[2024 Zhangzi Attraction] Travel Guide for Faxing Temple (Updated Dec)
Temples
Address:
Zhangzi, Changzhi, Shanxi, China
Opening times:
Open tomorrow at 09:00-17:30Closed Today
Recommended sightseeing time:
1-2 hours
Phone:
0355-7731892
The most beautiful Song dynasty statues of the 12 Bodhisattvas in China are in Shanxi!
👈🏻 Faxing Temple is a must-see temple when visiting Changzhi. It was first built in the 2nd year of the Kaiyun period of the Later Jin dynasty of the Five Dynasties (945), and was rebuilt in the 4th year of the Yuanfeng period of the Northern Song dynasty (1081) after years of change. It was repaired many times during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.
👈🏻 The original site of Faxing Temple was located in the mining area of Cilinshan Coal Mine. In the mid-to-late 20th century, the foundation subsided, the walls cracked, and the beam structure was severely deformed. To protect the cultural relics, the cultural relics department moved the entire temple to Cuiyun Mountain in 1984, and the Yuanjue Hall was also relocated and rebuilt. This was done to protect the cultural relics.
Highlights 1️⃣ Tang dynasty stone stupa: Also known as the "stone hall," it is made of sandstone slabs. The tower is square-shaped, with a double-eave pavilion style. The tower eaves are stacked in three layers, and the interior is composed of a square caisson. The four slopes are covered with purlins and rafters, and the eaves are supported by brackets, with a spire and a jewel top at the four corners. The lower layer can be circled around, so it looks like a tower but not a tower, like a hall but not a hall. It is a unique existence among the ancient towers in China!
Highlights 2️⃣ Song dynasty painted sculptures: The Yuanjue Hall, built in the 4th year of the Yuanfeng period of the Northern Song dynasty, has statues of the 12 Bodhisattvas. The 12 Bodhisattvas are evenly arranged, sitting on waist-high altars, with free forms and calm expressions. The hair of the Bodhisattvas can still be seen, and the clothing is simple and elegant, with a soft and delicate texture. Every detail reveals the ingenuity of Song dynasty craftsmen. The Song dynasty painted sculptures in the Yuanjue Hall are the most precious part, praised by art historians as the "crown of Song dynasty Bodhisattva sculptures" and "a unique Oriental painted sculpture." These painted sculptures vividly demonstrate the superb level of Song dynasty sculpture art!
Highlights 3️⃣ Yuanjue Hall: The hall is a typical Song dynasty architectural style, with a clear structure, regular materials, and a simple and grand shape, representing the high level of Song dynasty temple architecture. The hall is three bays wide, six rafters deep, with a single-eave hip roof.
👈🏻 Faxing Temple is currently free to visit. Not far away is another must-see temple, Chongqing Temple, which is a must-visit. For those who love ancient architecture and painted sculptures, Faxing Temple is a must-visit!
_TI***96
Faxing Temple
Faxing Temple, the original site is located in the Cilin Mountain depression in Zhangzi County, and was built in the first year of the Shen Ding period of the Later Liang Dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period (401 AD). The current site is located on Cui Zhuang Cuiyun Mountain in Cilin Town, southeast of Zhangzi County, Shanxi Province, covering an area of 40,000 square meters. In 1984, the Faxing Temple relocation and reconstruction project broke ground, and the reconstruction project was completed in October 1996.
Faxing Temple faces south, and the existing layout is characterized by the Tang Dynasty. The sutra building and the pagoda are in front of the hall. The central axis is lined with the mountain gate, the stupa, the Yuanjue Hall and the Bodhisattva Hall, and the two sides are the Guan Gong Hall, the Jialan Hall and the Stele Gallery. There are 6 stone pagodas in the temple, all of which are relics of the Tang Dynasty. There are 17 existing inscriptions from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, which record the history of the temple and the establishment of the temple.
The stupa, also known as the stone hall, was built in the fourth year of Xianheng in the Tang Dynasty (673 AD) and was constructed entirely of sandstone slabs. The whole shape is like a tower but not a tower, like a hall but not a hall. It is a unique example of the existing Tang Dynasty ancient pagodas in China.
