Anhai Longshan Temple

Anhai Longshan Temple

Anhai Longshan Temple is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

Era: Ming to Qing

Address: At the foot of Longshan (Dragon Mountain) north of Haixingcuo Village, Anhai Town, Jinjiang City, Quanzhou, Fujian Province. Hence the name Longshan Temple.

The temple is a renowned ancient temple in southern Quanzhou and one of the 142 key Buddhist temples designated by the State Council in 1983. It is also among the seventh batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level. It was first built during the reign of Emperor Huangtai of the Sui Dynasty (618–619), originally named Puxian Temple, also known as Tianzhu Temple, and commonly called Guanyin Hall.

Legend has it that there was once a giant camphor tree in the area in ancient times, whose dense shade covered the ground and emitted a holy glow at night, revered by the locals. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the eminent monk Yilisha regarded it as a sacred and divine tree, so he asked craftsmen to carve it into a statue of the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin Bodhisattva. The temple was first built during the reign of Emperor Huangtai of the Sui Dynasty (618–619) to enshrine the statue. It was renovated in the third year of the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty (1623).

The temple has a history of over a thousand years and has spread widely. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the incense of Longshan Temple has been carried overseas along with the footsteps of Anping merchants. This is especially prominent in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, where there are alone more than 200 temples of the same name, including the most famous ones such as Lukang Longshan Temple and Taipei Mengjia Longshan Temple.

In front of the temple is a moon-shaped pond, and the mountain gate is a stone memorial archway inscribed with four large characters: “Heavenly India’s Buddhist Bell.” Upon entering the gate, you will see a large stone tablet embedded in the front wall of the temple, inscribed with “Longshan Precious Land.” On both sides are the bell and drum towers. In front of the main gate corridor are a pair of stone lions and a pair of stone drums, and the gate is hung with a wooden plaque inscribed with “A Piece of Compassionate Cloud.” Inside the gate is a worship courtyard and an altar, with a pavilion on the altar.

The Mahavira Hall is majestic, adorned with exquisite wood carvings, stone carvings, porcelain sculptures, and painted decorations that are brilliant and splendid. Among them, a pair of stone dragon pillars are exquisitely crafted, vividly coiled and soaring, with their claws each gripping a drum and a chime stone that produce drum and chime sounds when struck — a marvelously ingenious design. Inside the hall stands a statue of the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva, carved from a single huge piece of wood, standing 4.2 meters tall. The statue wears a floral crown, on which many tiny Buddha heads are carved. The Buddha’s face is full and benevolent, with both hands pressed together in front of the chest. The body is flanked by 1,008 arms, arranged like two wings, staggered and in various poses. Each arm wears a bracelet, and each palm holds an eye, some holding scriptures or ritual implements, all exquisitely carved. The entire statue is covered with pure gold foil, shining brilliantly and majestically, making it a rare treasure. The temple also houses a plaque inscribed with “Arms and Eyes All Over” by the Ming Dynasty calligrapher Zhang Ruitu, as well as calligraphy by notable figures such as Zhuang Junyuan of the Ming Dynasty and Master Hongyi in modern times.

Anhai Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Jinjiang City. It was anciently called Haowan and called Anhai after the Song Dynasty. In 1958, it was established as Wuxing Commune, and renamed Anhai Town in 1985. It is located in the southwest of the city, covering an area of 67.7 square kilometers with a population of 118,000. The Fuzhou-Xiamen Expressway and Shixia Highway pass through it. It administers five neighborhood committees: Xingsheng, Haidong, Hongta, Fuxing, and Dongli, as well as 20 villages: Xi’an, Haixingcuo, Andong, Lingshui, Zenglin, Dashanhou, Kemu, Xishe, Ximen, Wushan, Shandou, Qiaotou, Junbing, Shang’an, Shetan, Batou, Chidian, Qianhu, Xindian, Kangbian, Yaodian, Qianlin, Xiashanhou, Zhuangtou, Houcai, Shui… More detailed information about Anhai Town++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level