Longxing Monastery

Longxing si (隆兴寺/隆兴寺, English Longxing Monastery / Temple longxing ) is the Chinese term for the Longxing Temple or the Longxing Monastery, an old Buddhist monastery near the town of Zhengding in Hebei province, about 15 km north of the provincial capital Shijiazhuang.

His original name was Longcangsi龙 藏寺, later it was called Longxingsi龙兴寺. Its current name was given to the monastery in the Qing period. It has been referred to as the " first monastery south of Beijing ." Today, the Longxing Monastery is a museum.

History

The monastery was 586 AD. built in the Sui Dynasty. One of the oldest standing on the floor of the monastery stele goes this time back: the famous not only among calligraphers " Longcangsi stele " (龙 藏寺 碑/龙 藏寺 碑, Longcangsi at ( also: Longzangsi at )) from the year 586, one of the few surviving stone tablets from the time of the Sui Dynasty.

Much has been reconstructed during the Song Dynasty ( 960-1279 ).

After the usual pattern of the complex of buildings of the monastery is built along a central axis along which a number of buildings and the main points are arranged. The first building is the Hall of Heavenly Kings ( Tianwang dian ), other buildings are the Mani - Hall ( Moni dian ), the altar ( Jie tan ) and the Temple of Great Mercy ( Ci'en si).

At the opposite end of the axle is the main hall ( Since ge), which is also known as Foxiang Pavilion ( Foxiang Ge) or Tianning ge: a 33 -meter-high wooden structure that houses a bronze statue of Guan Yin. This bronze was cast in the 4th year of Kaibao administration period of the Northern Song Dynasty (971). Their height is about 20 meters. Because it has 42 arms, she is also " a thousand hands and a thousand eyes Guanyin " called ( Qianshou Qianyin Guanyin ). In the hall a staircase leads to the statue around, which allows their viewing from top to bottom.

Other notable works of art of the monastery are a colorful carved wooden sculpture of Guanyin, sitting in a cave and statues of the seated on a lotus throne Buddha.

Pavilion of the rotating library ( Zhuanlunzang dian )

A unique piece of wooden architecture in Longxing Monastery is the pavilion of the rotatable library from the time of the Song Dynasty, which was restored in the 20th century. The pavilion houses a revolving bookcase, which was formerly used to store sacred texts and Buddhist sutras. This rotating library dates back to the 12th century and is the oldest existent rotating repository of its kind