Yushan Puning Temple

Yushan Puning Temple

Puning Temple is located on the southern bank of Bingxi River in Yushan County, Jiangxi Province, at the northern foot of Wuan Mountain, also known as Shuinan Temple. It was first built during the Zongzhang era of the Tang Dynasty (668–670 AD) by the eminent Tang Dynasty monk and sixth patriarch of Chinese Zen Buddhism, Huineng, and his disciple Zhichang, who transformed a residence donated by Yan Liben into the temple. During the Song Dynasty, the temple housed over a hundred rooms, including the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, and the Guanyin Hall, covering an area of more than 30 acres, with over 160 monks. At its peak, it enjoyed immense popularity. However, it was destroyed in wars during the late Yuan Dynasty, rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty but later burned down again. It was renovated in the second year of the Daoguang reign, but collapsed again in the thirteenth year of the Republic of China (1924), when Monk Fasen rebuilt it. In the twenty-second year of the Republic of China (1933), the construction of the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway led to the demolition of the central hall, with the railway running straight through the temple. In the thirty-first year of the Republic of China (1942), when Japanese forces invaded Yushan County, Puning Temple was almost completely burned down. Having been established for over 1,330 years, Yushan Puning Temple is the oldest and largest temple in Yushan County and represents the lineage of the Caodong School of Chan Buddhism. The current Mahavira Hall was constructed between 1991 and 1994 under the supervision of Master Dading, the head monk of Zhenshu Temple on Mount Yunju and deputy secretary-general of the Jiangxi Buddhist Association, who was also a member of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The temple now boasts a grand scale and magnificent architecture, with a construction area of over 2,000 square meters and more than 180 Buddha statues enshrined across its various halls. In front of the temple runs the Zhejiang–Jiangxi Railway and Bingxi River. A road leading directly to the temple gate is accessible by crossing the Yuhong Bridge from downtown Yushan. Behind the temple lies the tomb of Yan Liben, a famous painter and prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, which was designated as a Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit in December 1987. Puning Temple has gradually become a popular destination for both Buddhist worship and sightseeing.

Bingxi Subdistrict: Bingxi Subdistrict is situated on the banks of the Bingxi River, an upstream tributary of the Xin River, and serves as the seat of Yushan County. The subdistrict currently covers a total area of 55.5 square kilometers, including 847 hectares of cultivated land, 856 hectares of mountainous terrain, and 221 hectares of water bodies. It administers 15 community neighborhood committees and 10 agricultural administrative villages. The resident population totals 153,300, including 24,200 agricultural residents. The subdistrict’s Party Working Committee oversees 6 general Party branches and 60 Party branches, with a total of 2,223 Party members. … Bingxi Subdistrict Detailed Information++