Fengxian Temple

　　Fengxian Temple is an ancient architectural complex from the Jin to Qing dynasties, situated in Sanzhuang Village, Beihai Subdistrict, Jiyuan City, Henan Province. Established in the first year of the Chuigong era of the Tang Dynasty (685 AD), it has a history of over 1,300 years. The temple is commonly known as "Jingliang Temple" (荆梁观, or "Thorn Beam Temple") due to a beam made from a thornwood tree inside one of its halls.

　　Originally, Fengxian Temple had many structures covering over 60 acres of land. Due to various reasons, only a few remain today: the mountain gate, the Jade Emperor Hall, the Three Pure Ones Hall, the stele pavilion, and four side halls on the east and west sides—forming a two-courtyard, north-south layout. Though compact, the temple complex is thoughtfully arranged with a tight structure, higher in the north and lower in the south, creating a well-balanced composition. The three-bay mountain gate is a relic from the Qing Dynasty, featuring a central pathway flanked by one hanging floral gate on each side. The Jade Emperor Hall, a three-bay building constructed during the Ming Dynasty, houses the deity Jade Emperor. A stone statue stele of Laozi, the Supreme Old Lord, is enshrined within the stele pavilion. The stele and its top are integrated, standing 3 meters tall, 1.1 meters wide, and 0.33 meters thick. The top is carved with six dragons coiled around in a semi-circle, while the main part features three Taoist figures—the central one being Laozi seated on a lotus base, flanked by two attendants. The inscriptions on the stele are partly faded, but the general message praises the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty, peace across the land, and reverence for Laozi. Ye Changchi, a Qing Dynasty epigrapher, praised the stele in his work "Yu Shi" (语石), calling it "magnificent in writing, vigorous and elegant in calligraphy, well-proportioned in structure," and regarded it as the finest Taoist stele of the Tang Dynasty.

　　The Three Pure Ones Hall was rebuilt in the 24th year of the Dading era of the Jin Dynasty (1184 AD). With five bays in width and seven rafters in depth, the hall features massive stone pillars supporting large brackets, and a single-eave gable-and-hip roof. It is one of the three oldest wooden structures in Henan.

　　On both sides of the courtyard are preserved cultural relics such as the "Stele on the Auspicious Response of Princess Yuzhen’s Taoist Ordination Ceremony," inscribed and titled by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty; the stone coffin of Li Zongde from the Ming Dynasty along with carvings depicting the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars; the epitaph written by Li Tangji, a renowned Qing Dynasty calligrapher and tutor to three emperors, for Zhang Guanglu, a native of Jiyuan and an official of the Northeast Platform Taoist Rank—regarded as a masterpiece of calligraphic art; stone carvings from the tomb path of Ma Jisheng, who was granted the title “Zhenwei General” by Emperor Kangxi after returning from Taiwan; stone lions from the tomb of Wen Zao, an imperial censor of the Tang Dynasty; and stone sheep from the tomb path of Shi Hongzhao, the father of Shi Jingtang, the boy emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty. These artifacts greatly enrich the cultural heritage of Fengxian Temple.

　　In June 2001, Fengxian Temple was designated as part of the fifth group of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the State Council of China.

　　Location

　　Jingliang North Street, Jiyuan City, Henan Province