era. In front of the temple are stone lions guarding the mountain, stone benches, stone tablets, as well as the Blue and White Springs, along with a mountain path leading to Molizhi Peak. The current main hall of Fahai Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Wuxian County.