Brief introduction of Shuanglin Temple
Shuanglin Temple in Pingyao County, Shanxi Province is called "a real and unique treasure" by UNESCO. Shuanglin Temple, formerly known as Zhongdu Temple, is located in the old city of Zhongdu. Shuanglin Temple has a long history. Due to the lack of detailed literature, it is impossible to study the specific establishment time.
Shuanglin Temple is an ancient temple listed on the World Heritage List alongside Pingyao Ancient City Wall and Zhenguo Temple. The date of its establishment cannot be verified. Wuping was rebuilt in the Northern Qi Dynasty (AD 57 1 year), and all the existing temples were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Shuanglin Temple has more than 2,000 painted sculptures of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. They have inherited the fine tradition of colored sculptures in China since the Tang Dynasty and have a highly realistic style. They are all rare treasures.
History of Shuanglin Temple
In Song Dynasty, Zhongdu Temple was renamed Shuanglin Temple. There are relics such as "Aunt Monument" and "Yizhen Temple" in the temple, so a nun once lived in the temple. Shuanglin Temple is also a very bumpy temple. In thousands of years, it has experienced crises such as wind, rain, fire and soldiers' suffering, and it was once stormy. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, temples were constantly being repaired, so the existing temples were actually buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Sara Temple Pattern
Shuanglin Temple, facing south, covers an area of about 15000 square meters and is divided into east and west parts. It is a temple in the west. Its main buildings are Sakyamuni Hall, Luohan Hall, Tianwang Hall, Ursa Major Hall, Thousand Buddhas Hall and Niangniang Hall. In the East, there are Buddhist temples and Confucian classrooms. Shuanglin Temple has a very long history, including Song steles, ancient buildings, painted sculptures and murals.
Shuangsi Temple Group is divided into east and west parts. As the West Temple Courtyard, it is also the main part of the play. Along the central axis, there is Sanjin Courtyard, which consists of ten halls. The front yard is the Sakyamuni Hall, the Luohan Hall, the Five Halls, the Land Hall, the Temple and the Heavenly King Hall. The Intermediate People's Court is the Mahatma Hall, the Thousand Buddhas Hall and the hatchback hall; The backyard is Niangniang Temple and Yizhen Temple. For the eastern Buddhist temple, classics room, etc. In the Ming dynasty, there was a rammed earth wall outside the temple with a bunch of arrows on it, which looked like a small castle.
Characteristics of temples in Sara
The most famous temples are lifelike colored sculptures, and the proportions are not perfect in both expression and manner. They are endowed with distinctive and vivid personality and have high artistic value. However, the intelligence of the ancient working people is really admirable!
Visit Shuanglin Temple, and you will be surprised to find it everywhere. The statue of "Four donkey kong" in the King's Temple is three meters high and tall. In the Buddhist temple of Sakyamuni, the four walls are carved in the form of serial walls, which shows the life of Sakyamuni. The Guanyin statue in the Thousand Buddhas Hall has a quiet and charming face and a comfortable and natural posture. The statue of Wei Tuo next to Guanyin, the in-depth depiction of dual characters, the exaggerated and deformed body show strength, and the facial expression is highly vivid; The main statue of the Buddha in the temple is Guanyin with thousands of hands and eyes. Its gestures are ever-changing, very delicate and flexible.
In addition, there are still a few Ming Dynasty murals on the eaves of Qianfo Temple and Bodhisattva Temple. On both sides of the Buddha Hall of Sakyamuni, there are two opposite bell towers and drum towers. There was a big bronze bell on the bell tower during the Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty.