Lingering Temple in Luzhi

Lingering Temple in Luzhi

Lingering Temple in Luzhi is a cultural tourism attraction.

Lingering Temple is a renowned thousand-year-old Buddhist temple in the Jiangnan region. The clay wall arhats in its Antiquities Museum are said to be the work of Yang Huizhi, the master sculptor of the Tang Dynasty. Originally named Baosheng Monastery, the temple was first built in the second year of the Tianjian era of the Liang Dynasty (503 AD), boasting a history of over 1,500 years. Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, was a devout Buddhist and immediately began an ambitious temple construction campaign after ascending the throne. Baosheng Monastery was one of the “Four Hundred and Eighty Temples of the Southern Dynasties.” Over the dynasties, the temple experienced periods of prosperity and decline. At its peak, it housed over 5,000 rooms, a thousand monks, and covered nearly half of the town. By the Ming Dynasty’s Chenghua era, the temple still had more than 200 structures, maintaining the layout of a first-class monastery, and was known as one of the Four Great Temples of Jiangnan. The surviving structures today include the Two Mountain Gates, the Heavenly King Hall, and the Antiquities Museum.

The current mountain gate of Lingering Temple was reconstructed based on its original design from the Qianlong era. Upon entering the Second Mountain Gate, you’ll see the grand Heavenly King Hall, featuring a single-eave hip-and-gable roof with upward-curving hip rafters using the standing-fly style, showcasing the style of a Jiangnan Buddhist hall. Inside the hall, you can observe the bracket sets with ang mouths, characteristic of Ming Dynasty architecture. According to the expert in ancient architecture, Chen Congzhou, this Heavenly King Hall was rebuilt during the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty on the foundation of a Song Dynasty hall. The beam structure consists of three-step beams front and back, topped with a dougong block. The column bases are lotus-petal-shaped stone pedestals, carved with the “hidden divine-child peony pressing the ground” pattern, remnants from the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Northern Song Dynasty. The hall originally housed large clay statues of the Four Heavenly Kings (also known as the Four Great Heavenly Guardians), which were destroyed by the Japanese invaders during the War of Resistance. Currently, the hall displays locally unearthed cultural relics.

Walking north from the Heavenly King Hall, you enter the courtyard. There are two major cultural relics here: a bluestone pagoda and an iron bell. The bluestone pagoda stands on the western side and is officially called the “Sanskrit Dharani Sutra Stone Pagoda.” Pagodas are a form of Buddhist stone carving originating in the Tang Dynasty, consisting of a finial, body, and base, with the body often inscribed with Buddha images, names, or sutras. Lingering Temple originally had one pagoda from both the Tang and Song Dynasties, but now only this one remains along with an octagonal carved stone slab from another. This pagoda was built in the eighth year of the Dazhong era of the Tang Dynasty (854 AD) and re-erected in the fifteenth year of the Shaoxing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1145 AD). It is inscribed with Dharani sutras, though many characters have become illegible over time. On closer inspection, the pagoda is made up of multiple stacked stone pillars, each topped with a decorative finial larger than the pillar itself, serving both a structural and decorative purpose while also providing rain protection. The pagoda has seven tiers in total. This Sanskrit Dharani Sutra Stone Pagoda is a rare treasure, both for its age and artistic value. The iron bell serves as both a sacred object and a historical witness to the temple. Cast in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, this bell has a history of over 300 years. Its inscriptions carry blessings such as “favorable weather,” “bountiful harvests,” and similar well-wishes. Buddhist scriptures say, “Hearing the bell purifies worries, increases wisdom, and nurtures enlightenment.” Ringing the bell is also considered a virtuous act. To the north of the courtyard lies the Antiquities Museum, built on the site of the former Mahavira Hall, which houses the world-famous “Clay Wall Arhats.”

According to the Records of Fuli in Wujun, the original Mahavira Hall was built in 1013 AD. It enshrined a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, accompanied by eighteen arhat statues crafted by the master artist Yang Huizhi. Yang Huizhi (713–741 AD), a native of Wuxian, studied brushwork techniques under the Suzhou painter Zhang Sengyou alongside Wu Daozi during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty. He later specialized in clay sculpture, and it was once famously said that “Daozi painted, Huizhi sculpted, inheriting the spiritual strokes of Zhang Sengyou.” Yang Huizhi created many sculptures at temples across the north and south, but unlike stone or bronze works, clay sculptures are less durable, making genuine pieces hard to preserve. In the summer of 1918, historian Gu Jiegang visited Lingering Temple at the invitation of Ye Shengtao and others. When he saw these masterpieces from the Tang Dynasty in the Mahavira Hall, he was astonished and deeply moved, yet unable to express his excitement. However, the hall, due to years of neglect, was in danger of collapse, and the eighteen arhat statues faced imminent destruction. He then published an article in the newspaper to publicly introduce these long-overlooked arhats, calling for their rescue—but the government of the time failed to take immediate action.

In 1928, half of the hall collapsed, destroying half of the arhats and causing irreparable loss. Later, thanks to the advocacy and fundraising efforts of figures such as Cai Yuanpei, Ma Xulun, Ye Chucang, and Gu Jiegang, both public and private funds were pooled for restoration. In 1932, the building was designed by architect Fan Wenzhao in a Sino-Western fusion style. Sculptors Jiang Xiaojian and Hua Tianyou placed the surviving nine arhat statues in their current positions. Although the museum now houses only half of the original arhats, and some are damaged, they remain treasured masterpieces of classical art. In 1961, the Lingering Temple Arhat Statues were listed among the first group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.