Shajing Longquan Temple

Shajing Longquan Temple

Shajing Longquan Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Changle District.

Longquan Temple is located at the foot of Lianhua Mountain in Shajing, Heshang Town, covering an area of 10,000 square meters. It has been renovated, expanded, rebuilt, and newly constructed while preserving its original features, including the Mahavira Hall, Heavenly King Hall, Mountain Gate, Dharma Hall, Bell and Drum Towers, Bodhidharma Ancestral Hall, Scripture Depository, Dining Hall, Liberation Pond, and Guanyin Hall.

The front hall has a single-eave hanging gable roof, and the main hall features a double-eave hip-and-gable roof, both constructed with wood. The halls house 12 stone pillars, each requiring two people to encircle, with column bases and plinths retaining Tang Dynasty components; parts of the roof maintain their original appearance from the Qing Dynasty reconstruction. The temple surroundings feature layered rocks and beautiful scenery, along with historic sites such as the "Flowing Rice Buddha," "Minister’s Rock," and "Dragon Well," as well as many ancient inscriptions by notable figures.

Originally named Xishan Temple, the entry for Longquan Monastery in the *Chunxi San Shan Zhi* states: “At that time, there was a monk surnamed Huaihai from the local area who was very devout. One day, he was ordered to wash a towel. After a long while, the monk questioned the reason and was told: ‘I just saw two dragons, one green and one yellow, playing in the well.’ The person then used a bowl to scoop water to show the monk. The monk found this strange and thus sent the person to travel. Later, the person indeed established monastic rules at Baizhang and gained widespread fame. During the Xiantong era, the story of his studies and the dragon sighting was submitted to the court, and the temple was granted its current name.”

Construction began in the third year of the Chengsheng era of the Liang Dynasty (554 AD), and it was originally named Xishan Temple.

In the second year of the Dali era of the Tang Dynasty (767 AD), a local named Wang Muzun “tonsured under Master Huizhao of Xishan” (some say in Chaoyang Xishan), taking the Dharma name Huaihai. Huaihai later inherited the mantle of Mazu Daoyi, establishing a practice center on Baizhang Mountain in Hongzhou and composing the *Pure Rules* as the standards for Chan Buddhism. Huaihai “passed away on the seventeenth day of the first month of the ninth year of the Yuanhe era (814 AD) at the age of 66, with 47 years as a monk.”

In the thirteenth year of the Dazhong era of the Tang Dynasty (859 AD), locals reported the achievements of Master Baizhang and the legendary dragon sightings in the well to the newly enthroned Emperor Yizong of Tang, who then bestowed the name Longquan Chan Temple.

During the Tianfu era of the Five Dynasties, Monk Puming expanded the temple grounds.

In the Chunhua era of the Song Dynasty (990–994 AD), a local named Pan Zong funded temple repairs, starting in the year Gengyin.

During the Zhizheng era (1064–1066 AD), another large-scale renovation took place.

After the Shaosheng era (1094 AD) of the Song Dynasty, literati such as Lin Hucao, Zheng Jianzhou, and Lin Longtu visited the temple to compose poetry, leading to a period of flourishing.

In the early Tian Shun era of the Ming Dynasty (1458 AD), the temple fields became overgrown, and the buildings were damaged, with the Dharma Hall ground being used as a funeral site.

Between the fourth and seventh years of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1576–1579 AD), Prefect Chen Yu and County Magistrate Ye Shimin restored Longquan Temple. Ye Shimin’s son, Ye Youlu, together with the abbot Longqi, built the Amitabha Hall and Guanyin Hall.

During the Tian Shun era of the Ming Dynasty (1457–1464 AD), the site was used as a funeral ground.

In the late Ming Dynasty, when Qing troops invaded, Longquan Temple was destroyed in the war.

During the Qianlong era, Monk Guanghou invited Master Zhizhuang of Huangbo and Master Changming of Gushan to preside over Longquan Temple, with a monastic community of two to three hundred monks. In the ninth month of the 26th year of Qianlong (1761 AD), the Mahavira Hall and five rooms on each side were reconstructed, along with the construction of the Sangharama and Baizhang Courtyards under the corridor.

In the eighth year of the Xianfeng era (1858 AD), a local named Li Dehan renovated the temple.

By the Republican era, the temple had declined again. In the later stages of the War of Resistance, Changle was occupied, leading to the dispersal of monks and the ruins of the temple.

In the 1950s, a livestock farm was established on the temple grounds.

After the Cultural Revolution, Venerable Ruisen of Snow Peak Temple, along with his disciple Guangchan, came to revive the temple. Since 1983, renovations and expansions have been carried out while preserving the original structure, with Zhao Puchu, President of the Buddhist Association of China, inscribing the horizontal plaque “Shajing Longquan Temple.”

On April 29, 1986, the Changle County People’s Government designated Longquan Temple as a county-level cultural relic protection unit, with the protection scope including cliff inscriptions around the temple.

Heshang Town: [Historical Evolution]: Heshang, originally named Hefeng, was part of Changhua Township in the Song Dynasty, under the jurisdiction of Sandu. In the early Ming Dynasty, a new lake was dug between two harbors, and when viewed from atop Hefeng Mountain, it resembled the character “上,” leading to the name change to Heshang. Before liberation, it was known as Heyun Township (the combined area of Heshang and Yunlu Townships). In the early post-liberation period, it was designated as the Second District. In 1958, Heshang People’s Commune was established, changed to a township in 1985, and upgraded to a town in 1990, maintaining its status to this day.

[Geographical Location]: Heshang Town is located in the central part of Changle City, bordering Wuhang Town to the north, Shouzhan Town to the west, intersecting with Jinfeng and Tantou Towns to the northeast, and adjacent to Guhuai to the southwest... More details about Heshang Town ++