Jade Buddha Temple

　　The Jade Buddha Temple is situated at the intersection of Anyuan Road and Jiangning Road in Shanghai's Putuo District. Originally, it was located in Jiangwan Town. In the eighth year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1882), Master Huigen from Mount Putuo traveled through Mount Wutai and Mount Emei, entered Tibet, visited India to pay homage to the Buddha, then passed through Myanmar. With the support of local overseas Chinese, he quarried jade and carved five jade Buddha statues, which he brought back to Mount Putuo.

　　The Jade Buddha Temple is not only a renowned temple in Shanghai but also a well-known Buddhist monastery both domestically and internationally. As one of the top ten tourist attractions in Shanghai, it enjoys a tranquil atmosphere amidst the bustling urban area, often described as an oasis in the city. Since its founding, the temple has a history of 120 years and has had eleven abbots. The first abbot, Master Huigen, returned from Myanmar in 1882 with five jade Buddha statues—large and small—and left two in Shanghai for devotees to worship. Initially, he built a thatched hut at Zhanghuabang in Shanghai, and later constructed a temple near Jiangwan Railway Station in the suburbs of Shanghai to enshrine the jade Buddhas. After Master Huigen’s passing, Masters Benzhao and [name omitted] succeeded him as abbots. Following the passing of [name omitted], Master Kecheng became the next abbot. Starting in 1918, he began constructing a new temple on Bīnláng Road (now Anyuan Road), which took ten years to complete. This site is now the location of the temple’s South Courtyard. Because Master Kecheng inherited the Linji school of Chan Buddhism, the temple was named “Jade Buddha Temple.” Master Kecheng devoted great effort to building the new temple and is regarded as the reviver of the Jade Buddha Temple. After his passing, the positions of abbot were held successively by Masters Yuanchen, Zhenhua, Zhifang, Wei Yi, and Weifang. Among them, Master Zhenhua founded the Shanghai Buddhist College within the temple, nurturing a group of monastic talents. He also established a library and the Hongyi Master Memorial Association inside the temple, and published the journal “Miaozhao,” vigorously promoting Buddhist culture. In 1945, to commemorate the martyrs who died in the “December 1st Incident” in Kunming, a grand public memorial service was held at the Jade Buddha Temple. The main memorial group consisted of seven individuals, including Soong Ching-ling. A [ceremony/event omitted] was held after the public memorial, which had a significant impact.

　　Location

　　No. 170, Anyuan Road, Putuo District, Shanghai