The Juehuang Hall of Mingjiao Temple

The Juehuang Hall of Mingjiao Temple

The Juehuang Hall of Mingjiao Temple is a protected cultural heritage site of Sichuan Province.

The Juehuang Hall of Mingjiao Temple is an ancient building from the Ming Dynasty, located in Chengxiang Town, Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China (formerly the county seat of Jintang County). It is the only remaining structure of the original Mingjiao Temple complex. Built in the first year of the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty (1465), the hall reflects the significant influence of official architectural styles on mid-Ming wooden architecture in Sichuan. Inside the hall, a large number of Ming Dynasty painted architectural decorations, murals, and two polychrome clay sculptures (one of a Buddha and one of a child deity) have been preserved to this day.

The founding date of Mingjiao Temple is uncertain. It was rebuilt in the ninth year of the Xiantong era of the Tang Dynasty (868) and was granted the name Jingtu Temple in the second year of the Zhonghe era (882). Between the third year of the Jingde era and the fifth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1006–1012), Hu Si and others funded the transcription of Buddhist scriptures and built a five-bay main hall. In the fourth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era (1011), the temple was renamed Mingjiao Temple. At that time, the temple “faced the main road ahead, connected to the open fields outside, spanned three li in circumference, and stood prominently over the region,” occupying nearly all the streets in the northeastern part of today’s Chengxiang Town.

Between the Song and Yuan dynasties, frequent warfare damaged Mingjiao Temple. It was not until successive reconstructions and expansions during the Ming Dynasty that the temple’s later scale was established. In the early Ming period, “Monk Wenxiong rebuilt three bays of the Buddha hall… with three Buddha statues in the center, six bays for monks’ quarters and dining halls on both sides, and a bell tower to the east and a stupa to the west.” [iii] In the fifteenth year of the Hongwu era (1382), each county established a Monks’ Affairs Office, and Jintang County’s office was located within Mingjiao Temple. The then-official Huayan “built three bays of the abbot’s quarters.” During the Zhengtong era (1436–1449), the monk official Zhengchang “added a Dharma hall and mountain gate, and embellished the Vajra statues.”

From the Tianshun era to the first year of the Chenghua era (1457–1465), Mingjiao Temple underwent a major renovation and expansion. “All old halls, side corridors, and the mountain gate were repaired—collapsing structures were reinforced, decaying elements replaced—and a large (bay)[v] pavilion was built behind the hall, expanding beyond the original size without exceeding appropriate proportions. Clay sculptures were crafted, gold-plated and jade-like in quality, while the hall’s two walls were painted with the Twelve Wisdom Kings, Eighteen Arhats, and deities of the Three Heavens—all created by skilled artisans and enshrined accordingly. Additionally, a Vajra Pool spanning several mu was excavated in front, and several mu of land was cleared at the back, where pines, cypresses, and bamboo were planted as resting areas. … Construction began on the first day of the tenth month of the Tianshun era and was completed on the fourth day of the first month of the Chenghua era.” Behind the temple lies a mound called Vajra Mountain, used as a burial site for monks. In the forty-fifth year of the Wanli era (1617), “Vajra Mountain was dug up by people, exposing scattered bones. County magistrate Chen Jiamo donated his salary to repair and rebury the remains, planting pines and cypresses on the site.”

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Mingjiao Temple was burned down during the chaos involving Zhang Xianzhong and Qing forces, but the Juehuang Hall “remained unburned” and was fortunately preserved. In the forty-third year of the Kangxi era (1704), then-county magistrate Li Tingzai lamented the temple’s decline, saying, “The halls lean in ruins, bloodstains remain, a heartbreaking scene from the catastrophe sixty years ago.” Successive renovations followed. In the sixteenth year of the Qianlong era (1751), the statues were refurbished (see inscriptions in the hall, detailed later). By the sixth year of the Jiaqing era (1801), the temple had been partially restored with “solemn Buddha statues, grand beams and pillars, a bell tower on the left, and a western stupa on the right,” though “the walls and corners were crumbling everywhere, and the pathways and corridors were overgrown with weeds.” Between the tenth and thirteenth years of the Jiaqing era, then-county magistrate Xie Weijie oversaw further repairs.

During the Republican era, Mingjiao Temple housed the Jintang County Buddhist Association. In January of the fourth year of the Republic (1915), a Buddhist National School was established inside the temple. In 1928, Jintang County Middle School was founded at the Examination Shed and relocated to Mingjiao Temple in 1931, resulting in the demolition of structures such as the mountain gate and bell tower. [xi] Until the liberation, a few monks still practiced at the temple alongside the school. After the liberation, the temple continued to be used as a school up to the present day. Other buildings of the temple were destroyed at varying times—some say during the Republican era, others in the early years of the People’s Republic—with names including the Heavenly King Hall and the Guide Hall along the central axis, and the Guanyin Hall, Peacock Hall, Thunder Ancestor Hall, and Lamp-Burning Hall on the sides.

In 1958, two golden pillars of the Juehuang Hall sank, endangering the building’s safety. Due to insufficient funds, the school adopted a method of lifting the pillars to reinforce the foundation. As a result, two Buddha statues and polychrome clay figures such as the Heavenly King and a child deity attached to the pillars were demolished, and the barrel-tiled roof was replaced with small blue tiles to reduce the load. In 1981, the Juehuang Hall of Mingjiao Temple was designated as a cultural heritage site protected by Chengdu City.

Protected area: 10 meters beyond the current occupied area.

Construction control zone: 20 meters beyond the protected area.

Chengxiang Town: Chengxiang Town in Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu, Sichuan, is an important regional market town and central hub. It borders Yangliu in Jintang and Yao Du and Rixin towns in Qingbaijiang District to the east across the Pi River, adjoins Xiangfu and Datong towns to the west, and neighbors Qingjiang Town in Jintang to the north. Located in the northeastern part of the Chengdu Plain and within the urban planning area of Chengdu, it is 31 km from Chengdu City and 6 km from Dayan Town in Qingbaijiang District. The Tangba Highway, Chengtai Highway, and Dacheng Railway run through the area (with the Tangba section forming part of the Western Sichuan Tourism Loop), providing convenient transportation and a prominent geographical location.

The total area of the town is... More details about Chengxiang Town++

Further reading:

· Eighth Batch of Cultural Heritage Sites Protected by Sichuan Province