Longxing Monastery
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The Longxing Monastery (Chinese: 隆興寺; pinyin: Longxing Si) is an ancient Buddhist monastery located near the town of Zhengding in Hebei Province, China, approximately 15 kilometers north of the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang. It has been referred to as the "First Temple south of Beijing".
[edit] History
The monastery was first built in 586 AD, during the Sui Dynasty. Some of the oldest stelas still standing on the monastery grounds date back to this period. Much of it was reconstructed during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD).
Following a common pattern, the monastery complex features a central axis along which a sequence of buildings and focal points is arranged. The first building is the Hall of the Heavenly Kings. At the opposite end of the axis is the Main Hall (Da Bei Ge), a 33-meter-high wooden structure, which houses a bronze statue of Guan Yin. This bronze was built during the early years of the Song Dynasty; its height exceeds 20 meters. Inside the hall, a staircase leads around the statue which allows it to be seen from top to bottom.
Other notable artworks of the monastery are a colorful wooden carving of Guanyin sitting in a grotto and statues of Buddha sitting on a lotus throne.
A unique piece of wood architecture from the Song Dynasty in the Longxing Monastery is the Pavilion of the Rotating Library, which was restored in the 20th century. The pavilion houses a rotating bookshelf which was formerly used to store holy texts and Buddhist sutras. This rotating book case repository dates back to the 12th century, and is the oldest existent rotating repository of its kind (refer to the article Technology of the Song Dynasty).
Today, the Longxing Monastery is open to the public as a museum.
[edit] See also
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