Taibai Temple

Taibai Temple

Taibai Temple is a cultural relics protection unit of Yinzhou District.

Taibai Temple is located in Tiandong Village, Dongwu Town, Yinzhou District. On June 13, 2002, it was designated as a district-level cultural relics protection unit.

The temple is situated on the southern foothills of the Taibai Mountain range, with the renowned eastern Zhejiang Buddhist temple, Tiandong Chan Temple, to the east, and the Zhenmang Pagoda (Shaobai Pagoda), which stands atop Shaobai Ridge, to the west. Backed by mountains and facing the Tiandong marketplace, the existing structures were rebuilt in the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign in the Qing Dynasty. The entire architectural complex faces south and consists of a main gate, main building, stage, side rooms, main hall, and Guanyin Pavilion, divided into two courtyards. It stretches approximately 87 meters in length and covers an area of about 1,500 square meters.

The main gate is located at the very front of the Taibai Temple complex. It features a single-eave, flush-gable roof, spans three bays with a total width of 9.83 meters, and has a depth of 6.71 meters. The central bay uses four columns, and the front section is equipped with a rolled-canopy porch. The upper parts of the front eave columns feature layered brackets, supporting carved floral brackets that hold up the eave beams. The front also has bracket arms, adorned with inserted brackets and floral brackets to support the eave purlins, and the front eaves have flying rafters. The front and rear beams span six bays and are not entirely symmetrical. The beams are coated with red paint. At the base of the central column, there is a basket-shaped support resting on the third purlin, with inserted brackets and floral brackets supporting the ridge beam. The rear posts are cantilevered, with basket-shaped supports below. The front beam work is intricately carved and painted, while the rear carving is simpler, and the rear eaves lack flying rafters. The side-beam frame consists of four bays and five columns, with the central column reaching the ground. The roof is covered with small blue tiles, and the eaves have no drip tiles. The roof ridge is a barrel-shaped bright ridge, with dragon heads at both ends.

The main building is a two-story flush-gable structure, spanning three bays with a total width of 11.42 meters and a depth of 6.75 meters, using four columns. On either side of the main building are wing rooms, also two-story flush-gable structures. The first floor front corridor of the main building features a rolled-canopy, with a hanging flower column in the middle of the beam, adorned with carvings. The main building’s beam frame spans six bays and is exposed, using round timber. Below each beam is a accompanying beam, and the central column rests on the third step beam. The front and rear columns are full-height posts, while others are short columns, with the side-beam central column reaching the ground. The front of the main building has flying rafters, and the second floor front extends with a balcony featuring carved railings. The rear two bays connect via stairs to the stage. The main building’s roof ridge is a barrel ridge, decorated with a flame-shaped ornament in the middle and dragon heads on both sides. The wing room ridges are slightly lower than the main building and also feature dragon heads.

The stage is located behind and connected to the main building. It has a hip-and-gable roof, with a total width and depth of 4.3 meters. The base has eight columns, four of which are full-height corner posts, and the rest are lean-to posts. The top features flat beams, supporting brackets, which are five-curved double-angled brackets with phoenix-headed angled tips and protruding central blocks. The angled tips are long and slightly upturned, with four bracket sets on each side. The eaves have flying rafters and connect to the main building. The stage’s beam frame is painted with scenes from the Three Kingdoms story, and the ceiling features a caisson dome. The roof is covered with cylindrical tiles and adorned with dragon heads. The center of the roof ridge has a lotus and gourd-shaped decoration. Each vertical ridge end features a vividly carved theatrical figure.

The side rooms connect with the wing rooms on both sides of the main building. Both the east and west sides are two-story and mostly symmetrical. Each side spans four bays with a total width of 14 meters and two bays in depth, totaling 3.93 meters. They feature flush-gable construction, with solid walls at the rear, built on a stone foundation. The beam frame spans three bays, and the front eave columns on the second floor are not connected to the first floor but instead rest on cantilever beams. The column tops have bracket arms with carved fish-shaped bracket supports, holding up the eave beams. The front eaves have flying rafters, connecting with the main building’s eaves.

The main hall is located at the very rear of the architectural complex. It spans five bays with a total width of 18.75 meters, and the central bay spans three bays with a total depth of 14.3 meters. It features flush-gable construction. The central bay uses a post-and-lintel wooden frame, spanning ten bays. The first two bays feature two rolled-canopy porches, with the front smaller than the rear, and a hanging flower column in the middle, finely carved. The eave columns have bracket arms supporting the eave beams. The rear two bays are more roughly constructed, with the middle six bays all using post-and-lintel beams. The beams are relatively thick, and between the seventh and fifth purlins, large basket-shaped blocks are used to receive double-layered brackets, which then connect to the purlin beams. Between the fifth and third purlins, a lotus-shaped block is placed under the large block, with a single bracket connecting to the purlin beam. The third purlin supports a lotus-shaped block and small blocks to hold up the ridge purlin, with side cloud decorations. The side bays of the main hall span six bays and seven columns, with the central column reaching the ground. The roof is covered with small blue tiles, the eaves have no drip tiles, and the main ridge is relatively high, with dragon heads at both ends and a sculpted image of two dragons playing with a pearl in the center.

The Guanyin Pavilion is a wing room on the west side of the main hall, spanning one bay (4.24 meters) and seven bays in depth (8.58 meters). It features flush-gable construction, with the eastern side connected to the western wall of the main hall and secured with square timber linking the columns and wall. The beam frame consists of eight columns and seven purlins, using a post-and-lintel structure. Between the eave and central columns is a single curved rolled-canopy, with bracket arms on the eave columns, similar in construction to those in the main hall.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units