Anshun Yuantong Temple

Anshun Yuantong Temple

Anshun Yuantong Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Yuantong Temple, located at the foot of Xixiu Mountain in the southwest corner of Anshun city, was first built in the 11th year of the Zhizheng era of the Yuan Dynasty (1352 AD). It is a grand complex of temple architecture and is designated as a provincial-level cultural heritage site.

Anshun, situated at a key junction in central Guizhou and connecting various regions, is a place where multiple cultures blend and coexist. Religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Christianity thrive here. Within the nine-li-three-inch city walls, there are hundreds of temples and nunneries of all sizes, making it the most in any city in Yunnan and Guizhou.

Although Anshun has many temples and nunneries, in terms of history, origins, and influence—aside from the Temples of Literature and Martial Valor and the City God Temple—the most notable are Yuantong Temple, Chongzhen Temple, and Dongyue Temple, collectively known as the Three Great Temples of Anshun. Among these, Yuantong Temple stands out as the foremost.

Yuantong Temple is one of the structures built before the founding of Anshun city. Initially, it was quite small, consisting of just one gate, one courtyard, and one hall, dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin. In the 14th year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1381 AD), Marquis Yingchuan Fu Youde led an imperial army of 300,000 troops southward. The vanguard, Gu Cheng, conquered Puding (formerly Puding Prefecture under the Yuan, now Ximawan in Yangwu Township), capturing An Suo (the local chieftain of Puding). Yuantong Temple was subsequently destroyed in the military conflict. In the 18th year of the Hongwu era (1385 AD), due to the fact that the Ming emperor had once been a monk, the imperial court allocated funds and ordered Liu Ji (Liu Bowen), Mu Ying, and Kang Maocai to construct temples nationwide. In the 6th year of the Yongle era (1408 AD), Gu Cheng, then serving as the Left Commander of the Five Military Commander-in-Chiefs and enfeoffed as the Earl of Zhenyuan to guard Guizhou, oversaw a major expansion and renovation of Yuantong Temple. This established the temple’s grand scale, covering thirty acres with three courtyards, two halls, one tower, and over a hundred rooms.

Over sixty years later, in the early days of the TianShun era, Yuantong Temple had “fallen into disrepair due to wind and rain—not a recent development.” In the winter of the 4th year of the TianShun era (1461 AD), Zheng Zhong, a supervising eunuch and military commander stationed in Guizhou, led troops on a campaign against Xibao (present-day Shajiamachang in Puding County). Before departure, he prayed at the ruins of Yuantong Temple, vowing, “If this campaign succeeds, I will restore this temple upon my victorious return.” After achieving victory and returning, Zheng Zhong personally funded the reconstruction effort. Officials from the Puding Guard “were happy to assist,” and Zheng Zhong also purchased several acres of temple fields to provide for the monks’ clothing, food, and daily needs.

The rebuilt Yuantong Temple featured a grand design and majestic halls. The mountain gate had five bays and was built in a hanging hip roof style, with the central door towering above the slightly lower side doors. Outside the gate was inscribed “Yuantong Ancient Temple,” while inside read “The First Mountain in Guizhou.” Legend has it both were written by Mu Ying, the Marquis of Siping, in characters three square feet in size, bold and vigorous, reflecting the powerful strokes of Yan-style calligraphy. Inside the gate stood statues of the Four Heavenly Kings—some holding parasols, others snakes, swords, or playing the pipa—each standing fifteen feet tall with blue faces and golden bodies, majestic and awe-inspiring.

Entering through the gate, a relatively narrow courtyard lay ahead, flanked by palace walls leading directly to the side rooms of the front hall. On the right side of the courtyard wall was a separate gate leading to another courtyard, which housed several reception rooms for visiting worshippers. The front hall itself also had five bays and was originally the Receiving Buddha Hall, housing the Receiving Buddha. It was later converted into the Skanda Hall, featuring a striking bronze statue of Skanda, twelve feet tall, vividly crafted and imposingly majestic. The hall also displayed clay sculptures of the Five Hundred Arhats and various celestial bodhisattvas, each with unique expressions and postures, far surpassing the work of ordinary artisans. The front hall had two side wings and corridors, each serving as meditation rooms and incense halls—spacious and bright.

Behind the front hall lay a very spacious courtyard, with palace walls extending from the side rooms of the front hall to connect with the side corridors of the main hall. The main hall had nine bays and was the original Guanyin Hall of Yuantong Temple, as well as its principal hall. It featured a hip-and-gable roof with soaring eaves, tall and expansive. Each of the two side corridors had five bays, matching the height of the main hall. The plaque above the hall read “Mahavira Hall,” inscribed by Chang En, the Prefect of Anshun, during its renovation in the first year of the Xianfeng era (1850 AD). The hall housed three large Buddha statues: in the center was Sakyamuni Buddha, to the left was Bhaisajyaguru (Medicine Buddha), and to the right was Amitabha Buddha (the Receiving Buddha). Each Buddha statue stood over twenty feet tall, all gilded and colorfully painted. At the back edge of the hall, rising about fifty feet high and thirty feet wide, were flame-shaped patterns interwoven with dragons, phoenixes, and myriad flowers. Celestial beings were arrayed throughout, all vibrantly colored, creating a truly magnificent spectacle. The attendants of the Buddha, Ānanda and Kāśyapa, stood on either side, both sixteen-foot golden figures. In the niches on either side of the main Buddhas sat the Eighteen Arhats, all colorfully painted and gilded, with vivid expressions and lifelike postures. The statues within the hall were exquisitely crafted, with flowing lines, fluttering drapery, and radiant expressions. They were considered among the finest examples of sculpture and painting in the provinces, prefectures, states, and counties of southwestern China at the time, gaining fame even along the coast and in Southeast Asia. For a time, incense offerings flourished, with devout worshippers flocking in, earning it recognition as a sacred Buddhist site in the southwest and Southeast Asia. The title “The First Mountain in Guizhou” bestowed by Mu Ying was indeed well-deserved.

