Shangcheng Temple

Shangcheng Temple

Shangcheng Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Sichuan Province.

Shangcheng Temple is located at Fenghuangzui at the foot of Dingjue Mountain in Shangcheng Temple Village, Dongba Town, southern Nanchong, about 5 kilometers from the town and 30 kilometers from the county seat. The temple is nestled among surrounding hills, with one peak standing out prominently. Towering pines and cypresses grow densely, and the temple is situated midway up the mountain. According to the “Merit Stele for the Restoration of Shangcheng Temple” from the 29th year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty (1764): “Shangcheng Temple on Dingjue Mountain is an ancient and renowned Buddhist temple. It has been passed down through generations that the land was originally the secular property of Lord Qiao (Qiao Zhou of the Three Kingdoms period), which was purchased by the honorary official Zhou Shangcheng to build the Buddhist hall. To this day, the poems of Imperial Censor Yang (Yang Zhan) and the praises of Clerk Tong (Tong Fu) show that the red steps and stone stairs of those days must have shone alongside the grand halls.” This confirms that the temple was first built in the early Jin Dynasty. It was destroyed and rebuilt repeatedly during the Tang and Song dynasties. In the third year of the Zhiyuan era under Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan (1266), local lay Buddhist Zuozhi and others donated funds to rebuild the temple on a grand scale, and it flourished with incense offerings. The temple covered an area of 20 mu, and following the mountain terrain, it included four main halls: the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Fahong Hall, and the Guanyin Hall, as well as a bell and drum tower, and over twenty rooms for monks and guests. This place was a key transportation route from Shunqing to Baoning Prefecture, where passing officials and literati often stopped to rest and compose numerous poems. In the autumn of the 14th year of the Zhengde reign of Ming Emperor Wuzong (1519), the abbot of the temple, Monk Yuejiang, completed the renovation of Shangcheng Temple. Abbots from various mountains came to celebrate, marking an unprecedented grand occasion. The “Nanlong Monks’ Stele Inscription” was engraved, including a poem that reads: “A renowned temple in the deep mountains, a Buddhist palace where curtains of meditation mats roll with the evening glow. Every bit of right and wrong flows away like the sea, all kinds of glory and disgrace drift far to the horizon. Year-round worldly life follows the springs and rocks, plum blossoms fall and bloom again with the passing years.” In the spring of the 21st year of the Jiajing reign of Emperor Shizong (1542), Yang Zhan, the regional inspector of northern Sichuan, stayed here overnight. After admiring the grandeur of the halls and spacious corridors, he allocated public funds to build an additional Xubai Hall beside the Guanyin Hall. He also composed the poem “Xubai Hall of Ancient Shangcheng Temple”: “As if a painting unfolds before the great ravine, surrounded by flowers fresh in all four seasons. Jagged peaks are wreathed in clouds, while pine and cypress branches cradle hanging vines. Strange rocks spout springs that drip constantly, old monkeys lead their young in playful circles. Monks hang their robes out to dry, yet marvel as the setting sun dips behind the hills.” In the 29th year of the Qianlong reign (1764), the degree-holding monk Jingcong (also known as Huibo) and his successor Zhi Shan (also known as Yunxiang) renovated the temple, leaving a stele to document the work. In the early years of the Republic of China, Shangcheng Temple still had hundreds of mu of temple fields. In the 16th year (1927), stationed troops, under the pretext of building the “Tongbao Highway,” forcibly sold the fields, forcing the monks to leave the temple. After liberation, the temple became public property and was turned into Dongba Town Primary School. During the Cultural Revolution, the temple was destroyed, leaving only the Mahavira Hall and Fahong Hall built in the Ming Dynasty. In 2002, the school was relocated elsewhere, and the following year, the temple was approved for reopening. A new one-story and two-story residential building with over ten rooms was constructed, and Shi Xudu (secular name Du Junnan, from Bailong Township, Jiange County) was appointed as the abbot, a position he holds to this day.

Protected Area: The temple site extends 20 meters eastward to Dingjue Mountain, 30 meters southwestward to the highway, 20 meters southeastward, and 15 meters northwestward.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units