Tianshi Temple in Fanshi

Tianshi Temple in Fanshi

Tianshi Temple in Fanshi is a cultural relic protection unit of Shanxi Province.

Tianshi Temple is located in Zuotou Village, Fanshen Town, Fanshi County. It faces south and has a north-south width of 68.6 meters, an east-west width of 29.4 meters, covering an area of 2,022.7 square meters. The year of its establishment is unknown. According to inscriptions, it was repaired in the 22nd year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1543), the 18th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1679), and the 22nd year of the Jiaqing reign (1817), and the existing structures date to the Qing Dynasty. The temple has a three-courtyard layout, with a theater stage, mountain gate, passageway hall, and main hall (Dongyue Hall) arranged along the central axis, flanked by bell and drum towers and side halls on the east and west. The main hall sits on a stone platform base 0.6 meters high, is three bays wide and four rafters deep, featuring a five-purlin, porch-less framework, a single-eave suspended gable roof, and a lotus-shaped column base. The western interior wall is painted with ink folk stories and a mural depicting the Five Great Mountains Gods on parade, while the rear wall features a mural of the Twelve Music Assemblies. Seven steles from the Ming and Qing Dynasties recording temple renovations, two stone pole clamps, and 110 square meters of Qing Dynasty murals are preserved in the temple.

The main hall is three bays wide and four rafters deep, with a five-purlin structure spanning front to back using two columns, topped with a single-eave suspended hip-and-gable roof covered with barrel tiles. Except for the five-purlin beams, which are decorated on both sides with colorful paintings featuring dragons playing with pearls in the center and a full-break pattern at the ends, other beams and components are painted with wood grain lines. The eastern and western interior walls feature ink paintings of folk stories and the Five Great Mountains Gods on parade, while the rear eave wall displays a mural of the Twelve Music Assemblies, approximately 60 square meters. The front and middle bays are fitted with four-panel lattice windows with six louvers.

The passageway hall is three bays wide and four rafters deep, with a five-purlin structure spanning front to back using two columns, topped with a single-eave flush gable roof covered with barrel tiles. The front middle bay has four-panel lattice windows with six louvers, and the front side bays have four-panel lattice windows.

The mountain gate is three bays wide and four rafters deep, with its beam frame divided in the center by a heart post, connected front and back by double-step beams, using three columns along the span. The central front bay has a pair of plank doors.

The theater stage is three bays wide and four rafters deep, with a five-purlin structure spanning front to back using two columns, topped with a single-eave flush gable roof and a rolled awning, covered with barrel tiles.

The east and west corridor rooms are three bays wide and three rafters deep, with a single-step beam in the front and a three-purlin beam in the back, using three columns across the span, with the front bay being an open corridor, topped with a single-eave flush gable roof covered with barrel tiles. The original front eave fittings are missing, leaving only the sills and frames, with later modifications sealing off the corridor sections. The east and west corridor rooms are severely damaged, especially the roof and corridor section of the east corridor room, which is on the verge of collapse and currently protected by a support frame. The east corridor room interior features murals depicting scenes of hell, while the west corridor room interior features murals of earthly life, covering approximately 50 square meters.

The east and west wing rooms are three bays wide and four rafters deep, with a five-purlin structure spanning front to back using two columns, topped with a single-eave flush gable roof with a single slope, covered with barrel tiles.

The west side room is three bays wide and four rafters deep, with a five-purlin structure spanning front to back using two columns, topped with a single-eave flush gable roof with a single slope, covered with barrel tiles. The front middle bay has four-panel lattice windows with five louvers, and the side bays have four-panel lattice windows with four louvers.

The bell and drum towers are one bay wide and two rafters deep, with a two-story cross-shaped hip-and-gable roof.

There are four stone steles preserved in the temple.

The colored paintings and ink artworks on the walls of the main hall and corridor rooms of Tianshi Temple, especially the Twelve Music Assemblies mural on the rear eave wall of the main hall, serve as physical evidence for the study of Qing Dynasty music and hold high historical and artistic value.

On April 15, 1985, the Fanshi County People’s Government designated it as a county-level cultural relic protection unit.

Source: Xinzhou Net

Zuotou Village: Zuotou Village…… Detailed information about Zuotou Village++

Further reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Shanxi Province