Hui'an Lingshan Temple

Hui'an Lingshan Temple

Hui'an Lingshan Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Lingshan Temple, originally named Houxia Temple, is located on Qiankeng Mountain in Kengnei, Jindong Village, Luoyang, Hui'an, beside National Highway 324 between Fuzhou and Xiamen, about four kilometers east of Xiaxing Intersection. Qiankeng Mountain is also known as Ling Mountain, where a huge rock bears the inscription "Fairyland of Ling Mountain" written by the renowned calligrapher and painter Zhu Han.

The construction date of Houxia Temple is unknown, but on the huge rock behind the temple, there is an inscription reading "Filial Piety Moves the Dead and the Living," carved in the sixth year of the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty (1626) by Zhao Yucheng, the magistrate of Hui'an from Jiangsu. Legend has it that Zhao Yucheng, who had no children past the age of forty, dreamed of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. He then visited Houxia Temple and obtained a horseshoe crab stone, after which he miraculously fathered nine sons. However, later in life, he suffered setbacks in his official career, lost both his parents and wife, and was left with many young children to care for. Overcome with sorrow, he shed tears and inscribed "Filial Piety Moves the Dead and the Living" on the rock behind Houxia Temple on Ling Mountain. In the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen era (1643), Zhao Yucheng became a monk under the abbot Qieji of Pingshan Temple in Hui'an.

The temple was rebuilt and renamed Lingshan Temple in the twenty-fourth year of the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty (1898).

During the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, the Lin family from Langshan Village near Xiutu Port took in a girl named Guo Zhan from Baiqishandou Village as a child bride. After joining the family, Guo ate only vegetarian food, had daytime blurred vision but night vision, experienced mobility issues, and could only weave inside her room and occasionally recite Buddhist scriptures. As she grew older, she refused marriage proposals, maintained a lifelong vegetarian diet, and devoted herself to Buddha, and the villagers revered her as a deity. Whenever merchant ships set sail, if they asked her to purchase dried mushrooms or wood ear fungus, they would always return safely with full loads. Once, when a visiting nun named Lianjie asked for something, Guo instructed her to cover a well. Knowing the well was vital to the village and used constantly, Lianjie hesitated briefly—only to immediately hear a girl fall into the well. The villagers regarded her even more as a divine figure.

Although Guo rarely left her home, she knew of a cave in the mountains of Jindong, over forty li away. In the final years of the Guangxu era, she entrusted her final wishes to Lianjie, suggesting that the cave in Jindong Mountain be excavated. She said there was an immortal inside the cave, and when she passed away, she should be buried next to it. Lianjie followed her instructions to dig but returned in vain after several days. Guo said the location was incorrect and should be shifted eastward. Upon redigging, a cave was indeed found, containing a moldy immortal statue, causing a sensation in the surrounding area.

After Guo passed away in a seated meditation posture, Lianjie buried her next to the cave as instructed and built a temple on the original site of Houxia Temple, creating a golden statue for worship and naming it Lingshan Temple.

At the stone gate of Lingshan Temple, the four large characters “Fairy and Buddha World” are inscribed, with the couplet: “The pure spiritual aura remains as lofty as the ten directions of the Heavenly Paradise; the beautiful mountain scenery is truly the peaks of the Penglai Three Islands.” On the back, the couplet reads: “The emerald mountain has an opening to a peach blossom paradise; the refreshing taste of jade-like bamboo shoots pleases the heart.”

Following a small path to the tomb courtyard, you will see the “Jie Xiao Cave,” flanked by the couplet: “Chastity completes womanly virtue; filial piety moves the heart of heaven.” Behind the tomb and on both sides, giant rocks form a protective embrace, making the tomb appear as though it is inside a stone house. On the left giant rock is engraved: “This cave was opened in the year of Jiawu (1894, 20th year of Guangxu); in the year of Wuxu (1898, 24th year of Guangxu), Lingshan, Lianjie, Zhijie. Amitabha.” As you slowly step into the cave, you will see the immortal sitting solemnly on a stone platform.

Ascending steps from within the cave, you will finally reach Lingshan Temple. The temple is built along the mountain, with roof ridges featuring characteristics of southern Fujian folk architecture. The Buddha hall enshrines a statue of Guo.

In ancient times, Sanskrit stone carvings were located on the mountain but were destroyed during the 1960s. Some ancient stone carvings such as “Western Skies’ Atmosphere” and “Cloud Shadows and Light” still remain. Modern cliff inscriptions at Lingshan include “Grass Blooms at the Edge of the Sky” by Wu Zuoren, chairman of the Artists Association; “The Heart Holds Ling Mountain” by famed sculptor and calligrapher Qian Shaowu; and “A Piece of Ice in the Heart” by literary master Xie Bingying.

Behind the temple and on both sides, peculiar rocks stand tall, including “Heavenly Horse Carrying an Immortal,” “Divine Turtle Listening to Scriptures,” and “Drunk Guanyin,” all in diverse poses. Other scenic spots include the Jade Cave, Heaven-Reaching Path, Dragon Holding an Ancient Pearl, and a Millennium Rock Banyan.