Chan's Ancestral Temple

Chan's Ancestral Temple

Chan's Ancestral Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chan's Ancestral Temple is located at the foot of Wuru Peak, about 2 kilometers northwest of Shaolin Temple. It was built to commemorate Bodhidharma, the patriarch of Zen Buddhism. The site currently houses a main hall, two pavilions, and the Thousand Buddha Pavilion, among other structures. The main hall of Chan's Ancestral Temple was constructed in the seventh year of the Xuanhe era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1125 AD). It measures three bays in both width and depth, featuring a single-eave hip-and-gable roof with glazed tile trimming. The wooden beams and brackets inside the hall exhibit typical Song Dynasty architectural styles. The front eaves of the hall are supported by four stone pillars, adorned with bas-reliefs depicting pomegranate flowers, scrolling vines, birds, and musicians. Inside the hall, there are another four stone pillars carved with images of divine kings, coiled dragons, and celestial beings. The central bay of the hall contains a Buddhist shrine. To the southeast of the main hall stands an ancient cypress tree, said to have been planted by Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, in the early Tang Dynasty. The temple also preserves over 40 stone steles inscribed with praises for Patriarch Bodhidharma, written by calligraphers such as Huang Tingjian and Cai Bian. Chan's Ancestral Temple provides important reference material for the study of Buddhist architecture, sculpture, and calligraphy from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.

Location

One kilometer northwest of Shaolin Temple, Henan

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Henan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units

Songyang Academy

Zhongyue Temple in Dengfeng

Shaolin Temple Pagoda Forest

Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth”

Dengfeng Ancient Observatory

Huishan Temple

Songyue Pagoda

Measurement Platform

Qimu Que

Shaoshi Que

Taishi Que