Nanan Longfeng Temple

Nanan Longfeng Temple

Nanan Longfeng Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Nanan Longfeng Temple

It is located in Huangshan Village, Guanqiao Town, Nanan County.

Longfeng Temple was first built in the fourth year of the Daye era of the Sui Dynasty (608). Legend has it that during the early Song Dynasty, it was expanded into a complex with three halls and two wings, flanked by a bell tower and a drum tower on either side. In front of the temple was an eight-trigram lotus liberation pond, giving the site a grand scale. At one point, over a hundred nuns resided there, earning it the nickname “Hundred Nuns Convent.” During the Yuan Dynasty, the hundred nuns scattered to avoid disaster, and the temple was looted and burned down. It was rebuilt during the Tai Ding era of the Yuan Dynasty (1324–1328). Through the Ming and Qing dynasties, it regained some of its former grandeur, but suffered further damage in the late Qing Dynasty and before the Liberation.

During the 2000 restoration of Longfeng Temple, more than 40 relics from the early Southern Song Dynasty were discovered.

Based on these relics, it is preliminarily judged that the original temple was quite large, estimated to cover nearly 4,000 square meters, consisting of three main halls, consistent with local accounts. Faint inscriptions can be seen on a stone basin: “In the third year of Shaoshing (1192), in the first month, the presiding monk [name missing] placed and made this,” indicating that the temple was built by monks, not nuns. Judging from the remaining foundations, the main hall originally had seven bays, covering an area of about 460 square meters. Some foundations were also found on both sides of the unearthed relics, which according to the structure of Song Dynasty temples, would have been living quarters—further evidence of the temple’s scale.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Longfeng Temple got its name because the terrain here was said to have the hidden presence of a dragon and a phoenix. Initially called Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it later became commonly known by its present name. It is also called Longjin Shaolin Temple due to an ancient well in front of the temple, whose water is sweet and never dries up all year round. Located at the foot of Luoshan Mountain in the thirty-fifth district of Nanan, it belongs to Weishan Township. The temple primarily enshrines the Three World-Honored Buddhas and Guanyin Bodhisattva, along with the ancestors of Shaolin. Its architecture features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof with five bays, three courtyards, and three gates, surrounded by corridors. Wing halls stand opposite each other on both sides, forming a protective screen. The temple sits majestically, backed by beautiful peaks and surrounded by lush trees, nourished by heaven and earth and bathed in the essence of the sun and moon—truly a blessed land where a dragon and phoenix lie hidden.

Historical records trace its origins to the fourth year of the Qiande era of the early Song Dynasty (966), in the spring. A wandering monk from Quanzhou Shaolin, Yi Yin, recognized the terrain’s feng shui and saw the hidden dragon and phoenix potential, so he built a hut for ascetic practice. By the second spring of the third year of the Baoyou era (970), with the support of local gentry such as Guo Zhongcheng, Huang Yiru, Xiao Qingyuan, and Zeng Gongming, construction began. In the second year of the Duan Gong era of Emperor Taizong, the local scholar Zeng Hui, invited by the presiding monk Suxun, inscribed the plaque “Longjin Shaolin Temple.” In the ninth year of the Tian Sheng era of Emperor Renzong (1031), the renowned monk Wudao from Quanzhou Shaolin took charge of the temple. He worked diligently to reform and purify the monastery, maintaining strict discipline. In the third year of the Jingyou era (1036), in the spring, he raised funds to renovate the temple, adding halls, corridors, meditation rooms, and martial arts training halls. At that time, the Ministry of War’s Vice Minister Lü Yan inscribed “Exquisite Dharma Widely Spread,” while the Regional Commander Ouyang Wei wrote the plaque “Wisdom Light Shines Forever,” accompanied by the couplet “The splendid southern mountain leans on the heavenly seal; the Caodong lineage continues the ancestral flame.” In the third year of the Chunxi era (1176), the abbot Liawu renovated the temple again. In the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, sixteen warrior monks and lay disciples died heroically resisting the Yuan invaders, leaving their names in history. On November 26 of the second year of the Jingyan era (1277), the temple was completely destroyed in war. In the second year of the Yuandade era (1306), in the spring, the monk Fuchang raised funds to rebuild it, with the help of fellow countrymen Li Haifeng from Sulu and Ni Qingchi, completing the project. By the seventeenth year of the Hongwu era of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty (1384), in the spring, local gentry from the capital such as Guo Jingfu, Huang Fengli, and Zeng Hongda, along with prominent merchants from Liangguang such as Xiao Yunguan, Wu Keyi, Chen Jianchu, and Lü Yuhui, donated funds to hire the monk Zimo to oversee a complete demolition and reconstruction. The central axis included a screen wall, mountain gate, bell and drum towers, Heavenly King Hall, Yuantong Hall, Mahavira Hall, and Scripture Depository, with separate east, west, south, and north courtyards. Each courtyard was managed by its own master but ultimately under the temple’s authority. The Shaolin seventy-two arts practiced here ranged from basic to advanced skills, such as the Thousand-Pound Stomp, Meteor Leg, Leg Kicking Technique, Wooden Dummy Training, and Iron Palm. After building a foundation, practitioners moved on to hard and light skills, such as leaping onto roofs, Needle-Finger Burning, Iron Head Skill, Light Body Technique, Vajra Palm, and Iron Shirt. The temple combined farming, Chan Buddhism, and martial arts, earning widespread praise. At the time, the local scholar and Ministry of Rites official Chen Zhanghui, visiting his hometown, praised the flourishing Buddhist atmosphere with the couplet “The mountain is named after the phoenix, joyfully adorned with auspicious clouds and rosy glow; the temple, home to dragons and elephants, resonates with evening drums and morning bells.” In the ninth year of the Xuande era (1428), in September, the abbot Benfan, together with local gentry Guo Yanchang and Zeng Wenxiang, donated funds for repairs. In the ninth year of the Zhengde era (1514), in June, amid storms and leaking tiles, the abbot Zhouji sought donations from patrons to renovate the temple. The local scholar and imperial censor Huang Xiuhua composed the couplet “The dragon soars across China, bringing millennium blessings to this sacred land; the phoenix dances in the southern sky, adorning it with boundless virtue.” Meanwhile, the county resident and Guangdong provincial official Fu Binfeng inscribed: “The dragon’s virtue is solemn; the peak’s forest is splendid.” As for the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue official Lü Tunan, he wrote the plaque “True Suchness and Wonderful Appearance.”

In the late Ming Dynasty, Prince Fu ordered Wang Guanguang to assist Zheng Chenggong in resisting the Qing. The temple’s abbot, Pude, secretly supported Zheng’s army with provisions. In the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi era (1661), border relocations affected the temple. In the twenty-sixth year of the Qianlong era (1761), it was looted again, and the monks fled to the deep mountains and forests of Yongchun and Dehua to take refuge. Later, intimidated by authoritative oppression, no one dared to advocate for rebuilding, and the temple fell into ruin.