Zunsheng Temple is located on the southern slope of Wangyangling, 50 kilometers southwest of the Wutai Mountain Scenic Spot, and is a giant temple on the south gateway of Wutai Mountain. This place was once the main passage from the south to Taihuai Town in history, so it is know

　　 Zunsheng Temple is located on the southern slope of Wangyangling 50 kilometers southwest of the Wutai Mountain Scenic Spot. It is a giant sword on the south gateway of Wutai Mountain. This place was historically the main channel from Nantong to Taihuai Town , so it is known as "Five Peaks Throat" and "Taishan Gateway".

　　 Construction history

　　Zunsheng Temple has a history of more than 1,300 years. According to the stone tablet of the 24th year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1685), "The first temple was founded is Cuiyan Mountain Courtyard." In the first year of Yifeng in the Tang Dynasty (676), Indian monk Buddha Poli went to Wutai Mountain to Chaotai and passed this temple. In the second year of Hongdao in the Tang Dynasty (684), he returned to Taiwan with the Zunsheng Dharani Sutra, and still went to the road to Yangling, and expanded the original temple, called "Shanju Pavilion". The temple was rebuilt in the fourth year of Tiansheng (1026) of the Northern Song Dynasty and was renamed "Zhenrong Zen Temple". In the 19th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1591), monks of the temple built a sutra of Zunsheng Dharani in the courtyard, and first called the temple "Zunsheng Temple". During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, two revisions were carried out. In the 11th year of the Republic of China (1922), it was rebuilt on a large scale, and most of the existing temples and pavilions in the temple were built during this period. In October 2019, Zunsheng Temple was approved by the State Council and announced as the eighth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

　　 Building characteristics

　　Zunsheng Temple faces north and south, built on the slope, covering an area of ​​32,000 square meters. The temple area has towering ancient trees, magnificent buildings, and all the halls and pavilions are in shape. Each building is from low to high, layer by layer, and the layout is rigorous. On the central axis are the Heavenly King Hall, the Three Great Masters Hall, the Great Hall, the Sutra Tower, the Vila Hall, the Manjushri Hall and the Wanzang Tower. The other wing halls are distributed on the east and west sides of the central axis, arranged symmetrically to form a huge and regular building complex, showing the architectural layout and shape of the traditional temple. The stone steps are connected between the courtyards and the temples on all levels, and the winding paths are secluded, giving people the feeling of "the mountains and rivers are full of roads, and the willows and flowers are bright and bright."

　　The main architectural structure in the temple is roughly the same, with a wooden structure temple, with a width of five rooms, a hard mountain roof, a front eaves with hugging , colorful paintings are painted on the doors and windows, and decorated with wood carvings, mainly dragons, leaping and hovering, with various shapes, and has the style and characteristics of traditional architecture during the Republic of China period. On the brick high platforms on both sides of the Heavenly King Hall, bell towers and drum towers are built respectively. The Three Great Masters’ Halls include Manjushri , Samantabhadra , and Guanyin, hence the name. The Sutra Library is a double-eaved hip-mounted pavilion-style building with two floors, three rooms wide in width, four rafters deep, sixteen pillars forming an annular corridor, and a twelve-corner attic is built on each side of the east and west. It is called "Wanyuan Pavilion" in the east and "Sanbao Tower" in the west, and both are built on brick platforms. There are five towers in the Manjushri Hall, statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva , so it is also called the "Five-side Manjushri Hall".

　　Wanzang Pagoda is located at the highest point of the temple, beautiful and upright, towering into the clouds. It is a twelve-cornered nine-story pavilion-style brick tower with a dense eaves structure, about 39 meters high. The tower body is made of white mortar from bottom to top. The foundation of the tower is also made of brick, 1.3 meters high, with a dode-shaped plane, and a coupon door on the front, making the appearance elegant and soft. The tower body can be reached in the hollow floors of one to five floors. Each side is engraved with Buddha niche , and the Buddha statue is placed inside. The sixth floor and above are solid. The first floor lintel is engraved with the inscription "Wanzang Tower" and the construction inscription in the 21st year of the Republic of China (1932). The bricks under the tower are built and the cave is surrounded by a surrounding tower, like an apron. There are thirty-three guardian gods in the cave. From a distance, Wanzang Tower is dignified and thick, standing proudly, with layers of eaves, which are lined with blue sky and white clouds, making it look even more beautiful and handsome.

　　 brick carving art

　　Zunsheng Temple brick carving has extremely high artistic value. The huge brick screen wall in front of the temple is 23 meters long and consists of five patterns, with the highest mid-size, followed by both sides, with clear layers of composition and magnificent view from a distance. The brick carvings on the top are all rafter bracelets in the form of wooden structures, with delicate knife skills and no marks. The middle of the three walls is embedded with a circular brick carving, with the patterns of "the dragon comes out of the water" and "the dragon soaring into the clouds". The shape is exquisite, the knife skills are skillful, and the lines are clear, which can be regarded as the finest of brick carving art. There is a brick archway in front of the temple gate. The front of the building is an imitation wood structure with brick carved eaves, which are stable and generous.The front of the building is engraved with "Five Peaks' throat" and "Cooling Realm", pointing out the importance of the location of Zunsheng Temple and the quiet and elegant environment.

　　The brick voucher buildings remaining in the temple are divided into two upper and lower floors, three voucher caves, with a width of 15 meters and a depth of 13 meters. There are small holes connected to each other in the large cave, and the eaves are all brick-carved components. In addition, there are also brick carvings, flowers, trees, characters and stories everywhere in the vaults, high walls, , and corner brick surfaces of other buildings.

Source: Xinzhou Online