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Straw Hut Temple-Caotang Si
Straw Hut Temple, called
Caotang Si in Chinese, is situated about 40 km southwest of Xi'an. It was
first found in 401. It got its name owing to the thatch roof, Caotang Temple,
meaning Straw Hut Temple. The small temple is famous for the place where
a great Indian monk, Kumarajiva, translated large volume Buddhist scriptures
from Sanskrit into Chinese in fourth century.
He is a well-known Buddhist master, who has become a monk in his early age
of seven. Because of his intelligence and diligence, he mastered the sprit
of the Buddhism excellently. He led 3,000 Buddhist followers to translate
sutras from Sanskrit to Chinese. Not as the most way of metaphrase, he used
free translation, which made the scriptures easy to understand. He died
in 413 and his ashes was buried in the stupa that is about 7 feet tall and
inlaid with colorful Jade carvings. The well in the temple used to win it
a good reputation.
Legend
Inside the temple, there is one of the eight famous scenic in Shaanxi Province-the
Mist of Caotang Temple.
The related legend is that there is a piece of stone on one side, halfway
down the well, and whenever there is a snake lying on the stone, the mist
comes out, and travels over the countryside. The real cause of the mist,
however, might be geothermal vapor, which, once out of the well, gets mixed
with the smoke of incense over the temple. Later an elegant pavilion has
been built over the well and was named as "the Misty Well". |
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