Caoyi Temple

Caoyi Temple

Caoyi Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

When discussing scenic wonders, one must not overlook Cao yi Rock — a historic site that should not be forgotten by people today. In the 20th year of the Guangxu reign (1894), the iron-faced censor Zhao Qilin specially composed a five-character regulated poem:

I came to Caoyi Temple, where the indoor air flows gently.

The meditation room is sheltered without tiles, the ancient walls stand firm without columns.

Moss marks stain the Buddha’s face, mist blends with incense smoke.

Even a master painter would find it hard to depict this small paradise.

Cao yi Rock is located on Daluo Mountain, now within Cao Yi Village, Xiaonan Administrative District, Qingshanqiao Town. Daluo Mountain stretches 16 kilometers in length and 12 kilometers in width, with its peaks entirely formed of uniform, contiguous red stone. The rock face extends 8 meters deep, 16 meters wide, and nearly 5 meters high. The rock surface is shaped like a crescent moon, and within it lies Caoyi Temple. The temple was built halfway inside a natural cave, with a cliff below and surrounded by swirling clouds, mist, wind, rain, and rainbow hues. At the time of its establishment, the monk Fengchu from Bashu during the Later Zhou Dynasty wore clothes made of wild grass, meditated in the cave for over 30 years, and thus Cao yi Rock became renowned. After Fengchu passed away, local scholars took the lead and raised funds to build a two-courtyard temple complex. It has a history of over 1,400 years.

The Guangxu-era Xiangtan County Annals record that in the third year of the Qiandao era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1167), Neo-Confucian masters and literary giants such as Zhu Xi, Zhang Nanxuan, and Lin Zexhi traveled together to Mount Nanyue. They encountered a snowstorm and stayed overnight at Caoyi Rock. That night, the three were inspired to compose poetry and exchanged verses. Zhu Xi wrote:

The setting sun filters through sparse woods casting sunlight, who

divides the remaining snow to let the mountain glow? All my life I wish to learn from Master Cheng, recalling how it purified my worldly heart back then.

The temple was renovated twice, once in the ninth year of the Xuande era of the Ming Dynasty (1434) and again in the fourth year of the Chenghua era (1468). In the 33rd year of the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1694), the local gentry Zhao Lianrong and his wife Lady Tang rebuilt the temple hall, inscribing the horizontal plaque “Penetrating Heaven and Earth.” The temple consists of front and rear sections: the front for monks’ meditation, the rear for incense burning and Buddha worship. Its exquisite craftsmanship and majestic presence reflect its former glory.