Yangmingshan Temple

Yangmingshan Temple

Yangmingshan Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province.

Yangmingshan Temple is located on a granite slope at an altitude of over 1,500 meters on the southern side of the main peak. Originally built during the Song Dynasty and reconstructed in the Ming Dynasty, it covers a construction area of more than 5,000 square meters.

The temple is shaded by ancient trees with lush greenery, and on its eastern and western sides, the rolling mountains embrace it like two dragons playing with a pearl—a sight locals call “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl.” In the 31st year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1552), the seventh patriarch of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism, Master Xiufeng, entered nirvana at Yangmingshan Temple, and his body remained incorrupt. At that time, Ju Po, the grandson of the Prince of Nanwei from Yongzhou, and Jiang Xiangya, a local from Lingling, who had long admired Master Xiufeng’s noble character, came to pay their respects. They were filled with admiration and bowed in worship. After returning, Ju Po reported the event to the Prince of Nanwei, who said, “The Seventh Patriarch deserves the title ‘True Lineage of Linji.’” He then renamed the temple “Wanshou Temple” (Temple of Longevity) and personally inscribed a couplet for the gate: “Renowned Mountain Revered Through the Ages, Ten Thousand Homes Turn in Homage.” Ju Po and Jiang Xiangya delivered the plaque to the temple. Ever since Master Xiufeng entered nirvana, the temple’s revered status has been passed down through generations. For hundreds of years, devout worshippers have come in an endless stream, and the incense offerings have remained abundant, continuing to this day and making it a sacred Buddhist site in southern Hunan.