Guohuan Temple

Guohuan Temple

Guohuan Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Putian City.

Guohuan Temple

The Tang Dynasty eminent monk Master Miaoying and his lay brother Master Benji both became monks. They built a hermitage on the site of their former residence west of their parents’ tomb to enshrine the Buddha. Initially named Yanfu Monastery, it was an affiliate of Nanshan Cishou Temple. In the first year of the Kaiping era of the Later Liang (907), they requested an imperial plaque, and at that time, Prince Wang Shenzhi of Min had a grandson, Wang Chang, born—thus, it was named Guohuan Temple. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Chao Yuan (literary name Daozhe, a disciple of Master Xuefeng Hengxin), the abbot of Guohuan Temple, crossed east to Japan in the fourth year of the Yongli era (1650). He served as the abbot of Nagasaki’s Chofuku Temple and propagated the “Pangui School.” Today, his disciples number in the thousands across temples in Nagasaki, Tokyo, and elsewhere. After returning to China, he passed away at Guohuan Temple in the first year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1662). His work Discourses of the Zen Master Nanshan Daozhe has been published. He was the first monk from Putian to go abroad to preach Buddhism.

Guohuan Temple is situated on Guohuan Slope, shaded by pine woods. Its main hall features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, post-and-lintel construction, tall golden pillars, upturned eaves, and bracket sets, all exuding an air of simplicity and elegance. The current structures were rebuilt in the 40th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1612) by Huang Qilong, who also petitioned the imperial court to bestow a set of Buddhist scriptures. It was renovated again in the eighth year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1669). The temple complex remains largely intact and is now listed as a key cultural relic protection unit of Hanjiang District.

Address: Huangxia Village, Guohuan Town, Hanjiang District

Huangxia Village: Huangxia Village…… Detailed information about Huangxia Village++