Baocheng Temple

Baocheng Temple

Baocheng Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Baocheng Temple is located at the southeastern foot of Wu Mountain. It was originally built by Lady Yang, the queen of the Wuyue Kingdom, and was initially named Shijia Monastery. During the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was renamed Baocheng Monastery. When Su Shi first came to Hangzhou during the Xining era of the Northern Song Dynasty as a deputy prefect, he visited the monastery at the time and composed the poem “Viewing Peonies at Baocheng Monastery.” In the fifth year of the Baoyou era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1257), it was bestowed the name “Baocheng Temple.” The temple houses a statue of Mahakala with bold and simplistic carving techniques and exaggerated artistic styles—it is the only known statue of Mahakala in China with definite historical documentation. “Mahakala” is the transliteration of the Tibetan Buddhist term for “Mahavairocana.” In July 2001, due to its significant religious and artistic historical value, the Mahakala statue at Baocheng Temple was designated by the State Council as part of the fifth group of Major National Historical and Cultural Sites.

The Mahakala statue at Baocheng Temple is located on Ziyang Mountain in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. It was carved in the second year of the Zhi Zheng era of the Yuan Dynasty (1322) and features Buddhist Esoteric imagery. The niche is horizontally rectangular with a slightly arched top, standing 2.45 meters high and 4.1 meters wide. Inside the niche are three smaller niches: the central one houses the main image of Mahakala, the left features Manjushri riding a lion, and the right shows Samantabhadra riding an elephant. Behind the three figures is a pointed arch-shaped flame halo. The niche lintel is adorned with three relief carvings of garudas, along with birds and running beasts on either side. The northern wall of the larger niche bears a rare Chinese inscription from the second year of the Zhi Zheng era, documenting the creation of the statues.

The Mahakala statue is relatively large, well-preserved, and features concise carving techniques. Its style differs from the Tibetan Buddhist statues found at Hangzhou’s Feilai Peak, making this sculpture an important artifact for studying the development of “Indian-style” Esoteric Buddhist statuary.