Fengchong Temple

Fengchong Temple

Fengchong Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

Fengchong Temple, an ancient structure located within Xingtang County, is a key cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province and has been hailed by Chinese ancient architecture experts as one of the precious ancient buildings in the country.

According to the 1680 (19th year of the Kangxi reign in the Qing Dynasty) Xingtang County Chronicles, a monk named Chongbian who lived during the Sui Kaihuang era was revered for his spiritual practice and was conferred an imperial title. He presided over a temple in Xingtang; while the inscription on the “1814 (19th year of the Jiaqing reign) Fengchong Temple Restoration Stele” states that several hundred years later, during the Song Yongxi era, although Master Chongbian had long passed away, he “still manifested his presence, protecting the people,” receiving incense offerings from devout worshippers. This drew the admiration of the Song emperor, who, through an imperial decree, renamed Daoji Temple to Fengchong Temple. The temple was originally built in 556 AD (the 7th year of the Tianbao era of the Northern Qi Dynasty), and was renovated in 591 AD (the 11th year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty), 1009 AD (the 2nd year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Song Dynasty), and 1518 AD (the 13th year of the Zhengde era of the Ming Dynasty).

As early as October 1936, Mr. Liu Dunzhen, a pioneer in China’s architectural education and historical research and a master of the field, came to Xingtang to conduct surveys of ancient architecture. He spent three days meticulously measuring Fengchong Temple and later wrote the book Brief Notes on the Survey of Ancient Architecture in Western Hebei. According to the Collected Works of Liu Dunzhen: “Fengchong Temple is arranged from south to north in sequence: the mountain gate, secondary mountain gate, Heavenly King Hall, front hall, main hall, an octagonal fragmented pagoda, several stone steles, as well as a stone pagoda and a bell tower and drum tower on each side. The secondary mountain gate has a white marble sutra pillar and several Buddha statues.”

Further reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Hebei Province