Nanhua Temple

Nanhua Temple
Nanhua Temple
南华寺
	Qujiang District, Shaoguan, Guangdong
Country	China
	Shown within Guangdong
Geographic coordinates	24°38′57″N 113°37′53″E / 24.64917°N 113.63139°E
Architecture
Style	Chinese architecture
Founder	Zhiyao Sanzang (智樂三藏)
Date established	502

Nanhua Temple (

Qujiang District, 25 km (16 mi) southeast of central Shaoguan, Guangdong province. The location is in the northern part of the province, within a few kilometers from the Bei River

.

History

The temple was founded during the time of the

Hsu Yun

whose body is housed in the central forest sanctuary. Recent changes to the site include the building of extensive monastic accommodations.

Architecture

The temple covers an area of more than 42.5 hectares (105 acres). It consists of a set of magnificent Buddhist buildings, including the Hall of Four Heavenly Kings, Mahavira Hall, Sutra Depository, Sixth Ancestor Hall, Lingzhao Pagoda and 690 Buddhist statues.^[1]^[2]

There are 9 Chinese swamp cypresses (Glyptostrobus pensilis) believed to be 400 to 500 years old in the temple.

Caoxi Gate

Inside the Caoxi Gate (曹溪门), a plaque with the Chinese characters "Nanhua Chan Temple" (南华禅寺) hanging on the door

Upasaka Zhao Puchu.^[5]

Hall of Heavenly Kings

The majestic Hall of Heavenly Kings was originally built in 1474 during the

Maitreya Bodhisattva is enshrined in the hall and the mighty statues of the four Heavenly Kings holding religious objects stand on both sides of the statue of Maitreya. Behind the hall is a three-storey bell tower which was constructed in 1301 during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). On top of the bell tower there hangs a brass bell from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279). The massive bell is 2.75 meters (9.0 feet) high with a diameter of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet).^[5]

Mahavira Hall

The Mahavira Hall, constructed during the

Amitabha, which are situated in the sacrarium of the hall. These gilded figures are all over 8.3 meters (27 feet) high. Within the Grand Hall there are about 500 fine clay sculptures of Buddhist arhats.^[5]

The temple holds many precious cultural relics; the most precious being the statue of Hui Neng, which is worshiped in the Sixth Ancestor Hall and the body of Han Shan. There are 360 Buddhist

Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127) and a rare cassock trimmed with the dainty embroidery of over 1,000 Buddhist figures.^[5]

Early impressions by Jesuits

The first account of Nanhua Temple for the European audience was most likely provided by

Sixth Patriarch (Lusu, i.e. 六祖, Liu Zu, in Ricci's account) as well. The local authorities had suggested to the missionaries (Ricci and his younger colleague, Antonio Almeida) that they can find a place to live on the temple compound, but they strongly preferred to live in the city instead, closer to the region's ruling elites.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Zhang Yuhuan (2012a), p. 203.
^ ^a ^b ^c Zhang Yuhuan (2012b), p. 247.
^ Zhang Yuhuan (2012a), p. 204.
^ Lu K'uan Yu, Chan and Zen Teaching, Vol I. New York: Samuel Wieser inc,1993. 153.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Zhang Yuhuan (2012a), p. 205.
^ De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas, Book Three, Chapter 1. Pages 222-224 in the English translation: Louis J. Gallagher (1953). "China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Matteo Ricci", Random House, New York, 1953. The original Latin text by Nicolas Trigault, De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu, can be found on Google Books.

Bibliography

Zhang Yuhuan (2012a). "Bodhimanda of the Six Patriarch of Chan Buddhism Huineng: Nanhua Temple in Shaoguan" 《禅宗六祖惠能的道场：韶关南华寺》. 《图解中国著名佛教寺院》 [Illustration of Famous Buddhist Temples in China] (in Chinese). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House.
ISBN 978-7-5154-0135-5
.

Zhang Yuhuan (2012b). "Master Huineng and Nanhua Temple" 《惠能法师与南华寺》. 《图解中国佛教建筑》 [Illustration of Buddhist Architecture in China] (in Chinese). Beijing: Contemporary China Publishing House.
ISBN 978-7-5154-0118-8
.

External links

佛教禪宗祖庭──南華寺 (in Chinese (China)). People's Daily Online.

[FOOTNOTEZhang_Yuhuan2012a203-1] Zhang Yuhuan (2012a), p. 203.

[FOOTNOTEZhang_Yuhuan2012b247-2] Zhang Yuhuan (2012b), p. 247.

[FOOTNOTEZhang_Yuhuan2012a204-3] Zhang Yuhuan (2012a), p. 204.

[4] Lu K'uan Yu, Chan and Zen Teaching, Vol I. New York: Samuel Wieser inc,1993. 153.

[FOOTNOTEZhang_Yuhuan2012a205-5] Zhang Yuhuan (2012a), p. 205.

[6] De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas, Book Three, Chapter 1. Pages 222-224 in the English translation: Louis J. Gallagher (1953). "China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Matteo Ricci", Random House, New York, 1953. The original Latin text by Nicolas Trigault, De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas suscepta ab Societate Jesu, can be found on Google Books.

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