Sizhou Chan Temple

Sizhou Chan Temple

Sizhou Chan Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

South of Xiandao Lake stands Baima Mountain, which rises 780 meters above sea level. Surrounded by dense forests and perennially shrouded in mist, this mountain is mysterious and enigmatic. Halfway up the mountain lies the Luo Family Stockade, adjacent to which is Sizhou Temple. The legends of the stockade and the temple intertwine into an age-old mystery open to all interpretations.

In the first year of the Sizheng era of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (684 AD), Xu Jingye raised an army to rebel against Empress Wu Zetian. The draft of the proclamation was written by Luo Binwang, one of the Four Eminent Scholars of early Tang. Historical records state that “Luo Binwang fled after his defeat, and his whereabouts remained unknown.” However, according to local folklore in Yangxin, Luo Binwang escaped to the Luo Family Stockade on Baima Mountain in Wangying and lived in seclusion there. His descendants multiplied and spread across Yangxin. The place where he built his hut back then is today’s Luo Family Stockade. At that time, the eminent monk Shangjia from the Western Regions founded a temple and preached scriptures in Sizhou (now Sizhou County, Anhui), gaining widespread fame and earning the nickname “Sizhou Monk.” A Sizhou monk traveled to the Luo Family Stockade on Baima Mountain in Wangying, where he took up residence and built a temple. Admiring his reputation, Luo Binwang contributed all his wealth to the effort and later became a monk himself, renouncing worldly life. Luo Binwang was originally from Yiwu, Zhejiang. After his defeat in Yangzhou, it is possible that he traveled up the river and sought refuge in Yangxin. According to Wang Ping, former Political Commissar of the General Logistics Department of the People’s Liberation Army and a Marshal, there was an ancient tomb not far from his mother’s grave. The tombstone was tall, and the inscription recorded the life of Luo Binwang. Unfortunately, both the tomb and the tablet have since been submerged underwater. During the turmoil of the late Tang Dynasty, the temple was destroyed in war.

Historical records indicate that in the third year of the Tianfu era of the late Tang Dynasty (903 AD), Sizhou Temple was rebuilt. By the Yuan Dynasty, however, the temple had again fallen into ruin and its monks had dispersed. In the third year of the Xuande era of the Ming Dynasty (1428 AD), a high monk from Chunchi Temple in Sishui County, Shandong, arrived here during his travels and reconstructed the temple. From then on, the temple flourished in popularity. At its peak, the temple complex covered 27 acres, surrounded by stone walls about half a kilometer in circumference and over ten feet high. The temple owned more than 100 acres of farmland and vast tracts of forest. It housed over a hundred monks, divided into scholarly and martial divisions. The scholarly monks practiced meditation, while the martial monks were responsible for defense. Over time, Sizhou Temple suffered multiple destructions. By 1985, only half of the main hall remained, along with the Martial Saint Hall and the Guanyin Hall among the side halls. In 1988, Sizhou Temple was designated as a county-level key cultural relics protection unit. Originally, there were several stone pagodas near the temple, but only three remain today. One, located in front of the temple, was built in the 22nd year of the Jiaqing era of the Qing Dynasty (1817 AD). This seven-story pagoda stands over ten feet tall, with each level being hexagonal and featuring upturned corners. Beside the pagoda lies an ancient tomb from the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty. The other two stone pagodas are uniquely shaped—one resembles an incense burner, the other a gourd. Both are ancient in appearance and have endured through the ages.

Sizhou Temple enjoys a tranquil environment. A stream babbles nearby, disappearing underground before suddenly emerging in front of the temple, spraying water like an incense stick. Beside it grows a lush willow tree, said to have been planted by Luo Binwang.