Shuangxi Temple in Ankang

　　Shuangxi Temple is located at No. 63 Bashan East Road, Xincheng Subdistrict, Hanbin District, Ankang City. When was Shuangxi Temple built? The "State Annals" only say it was “at the foot of the southern mountain, long abandoned, later rebuilt as a new Zen monastery.” The "Prefecture Annals," citing the "Jia Tongzhi," state it was “outside the north gate of the new town.” The old "County Annals" record: “east of the north gate of the new town, the temple lies between the Shi and Chen gullies, hence its name. There is a diagram of two streams, built during the Chenghua era, named Putong Pagoda. During the construction of the new town, one pagoda was placed inside the city.” Many people today base the “age” of Shuangxi Temple on calculations from old records or ancient accounts about the Dongyue (Eastern Peak) Temple, referring to it as the temple’s founding period.

　　During the fourth year of the Shaoxing era in the Song Dynasty, when the Jin army advanced southward, the Pacification Commissioner Zhang Jun led troops to their aid. Passing through Ankang, they were hindered by rain and muddy roads and could not advance, so they prayed at the temple. In no time, auspicious clouds appeared, valleys shone brightly, and the army was able to set off. Zhang Jun said: “The divine power is evident, how dare I not repay it?” He then allocated 150,000 coins and ordered the prefect Wang Yan and the county magistrate Gao Ji of Xicheng to oversee the major renovation. The Attendant Gentleman Jin, Jun, and Fang Zhenfu, the Pacification Commissioner of Cheng, Jun, and Fang, wrote the record. In the eleventh year of the Hongwu era in the Ming Dynasty, it was renovated again but was completely destroyed by bandits in the late Ming period. During the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, the main hall and worship courtyard were built. In the seventh year of the Kangxi era, the music pavilion was rebuilt. This account of the Dongyue Temple story — particularly the “music pavilion,” which was built to entertain people under the guise of entertaining the gods — alone shows that this was not a Buddhist temple.

　　In fact, during the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, Bao Shan, the magistrate of Ankang, clearly stated the temple’s founding period in his "Supplemental Construction of the Ancient Shuangxi Chan Monastery": after the Shunzhi era, “due to the passage of time and changing fortunes.” In the thirty-second year of the Qianlong era, two wandering monks from the south stayed here. Seeing the dilapidated condition of the “temple” and the tilted “statues of deities,” they sincerely raised funds through alms, leading to the complete revival of the “monastery.” This was the initial process of transforming the “temple” into a “monastery.”

　　By the early Jiaqing era, due to the spread of the White Lotus Sect rebels in the southern mountains, many deceased soldiers’ remains were stored in the temple. “Thus, they invited the monk’s uncle, Master Ciyun, along with other respected monks and elders from various mountains, and the local gentry and elders, to collectively show compassion. The bones were properly buried, and the monks prepared to welcome the monk Rigao from Sichuan.” Monk Rigao, from Chengdu, resided at Shuangxi Temple for eighteen years. He was known for his pure practice and extensive writings, with his recorded teachings being the most widely circulated. “He carried forward the Buddhist teachings, established rules for the monastery, restored the decaying and repaired the ruined, assigned roles to promote the sect, added the Emperor of Evil-Subduing statue to the front hall, and embellished the Maitreya Lotus Throne in the rear temple. However, the halls were cramped, and Rigao often planned renovations but passed away before fulfilling them.” Beside the main hall, there used to be a nine-tier stone pagoda of Master Rigao, commemorating his deeds and inscribed with Buddhist scriptures. Unfortunately, it was destroyed during the “Smash the Four Olds” campaign in the 1960s. During the Daoguang era, the temple’s abbot, Monk Kongji, remained true to his master’s vision, “fully expanding its structure and enhancing its magnificence, truly making it a renowned monastery in Jinzhou and a grand Buddhist site in southern Shaanxi.” This was the development process of the “monastery.”

　　Regarding these two processes, Bao Shan concluded in the final part of his "Record": “But think about it: the rise of the temple began in the Song and became prominent. Ministers showed bravery and loyalty to the emperor, the Mountain God responded as expected, monks showed compassion and buried the loyal dead, and the Buddhist hall expanded accordingly over centuries. Who can say that humans and gods are not interdependent?”