The burning lamp tower was built in the eighth year of the Tang Dynasty (773 AD), and the whole body was built of bluestone, small and exquisite, with an ancient shape, also known as the Changming lamp and the lamp tower. According to relevant records, there are only three burning lamp towers in the shape of a sutra tower in China. The beautiful shape and exquisite carving are its external beauty, and the reasonable windproof function is its internal skill. It is said that the burning lamp lights the Buddha lamp, no matter the wind blows from the east, west, south, or north, the Buddha lamp will never go out. The name of the Changming lamp comes from this, which is a unique feature of Faxing Temple.
In 1988, Faxing Temple was announced by the State Council as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
Faxing Temple
TheodoreLivingstondvg
In the ancient charm of Jin Dongnan, I embarked on a journey through the time of the Tang and Song dynasties
In the ancient charm of Jin Dongnan, I embarked on a journey through the time of the Tang and Song dynasties. 🚶♂️🏰 Faxing Temple, this name echoes in the long river of history. It is not just a temple, but a cultural heritage.
📍【Visit Changzhi Faxing Temple】
Address: Cuiyun Mountain, Cuizhuang Village, Cilin Town, Changzi County, Changzhi City
Ticket: Only 15 yuan to appreciate the thousand-year-old Tang and Song charm
Opening hours: 9:00 - 11:30; 14:00 - 17:30
🚗【Travel Tips】
- Free parking, but you need to walk to the temple gate along the long steps, feeling the weight of history.
🏰【Historical Overview】
- Built in the Northern Wei Dynasty, it has gone through the Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, with each generation leaving its mark. From Cilin Temple to Guangde Temple, and then to Faxing Temple, each renaming is a witness to history.
🏯【Temple Layout】
- The original site was relocated to the southern slope of Cuiyun Mountain due to geological changes. It is situated by the mountain and water, facing north to south, with a two-entry courtyard. Every step on the central axis echoes history.
👀【Must-See Highlights】
1️⃣ Tang Dynasty Stone Relic Pagoda - A unique piece among unique pieces, a square two-story stone pagoda, each stone slab tells the story of the Tang Dynasty.
2️⃣ Tang Dynasty Lantern Pagoda - An octagonal single-story stone pagoda, with auspicious beasts, inscriptions, and doors and windows, every detail showcases the exquisite craftsmanship of Tang Dynasty sculpture.
3️⃣ Yuanjue Hall and Song Dynasty Sculptures - Rebuilt in the Song Dynasty, imitating the Song Dynasty reconstruction, the cycle of history is reflected here. 22 colored sculptures, each one is awe-inspiring, especially the Water-Moon Guanyin, with its elegant posture and serene expression, as if it can transcend time and space.
📸【Special Tips】
- You can take photos now! 🎉 Capture the thousand-year-old ancient charm with your camera!
Merritt Green
The Three Wonders of Faxing Temple in Changzhi
Similarly located in the coal mining area of Changzi County, Changzhi, Faxing Temple is well-known and was relocated to its current site due to coal mining. Above the 60 steps, there are the Three Wonders inherited from the Tang and Song dynasties: The first wonder is the Relic Pagoda, built during the Tang dynasty, with its body entirely constructed from sandstone slabs, simple and unadorned, with few carvings, and not tall or beautiful in shape. The second wonder is the Lamp-Lighting Pagoda, protected by a glass cover, resembling the stone lamps commonly seen in temples, but this one is exquisitely designed and carved, said to be one of the three remaining stone lamps from the Tang dynasty in China. It is said that the Lamp-Lighting Pagoda, when lit with a Buddha lamp, will never extinguish regardless of whether the wind blows from the east, west, south, or north, hence it is known as the 'Ever-Bright Lamp.' The third wonder is the most beautiful set of Song dynasty colored sculptures of the Twelve Yuanjue Figures. The 12 Yuanjue Bodhisattvas have nearly identical female features, with the same style of makeup and clothing, yet each has a distinct posture, embodying both the plumpness of the Tang and the elegance of the Song, conveying a sense of transparency between heaven and earth, and a calm and leisurely spirit, matching the term 'Yuanjue.' This group of sculptures is also acclaimed as the crown of Song dynasty Bodhisattva sculptures. Personally, I feel that these sculptures, along with those of the Song dynasty maidservants at Jinci Temple, share a similar temperament—delicate, pure, restrained, and subdued—or perhaps, this is the cultural tone of the entire Song dynasty. Faxing Temple
JonasLarsen
Journey to Shanxi—Faxing Temple in Changzhi
Hidden ancient temple in the deep mountains, green trees surround the red walls, the thousand-year-old Faxing Temple, the town has 'three absolutes'. Faxing Temple is the highest level, largest scale, and highest research and ornamental value of ancient temple buildings in Changzhi City. The Tang Stone Relic Tower, the Burning Lamp Tower, and the Song Sculpture Twelve Round Enlightenment in the temple are known as 'Faxing Three Absolutes'.
