Lotus Platform Temple

Lotus Platform Temple

Lotus Platform Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Lotus Platform Temple was originally built during the Tang Dynasty. Its initial location was where the Ziyang Psychiatric Hospital now stands. After experiencing several periods of rise and decline, the temple gained fame both in China and abroad because the eminent Tang Dynasty monk Master Zhishen once presided over it. It has now been relocated and rebuilt within Fengling Park, where it has begun to take shape.

Lotus Platform Temple is located on Lotus Mountain, about three li north of Ziyang City. The 38th-year draft of the Annals of Ziyang County cites older records stating that Lotus Platform Temple was where Master Zhishen took monastic vows. After becoming a monk, he dug a pond in front of the temple and planted white lotuses. It was said that the lotuses did not often bloom, but in years when imperial examinations were held, they would flower—and the number of blossoms would equal the number of successful candidates. The temple was destroyed during the late Ming Dynasty and was rebuilt in 1717. A plaque in front of the temple bears four majestic characters: "Dragon Coiling, Phoenix Soaring."

Because Master Zhishen became a monk at Lotus Platform Temple, by the Ming Dynasty, the "Moonlit Lotus Pond" had been listed as one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Ziyang, inspiring countless stories. Especially in autumn, when the air is crisp, the sky is clear, the moon hangs bright, shadows of flowers sway gently, and all is quiet and serene, the view is at its most charming.

He Yuan wrote a poem: "Half an acre of square pond fed by mountain stream, since when have these jade-like lotuses been sown? A host of blooms claim the clouds’ domain, a mirrored pool reflects the sky again and again. Light reaches from the moon above the sea, shadows link to osmanthus by the pool. On Mid-Autumn night, climbing here in high spirits, I’m overjoyed to meet the Moon Goddess near at hand."

In November 1941, Han Dynasty bricks inscribed with “Zizhou City Wall” were excavated from Lotus Mountain. In 1951, a cliff tomb on Lotus Mountain yielded red pottery houses and more than 90 unearthed relics. Among them were relief columns and dougong brackets, identified as remnants of a Tang Dynasty Buddhist temple. According to the archaeologist Zhang Shengzhuang who investigated Lotus Platform Temple at the time, the stone-carved Buddha heads and arhat figures were solemn, exquisite, and decorated richly and exquisitely, suspected to be Tang Dynasty carvings.