Jinxian Temple in Jingning

Jinxian Temple in Jingning

Jinxian Temple in Jingning is a cultural tourism attraction.

Jinxian Temple, originally located in the county seat of Jingning, Zhejiang Province, on the middle section of Jinxian Road in Hexi Town (now the Jingning Farm), was built during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty (627–649). Initially named Huixiang Temple, it was soon renamed Chongxian Temple. In the first year of the Xianping era of the Song Dynasty (998), it was rebuilt, and in the second year of the Zhiping era (1065), it was renamed Jinxian Temple. In 1314, a seven-story, hollow Floating Tower with wooden flooring on each level and a spiral staircase leading to the top was built to the left of the temple, topped with an iron spire weighing ten thousand pounds. The temple underwent multiple renovations during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the 11th year of the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1872), the Floating Tower was destroyed in a fire, the iron spire fell to the ground, and only the tower body remained. After the Guangxu era, the main hall collapsed and no longer exists. The temple buildings were repurposed as a farm in the 1950s. Today, only a "Fangsheng Pond" (liberation pond) remains, along with faint remnants of a back hall wall near the mountain, a small number of remaining pillars, and broken stone slabs scattered around the site. The former temple grounds along Jinxian Road, once vast farmland and hills, have now been redeveloped into the Jingning Meteorological Bureau and the "Jinnong" residential area, presenting the appearance of a modern urban landscape...

Folklore

Jinxian Temple in Jingning was built during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty (627–649). In 1314, a seven-story, hollow Floating Tower with wooden flooring on each level and a spiral staircase leading to the top was built to the left of the temple, topped with an iron spire weighing ten thousand pounds. The temple underwent multiple renovations during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In 1952, the Floating Tower collapsed in a storm, killing many mynas that lived inside. The startled birds subsequently left Jingning. According to a survey by biologists, mynas did not reappear in Jingning until 2006.

Historical Records

According to the *Religious Overview of Jingning She Autonomous County*: Jinxian Temple is located one li west of the county. Established during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty (627–649), it was initially named Huixiang Temple, later changed to Chongxian Temple, and was the largest temple in the county. In the first year of the Xianping era of the Song Dynasty (998), it was rebuilt, and in the second year of the Zhiping era (1065), it was renamed Jinxian Temple. From the second year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty (1265) to the sixth year of the Dade era (1302), the temple walls were repainted with various murals, giving it a completely renewed appearance. Construction steles remain as records...

Temple Layout

The temple complex of Jinxian Temple has three courtyards. Upon entering the mountain gate, the first courtyard houses the "Mahavira Hall," where the statue of Sakyamuni is enshrined in the main hall, flanked by Ananda and Kasyapa, with the Four Heavenly Kings—Dhritarashtra (East), Virudhaka (South), Virupaksha (West), and Vaishravana (North)—positioned around. The second courtyard is the "Heavenly King Hall," with ceiling paintings in the style of Qing Dynasty palace architecture. On the left side of the hall is placed the "Heart Sutra Bell." The bell is divided into three tiers: the upper tier bears the inscription "May the Buddha’s light shine brighter, the Dharma wheel turn ceaselessly, the empire be eternal, and the emperor’s reign flourish"; the middle tier includes "Verses following the Heart Sutra..."; and the lower tier lists "When you hear the bell, worries lighten, depart from hell and the fiery pit, may peace prevail under heaven, and a bountiful harvest be ensured." The third courtyard is the "Three Saints Hall." In the past, ancient trees within the temple gates of Jinxian Temple provided dense shade, concealing the sun, filling the air with freshness, tranquility, and serenity, making it a true sacred site.

Chronicles of Jinxian Temple

At the foot of the lofty mountains lies a Zen monastery called Jinxian Temple. The reason the temple is named Jinxian is due to its merit, and why is it said to be meritorious? It is because its virtue surpasses others. I recall that Bao Da, styled Hongmo, of the Nanliang period from the Dang clan of Chongdang, was a man of the Liang Dynasty during the Six Dynasties period. He fled from Danyang to settle beneath the towering mountains, and after two generations, his son, styled Bā'ér, whose courtesy name was Xī?, was a person who revered Buddhism and Taoism and took joy in giving and helping others. In the spring of the first year of the Zhenguan era of the early Tang Dynasty, he would hear the sounds of temple bells and Sanskrit chants in the quiet of the night, and thus realized it was an omen of the arrival of flying monks. He began observing fasts, worshipping the Way, and composing petitions. Suddenly, one day, a monk came to solicit donations for the original foundation site, and he agreed, relocating to Taihu Banling. The monk then disappeared without a trace—this was the first great merit. Thus, on an auspicious day in the ninth month of the autumn of that year, the 16th day, the house was converted into a nunnery, named Chongshan Nunnery. Reflecting on his father’s grave already being situated there, he thought the family shrine could also be rebuilt here—one as a temple-nunnery, the other as a grave-nunnery...