　　The exact age of Shuangxi Temple is not the most important thing. What is worth mentioning is that besides producing Master Huairang, Ankang also gave rise to Master Yinguang, the thirteenth patriarch of the Pure Land School in modern times, who became a nationally renowned monk. In the eighth year of the Guangxu era (1882), Yinguang received full ordination under Master Haiding at Shuangxi Temple. Later, he traveled across the country preaching and saving lives, residing on Mount Putuo in the South China Sea for thirty years. Throughout his life, he advocated for the release of living beings, relief for the poor, kindness in heart, and compassion toward all things. Renowned both in China and abroad, he was highly respected. He presided over the compilation of the “Annals” of the four major Buddhist sites — Putuo, Jiuhua, Wutai, and Emei — and personally wrote the prefaces for them. He founded the Shanghai Honghua Society, publishing millions of copies of the Tripitaka and modern Buddhist works, and his "Collected Writings of Master Yinguang" remain influential. He passed away on the fourth day of the first lunar month in the winter of 1939 in Suzhou. In 1953, the Honghua Society published "The General Biography of Master Yinguang," a beautifully illustrated work produced by cultural figures Shen Yinmo and Kong XiaoYu, which includes the episode of “ordination at Shuangxi.”

　　In 1937, Monk Zhengxiu returned from receiving ordination at Baohua Mountain in Nanjing. With the advocacy of Master Guoxun and local dignitaries such as Zhang Ziqiao and Nie Yunwen, he raised funds to renovate the temple, restoring it to its former glory. A monument was erected, with detailed accounts written by the local scholar Lu Changqing. This stele was also destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. In 1938, the originally planned Hanbai Highway was to cut directly through Shuangxi Temple from west to east. Local gentry, including Zhang Ziqiao, Nie Yunwen, Dong Mingzhu, Song Yunshi, Gu Yuanbo, Lu Changqing, and Luo Renbo, fought to protect the cultural relic. They argued their case to Wei Xiru, the fifth administrative inspector of Shaanxi Province and magistrate of Ankang, and Guo Xitong, the chief engineer of the Hanbai Highway’s Han’an Work Office, eventually persuading authorities to reroute the road around the back of the temple. During the war, four monks — Master Ciyun from Beijing, Master Xindao from Wuhan, Master Liding from Taiyuan, and Master Juexing from Xi’an — came to Ankang and preached and conferred precepts at Shuangxi Temple. They promoted the idea that farming and labor could support the nation’s resistance against Japan.

　　Shuangxi Temple once housed a more than 6-meter-tall Tang Dynasty statue of ?Chen??wu??, extremely solemn; a small bronze Buddha from the second year of the Northern Wei Taiping Zhenjun era (441); a large bell cast in the seventh year of the Song Jiading era (1214) by Xingluo Temple (now housed in Xiangxi Park); over a hundred volumes of the "Mahapitaka"; and three thousand volumes of Buddhist scriptures and scholarly works. Except for the Song Dynasty iron ?, all these relics were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. In 1952, Shuangxi Temple donated a bronze “wine pitcher” to the then “Northwest History Museum” for display. In 1958, the complete “Avatamsaka Sutra” printed by Hangzhou’s First Scripture Printing Bureau in the Ming Dynasty was discovered beneath the tower of the new town, mounted in yellow silk with exquisite decoration. It was later stored in the Ankang County Library but was also destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

　　The temple grounds feature pavilions and ancient steles, with a magnificent landscape. The Mahavira Hall stands in the center, with a plaque in regular script bearing the signature “Wu ?? from Anyang.” Side halls and worship areas are arranged symmetrically, complementing the majestic golden characters. During the Cultural Revolution, the temple was ransacked, with many rooms — including the scripture depository, dining hall, legal lecture room, meditation room, scripture printing workshop, and kitchen — completely emptied. Monks were driven away, and the site was repurposed as a farm. Later, it was used for agriculture, animal husbandry, and other rural industries.

　　Transportation Guide

　　Address: No. 63 Bashan East Road, Xincheng Subdistrict, Hanbin District, Ankang City, Shaanxi Province

　　Getting There: Take bus routes 7 or 8 within Ankang City and get off at the City Bus Company Station.