Changzhou Wanshou Temple

　　Wanshou Chan Temple is situated at Zhajia Bay Village at the southern foot of Shun Mountain in Jiaoxi Town, Wujin District. Shun Mountain, also called Gao Mountain, is locally known as Shun Guo Mountain. It is said that in ancient times, Emperor Shun traveled eastward and visited this area, hence the name. Originally named Shun Temple, it was built on the main peak of Shun Mountain, with two temples standing opposite each other on the northern and southern sides. The temple affairs were managed by Venerable Kuolang, with seven resident monks.

　　Development History

　　The exact time when Shun Temple was first built is unknown. The "Gao Mountain Annals" record Tang Dynasty poet Liu Changqing’s poem "Inscription on Shun Shrine": “The strings are silent, the pine wind rises; the fragrant shrine mourns the setting sun. Only because the mountain spirits guard it, through endless ages we look up to the hanging robes.” This shows that the Shun Shrine had been built before the Tang Dynasty and attracted poets and scholars throughout the ages.

　　According to local chronicles, the southern Shun Mountain Shun Temple faced south and had three courtyards. The first courtyard was the Wu Palace Hall, which collapsed in the late Qing Dynasty and was rebuilt in the 13th year of the Republic of China (1924), though not completed. The second courtyard was the main hall, housing statues of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars and Emperor Shun, with a plaque inscribed with the words “Chonghua Xie Di” (Emperor Shun’s original name was Zhonghua). The third courtyard was the Guanyin Hall. The northern Shun Mountain Shun Temple faced north, with three courtyards and one wing building, and was larger in scale than the southern one. The first courtyard was the Dongyue Hall, with three rooms and two side chambers featuring clay statues of the Ten Kings of Hell; the second courtyard was the Heavenly Emperor Hall, also called the Great Filial Piety Hall, with three rooms and two side chambers, featuring upturned eaves and majestic architecture. The hall was spacious and imposing, surrounded by statues of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, with a plaque inscribed “Mian Bei Chao Zong” (Facing North in Homage) written by Liu Guozhu of the Qing Dynasty hanging in the center, and a statue of Emperor Shun enshrined there. The third courtyard was the Buddhist Hall, housing statues of the Three Ages of Buddha, Guanyin, and the Eye-Brightening Bodhisattva, with a plaque inscribed “Wu Zheng San Mei” (Uncontentious Samadhi) written by Li Zhaoluo of the Qing Dynasty. Every year on the 18th day of the third lunar month during the Shun Mountain Temple Fair, worshippers flocked to the site, making it lively and bustling.

　　Starting in 1952, the northern Shun Mountain Shun Temple was gradually demolished. The southern Shun Mountain Shun Temple was demolished in January 1964 and replaced by Zhongyi School.

　　In 1995, religious activities resumed at Shun Temple, which was renamed Wanshou Chan Temple and divided into an East Temple and a West Temple. The East Temple built the Mahavira Hall on its current site in 2001. In August 2003, lay Buddhist Song Jianzhong oversaw the construction of the Three Saints Hall, Ksitigarbha Hall, God of Wealth Hall, storage rooms, and monks’ quarters. The West Temple was relocated from its mountaintop site to a mountainside about 300 steps down, reconstructed under the direction of Venerable Chekong. The first courtyard was the Heavenly King Hall, the second courtyard was the Heavenly Emperor Hall, including a chanting hall for Manjushri and Samantabhadra, as well as guest rooms, dining halls, and storage rooms. The combined floor area of the East and West Temples is 1,808 square meters, covering a land area of 10 mu.