Stepping into the mountain gate of Faxing Temple, the first thing that catches your eye is a relic tower. The lower layer of the stone tower has grooves, murals on all four walls, the upper layer is a double-eave pavilion-style building, with four corners gathered at the top, bead necklaces collected at the top of the tower, and the relief in the caisson is exquisite, and the figures in the murals are dignified. The overall shape of the tower is quite peculiar, it looks like a 'four unlike' like a tower but not a tower, like a hall but not a hall, like a building but not a building, like a fort but not a fort. The tower is also known as the 'Stone Hall', which is made of sandstone. The tower is small on the top and large on the bottom. It has the staggered beauty of the tower: square and square, and the upright beauty of the hall. The two layers also have the layered beauty of the tower and building. It can be said to gather the beauty of the tower, hall, building, and fort in one, which is unique in our country's ancient towers. It is a unique example of Tang towers in our country, which is precious and is the 'first absolute' of Faxing Temple.
Behind the relic tower is a burning lamp tower also known as the 'ever-burning lamp'. The absolute beauty lies in its exquisite structure, fine carving, ancient and beautiful, it is the perfect carrier of stone carving art in the Tang Dynasty, and it is also the most exquisite, finest carving, and best preserved among the only three Tang Dynasty stone lamps in our country. On the octagonal base of the tower, a begonia Sumeru seat is placed, the tower body is covered with eight slopes and eight corners gathered at the top, carved with four doors and four windows hollow room, the corner column is carved into a waist lotus group column, the bucket arch supports the tower eaves, the column is connected by the railing and the flat board hang, and there are 8 musicians, lifelike: the tower is a mountain flower banana leaf bead style In addition to these external beauties, its reasonable windproof function is the inner cleverness. No matter what direction the wind is from, the Buddha lamp will never go out. It is truly deserved, and it is the 'second absolute' of Faxing Temple.
The Round Enlightenment Hall is the main building of Faxing Temple. The Buddhist scriptures mention that the Twelve Round Enlightenment is the 12 disciples of Buddha Shakyamuni. 'Round Enlightenment' means 'full enlightenment', which means that it is about to become a Buddha. The Song Dynasty Twelve Round Enlightenment colored statues in the Round Enlightenment Hall are the third absolute. Although the Round Enlightenment statues in the hall were originally molded in the first year of the Northern Song Dynasty's Zhenghe (1111), they inherited the charm of Tang art everywhere. They are high-bun and beautiful eyebrows, full of vitality, bold and elegant, plump but not beautiful, fat but not bloated, the beauty of the Tang Dynasty's 'plump' and the Song Dynasty's 'delicate' state, here through the ancient clay sculptor's wise hands, they are fully and appropriately expressed, truly showing the Buddhist mood of 'the beginning of the right awakening is round'. Please stop and take a close look, some are stepping on the lotus seat with their left foot, supporting their cheeks with their left hand, their eyes slightly closed in thought, quiet and elegant, their expressions overflow from their eyebrows and flow to their corners of their mouths: some have their arms slightly bent and half-raised forward, their fingers are elegantly shaped, their ribbons are draped over their bodies, their lines are extremely changeable, and they have a sense of rhythm... The treasures in the art of Eastern clay sculpture are amazing! It is the 'third absolute' of Faxing Temple, and it is also the most amazing.
RenewedAdventures
Pathfinder Episode 14: Faxing Temple in Changzhi, Shanxi
Faxing Temple, located in Changzhi, Shanxi, is a fascinating temple.
Firstly, the fascination lies in the Tang stone stupa in the middle of the courtyard, which houses the Buddhist treasure - 37 Buddha relics;
Secondly, the fascination lies in the Song Dynasty statues in the Yuanjue Hall, which are extremely exquisite. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed, and if you dare to take pictures, they will announce in the loudspeaker throughout the courtyard that photography is not allowed. As a result, only one photo was taken with the mobile phone (Figure 5);
Thirdly, the entire courtyard building looks handsome from all angles.
Figure 2 is the statue of the back hall, which is also a rare giant colored porcelain production.
Special note:
There is a rest at noon, lunch time.