Brief introduction of Chongyuan Temple

Chongyuan Temple was founded in the second year of Tian Jian, Liang Wudi (AD 503), and it was contemporary with Hanshan Temple, Lingyan Temple and Baosheng Temple. Liang Wudi Xiao Yan ruled the country with Buddhism. For a time, the upward trend was effective and the whole country worshipped Buddha. One evening, an official living in Erli, northwest of Changzhou County, had a whim when he saw the auspicious clouds overlapping over the official residence. He immediately called Liang Wudi and offered to give up his official residence and rebuild a temple in its place, and named it "Chongyun".

According to records, Liang Wudi readily agreed and presented a plaque to show his gratitude. The inscription is "Daliang Guangde Chongxuan Temple". "Rushing to the clouds" is mistaken for "rushing to the mysterious", which is a mistake in the process of copying papers. Chongyuan Temple flourished in the middle Tang Dynasty. More than 270 years later, Wei, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty who was then an assassin in Suzhou, wrote in his poem "Dengzhongyuan Temple Pavilion": "Clouds at leisure, morning scenery. When I first met Wu Jun, it was ten miles long and gloomy. Beautiful mountains and rivers, lakes and seas swallow wild. Together, it becomes acclimatized and arrogant everywhere. Customs are noisy, rainy and healthy. Birds sing and fish swim, and grass smells sweet. There is a custom of cultivating mulberries in this province. " Tang Dynasty poets Li Jiayou, Pi Rixiu and Lu Guimeng also wrote poems describing Chongyuan Temple. In 842 A.D., in the second year of the meeting of five families in the late Tang Dynasty, the biggest movement of "destroying Buddha" in the history of China suddenly broke out. The court brutally persecuted and killed monks. A large number of temples in Suzhou were destroyed, monks moved out of the city, and some built temples elsewhere. A new Chongyuan Temple appeared in Weiting Town, 30 miles away from Suzhou City. Shanghai Jing 'an Temple, formerly known as Chongyuan Temple, was built in Huichang in Tang Dynasty for three years, which is probably the product of the same period and background as Chongyuan Temple in Weiting. During the period of Qian Miao in wuyue (908-932 AD), Chongyuan Temple was extensively renovated. After reconstruction, Chongyuan Temple is still a "giant temple" with large scale and magnificent halls. There are two earthen mountains in front of the temple. There are two different stones in front of the court. In the middle stands a bronze statue of the Buddha with infinite longevity, with sixteen arhats on both sides. There are five other hospitals. There is also a sacred valley temple in Chongyuan Temple. The so-called Shenggu is the daughter of monk Zanlu who built a temple in Liang Wudi. The local people worship the holy mother in order to ask for children. Chongyuan Temple was renamed Chengtian Temple in Song Dynasty. During the reign of Song Xuanhe (A.D.119-10/25), temples and bridges were renamed as Nengren Temple because the court banned the naming of "heaven, saint, emperor and king". In the Great Central Plains of Song Zhenzong (AD 1008), a man named Nan Shizhen bought a piece of land and rebuilt a stone building in the abandoned Chongyuan Temple. The book Yuan He Wei Ting Zhi, written in Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty (about AD 1848), said: "(Chongyuan Temple) is now in ruins, and only the stone building in front of the temple was built in the Tang Dynasty." This stone building is a memorial symbol of this temple. Han Chong and other poets in Qing Dynasty felt the vicissitudes of history and wrote poems for this stone building. From Yuan Dynasty to Shunnian (A.D. 1330- 1333), Chongyuan Temple was destroyed by fire. From Yuan Dynasty to Mindfulness Period (A.D. 134 1- 1368), it was rebuilt and rebuilt by Chu people in Vietnam. In the Yuan Dynasty, the two names of Chongyuan Temple in the Song Dynasty were combined into one, which was called "Chengtian Nengren Temple". Some people call it "Shuang 'e Temple", perhaps because there are two earth mountains in front of the temple, or because there are two different stones in the temple. At this time, in the Chongyuan Temple, in addition to the bronze statue of the Infinite Life Buddha, there are Pangou Temple, Lingyou Temple and Wanfo Pavilion. During the Cultural Revolution, Chongyuan Temple was destroyed and stone buildings were smashed. Weiting Lingnan Primary School was built on the foundation of the temple.