Kunshan Guanyin Jingyuan

Kunshan Guanyin Jingyuan

Guanyin Jingyuan, originally named Yisu An, is located outside the east gate of Yushan Town. In the 43rd year of the Wanli reign during the Ming Dynasty, Cao Dayong and others from Kunshan purchased land to build this temple. According to the "Inner Canon," monks were not allowed to stay under a mulberry tree for more than three nights, symbolizing that monks had no fixed place to reside. The name "Yisu An" was thus chosen based on this principle. At that time, Monk Xingding served as the abbot of the temple. After the completion of Yisu An, Cao Dayong and others also donated funds to purchase over a hundred acres of reclaimed fields for the temple. The grain harvested from these lands was used to provide food for the monks and for the practice of releasing captive animals. The local county government issued an official notice stating that an appropriate portion of the grain from these hundred-plus acres was to be submitted to the national treasury, while the rest remained at the temple. All corvée labor and duties for the monks were exempted. As a result, the number of monks at the temple grew continuously, and the incense offerings flourished.

In the early years of the Tianqi reign, the emperor decreed that the history of Yisu An be accurately compiled. Wang Zhongbi, who was then the magistrate, specially compiled a record of the temple’s establishment. A clean and honest minor official named Ge Xizhe even engraved the "Yisu Stele Inscription."

Guanyin Jingyuan is located south of the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway and north of Hengshan Road in Yushan Town, bordered by Chongshan Road and Baolu South Road to the west and Qunyi Private Industrial Zone to the east. The temple plaque was inscribed by calligrapher Mr. Cheng Zhenlu. The west, north, and east sides of the temple are surrounded by water, forming a liberation pond. The temple was approved for reconstruction by the Kunshan Municipal Religious Affairs Bureau in April 2004 and completed that same year. In January 2005, it came under the administration of the Kunshan Buddhist Association. The temple primarily enshrines Guanyin Bodhisattva, hence the name Guanyin Jingyuan.

Transportation Guide

Address: Hengshan Road, Kunshan City, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province

Getting There: Take bus No. 6 within Kunshan City and get off at Zhonghuadongyuan Station, then walk north to reach the site.