Guangjiao Temple and Tianning Temple in Nantong

The most famous thing is that when Jian Zhen traveled to Japan, he stopped at Wolf Mountain because of too much wind and waves.

Later, Japan sent Tang Priest Ren Yuan to the Tang Dynasty to seek dharma, and stayed in Nantong for half a month.

Because of this influence, Nantong's incense has been very prosperous.

Many temples have been built in Nantong and various counties in the past dynasties. According to historical records, the earliest is the Dinghui Temple in Rugao, which was built in the 11th year of Emperor Kai of Sui Dynasty (59 1).

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Tongzhou Buddhism developed rapidly. There are about 7800 temples and temples in this city.

In the 24th year of Guangxu (1898), the Qing court ordered the abolition of temples to promote schools, and many temples were converted into schools or used for other purposes.

Now the most famous temple is Langshan Guangjiao Temple.

Vision of Guangjiao Temple

Langshan is the most beautiful place in Nantong. It is said that a long time ago, the white wolf essence occupied the wolf mountain, doing many evils and arousing public anger, so the Great Sage Bodhisattva came here to accept the white wolf. After some fighting, the wolf spirit fled far away, but the mountain was named after the wolf.

The scenery of Langshan Mountain can be divided into two parts: the front and the back. The former Zen Temple was called Guangjiao Temple, with rocks, caves, cliffs and other natural scenery as the main body behind the mountain. Shanbei Temple is called Kannonji.

Langshan scenery

Guangjiao Temple, formerly known as Cihangyuan, was built in 669 by the county magistrate Yao and an illusionist monk.

At that time, due to the vast water surface near Langshan Mountain, believers needed to go by boat when worshipping the mountain, so it was named Cihang Hospital.

At the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, it was renamed Guangjiao Temple, "Guangjiao", and the Buddhist scriptures were interpreted as legalist language. Because disciples were not as good as those who practiced dharma, it was named Guangjiao Temple.

Guangjiao Temple is built on the mountain, and the architectural pattern forms two parts that echo up and down. The upper house is called Zhiyun Building. The house below is called Zilang Temple. Castle peak, temples, pagodas, temples, pavilions and pavilions are integrated into one.

Zilang Temple is the largest architectural community in Guangjiao Temple, with more than 100 halls and houses.

The main halls are: Famu Hall, formerly known as Daxiong Hall or Giant Buddha Hall, and 1983 was converted into Famu Hall, with 18 ceramic tile murals in it. Dharma is like a temple with symmetrical wings under the steps of the temple, with the Great Compassion Hall in the east and the Lun Zang Hall in the west. The Hall of Great Compassion, named after the Great Compassion Guanyin Bodhisattva; The Lunzang Hall is named after a built-in wheel-cart sutra. The main hall is the mountain gate, formerly known as King Kong Hall, with a width of 5 rooms. Also known as Chaotai, it was a naval parade before the Ming Dynasty. There are two pavilions at the back of Faru Temple, with the Tibetan Scripture Building in the west and the Sun Scripture Building in the east. The second floor of Tibetan and Sun is built on the mountain. The abbot's room is the one that passes through the Moon Gate from Farutang.

The Zhiyun Tower is built on the top of the Wolf Mountain, with strict layout and patchwork. The Grand View Platform is the first step overlooking the river. There is a pair of couplets on the doorpost, which reads "Mountain Shouts and Valley Shouts, Looking Up at the Sea and the Sky". Then there is Cui Jing Building, Tong Yuan Hall, which used to be the Sangha Hall and Jianghai Temple (shrine), but now it is dedicated to bodhisattvas, surrounded by 16 Buddha statues.

Behind the temple is Zhiyun Building, which was built during the period of Xingguo in Song Taiping. This tower is 35 meters high, with five floors and four corners. Behind the tower is a big temple built in the Ming Dynasty. The two sides of the temple are connected by side doors, and the north is Wangchengtai, which overlooks the scenery of Jiangcheng. There is a pavilion in Taichung called Kuixingge. There are other buildings in the temple, such as Zhu Kui Mountain House, Sanxian Temple and Guandi Temple. In history, Guangjiao Temple was burned by lightning and destroyed several times, but it was built and built repeatedly in previous dynasties. 1983 is listed as one of the national key open temples by the State Council. (Source "Nantong City Records")

Zhiyunta

Zhenbaoguan

I have been to Guangjiao Temple once, and it is still worth seeing. Now it is the first of the eight famous Buddhist mountains.

Tianning Temple

I have never been to Tianning Temple. Although Tianning Temple is not as famous as Guangjiao Temple, as a temple in Nantong, it may be more popular with believers.

Tianning Temple has two characteristics. One is the main hall of wooden structure in Song Dynasty, which I read in Chen Congzhou's book.

Ginkgo biloba in Tianning Temple

Another is Tianning Temple. Tianning Temple also treasures two plaques, one is "Ursa Major Hall" inscribed by Song Huizong for Tianning Temple, and the other is "De Miao Kong Ming" inscribed by Zhu Zhishan in Ming Dynasty.

Tianning Temple used to have a large area, but when Zhang Jian started school, he changed the eastern part of the temple into a school, which is now the predecessor of Nantong Middle School.

Tianning Temple is very lively during the Spring Festival, and Nantong citizens like to pray.