The 6 Most Famous and Enchanting Temples in China
https://reviewsinstyle.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-6-most-famous-and-enchanting.html
Call it the Middle
Kingdom- as China is famously known. In China temples abound everywhere- from
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoist to Maoist- most of these temples have stood
the test of time even after the devastating effect of the Cultural Revolution. Religion
in mainland China is an intricate part of everyday life. It has a profound
impact on artistic lifestyle including calligraphy, music, painting and all art
forms one can possibly imagine.
Towering over all the
temples in China for its rich history is the White Horse temple located east of
Luoyang between the Luo River and the Mang Hill. The temple, according to
records was built during the Eastern Han Dynasty. As the story goes, the
emperor at that time sent monks to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures and on
the successful journey back to China the monks rode white horses signifying
their triumph over the treacherous journey, hence the name white horse.
The
temples is famously revered as the cradle of Buddhism in China with an
astonishing 1,900 years of history and still well preserved to this day.
Xiangguo Temple
Located in Kaifeng,
henan province. The temple was first built in Northern Qi Dynasty during the
period 555AD as a Buddhist temple. With a rich history of over 1,400 years the
temple has been enlarged many times and was once the largest in China.
Its membership
was dominated by the Royal family and had monks numbering over a thousand.
Jokhang Temple
This temple is the
heartbeat of Tibet, located in Lhasa, the Jokhang temple was built in 647 by
Songtem Gampo and holds a history of more than 1,300 years. It is a combination
of Han, Tibet and Nepalese architecture, wowing visitors from all over the
world.
The temple house many invaluable relics and according to history was
ransacked by the then ferocious Mongols. For centuries it was the epicenter for
Buddhist pilgrimages in China.
Shaolin Temple
Chinese Kung-fu is
famous around the world for a reason, the Shaolin Temple. Built in 495 AD, the
temple is credited with popularizing martial art and the Zen Buddhism that
spread throughout East Asia.
It is undisputedly one of China’s most famous
ancient temples. During the Yuan and Ming dynasties the temple held more than
1000 monks from all walks of life.
Confucian Temple
A list of some of the
most famous and enchanting temples in China will not be complete without the
inclusion of Confucian temple located in Shandong Province in the center of
Qufu city.
Built in 478 BC after the death of Chinese philosopher Confucius,
the temple is considered as one of the ancient building complexes in China
covering an area of 50 acres.
The Labrang Lamasery Temple
Nestled in the
mountains in the Tibet autonomous region is the Labrang Lamasery temple in
Xiahe County. The temple was
initially built under the supervision of Jiamuyang, the forefathers of Living
Buddha in 1709, the late forty’s in the reign of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. It
occupies 82 hectares land with a floor space of more than 82,000 square meters.
The temple consists of
6 scripture-chanting halls, more than 80 Buddha halls, 31 Tibetan style architectural
buildings, 30 palace-yards for Buddhas and an astonishing 500 meditation rooms
as well as more than 10,000 abodes for lamas.
Beside of this giant collection of buildings, the Labrang Monastery have a
treasure house which contains masterpiece art treasures, such as fabulous
frescoes and tapestries, eye catching carpets which cover the whole area,
painted Tibetan style furniture.
The most heartthrob ones are the different
kinds of Buddha statues and "thangkas".Labrang Monastey has a
collection more than 10,000 "thangka" paintings.
