Main Hall of Yong'an Temple in Southern Region

Main Hall of Yong'an Temple in Nanbu

The main hall of Yong'an Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Yong'an Temple, situated in Group 6, Weixing Village, Tongping Township, Nanbu County, Sichuan Province, covers an area of about 1,200 square meters. According to inscriptions on preserved stone tablets, the temple was first constructed in the second year of the Yonghui era of the Tang Dynasty (651 AD), dating back more than 1,300 years. In the 22nd year of the Qianlong reign (1757 AD), local villagers conducted a restoration, making it one of the oldest buildings in the county. Legend has it that Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty visited this temple when he was still a prince. In 2002, it was designated as a key cultural relic protection unit of Nanchong City, and in 2009, it was listed as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit.

"Since ancient times, famous mountains have often been home to temples," yet Yong'an Temple is situated in a flat and open area, surrounded by rolling hills, with a small river winding around it like a jade ribbon. Judging from the large quantities of rubble, ceramics (including some from the Han Dynasty), and utensils unearthed in areas such as Loufang Street (Group 4), Tianjingba (Group 5), and Zaizilin (Group 3), the region around Yong'an Temple was once quite prosperous in history. The location of the temple also reflects its strong humanistic connection.

Yong'an Temple is a single-eave, gable-and-hip roofed structure facing south, featuring three bays measuring 8.2 meters in width and 6.2 meters in depth. The front porch is 8.2 meters long and 2.8 meters wide. The roof ridge is adorned with decorative tiles featuring auspicious beasts and floral patterns, with a treasure vase at the center. The roof is covered with tubular tiles, and the eave ends and drip tiles are shaped like clouds and ruyi symbols. The eave columns are 4 meters high with a diameter of 50 centimeters, and their front and rear ends are slightly tapered (a traditional architectural term referring to the intentional narrowing of column ends). The visible column bases are circular, 64 centimeters in diameter and 28 centimeters high, decorated with floral patterns. The central bay's lintel is slightly curved like a moon beam, supporting the purlin, with its extended parts resting on the secondary bays' auxiliary beams. The corner bracket sets are of the six-purlin, uncentered type, extending at a 45-degree angle to support the large corner beams. Inside, wooden beams are used, with their ends fitted with bracket sets that support the cross beams. There are two bracket sets on the central column heads and one in the intercolumnar space, all of the five-purlin, centered type, extending diagonally to support the eave beams. What distinguishes Yong'an Temple’s bracket sets from other ancient examples is that they are all octagonal in shape. Additionally, there is one centered bracket set on each side wall, also of the five-purlin, centered type, and flat beams with intercolumnar bracket sets inside the hall. Another unique feature is that none of the brackets have “bracket eyes” (i.e., the upward-curving ends are absent, leaving straight beams with brackets placed at their tips). The central bay features a roof structure of four purlins, with the front secondary beam supported by three columns, while the side walls use four columns to support the four-purlin structure. On the front of the main hall’s roof ridge are twelve zodiac animal reliefs, exquisitely carved and matching the number of Earthly Branches; on the back is a dragon relief, depicting two dragons coiling through the heavens and soaring above waves, vivid and dynamic. These two sets of reliefs not only reflect the ancient reverence for humanity as the crown of creation but also demonstrate worship of deities and authority.

In front of the main hall are five lotus-shaped supports, known as lotus pedestals. This architectural feature is unique to the site.

In front of Yong'an Temple stands a stele erected in the third year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1864 AD), inscribed with the "Record of the Restoration of Yong'an Temple by the Du Family of the Upper Three Branches of Anren Township." It states: "In the second year of the Yonghui era of Emperor Gaozong of Tang (651 AD), the local administrator petitioned the court to build the temple for prayers regarding droughts, floods, epidemics, and other disasters. The decree was granted, and the temple was constructed by imperial order. Now, over a thousand years have passed. Though the imperial decree has long been lost, the purple-golden beam remains standing, as if the sacred spirit of our land endures..." From this text, it can be inferred that the Tang-era beams were still present during the Qing Tongzhi period. Existing inscriptions on the beams include: "Repaired in the second year of the Yongzheng reign (1724 AD)" and "The 22nd year of the Qianlong reign (1757 AD), lunar month of Guisi (March), a propitious day." One column base is inscribed with: "In the 24th year of Qianlong (1759 AD), beams and column bases were replaced." The side halls were built during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, with inscriptions on the beams reading: "The 22nd year of Daoguang (1842 AD), lunar month of Jiuyin (September), repairs to the main hall and construction of the side corridors..." These records confirm that Yong'an Temple was originally built in the second year of the Tang Yonghui era and underwent renovations during the Qing Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Daoguang reigns. Its architectural style bears similarities to the Five Dragons Temple of Yuan Dynasty Langzhong and the Lifeng structures in our county.

On October 7, 2019, the main hall of Yong'an Temple in Nanbu was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Protected area: The site extends 30 meters eastward, 20 meters southwest, 50 meters southeast to the southeastern edge of the playground, and 30 meters northwest to Biji Mountain.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units