Hunyuan Yuanjue Temple~The Small Temple

Hunyuan Yuanjue Temple is located in the north alley of Shiqiao, Hunyuan County, with a width of 49.25 meters from east to west, a length of 65.95 meters from north to south, and covers an area of 3,248 square meters. Inside the temple, there is a brick pagoda of Shakyamuni's sarira, which is an octagonal nine-tiered dense eave style. The base of the pagoda is a brick-built Sumeru throne, the first layer of the pagoda body is about 4 meters high, and each layer above it is proportionally reduced, with harmonious proportions, graceful and lively. The ninth layer suddenly rises, echoing the first layer from afar, and on top of it, the spire is stacked sharply, with an iron phoenix bird standing on top to indicate the wind direction. According to the 'Hunyuan Prefecture Annals' of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, the brick pagoda was built in the third year of the Jizhonglong period of the Jin Dynasty (1158), and was repaired multiple times in the fifth year of the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty (1469), the fourth year of the Wanli period (1576), and the ninth year of the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty (1859). According to documents from the website of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, in May 2013, the pagoda of Yuanjue Temple in Hunyuan was announced by the State Council as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units. The pagoda of Yuanjue Temple is a landmark building of the ancient city of Hunyuan, and the iron phoenix bird on the pagoda is the only remaining ancient object of 'xiangfeng' (wind direction indicator), which has become a unique item in the country. Because the locals did not know what 'xiangfeng' was, it was mispronounced as 'xiangfeng' (flying phoenix). Yuanjue Temple, commonly known as 'The Small Temple.' According to the 'Hunyuan Prefecture Annals' of the Qianlong era, Yuanjue Temple was built in the third year of the Zhenglong period of the Jin Dynasty (1158) by the monk Xuanzhen. However, judging from some inscriptions from the early Tianhui period of the Jin Dynasty (1123-1135) left on the pagoda, its history should be even longer. In addition, according to the famous archaeologist and distinguished educator in archaeology, Mr. Su Bai, Yuanjue Temple was already in existence, and it might have been abandoned and later rebuilt or extensively repaired by the monk Xuanzhen. As is well known, after the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, although the Jin royal family inherited the Liao tradition of venerating Buddhism, there were not many Buddhist pagodas built during the Jin Dynasty, let alone brick pagodas! That's really rare. Today, the brick pagoda in Yuanjue Temple is still well preserved and stands tall, for which we must thank the providence. In misfortune, is there also a one in a million chance of luck? Therefore, its value of existence is even more precious, oh!