Mani Hall

Mani Hall

Mani Hall is a cultural tourism attraction.

Passing through the site of the former Dajue Six Masters Hall, you will arrive at Mani Hall. Built in the first year of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty (1052 AD), Mani Hall features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof and a cruciform floor plan, with its four sides forming a five-bay main hall structure. Such an ingenious architectural layout is unique in China. At the center of the hall’s Sumeru pedestal stand five gilded and resplendent Buddha statues—the central one being Shakyamuni preaching in a seated posture. On the left is the disciple Kasyapa, standing like a solemn old monk, while on the right is the disciple Ananda, gentle and serene, resembling a kind-hearted person. These three statues are original works from the Song Dynasty and are truly treasures. Flanking the seated statue are the Bodhisattvas Manjusri and Samantabhadra, adorned with beaded necklaces, jewels, and flying celestial ribbons—both added during the Ming Dynasty. After restoration between 1977 and 1980, Mani Hall has regained a more rustic and dignified grandeur, allowing this ancient pavilion to shine with renewed youth. Attached is a poem by Zhao Wenlian of the Qing Dynasty:

Viewing Flowers at Longxing Temple

Zhao Wenlian

At dawn I knock on the meditation room,

Where flourishing blossoms grace crabapple blooms.

The petals blush with delicate hues,

And the quiet heart savors their sweet perfumes.

Bamboo rustles in the warm breeze,

While tea brews briskly in the kettle’s gleam.

After the peony’s promised date,

I’ll return again to Rainflower Hall’s dream.

Zhao Wenlian, from Laishui (present-day Xincheng County, Hebei Province), was a successful candidate in the imperial examination during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, a renowned poet, professor at the Zhengding Prefecture School, and compiler of the *Zhengding County Annals*.

Zhengding Longxing Temple

Thousand-Handed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin

Ordination Terrace

Reversed-Seated Guanyin

revolving Scripture Repository Pavilion

Twin Dragons Screen Wall

Cishi Pavilion

Longzang Temple Stele