Sanwang Village Sanzong Temple

Sanwang Village Sanzong Temple

Sanwang Village Sanzong Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Sanzong Temple

Sanzong Temple (Second Batch of Provincial-level Protected Sites)

Era: Jin

Location: On the southern ridge of Sanwang Village, 10 km southeast of Gaoping City

The founding date is unknown, but it existed as early as the Tang Dynasty. The main surviving structure, the Main Hall, is a relic from the Jin Dynasty. The temple faces south and is composed of a row of three courtyards, of which only the central and eastern courtyards remain today. The central courtyard is the main architectural area of the temple complex, featuring the Main Hall, Worship Hall, Stage, East and West Side Towers, and Side Rooms. The eastern courtyard also has several halls, but the Main Hall is the most grandiose, built during the Jin Dynasty. The Main Hall is three bays wide and six rafters deep, with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. The bracket sets are of the four-purlin single-curved-arm type, with curved arms resembling a lute’s surface. There are no intercolumnar bracket sets. The beams and arches are neatly sectioned, and the roof structure features a system where a four-rafter beam pairs with a front breast-beam, spanning the full length using three columns. The eaves are widely overhanging and the roof is gently sloped—hallmarks of typical Jin Dynasty architecture.

The temple houses a stone stele commemorating renovations from the 12th year of the Tongzhi reign in the Qing Dynasty (1873).

In May 2013, Sanwang Village Sanzong Temple was designated as part of the Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Shanxi Provincial-level Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units