ChuanDi Buddhist Hall

ChuanDi Buddhist Hall

ChuanDi Buddhist Hall is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Period: Yuan to Qing dynasties

The temple is located in ChuanDi Village, about twenty kilometers west of Zezhou City, Jincheng, Shanxi Province. It currently consists of a small, enclosed courtyard. The main hall is the oldest structure, while the side halls date from the Qing Dynasty.

No valuable founding steles or inscriptions have been left in this Buddhist hall. Based on its architectural style, the main hall is inferred to be a Jin Dynasty structure.

The main hall is three bays wide and four rafters deep, with a single-eave, nine-ridge roof, built on a raised platform above ground level. All the eave columns are square, chamfered stone pillars. The architrave and the auxiliary beam intersect above the columns and protrude beyond them. The bracket sets on the column tops are of the fourth grade, featuring single “false” ang. The “linggong” and “pu’fang” beams are exposed where they cross the columns. The front eave bracket set is of the fourth grade, single false ang type, with the “linggong” and “pu’fang” beams extending outwards. The “ang” components are deeply carved. On the rear eave, the central beam’s front section is directly exposed to rain. The wooden components have deteriorated severely over years of exposure. The front section of the central beam on the west side is directly rained upon, and visible corrosion is already quite deep. The central beam is supported by a single bracket set, and the rear eave also has only one bracket set.

In May 2013, it was listed in the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

According to villagers, during the land reform period, the side halls of the temple were allocated to two local families as residences, while the main hall served as a meeting place for the village. Later, due to severe water leakage and the inability to carry out repairs, it was abandoned. Currently, the condition of the main hall is very poor, with large holes in both the front and rear eave roofs—especially the front eave, where the hole is as big as a room. The wooden components have rotted badly after years of rain exposure. The front end of the central beam on the west side is directly exposed to rain, and visible corrosion is already quite deep.

In May 2013, ChuanDi Buddhist Hall was designated as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units