Zezhou Dai Temple

Zezhou Dai Temple

Zezhou Dai Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Zezhou Dai Temple

Zezhou Dai Temple (listed in the fifth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units)

Era: Song to Ming Dynasty

Address: West side of Yedi Village, Nancun Town, Zezhou County

According to inscriptions, the temple was originally built in the third year of the Yuanfeng era during the Northern Song Dynasty (1080), and underwent multiple renovations during the Jin, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The existing Tianqi Hall is an original structure from the Song Dynasty, while the rest of the buildings date from the Ming and Qing periods.

The temple faces south and consists of two courtyards, covering an area of 3,720 square meters. At the front is the mountain gate, which leads to east and west corridors. In the center is a square water pool, and to the north of the pool stands a dance tower (wulou). Behind the tower lies the rear courtyard, at the center of which is the Tianqi Hall, flanked by three-bay side halls and three-bay wing rooms on the east and west sides.

The Tianqi Hall is the main hall of the temple. It is three bays wide and three bays deep, with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. The hall has a square floor plan and covers a construction area of 190.2 square meters. The front eaves have a corridor supported by four square chamfered stone pillars, with lotus-petal-shaped inverted basin bases. The central bay of the hall features a plank door, while the side bays have lattice windows. The vertical columns around the door, lintels, thresholds, and brackets are all richly carved. An inscription on the beams dates from the “27th year of the Dading era (1187)... the month of Si...” The brackets under the eaves follow the tiered bracket sets typical of the period, and the ceiling is supported by complex wooden structures. The interior beams are carved with dragons, and the wooden columns are adorned with delicate designs. The hall also contains murals and other decorative artworks from the Song and Jin periods.

The dance tower has a square floor plan and a single-eave cross-shaped hip-and-gable roof. The roof has a gentle slope. The tops of the pillars are fitted with large horizontal beams, and the brackets are arranged in tiered sets. The upper parts of the walls inside the tower have murals, which are relatively well preserved.

· Listed in the fifth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units