The Mahavira Hall of Dayun Temple in Jingzhuang

The Mahavira Hall of Dayun Temple in Jingzhuang

The Mahavira Hall of Dayun Temple in Jingzhuang is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Mahavira Hall of Dayun Temple in Jingzhuang

The Mahavira Hall of Dayun Temple in Jingzhuang (Fifth Batch National Heritage Site)

Period: Jin Dynasty

Location: Jingzhuang Village, Jingzhuang Township, Hunyuan County

Originally named Dayun Chan Temple. According to the 1763 (Qianlong 28th year) “Hunyuan County Annals”: “The former records of Dayun Temple state there were two Dayun Chan Temples—one located forty li southwest of the city on Longshan Mountain as the upper temple, and one in the west of the city at Jingzhuang as the lower temple, both built during the Yuan-Wei period.” This indicates that the founding date of Dayun Temple should be in the late Northern Wei Dynasty. The temple originally had a grand scale, but now only the three-bay Mahavira Hall remains, a relic structure from the Jin Dynasty. It underwent renovations during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

The temple faces south and is composed of three courtyards. Only the Mahavira Hall remains today. The hall is three bays wide and four rafters deep, featuring a single-eave hip-and-gable roof with tubular and flat tiles. A small terrace is located in front of the hall. The bracket sets under the eaves are arranged in a layered pattern—the first layer has multiple brackets, the second layer also has multiple brackets, and the third layer is similar to the second. The beam frame adopts the lifted-beam style. The hall's structure features a central pillar, with the front eave columns supported by drum-shaped bases. The front, rear, left, and right eaves columns are all independent. The second, third, and fourth bays on the eastern and western sides contain murals covering over 10 square meters, which are works from the Ming Dynasty.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units