On the left side of the main hall hung a bronze bell cast during the Ming Dynasty.

Behind the main hall was another courtyard, with five-bay side rooms and reception rooms on both sides, used as residences for the abbot and resident monks. The temple monks followed the Linji School of Chan Buddhism. Their robes, incense, and oil lamps were supported by temple farmland rents and donations from worshippers. These side rooms and reception rooms connected directly to the rear hall, which was the Guanyin Tower, also known as the “Great Compassion Pavilion.” The Guanyin Tower was a three-story building with hip-and-gable roofs and soaring eaves, distinct from the spire-style roofs of other towers in the city—this style was unique to this structure. Behind the tower grew ancient cypresses, creating an extremely serene and elegant atmosphere. Between the “Great Compassion Pavilion” and Xixiu Mountain was a well called the “Heart-Washing Well,” which served as the path up to Xixiu Mountain. To the north of the mountain was a cave called the “Black Wind Cave,” long sealed off. Legend said a black dragon lurked within, causing harm to people, so the temple was built to suppress it.

Yuantong Temple endured through the Ming and Qing dynasties, undergoing multiple renovations and repairs by monks such as Jiezhang, Yuanjing, Shenheng, and Wuxin. Notably, in the 30th year of the Daoguang era (1850 AD), Prefect Chang En donated silver to renovate the main hall, replacing wooden pillars with stone ones, some as long as sixty feet, and restoring the Buddha statues, bringing back the temple’s former splendor. During the Guangxu era, a local named Xiong Guangzhao initiated a fundraising campaign to restore the statues. Each statue reportedly cost around 2,000 taels of silver and took a year to complete. The entire restoration project spanned four to five years.

The most legendary tale is of a massive night pearl embedded in the forehead of the Sakyamuni Buddha statue in Yuantong Temple. At night, it emitted radiant light, illuminating the entire Mahavira Hall as bright as day. It was regarded as the temple’s most sacred treasure. However, it was stolen during the Republican era.

After various renovations, Yuantong Temple became “resplendent with green beams and gilded ornamentation” (as described by Qin Jing, the right vice-censor of Guizhou during the Ming Chenghua era, in his “Record of Yuantong Temple”). Devotees flocked in, incense smoke filled the air, and the scene reached unprecedented grandeur. Many visiting officials stopped to pay homage and composed poetry.

The Ming Dynasty official Hu Gongchen from Chun’an wrote a poem titled “Puding Yuantong Chan Temple”:

The scenery of Yuantong Chan Temple is uniquely serene,

A place worth lingering for days from afar.

Clouds block the paths beneath the forest,

Moonlight shines on those leaning by the pagoda.

A curtain of floral fragrance divides the long day,

Half a mat of pine shade claims early autumn.

Most of all, the emerald pool is crystal clear,

Where boats glide freely without obstruction.

Another poem, “Yuantong Temple,” was written by Shen Heng, an imperial censor from Qiantang during the Ming Dynasty:

The sacred temple grandly opens its first Zen,

Incense and monastic meals have lasted for years.

The light of relics shines brightly in the sunshine,

Azure banners of sandalwood waft with auspicious mist.

In the hundred-foot tower, cloud-robed monks gather,

In the void of the three realms, wisdom’s lamp burns bright.

I come to climb and inscribe my verse,

Ashamed my talent falls short of Jia Dao’s light.

Anshun Yuantong Temple has weathered many historical upheavals. By 2006, only remnants of the Mahavira Hall remained above ground. That year, the municipal government funded the renovation and reconstruction of the main hall and the Guanyin Pavilion, and designated a protected area. Today, Yuantong Temple has become a hub of Buddhist activity in Anshun, drawing numerous worshippers. The square in front of the temple has been developed into a public park, serving as a leisure space for local residents.

As a structure predating the founding of Anshun city, Yuantong Temple holds significant historical and cultural research value. Amid the modern skyline of high-rises, it stands out with its unique historic charm—distinctive and enduring.

Nanjie Subdistrict: A subdistrict office under the jurisdiction of Xixiu District, Anshun City, Guizhou Province. Office address: No. 8, Jiangya Street, Zhonghua South Road, Xixiu District.

The Nanjie Subdistrict Office is located in the center of Xixiu urban area, Anshun City. It administers five communities: Tushu, Tadong, Nanhua, Taxi, and Tashan, with 25 community cadres. There are 13 Party branches across agencies, communities, and private enterprises, comprising a total of 296 Party members. The jurisdiction covers an area of approximately 1.9 square kilometers, with a total of 6,495 households and a population of 20,372. The main ethnic groups are Han and Miao. Key roads in the area include Ruofei South Road and Tashan... More detailed information on Nanjie Subdistrict++