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Daxingshan Temple
Daxingshan Temple
is located about 2.5 kilometers south from the Xi'an City. It was originally
built in the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Si Mayan, more than 1600 years from
present. It was named Zunshan Temple at that time. In the second year
of the Emperor Yang Jian, on the basis of the temple he ordered to enlarge
it and changed its name into Daxingshan Temple.
Buddhism was so popular in Chang'an, the predecessor of present Xi'an
City, during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Many Indian monks stayed there
to translate the sutras and promulgate the Buddhist doctrines. Over time,
the Daxingshan Temple became one of three temples particularly used for
translating sutras. The other two are Ci'en Temple and Jianfu Temple.
To some degree, it is the cradle of Chinese Buddhism also a memorialize
place in the China-India cultural communication process.
Still it has gone through tremendous destroy during the years from 841
AD to 846 AD. And the temple was rebuilt in the Ming and again restored
in 1785 by an expert on Tang Dynasty Chang'an called Bi Yuan. After its
reconstruction in 1956 it was used by a community of Lamaist monks until
the Cultural Revolution.
Although it is rebuilt in recent years, still the whole structure is in
typical Qing-style. There are Mountain Gate with Bell and Drum Towers
on both sides, Devajara Hall--Hall of the Heavenly Kings, in which stands
in the center a wood-carved Maitreva statue with four Heavenly Kings around.
Mahavira Hal--Daxiongbaodian, Kwan-yin Palace and many other halls in
which Buddhist followers can pray also attractive.
Nowadays, together with its surrounding areas, the Temple has developed
into a park temple and open to travelers.
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