Xingtai Kaiyuan Temple

Xingtai Kaiyuan Temple

Xingtai Kaiyuan Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Xingtai Kaiyuan Temple is located in the middle section of Xingzhou North Road, Xingtai City, Hebei Province.

Kaiyuan Temple was built by imperial decree during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty and has a history of over 1,300 years. It has been a famous Buddhist monastery through the ages, serving as one of the ancestral temples of the Caodong School of Buddhism, as well as the place where the Second Patriarch of Zen Buddhism passed on his alms bowl and where the Seventh Patriarch, Master Shen Hui, resided. It was an imperial monastery during the Yuan Dynasty. Successive abbots of Kaiyuan Temple were mostly enlightened monks. After Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, issued the decree to build the temple, Emperor Shizong of Zhou, Chai Rong, further decreed the construction of the Great Sage Pagoda. Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, bestowed the name Yuanchao Pagoda on it. Standing 108 meters tall, it was the tallest in ancient China. In 1250, Kublai Khan, the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, named it the Great Kaiyuan Temple and listed it as an imperial monastery.

Covering an area of 45 mu, Kaiyuan Temple faces south with its back to the north and exudes grandeur. The temple has undergone multiple renovations throughout the dynasties, and the existing halls primarily reflect Ming Dynasty architectural styles. Despite enduring a thousand years of vicissitudes, these structures have remained largely intact, with many relics possessing high historical and artistic value. There are four main surviving halls at Kaiyuan Temple: the Heavenly King Hall, Vairocana Hall, Guanyin Hall, and the Mahavira Hall (also known as the Three Ages of Buddha Hall). These halls are majestic and imposing, holding significant historical and academic value. Among them, the Heavenly King Hall not only houses the well-known Buddha statues but also features poems inscribed on its walls by notable figures from various dynasties. Legend has it that Zhongli Quan, one of the Eight Immortals, once visited Abbot Wan’an, a virtuous and accomplished monk, and left behind a cursive poem inscribed on the wall. The poem reads: “Enlightened monks are rare to encounter; when will I return and follow you? I say my dwelling borders the sea, a unique peak of Penglai. Do not tire of joyful laughter and talk; reflecting on chaos is truly disheartening. In leisure, count them one by one—who among them enjoys peace and clarity?”

The Sakyamuni Hall (Third Hall) represents the architectural essence of Kaiyuan Temple. This hall features a flush-gable roof style, with five bays in width and two bays in depth. It is grand and spectacular, with an ingenious structure and a unique style. In the 13th year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty (1518 AD), four intricately carved dragon stone pillars were added in front of the Guanyin Hall. Aside from those in the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong, they are virtually unparalleled. Each of these four pillars stands 4.5 meters tall and measures 2.5 meters in circumference, showcasing exquisite carving skills and smooth lines. The dragons on the pillars are carved coiling upward, spiraling downward, or turning their heads to gaze back, with their heads and bodies protruding 20–35 centimeters from the pillars. The sense of power is strong, as if real dragons are leaping and dancing, creating vivid and rugged forms that are considered treasures of Chinese cultural artistry. The stone carvings on both sides of the dragon pillars are equally exquisitely crafted and finely detailed, leaving viewers in awe. The Fourth Hall, the Mahavira Hall, spans five bays in width and three bays in depth, featuring a single-eave hipped and gabled roof covered with clay tiles. It is grand in scale and uniquely styled. Most of the surviving halls date from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The temple also houses a massive iron bell from the Jin Dynasty. The bell stands 2.70 meters tall, with a bottom circumference of 7.2 meters, a thickness of half a foot, and weighs over 30,000 jin (approximately 15 metric tons). Cast in the "Dading Jiachen Year" of the Jin Dynasty, which corresponds to the 24th year of Dading (1184 AD), the bell’s surface features twelve patterns representing the sun, moon, humans, beasts, oxen, fish, and others, corresponding to the twelve zodiac signs. It is a rare physical artifact for studying the origins of ancient Chinese astronomy. Additionally, it includes images of the eight trigrams—Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui—symbolizing the concept of the unity of heaven and earth. The bell’s surface also bears hundreds of inscriptions, still clearly legible, mostly recording the names, identities, places of origin, or titles of the casters, supervisors, and patrons.

On the western side of the temple are two stone pagodas (sutra pillars). One is the "Dao De Jing Pillar" built during the Tang Dynasty. Made of stone, it stands seven meters tall, has a hexagonal shape divided into three sections totaling eighteen faces, and is inscribed with Laozi’s *Dao De Jing*. According to the *Xingtai County Annals*, the inscriptions on the pillar were written by Chu Suiliang, a great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, making it one of only three surviving similar pillars in China and of immense historical value. The other is the *Sanskrit Dhāraṇī Pillar* from the Tang Dynasty, built during the Qianhua era of the Later Liang Dynasty (911–915 AD). It is engraved with the *Dhāraṇī Sutra* and bears the inscription “Written by Li Feng, Vice Envoy of India,” featuring delicate carvings. It is now a rare relief masterpiece. Behind the temple, there was originally a pagoda called the Yuanchao Pagoda, which no longer exists.

In 2006, Xingtai Kaiyuan Temple was listed by the State Council as part of the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units for its Ming Dynasty architecture.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units