Xiangquan Temple

Xiangquan Temple

Xiangquan Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Xiangquan Temple is located on Linluo Mountain, about twenty kilometers northwest of Weihui City. It was first built in the seventh year of the Tianbao era of the Northern Qi Dynasty (556 AD) by the renowned monk Chou Chan on the site of a former Wei palace. It was renovated in the fifth year of the Daye era of the Sui Dynasty (609 AD), and stone carvings and statues from the Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, and Qing dynasties can be found throughout its history. Though Xiangquan Temple may not be as widely known as the Shaolin Temple in Songshan Mountain, it enjoys great fame in northern Henan and is often referred to as the “Foremost Ancient Temple of Northern Henan.” The temple gets its name from its proximity to Xiangquan (Fragrant Spring).

Xiangquan Temple has long been celebrated for its beauty, with such praises as “Layered Greenery of the Taihang Mountains,” “The Sound of Xiangquan Spring,” “Secluded Paths Leading to Serenity,” and “A Blessed Land Like a Heavenly Cave.” The temple is grand in architecture and has been a popular retreat for government officials, nobles, literati, and scholars throughout history to escape the summer heat and enjoy the scenery. It has also served as an important gathering place for local communities. Built against the rocky hillside, the temple rises majestically among verdant peaks. Water seeps from the cracks in the stones both inside and outside the temple, flowing year-round, cascading over rocks, splashing to the ground, and echoing through the clouds with a delightful sound. Wang Yun, a Hanlin academician from Jixian during the Yuan Dynasty, once composed a poem in praise of the temple: “Waterfalls cascade before Dripping Milk Rock, while green woods flutter in the high autumn breeze. The dragon king leaps into the azure sky, leaving behind layers of misty sorrow across the valleys.”

In 1963, it was listed as a Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Henan Province.

The Thousand Buddha Cave Grotto is situated in Xiangquan Temple on Linluo Mountain at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountains, approximately twenty kilometers northwest of Jixian County. It faces the rushing stream at the front and is surrounded by green mountains at the back. The grotto is carved into the mountain cliff, rectangular in shape, two and a half meters wide and three meters deep. The front features a carving of one Buddha flanked by two disciples. The main Buddha sits cross-legged on a lotus pedestal, about 1.5 meters tall. The lower parts of the cave’s entrance walls feature carvings of one Buddha and two guardian warriors, each about 0.8 meters high, with niches on the inner sides housing one Buddha and two bodhisattvas. The overall style of the sculptures is believed to date back to the Tang Dynasty. To the north of the cave is a spring, with the Chinese characters for “Xiangquan” (Fragrant Spring) carved into the mountain cliff, traditionally attributed to the hand of Prince Lu. Nearby, there is a Ming Dynasty engraving of the “Goddess Magu” painted by the Tang Dynasty artist Wu Daozi. The mountain cliff also bears numerous cliff inscriptions, along with a Song Dynasty stone rubbing depicting a reclining Buddha. To the west of the temple stands a four-tiered stone pagoda from the Northern Song Dynasty, and there is also a Qing Dynasty stele featuring a thousand Buddha carvings. The nearby cliffs are dotted with dozens of small niches, most of which do not contain Buddha statues. Only one larger niche houses seven Taoist statues.