Yulong Temple

Yulong Temple

Yulong Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Yulong Temple: Located by the Laixi River, 30 kilometers northwest of the city. It was first built in the 15th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1536) and renovated in the 8th year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1869). The left and right walls of the main hall are inlaid with reliefs measuring 5.12 meters in length and 1.32 meters in width. The upper row depicts 24 celestial deities, each holding a ritual implement, standing atop the clouds and looking down upon the mortal world, their robes flowing and their expressions divine; the lower row features the "Eighteen Arhats Crossing the Sea," with turbulent waves and leaping sea creatures. The arhats are shown standing on dragons, tigers, fish, shrimp, turtles, and tortoises, either greeting, chatting, or pointing, exuding a strong sense of life and romantic charm. The temple’s entrance plaque bears the bold characters “Ci Yun Pu Yin” (Compassionate Clouds Shelter All), and the side couplets read: “Jade battlements and floating clouds remain unchanged through millennia; the dragon pool reflects the bright moon, all phenomena emptied.” These were inscribed by Jiang Guolin, a Provincial Graduate (Jinshi) from Sichuan during the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty.

From this passage, we can see that the cultural significance of Yulong Temple lies largely in its Buddhist stone carvings dating back to the Ming Dynasty. The Lu County Annals rank “Yulong Temple” third, following the “Yuchan Cliff Carvings and Stone Inscriptions” and the “Longnao Bridge,” which speaks volumes about its status among the over 240 cultural relics in Lu County. Today, the reliefs on the left and right walls of the main hall mentioned in the Lu County Annals have miraculously remained intact. It is said that this preservation was due to a thoughtful individual who covered them with yellow mud back in the 1960s. Dozens of exquisitely crafted and vividly composed stone carvings can be found throughout the walls, steps, and corridors. Though time has slightly eroded their details, their former splendor still shines through.

The temple is built by the Laixi River, on a common small hill in the hilly region of southern Sichuan, less than half a mile from the river and covering several acres of land. The overall structure of the ancient temple is still roughly recognizable. It now houses several farming families and retains more than ten rooms of various sizes. The path from the mountain gate to the main hall is largely intact, with grand beams and pillars standing upright, faintly echoing the temple’s former grandeur. Whether it’s the scale of the mountain gate, the specifications of the main hall, or the remaining wooden beams, stone pillars, and fragmented stone carvings, one can imagine the temple’s former prosperity and extraordinary scale. The main hall’s central beam is a solid round trunk, approximately nine meters long and over 60 centimeters in diameter. The front, after being planed smooth, is painted with a golden double-fish Taiji diagram, still vibrant as if new. Flanking the Taiji diagram are seal script characters, each about 90 centimeters long and 30 centimeters wide, reading: “Huang Tu Gong Gu” (The Imperial Realm is Consolidated) and “Di Dao Xia Chang” (The Emperor’s Rule Prospered Far and Wide). Villagers claim these were inscribed by Emperor Qianlong, but I firmly refute that. Among the broken walls and remnants, if you part the wild grass and trees, you’ll find exquisitely detailed stone carvings. The mountain gate has an extraordinary presence. The horizontal plaque was inscribed by a Huang, a prefectural magistrate of Luzhou at the time, and erected in the 21st year of the Daoguang reign by the abbot, Monk Huang Sengyue. The four characters “Ci Yun Pu Yin” are written in a calm, dignified, and transcendent style, radiating an ethereal aura. Of the three couplets, only one and a half remain. The main couplet was written by Jiang Guolin — it’s the acrostic couplet recorded in the Lu County Annals. The beginning of the couplet conceals the temple’s name, “Yu Long,” the body of the text is intact, and the inscription and seal are clear. The calligraphy is dignified, solemn, and harmonious, with exquisite carving and legible characters. In 1981, the Lu County People’s Government designated the temple as a county-level cultural relic protection unit.