Yilong Ba’en Temple

Yilong Ba’en Temple

Yilong Ba’en Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Sichuan Province.

Located in Yangliu Village, Guanzhi Town, Yilong County, Ba’en Temple is a well-preserved ancient architectural complex from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The entire structure features an ingenious layout and a classic, simple style. Its brackets under the eaves are exquisitely shaped and finely crafted, possessing high artistic and historical value. At Ba’en Temple, there is a story about Li Xiegong, the top imperial scholar of the Song Dynasty, who fulfilled the wish to “become the top scholar and repay his mother’s kindness,” which has become a widely told anecdote in the area.

Ba’en Temple covers an area of 810 square meters, with a built-up area of 666.2 square meters. The front hall was built during the Qing Dynasty, with a total width of 19 meters and a depth of 12.3 meters. It has a post-and-lintel structure, a single-eave gable and hip roof covered with small blue tiles, standing 6 meters tall with eaves at 3.5 meters high.

Climbing up five stone steps brings you to the rear hall. The rear hall was built during the Ming Dynasty, spanning three bays with a width of 19 meters and a depth of 15.6 meters. It features a post-and-lintel structure with raised beams, a single-eave gable and hip roof covered with small blue tiles, with eaves at 3.3 meters high and an overall height of 7.25 meters. The reporter observed that under the front eaves of the rear hall there are eight bracket sets in the “five-puzuo” style, including capital bracket sets, intercolumnar bracket sets, and corner bracket sets — four capital, four intercolumnar — featuring exquisite shapes, fine craftsmanship, and stable structures, making it of great research value.

The right side hall spans four bays with a width of 12 meters and a depth of 8.17 meters. It has a post-and-lintel beam frame, a single-eave gable and hip roof covered with small blue tiles. The courtyard enclosed by the rear hall, front hall, and right side hall is particularly charming. The courtyard is rectangular in shape, with flower stands built inside where osmanthus trees and Bauhinia trees are planted. An osmanthus tree leans against the eaves of the house.

Speaking of the origins of Ba’en Temple, one must begin with Li Xiegong, the top imperial scholar of the Song Dynasty.

According to historical records, Li Xiegong was from Jiuxianba, Yilong County (now part of Tonggu Township). When he was three years old, his father passed away, and life became difficult. His mother, Madam Chen, took him to stay with her brother, Chen Junxian. Feeling sorry for his widowed sister and fearing unforeseen mishaps, Chen Junxian pressured her to remarry. One night, unwilling to remarry, Madam Chen left a letter for her brother, asking him to take pity on their kinship and take good care of her young son, Li Xiegong. Then she ran away and became a nun at a nunnery. After Madam Chen’s departure, Chen Junxian grew very anxious, searching everywhere without success, and eventually decided to raise Li Xiegong with care.

At the age of seven, Li Xiegong was sent to a private school. Gifted, diligent, and studious, he excelled academically and earned great praise from his uncle. His uncle hired renowned teachers to instruct him. A few years later, Li Xiegong’s studies advanced significantly, and he became exceptionally talented. He participated in the prefectural examination and ranked among the top. In the early years of the Yongxi era during Emperor Taizong of Song’s reign, Li Xiegong went to the capital to take the imperial exams and became the top imperial scholar. Having achieved success and fame, he returned to his hometown on imperial order to visit family. Longing to see his mother, he searched everywhere, only to learn that she had passed away in the nunnery. When Li Xiegong arrived at his mother’s grave, he saw it overgrown with weeds and felt deep sorrow. To repay his mother’s kindness for giving birth to him, he built Ba’en Temple next to the nunnery.

Ba’en Temple underwent multiple renovations during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The current structure is a reconstruction from those periods, but the story of Li Xiegong building the temple to repay his mother's kindness has been passed down through generations, and the temple continues to bear this name.

Later, descendants erected a tall stone stele at the entrance of Dakan, Nan Dagengkou, beside the path 5 kilometers from Ba’en Temple, engraved with “Hometown of Li Xiegong, the Top Imperial Scholar of the Song Dynasty.” In the 14th year of Emperor Daoguang’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1834), Yao Wangzheng, the Magistrate of Yilong County, built a memorial archway in front of the county examination hall and personally inscribed the plaque “Hometown of Li Xiegong, the Top Imperial Scholar of the Song Dynasty” above the archway lintel as a token of deep remembrance.

On November 22, 1983, Ba’en Temple was designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Yilong County. On June 1, 2007, it was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Sichuan Province.

Protected area: 10 meters beyond the main hall.

Construction control zone: 40 meters beyond the protected area.