"Cilin Holy Land" Changzhi Faxing Temple

Faxing Temple is 20 kilometers southeast of Changzi County, with an altitude of 1,160 meters. Cilin Mountain. There is a famous Faxing Temple on the mountain. Faxing Temple was built in the first year of Shending of the Later Wei Dynasty (AD 401). It is said that there was a tall monk who traveled to Cilin Mountain and admired the Buddhist scenery here so much that he built the Cilin Temple on the mountain. In the first year of Shangyuan, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Li Zhi went from Kaifeng to Taiyuan. On the way, he visited Cilin Temple, renamed it "Guangsheng Temple" and gave the temple two strong red flowers. During the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhao Shu changed Guangsheng Temple to "Faxing Temple". 1⃣️Faxing Temple has been in disrepair and has a dilapidated appearance. In addition, it is located in the main mining area of ​​Cilinshan Coal Mine. In the late 1970s, cracks appeared in the temple foundation, the temple was tilted, and the courtyard walls were deformed and some were collapsed or destroyed. Danger. Repeated investigations and studies by the county, city, provincial and central cultural relics departments confirmed that the original site of the Northern Wei Dynasty building could no longer be restored, so it was decided to relocate Faxing Temple to Cuiyun Mountain opposite. 2⃣️Stupa This tower plays an extremely important role in the development history of Faxing Temple. According to records, in the fourth year of Xianheng in the Tang Dynasty (AD 673), Li Yuanyi, the thirteenth son of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, King Zheng Hui, visited Faxing Temple when he was doing the history of Luzhou. Seeing the magnificent scenery, he spent a lot of money to expand and build the temple himself. A stone tower. He donated the 37 relics and Tripitaka he collected to the temple and kept them in this stone pagoda. The stone tower he presided over the construction of is still perfect and stands as before despite being exposed to wind and rain for thousands of years. The appearance of the pagoda is like a pagoda but not a pagoda. It looks like a palace but not a palace. It is unique among the existing ancient pagodas in my country. Unique. The whole body of the stupa is constructed of sandstone slabs, with a square plane and a double-eaves pavilion shape. It has a square caisson inside and a pointed orb roof at the four corners. There are murals on the four walls of the lower inner tank. The reliefs in the Baoding caisson are exquisite. The characters in the murals are dignified. The whole tower is very exquisite in shape. When the pagoda was built, it was during the Tang Dynasty when Buddhism was at its peak. King Zheng Hui gave the relics and the Tripitaka, which had a profound impact. Later generations called this place a blessed place, which brought about the rise of Dharma. 3⃣️Lighthouse The most beautiful thing about the burning lighthouse is its exquisite structure, fine carvings, elegance and beauty. It is the perfect bearer of the stone carving art in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. It is also the most exquisite in shape, the most exquisite in carving and the best preserved among the only three Tang Dynasty stone lanterns in China. A complete one. On the eight-sided base of the tower, there is a Begonia Xumizuo. The tower is covered with an eight-sloped and eight-cornered spire. It is carved with a hollow chamber with four doors and four windows. The corner pillars are carved into waist-shaped lotus cluster columns. There are brackets on top to support the eaves of the tower. There are railings between the columns. The forehead is connected to the flat square, and there are 6 musicians, which are lifelike; the pagoda is in the form of mountain flowers and banana leaves, and there are 12 animal shapes at the bottom, which are taken from the Classic of Mountains and Seas and represent the 12 heavens. It is said that the Buddhist lanterns lit in this pagoda will never go out regardless of the wind direction from north to south, which is the "second wonder" of Faxing Temple. 4⃣️Yuanjue Bodhisattva There are 12 Bodhisattvas on both sides of the Yuanjue Hall. Their shapes are lifelike, their expressions are very divine but slightly smiling, quiet and elegant, their expressions overflowing from the brows to the corners of the mouth; some have their arms slightly bent and half raised forward, with fingers shaped like Elegant, with colorful ribbons draped around the body, the lines are extremely varied and have a sense of rhythm. These clay sculptures were only partially recolored in the later period, but they still retain the aesthetics and form of the Song Dynasty. They are extremely beautiful and can be called the third masterpiece of Faxing Temple. faxing temple Ticket: 20 yuan Address: The north of Provincial Road 227, Changzi County, Changzhi, Shanxi Province is 1.4km away from Cilinshan Coal Mine (bus station). It takes about 17 minutes to walk and requires self-driving.