Home › Tourist Attractions › Suzhou Yongqing Temple

Suzhou Yongqing Temple

Category: Tourist Attractions 👁 100 views

Yongqing Temple was first built during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, boasting a history of over 1,500 years and is one of the “Four Hundred and Eighty Temples of the Southern Dynasties.” It was once as renowned as Hangzhou’s Lingyin Temple and Zhenjiang’s Jinshan Temple. For over a thousand years, it has experienced several rises and declines, and has been repaired numerous times. Legend has it that Shi Nai’an, a writer from the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, once lived in seclusion in the Wenchang Pavilion of Yongqing Temple to write chapters 28 to 32 of “Water Margin.” In the 1930s, people from Fenghuang reportedly saw Shi Nai’an’s cenotaph, and to this day, some still visit Fenghuang Mountain in search of relics related to Shi Nai’an. The inscriptions “Yongqing Temple” and “Mahavira Hall” were personally written by Zhao Puchu, the late former president of the Buddhist Association of China and a calligrapher; the stone-carved character “佛” (Buddha) is the work of the famed calligrapher Wu Zhongqi; “无上清凉” (Supreme Coolness) was penned by the modern eminent monk Hongyi; “法相庄严” (Solemn Dharma Appearance) is the calligraphy of the great artist Qi Gong; and “调御丈夫” (Tamer of Beings) was written by Shen Peng. These invaluable works of calligraphy all highlight the refined elegance of Yongqing Temple.

Overview Transport Tickets Specialties

Suzhou Yongqing Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Yongqing Temple was first built during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasties, boasting a history of over 1,500 years and is one of the “Four Hundred and Eighty Temples of the Southern Dynasties.” It was once as renowned as Hangzhou’s Lingyin Temple and Zhenjiang’s Jinshan Temple. For over a thousand years, it has experienced several rises and declines, and has been repaired numerous times.

Legend has it that Shi Nai’an, a writer from the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, once lived in seclusion in the Wenchang Pavilion of Yongqing Temple to write chapters 28 to 32 of “Water Margin.” In the 1930s, people from Fenghuang reportedly saw Shi Nai’an’s cenotaph, and to this day, some still visit Fenghuang Mountain in search of relics related to Shi Nai’an. The inscriptions “Yongqing Temple” and “Mahavira Hall” were personally written by Zhao Puchu, the late former president of the Buddhist Association of China and a calligrapher; the stone-carved character “佛” (Buddha) is the work of the famed calligrapher Wu Zhongqi; “无上清凉” (Supreme Coolness) was penned by the modern eminent monk Hongyi; “法相庄严” (Solemn Dharma Appearance) is the calligraphy of the great artist Qi Gong; and “调御丈夫” (Tamer of Beings) was written by Shen Peng. These invaluable works of calligraphy all highlight the refined elegance of Yongqing Temple.

Yongqing Temple boasts “three wonders”: the thousand-year-old ancient cypress, the flesh-bodied bodhisattva, and the natural stone well.

Yongqing Temple is filled with a strong Buddhist cultural atmosphere. The Four Great Bodhisattvas and the Three-Faced Guanyin are exquisitely crafted, the Nine Phoenix Wall and the Kangxi-era inscription “The Greatest Happiness Under Heaven” are beautifully carved, while quotations on Buddhism by notable figures and 108 life aphorisms by Master Sheng Yen, the abbot of Taiwan’s Dharma Drum Mountain, are deeply inspiring...

Source: Tourism Bureau