Baoguo Temple

Baoguo Temple

It lies to the east of Zanghai Temple. The site was originally home to the Zhenwu Temple built by local resident Chu Yingshao. During the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era, Yan Neng, a native of the area who served as Minister of Personnel and Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, did not dare keep the Zhenwu statue and the gold-lacquered and color-painted Doumu figure bestowed by Emperor Shizong in his private residence. Therefore, he specially established a monastery on the foundation of the Zhenwu Temple to enshrine them, which was bestowed by imperial decree with the name “Baoguo Temple.” Locals commonly refer to Baoguo Temple as Ancestral Master Temple, and the surrounding rocky area is called Ancestral Master Mountain.

This temple was once grand in scale. Zhang Yinglin, a local resident who witnessed its former glory during the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era, recorded in his “A Brief Account of Scenic Spots in Yushan” that the main hall of the temple was called “Daluo Tian,” with other halls such as “Dashì,” “Dingguang,” “Bixia,” and “Di Jun” arranged on either side. At that time, devout men and women from all over the regions north and south of the Yangtze River gathered here, and incense offerings never ceased. Li Xǔ, a contemporary of the Wanli period, described its prosperity in his “Jian’an Elder’s Random Jottings”: “Pilgrims came from all directions in the tens of thousands—was this not what one would call a whole nation gone mad with devotion?” However, the temple gradually declined in later years, despite restoration efforts during the Shunzhi era by Yan...

...his grandson Yan ? and during the Kangxi era...

...his grandson Yan Yuyu also attempted renovations but without success.

After the Xianfeng era, the temple fell into disrepair and was eventually abandoned. During the Guangxu era, it was incorporated into the adjacent Zanghai Temple. In the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934), a fire at Zanghai Temple spread to Baoguo Temple, leaving only the Beiji Palace. Later, that palace too was abandoned. After the liberation, only the mountain gate remained. In recent years, the Changshu Buddhist Association has rebuilt the temple.