Suzhou Kaiyuan Temple Beamless Hall

Suzhou Kaiyuan Temple Beamless Hall

The Beamless Hall of Suzhou Kaiyuan Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Located at No. 11 Dongda Street inside Panmen, it was designated as a Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1956 and is now under the protection and management of the Wuxian County Cultural Relics Management Committee.

Kaiyuan Temple was originally named Tongxuan Temple, built by Sun Quan during the Chiwu era of the Eastern Wu period in the Three Kingdoms for his wet nurse, Lady Chen. In the ninth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty (589), Sun Kuan, the magistrate of Wuxian, abolished the temple. In the second year of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty (628), Monk Hui restored it. In the 26th year of the Kaiyuan era (738), an imperial edict ordered the temple to be renamed. In the second year of the Dazhong era (891), Sun Ru occupied Suzhou, and Kaiyuan Temple was burned to the ground. In the third year of the Tongguang era of the Later Tang Dynasty in the Five Dynasties period (925), the Qian family of Wuyue relocated Kaiyuan Temple to its current site inside Panmen. From the Song to the Ming dynasties, it experienced repeated cycles of abandonment and revival. In the tenth year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1860), it was destroyed again by war, and in the twelfth year of the Tongzhi era (1873), it underwent minor repairs but did not regain its former appearance. The Beamless Hall is the only ancient structure of Kaiyuan Temple that remains today.

The Beamless Hall, also known as the Scripture Depository, was built in the 46th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1618). It was originally used to enshrine the Amitayus Buddha and was also called the Infinite Hall. Because it features a structure of interlocking bricks without wooden beams, columns, purlins, or rafters, it is commonly known as the Beamless Hall.

The hall faces south and is a two-story pavilion-style building. It is seven bays wide, measuring 20.9 meters in width and 11.2 meters in depth, with a total height of approximately 19 meters. The hip-and-gable roof and the waist eaves are covered with green and yellow glazed tubular tiles, creating an interesting contrast with the plain brick exterior walls. The north and south facades are identical, each featuring five arched doorways on both the upper and lower levels, with semicircular engaged columns beside the doors—six on each level. Each of the east and west gable walls has one arched window on the central floor. Above the north and south arched doorways of the central bay on the main floor, there are white marble horizontal plaques inscribed with “Imperially Commissioned Scripture Depository” and “Profound and Secret Buddhist Canon,” respectively. The central bay and the adjacent bays on the ground floor also have white marble plaques above their north and south arched doorways, engraved with the Sanskrit transliterations in seal script of the three divisions of the Buddhist canon—"Sutra," "Vinaya," and "Abhidharma"—phonetically rendered as “修多罗” (Sutra), “毗奈耶” (Vinaya), and “阿比昙” (Abhidharma).

The interior of the depository is divided into three large sections on each level. Originally, the upper level housed scriptures, while the lower level enshrined the Buddha. The staircase is built within the mezzanine of the east gable wall. The four walls of the upper level are inlaid with stone carvings of the *Brahmajāla Sūtra* and *Avataṃsaka Sūtra* handwritten by Zhang Zao of the Ming Dynasty. The central bay on the main floor does not use arched construction but instead employs corbeling that converges toward the center, with the four corners supported by bracket sets holding up an octagonal caisson ceiling—a masterpiece of Ming Dynasty brick architecture.

Brick arch structures were popular in halls and pavilions during the Ming Dynasty. Among surviving examples of similar buildings, the scale of the Kaiyuan Temple Beamless Hall is not particularly large, but it stands out for its refined structural and decorative techniques. Elements such as the brick-carved Sumeru pedestals of the engaged columns on the ground floor, the hanging lotus columns, brackets, spandrels, lintels, and bracket sets on both the upper and lower eaves, the balcony railings and eight-sided caisson ceilings on the upper level, and the roof’s glazed ridge ornaments featuring dragons and floral designs—all showcase exquisite craftsmanship. The entire hall exudes a sense of grandeur and majesty combined with delicate elegance, reflecting the high level of architectural skill in Suzhou during the Ming Dynasty. Hence, it has earned the reputation of “a structure of outstanding magnificence unmatched in the Jiangnan region.”

Due to “the roof enduring prolonged exposure to moisture, heat, cold, and sunlight, leading to the growth of stubborn vegetation that entangled and obscured the structure, gradually causing damage,” a major restoration was carried out in the ninth year of the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty (1829). The stone inscription *Record of the Restoration of the Scripture Depository at Kaiyuan Temple in Wujun*, written by Pan Zengyi and calligraphed by Liang Zhangju, from that year still remains. After being designated as a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit, initial repairs in 1957 included restoring the balcony railings and hanging lotus columns on both levels, as well as repairing the roof. In 1961, the tiles were replaced and trees removed to restore the roofing. From 1975 onward, similar minor repairs have been conducted approximately every three to four years.

Kaiyuan Temple originally also had a Puzhao Pagoda, built in the 20th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1592). It was a five-tiered, square-shaped pagoda resembling a pyramid, constructed of brick with a stone gourd finial, and featured niches on all four sides to enshrine Buddha statues. It was designated as a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1963, destroyed in 1966, and completely demolished in 1967.

Further Reading:

· First and Second Batches of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units