Wufeng Mountain Dongzhen Temple

Wufeng Mountain Dongzhen Temple

Wufeng Mountain Dongzhen Temple is a Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Wufeng Mountain Dongzhen Temple is an ancient architectural complex built during the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties. It is located in Wufengshan Town, Changqing District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. On December 7, 2006, it was designated as a Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Dongzhen Temple was established during the Taihe era (1201–1208) of the Jin Dynasty by Quanzhen Taoist priests Qiu Zhiyuan and Fan Zhiming. After their deaths, fellow priests Wang Zhishen and Li Zhiqing expanded the temple by digging a pond and channeling a spring, giving it its initial form. It was officially named “Dongzhen Temple.” During the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court honored the temple as the “Protectorate Divine Void Palace.” Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty bestowed the name “Longshou Palace” and ordered the construction of the “Baoguo Longshou Palace Stone Archway,” as well as presenting a set of 480 volumes of the Daoist Canon. From then on, Dongzhen Temple entered its heyday, described as having “lofty towers and halls, resplendent with gold and color.” Since the Qing Dynasty, it has gradually declined.

The temple faces south and its various halls are built along a single central axis. The main gate is at the south, a wooden memorial archway with four pillars and three stories. Inside the gate is a stone bridge called “Gengji Bridge.” To the north of the bridge is the Jade Emperor Hall. Inside the hall is a statue of the Jade Emperor wearing a nine-tiered crown, flanked by four attendants each holding a spear, sword, torch, or flag. To the right front of the hall is the Dragon King Hall, renovated in the 13th year of the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty (1518); inside the hall is a spring, and on either side of the gate are couplets: “A stream of water flows endlessly, / The surrounding mountain peaks seem to fly toward you.” To the left is the “Tiger God Hall,” built in the 37th year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (1609). The Jade Emperor Hall courtyard has many ancient cypresses, their dense shade covering the sun, among which 13 are particularly notable and commonly known as the “Thirteen Protectors.” Outside the courtyard to the east of the hall is a ginkgo tree planted when the temple was first built. The tree stands straight, reaching 30 meters in height, with a circumference of 6.5 meters, a canopy nearly 40 meters wide, lush foliage, and birds chirping. To the east of the tree is a spring called “Qingling Spring.” Above the spring is a platform for listening to the spring, on which is built the “Qingling Pavilion,” also called the “Zhixian Pavilion” because it is in front of Zhixian Peak. The pavilion bears two pairs of couplets, one of which reads: “Come here to dispel worldly thoughts, / Face it to refresh the heart of a refined guest.”

Exiting the Jade Emperor Hall to the north and ascending the steps leads to the “Goddess Temple,” dedicated to Bixia Yuanjun. Behind the Goddess Temple is the “Zhenwu Temple,” which originally enshrined the seven stars of the Northern Xuanwu. Its couplet reads: “A black banner shields the sun and moon, / Seven-star swords illuminate heaven and earth.” Exiting the Zhenwu Temple, at the northernmost end, there used to be the Sanyuan Hall, also called Sanyuan Palace, on a spacious stone stairway. It enshrined the gods of Heaven, Earth, and Water. In the 18th year of the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty (1813), Zhu Xijue, the governor of Shandong, inscribed the plaque above the gate: “Spiritual Light Illuminating the Three Realms.” To the left of the hall are the Guanyin Hall, Lüzu Temple, and Qingdi Palace; today only the Qingdi Palace remains.

Major Works

The temple houses numerous ancient steles from the Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, among which the most famous is the “Eulogy on the Portrait of Master Cui Zhenjing” stele from the second year of the Dingzong era (1247) early in the Yuan Dynasty. Master Cui, whose name was Dao Yan, courtesy name Xuan Fu, and sobriquet Zhen Jing, was a Jin Dynasty figure—a recluse who combined Confucianism and Taoism, abandoned officialdom, and shunned fame. He originally resided at the “Jinshan Haotian Temple” in the eastern part of Mongolia’s Jirem region. During the Zhen era of the Jin Dynasty, he moved south and settled in Wufeng Mountain, where he became closely associated with literati of the time and gained considerable fame. He passed away in the fifth year of the Xingding era of the Jin Dynasty (1221). This stele was erected in his memory. The front of the stele bears eight seal script characters: “Eulogy on the Portrait of Master Cui Zhenjing.” The body of the stele features a line engraving by Shen Shiyuan of Master Cui Dao Yan sitting cross-legged. Above the portrait are three poems in praise of the master, composed by Jin and Yuan poets Yuan Haowen, Liu Qi, and Du Renjie, written respectively in large seal, seal, and clerical scripts. The reverse side of the stele contains the “Brief Biography of Master Cui Zhenjing,” written by Du Renjie and calligraphed by Gao ?. The works on this stele come from master artists in poetry, calligraphy, painting, and carving, and have been recorded by generations of epigraphers. Additionally, a poem stele by Du Renjie is also preserved in the temple.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units