Bamei Temple

Bamei Temple

Also known as Cheng'en Hall, Bamei Temple is located on the mountainside of the western foothills of Fanjing Mountain at an altitude of 1,100 meters, guarding a key route to the southwestern pilgrimage path. Situated between Baxi and Meixi in Dawang Township, over 50 kilometers from Jiangkou County, it is thus named Bamei Temple. The temple originally housed a large bell whose sound could be heard dozens of miles away.

Bamei Temple was first built in the 46th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1618 AD) and was decreed an imperial nunnery. In the 10th year of the Chongzhen reign (1637), the monk Yang Shouxuan purchased the land of Bamei Mountain with silver, making it one of the earliest and largest Buddhist structures within the Fanjing Mountain area. The temple complex had both inner and outer walls. Covering an area of over ten acres, it featured seven main halls and dozens of monks’ quarters. Its land holdings (fields, forests, and land) spanned more than 15 kilometers, earning it the reputation of “Bamei Temple grain.” The temple was prosperous, housing over 50 resident monks.

In December of the 28th year of the Wanli reign (1600 AD), Guizhou Provincial Governor Guo Zizhang quelled the rebellion of Yang Yinglong, and the warfare spread to the Fanjing Mountain region. Bamei Temple suffered devastation, with the entire complex destroyed. In the 46th year of the Wanli reign (1618 AD), Empress Dowager Li, mother of Emperor Zhu Yijun, advocated for the restoration of Bamei Temple and oversaw the repair of the pilgrimage road from the temple to the Golden Summit spanning dozens of miles. The Bamei Temple stele from the 15th year of the Kangxi reign (1676 AD) records: “The original Bamei Temple had seven main halls, numerous side halls and monks’ quarters, with exquisitely painted beams and carved rafters, truly magnificent. Dozens of ancient trees such as ginkgos and maples stood in front of the gate.” In the 10th year of the Jiaqing reign (1805 AD), the Bamei Temple (Cheng'en Hall) was expanded through donations by monks including Master Song Qing. During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi eras of the Qing Dynasty, as Qing troops suppressed the Red Scarf Army, the temple was once again burned down. In the 12th year of the Daoguang reign, the upper and lower halls of Bamei Temple were rebuilt, gradually restoring the full complex. In 1958, student labor activities led to boarding at the temple, where a fire accidentally destroyed the complex.

In December of the 12th year of the Daoguang reign (1832 AD), the “Fanjing Mountain Prohibition on Deforestation Stele” erected by Lin Qing, acting Governor of Guizhou, states: “Bamei Temple and the sacred Ling Mountain area strictly prohibit logging and excavation, in order to preserve the geomantic vitality. It is hereby declared that Fanjing Mountain in Jiangkou Prefecture, with its layered emerald peaks and solemn ancient temples, is the source of both the large and small rivers, truly the safeguard of several counties including Sinan, as well as of grain fields and people’s lives, closely tied to feng shui.”

Bamei Temple (Cheng'en Hall) is one of the foot monasteries at the base of the Golden Summit. The area features lofty mountains covered with dense vegetation, mainly consisting of fir, pine, and nanmu bamboo, offering beautiful scenery. The site also holds abundant mineral resources such as gold, copper, vanadium, zinc, lead, mung bean stone, and jade belt stone. Before its heyday, the Buddhist culture of Fanjing Mountain was primarily carried on by Xiangshan Temple, and eminent monks from Fanjing's Tianting Temple and Tianchi Courtyard were all disciples of Shengfu Daoyue of Xiangshan Temple. Later, as Bamei Temple flourished, the qualification for transmitting Dharma and conferring precepts shifted from Xiangshan Temple to Bamei Temple. In winter, when heavy snow sealed off the Golden Summit and pilgrims vanished, monks would gather here for months each year to meditate, preach, write scriptures, and propagate Buddhist teachings. Many eminent monks passed away here and were buried in the vicinity, resulting in numerous stupas and tombs scattered around the temple grounds. Currently, many of these have been converted into farmland and destroyed. From surviving inscriptions, it is known that the resident monks of Bamei Temple mainly followed the Linji school lineage of Patriarch Poshan. The stupas mostly belong to successive lineage abbots and monastic leaders. The tombs are uniquely shaped: central reliquary stupas made of stone, hexagonal and three-tiered, with three semi-circularly arranged stelae behind them. The central stele bears an inscription reading “Linji Orthodox ×× Generation ×× Monk Longevity Stupa,” while the side stelae feature biographies, verses, praises, poems, or couplets written by later disciples.

Only a few stupas remain today, including those of Monk Yuanyi beside Bamei Temple, Monk Mikong, and Monk Yanxing of Yinluo Temple. On the hilltop one li behind the temple, lies the longevity memorial stupa of Master Shangxiushan, the 40th-generation Linji Orthodox master of the 10th year of the Daoguang reign. These stupas hold significant reference value for the study of the introduction of Buddhist culture to Fanjing Mountain and the lineage of Linji Orthodox. The ruins of Bamei Temple and related stupas were designated as county-level cultural heritage sites by the Jiangkou County Government in 1992. In August 2005, the Jiangkou County Government organized further detailed investigations and research on the Bamei Temple ruins, stupa tombs, and inscriptions.