Qilin Wall at Kaiyuan Temple

Qilin Wall at Kaiyuan Temple

The Qilin Wall at Kaiyuan Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

The “Qilin Wall” stands on the northeast side next to the West Pagoda of Kaiyuan Temple. It was originally located in front of the Great City God Temple in the northern part of the city but was moved to Kaiyuan Temple during the Cultural Revolution when a school was being built. During that era of “smashing everything,” it’s remarkable that this stone wall survived. Historical records indicate that the Qilin Wall was built in the sixth year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1741), and it has a history of over 270 years. The wall is 5 meters high, 19 meters wide, and 0.6 meters thick. Upon closer inspection, the wall is divided into three sections: the central main section features a large qilin made of colorful glazed pottery inlaid into the white plaster wall. It is one of the Four Divine Creatures revered in ancient times. With the head of a dragon, the tail of an ox, the body of a qilin, and the hooves of a beast, it appears to be looking back at every step. Its mouth bites a copper coin, and its coin-sized eyes stare at the sun shaped like a coin. Below, there are brick carvings of auspicious objects such as ingots and ruyi scepters. The two side sections each feature brick carvings of lingzhi mushrooms, peonies, deer, cranes, as well as lotus flowers, coral, feather fans, rhinoceros horns, gourds, honey monkeys (symbolizing official promotion), pine, bamboo, and plum. The craftsmanship is exquisite, and the artistic charm is vibrant.

In fact, the animal on the “Qilin Wall” is not a qilin. Historical experts have confirmed that it is a creature called “Tan” (pronounced: tān). Folklore says that Tan had an insatiable appetite—not only did it devour all the plants, trees, and rare animals on the mountain, but it also came down to the human world to seize gold and silver treasures. One day, it saw a red sun rising from the East Sea and mistook it for a great treasure. It dashed forward trying to swallow the sun whole, but instead fell into the sea and drowned. As the saying goes, “A man’s greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.” It turns out that even in the animal kingdom, there are creatures as ambitious and greedy as “Tan,” not unlike some fallen officials who embezzled hundreds of millions today.

Location

Inside Kaiyuan Temple, West Street, Quanzhou City