Fusang Temple in Lichuan

Fusang Temple in Lichuan

Fusang Temple is located at the northern end of Jiudie Valley on Mount Fu in Sheping Township, Lichuan County. It was first built in the first year of the Guangming era of the Tang Dynasty (880 AD) and was originally named "Shuanglin Temple." At that time, the renowned monk Shi Shaolong resided here in seclusion and became the founding patriarch of the temple. During the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Song Dynasty (1008–1016), Emperor Zhenzong bestowed upon it the name Fusang Temple. During the Yuan Dynasty's Yanyou era (1314–1320), when it was rebuilt, the temple complex included the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, with the Guanyin Hall, Scripture Depository, and monks' quarters on the left and right. By the Qing Dynasty, six additional meditation halls had been added, making it the largest temple in the county. At its peak, the temple housed nearly a thousand rooms of various sizes, over a hundred monks, 300 acres of farmland, and more than 2,000 acres of forest. The Song Dynasty Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi also once built the Wuyi Hall next to the temple to give lectures. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican era, the temple gradually declined, with buildings collapsing. After being approved for reopening in 1986, devotees from all over donated funds to rebuild the Buddha Hall, Guanyin Hall, and bronze Buddha statues, and incense offerings once again filled the air of Mount Fu.

Sheping Township: Sheping Township is located in the southern part of Lichuan County, 17 kilometers from the county seat. It borders Desheng Town, Hongcun Town, Long’an Town, and Rifeng Town, with the township government based in Sheping Village. The township administers four administrative villages (Sheping Village, Tuansheng Village, Hongyuan Village, and Qianjin Village), one Ceramic Prosperity Community, and 65 village groups, with a total population of over 9,400. The township covers an area of 100 square kilometers, including 17,552 mu of arable land and 57,550 mu of mountainous land. It has one junior high school offering nine-year integrated education, one township health center, and three village-level health and family planning service stations. Sheping Township has a history of 40…… More details about Sheping Township++