There is an ancient and famous temple in Danyang. Its name is - Haihui Temple. Haihui Temple was originally located on the northeast side of Yingong Bridge on Danfeng South Road in Danyang City. According to the "Danyang County Chronicle", Haihui Temple was built in the eighth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1580). Monk Zhengshan raised funds for the construction and was originally named Haihui Temple. The name "Haihui" comes from the famous Buddhist classic "Huayan Sutra", which means that eminent monks gather and practice devoutly.
According to relevant historical records, In the forty-second year of Wanli (1614), the imperial court gave Haihui Temple a new name of "Wanshan Temple" and issued the Tripitaka. However, Danyang people still used to call it "Haihui Temple". During the same period, local people in Danyang built a pagoda on the bank of the ancient canal at the east gate of Danyang for the purpose of "township Feng Shui". Because the place was close to Wanshan Temple, the pagoda built was named "Wanshan Pagoda".
The Haihui Temple tower has 7 floors and is 47.76 meters high. It is a wooden eaves pavilion style. It rises from the ground and goes straight to the sky, so it is also called the "Tongtian Tower". The tower room is built according to floors, with an appearance of 8 sides and verandahs on each floor. Each room is equipped with wooden beams, floors are laid on top, and wooden escalators are folded up layer by layer.
In the fourth year of Tongzhi (1864), Danyang was occupied by the Qing army again. At this time, Wanshan Haihui Temple was already "crisscrossed by thorns and piled up with rubble." He ascended the throne and authorized Kuan Hong to recruit new funds for construction. After all the hardships, in the eighteen years from the sixth year of Tongzhi (1866) to the ninth year of Guangxu (1883), 90% of the temple's buildings were restored, with only the Sutra Collection Building yet to be completed. .
It is understood that in order to commend meritorious deeds and enlighten future generations, Danyang local gentleman Xu Xilin and others specially wrote and engraved the "Inscription on the Reconstruction of Wanshan Temple" and erected it in the temple.
The monument is 2.5 meters high and 0.50 meters wide. The head of the monument is engraved with the pattern of "Two Dragons Playing with Pearls" and eight large characters in regular script "Ten Directions Live forever, rebuild the monument".
to On the eve of the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Wanshan Haihui Temple was well preserved and was one of the famous temples in Danyang at that time.
It is understood that after 1949, Wanshan Haihui Temple was seriously affected. During the "Cultural Revolution", the monks were forced to return to secular life. However, the temple is basically well-preserved. Before 1970, the temple had three entrances, including the monk's dormitory, the abbot's building, and the sutra collection building, totaling more than 50 buildings. There is a corridor on the ground floor with a width of 2.3 meters. On the east side of the temple, there is a relief sculpture, which contrasts with the Wanshan Pagoda. The locals call it a small pagoda.
Later, the old site of Wanshan Haihui Temple was used as the office of Danyang Municipal Party School. In the 21st century, the remaining main hall was also demolished. Now, except for the Sutra Collection Building, all other temple buildings have disappeared. The two ginkgo trees that are more than 400 years old in front of the Buddhist scripture building are still tall and tall today. The ancient branches and cang festivals are relics from when Wanshan Haihui Temple was first built during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty.
Source: Yiwang netizen-Niu Jianjian
