|
by S. Chen
Located in Yangzhou 揚州, Daming Temple 大明寺 is famous for its association with Jianzhen 鑑真 (J. Ganjin), who once resided there for a few of years before his departure to Japan. Starting in 743, Jianzhen and his disciples tried six times to travel to Japan in order to transmit the Buddhist precepts to Japanese Buddhist monastics. Finally, in 753, they arrived in Japan and started their mission. Jianzhen not only brought to Japan monastic precepts, but also built Tousyoudai Temple 招提寺 in Nara 奈良 and introduced a rich heritage of Chinese herbal medicine. In the 1960s, China and Japan were building a new relationship after WWII. Fortunately, because of its connection with Jianzhen, who was highly revered by the Japanese, the Daming Temple served as a cultural bridge between China and Japan and thus survived of the Great Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)-the sole temple in Yangzhou not destroyed in the hands of the Red Guards. Originally constructed in 457, the temple now has a great history of more than fifteen hundred years. The temple is composed of the Majesty Hall, the Monument to Jianzhen 鑑真紀念堂, Qiling Pagoda 栖灵塔, Jianzhen library 鑑真圖書館, imperial gardens, etc. The temple is also related to the celebrated intellectual, Ou Yangxiu 歐陽修, who was once the governor of 揚州. Even though he only lived in Yangzhou for one year, he composed many romantic stories which took place in the Even with the Mountains Hall 平山堂 (constructed by Ou in 1048), now situated inside the temple. In addition, the Jianzhen seminary 鑑真學院 located inside the temple is supported by the temple, which is also planning to establish a university. The Monument to Jianzhen was built in 1973 to commemorate the 1200 anniversary of his travel to Japan and to demonstrate the friendly relationship between China and Japan. The Tang-style main hall enshrines a statue of Jianzhen, which is an imitation of the statue in the Tousyoudaiji made in the last year of Jianzhen's life. In 1980, a Japanese emissary brought the statue back to the Daming Temple, allowing the Chinese people to pay homage to him. Meanwhile, Yangzhou artisans used the lacquer technique to make a statue which looked exactly the same as the original one, except the difference of their weight. The original statue is now still enshrined in the Tousyoudaiji. In front of the main hall is a Japanese style Zen garden, where one can find a stone lantern, which is originally a pair with the other one now in the Tousyoudaiji. It is donated by Reverend Morimoto Kyouzyun 森本孝順, the abbot of the Tousyoudaiji, to pay his respect to their patriarchal hall 祖庭, the Daming Temple. Three bronze articles brought to Japan by Jianzhen were also given to the Daming Temple. The temporary home coming of the Jianzhen statue, the donations the Tousyoudaiji offered to the Daming Temple, and the visits of Japanese Buddhists demonstrate the Japanese value of remembering the source and show the efforts that Chinese and Japanese Buddhists make together to construct a peaceful relationship, signifying a harmonious brotherhood. Another important site of the temple is the Qiling Pagoda 棲靈塔, where a Buddha's relic is enshrined (Qiling literally means "enshrining the spiritual one" in Chinese). Yangzhou is a plain; thus, the nine-leveled pagoda has become the highest point in Yangzhou. Many famous intellectuals and poets, such as Libo 李白 and Bai Juyi 白居易, have climbed the pagoda and composed beautiful poems. Unfortunately, the original pagoda was destroyed in 843. During 1004-1007, Master Kezheng 可政rebuilt a seven-storied pagoda, yet it was destroyed again in the Ming dynasty. Finally, in 1995, the construction of the current Qiling Pagoda was completed, and it was opened next year. The four Buddha statues made of jade situated in the ground level were gifts from Major Wugeli 吳哥禮 of Rangoon, Myanmar, indicating a friendly relationship between China and Myanmar. In this international aspect, in addition to its cultural exchange with Japan and Myanmar, Kim Il-song 金日成, the president of North Korea, also paid a visit to the temple in 1991. In the national aspect, the Daming Temple is also important because of the visits of Qing Emperors Kangxi 康熙 and Qianlong 乾隆; the latter even built a visiting palace here. The Daming Temple is indeed a temple replete with religious, cultural, historical, and international significance. Sources: - 揚州宗教名勝 (Famous Religious Sites in Yangzhou), p61-67
- 大明寺網站 (Daming Temple website): http://www.damingsi.com/
Photos:
|
