Lingshan Temple, also known as Lingshan Huguo Zen Temple, is located at the foot of the Takou Mountain in Tongyu Town, Chaoyang. It was founded by Master Huineng's disciple Master Dadian in the seventh year of Zhenyuan in the Tang Dynasty. It has a history of more than 1,200 year

Lingshan Temple, also known as Lingshan Huguo Zen Temple, is located at the foot of the Takou Mountain in Tongyu Town, Chaoyang. It was founded by Master Dadian, a master disciple of Huineng , in the seventh year of Zhenyuan in the Tang Dynasty (791). It has a history of more than 1,200 years. It is the second Chaoshan temple second only to Chaozhou Kaiyuan Temple . The lakes and mountains here are beautiful and beautiful scenery. It is a holy place for Buddhist practice. In history, it has become a good story in the history of Confucianism and Buddhism because of the great revelation of and the great resemblance of and Han Yu meeting in Lingshan and forming close friendships.

Da Dian is an eminent monk with important influence in the Tang Dynasty Chaoyang and even the entire Lingnan. He was born in Chaoyang. In his early years, he studied with Yaoshan and Weiyan Masters from Xishan Huizhao. After receiving the precepts, he went to Nanyue to visit Zen Master Shitou Xiqian, and realized the purpose and obtained the method of Caoxi. According to " Chaozhou Prefecture Chronicle ", "In the sixth year of Zhenyuan (790), Dadian returned to Chaoyang, opened up Niuyan, established a temple, and all nearby snakes and tigers were gone. The following year, he created a Zen temple under the quiet ridge of Takou Mountain in the western part of the county, called Lingshan Temple." It is said that Dadian visited various places in Chaoshan to build a temple that year, and finally traveled to the Lingshan area. Seeing the beautiful mountains and rivers, pleasant scenery and rich spirituality, he decided to build a temple here, and received strong support from the resigned governor Hong Dading. Finally, with the joint efforts of Buddhist disciples and nearby people, a large-scale temple was finally built. Here he promoted the Zen style of Caoxi, and received more than a thousand Dharma disciples, which had a huge influence, so that in the poem "Sending the Envoy of the Chaozhou Lu" Wang Anshi wrote that "there are those who are like Da Dian, and the high-minded people can move people", and praised Da Dian very much.

Han Yu was very happy after hearing that Monk Dadian was proficient in Buddhism and literature, so he wrote a book to invite Dadian to meet in Chaozhou City. Dadian accepted it happily and was invited to Chaozhou to meet him. Although their views were different, the conversation was very pleasant. Han Yu thought that the Great Disaster was "quite smart and reasonable". The two were very speculative. Ming Longqing "Chaoyang County Chronicles" also recorded the meeting between the two: "Talking about it for more than ten days is very conspiring to meet." Since then, the two of them have written letters and read Buddhism and literature. The "Chaoyang County Chronicles" of the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty contains three chapters of Han Yu's "Writing the Great Dian". From then on, the two formed close friendships and became a good story in the history of Confucianism and Buddhism's interactions.

"Chaozhou Prefecture Chronicle" of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty records that "in the 14th year of Yuanhe, the governor Han Yu was demoted to Chaozhou. There was nothing to talk to in the distance. He heard about Dadian's name and was summoned to him for more than ten days, saying that he could look like a body and defeat himself with reason. Because of his interactions with him, and when he sacrificed to the sea god, he built his house. He moved to Yuanzhou and left his clothes as a separate part." After he became involved in Chaozhou with Dadian, Han Yu visited Dadian many times to visit Dadian. Han Yu admired Dadian's piano skills and knowledge, and was also impressed by the master's personal cultivation. Although Han Yu was demoted to Chaozhou for his anti-Buddhist manifesto " on the Buddha's bones ", after the great destiny, Han Yu's prejudice against Buddhism was changed. The great destiny gave Han Yu great help, making Han Yu convinced and deeply impressed him. In Han Yu's "Book of Shu Meng": "In Chaozhou, there was an old monk named Dadian. He was quite smart and knew the truth. He had no words in the distance, so he summoned him from the mountain to the county and stayed for more than ten days. He could actually look like a body, and defeat himself with reason, and not invade things. Although he could talk to him, he would not have any stagnation in his heart. He thought it was rare and he would have to communicate with him." As a result, before Li Chao transferred to Yuanzhou, Han Yu went to Lingshan Temple to say goodbye to Dadian. The two had a long conversation. Dadian, who was over 88 years old at that time, personally sent Han Yu to the mountain gate. On the occasion of parting, Han Yu took off his official uniform and gave it to him. After that, Monk Dadian kept holding Han Yu's official uniform with him until his death. Later generations built the " Leave the Clothes Pavilion " to commemorate him. Lingshan Temple is a witness to the deep friendship between Dadian and Han Yu, and is also an important historical chapter in the history of Confucian and Buddhist interactions in Chaoshan area.

After thousands of years of vicissitudes, Lingshan Temple has been repaired several times, and is still majestic and spectacular. The temple is surrounded by dense forests and beautiful scenery. It is known as "eight dragons, lions and elephants confront each other" and is also well-known at home and abroad for its "traces and virtuous traces". The temple is constructed in a complete way and the cultural heritage is quite rich. "The tongue mirror tower, the trunk pavilion, the wood-padding dock, the scripture-writing platform, the sacred stele, the Kaishanzang, the white stone trough and the Thousand Clusters of Fruit" is known as the "Eight Scenery of Lingshan".Among them, the tongue mirror tower is the tomb of the ancestor of the big-necked ancestor. According to the "Chaoyang County Chronicle" of the Ming Dynasty, the monk Dadian said that one day after saying goodbye to the public in the fourth year of Changqing (824), and passed away, 93 years old... The base tower is on the left of Lingshan Temple. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, some people were rushing and repairing it, and their bones and thighs were completely transformed, but the root of the tongue was still alive, and they were burned again, and they called it a burying tongue. In the Song Dynasty, the villagers looked at it again, but the ancient mirror was just a round, and the stones were hidden as before." The entire tomb tower is 2.8 meters high and 1.8 meters in diameter. It is composed of 78 granite pieces. It is built to imitate the ancient Indian tomb tower and is also a relatively complete Tang Dynasty tomb tower existing in the province. It has important value and significance for the study of Chaoshan Buddhism and architectural art of the Tang Dynasty.

In 1978, Lingshan Temple was identified as a county-level cultural relics protection unit in Chaoyang County. In 1983, the State Council approved the announcement of Lingshan Temple as one of the first Chinese Buddhist temples to be opened to the public in the country. In 1979, the Guangdong Provincial People's Government announced the "Tang Dadian Zushi Tower" as a provincial cultural relic protection unit.