Front Hall of Tianning Temple

Front Hall of Tianning Temple

The Front Hall of Tianning Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Commonly known as the West Grand Temple, Tianning Temple is a renowned Buddhist site in Xingtai. Located on the west side of the old city and facing Kaiyuan Temple from east to west, it was initially built in the early Tang Dynasty as Huachi Lanruo. During the Song Dynasty's Zhenghe era, it was granted the name Tianning Wanshou Chanlin. In the fifth year of the Yuán era (1268), Master Xuzhao renovated the temple. Historical records indicate that during the Yuan Dynasty, Tianning Temple was referred to as a grand monastery called "Great Tianning Temple," originally comprising buildings such as the Four Heavenly Kings Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Water Hall, Master Xuzhao’s Pagoda, and a large number of stone carvings from various dynasties. The rear hall was demolished in 1970, and now only the front hall remains — originally built in the Yuan Dynasty and renovated in the Qing Dynasty, it has since deteriorated amidst modern architecture. On May 3, 2013, the National Cultural Heritage Administration included it in the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Historical records state that from its construction in the Tang Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, Tianning Temple had expanded to cover an area of one hectare and seventy-four mu. It comprised an extensive architectural complex including the main hall, front hall, east and west side halls, mountain gate, and pagoda. During the Yuan Dynasty, the eminent monk Master Xuzhao presided over Tianning Temple, and it flourished with incense offerings. After undergoing multiple renovations during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it retained its Yuan Dynasty scale. After the liberation, the temple was occupied by the Xingtai County Native Produce Company. In 1970, structures such as the main hall and mountain gate were demolished by the occupying entity. Today, only the front hall remains. In 1993, it was designated as an “Hebei Provincial Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit” by the People’s Government of Hebei Province.

Over the centuries, Tianning Temple has suffered greatly from both natural and man-made damage, leaving it almost unrecognizable. The front hall's walls and floor are riddled with rat holes; doors, windows, and the terrace are dilapidated; and the steps are nearly gone. Most of the roof tiles, including cylindrical tiles, are broken or missing, leaving parts of the roof exposed — there are even two holes about half a square meter in size. The central ridge is partially damaged, and the hip ridges, gable ridges, and ornamental ridge beasts are all gone, with some glaze on the ridges flaking off. Most of the flying eaves at the four corners have collapsed, most of the rafters and purlins are rotten, the painted beams exposed to the elements have lost their original colors, obvious cracks have appeared in the walls, and sections of the wall surface and eaves have peeled off.

Particularly during the heavy snowstorm of 2009, the foundation of the west wall collapsed, large sections of adobe crumbled, and the wall sustained severe damage. Rotten eave rafters and flying rafters on the west side gave way under the weight and fell amidst the snowfall. “The entire front hall is in critical condition and could collapse at any time — urgent repairs are needed.” Even today, when discussing the former dire state of this millennia-old temple, officials from the Xingtai Cultural Relics Management Office still speak with deep concern.

Tianning Temple holds significant historical value. Its surviving front hall is the oldest existing wooden structure in Xingtai and also the only remaining Yuan Dynasty building in the entire Hebei Province. Furthermore, its golden-topped glazed tile architectural style is unique in Xingtai. The temple has drawn attention from many scholars and experts. During the Republican era, famed architects Liang Sicheng and Liu Dunzhen conducted surveys of the temple. In 2008, ancient architecture expert Luo Zhewen also visited and spoke highly of Tianning Temple.

It is reported that the surviving front hall follows this architectural layout: it faces south with a north orientation, is three bays wide, and two bays deep. The front eaves have lattice windows across all three bays, while the rear eaves have a plank door in the central bay, with the rest enclosed by walls. The columns support bracket sets (dougong) of the five-puzuo style to hold up the roof eaves. The beam-frame structure uses an exposed raised-beam system with six purlins divided among three central columns. Structural components include dougong, forked arms, inter-tier bracket sets, inter-tier beams, and substitution beams. The planned protected area is defined as follows: 220.1 meters in length on the west, 222.5 meters on the east, 102.4 meters in width on the north, and 95.9 meters on the south, covering a total area of 2.19 hectares (32.85 mu). According to unified planning, the Xingtai Cultural Relics Management Office will be responsible for the temple’s restoration and management. Additionally, as required by the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, immediate dismantling and repair work has commenced to ensure the effective protection of this precious historical and cultural heritage.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units