Why is Hanshan Temple special?
Famed in East Asia because of the poem “A Night Moring by Maple Bridge (Feng Qiao Ye Po in Chinese pinyin) by Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji, Hanshan Temple, Cold Mountain Temple literally in English, is a Buddhist temple and monastery located at the town of Fengqiao (literally in English meaning Maple Bridge), about 5 km west of Suzhou.
Hanshan Temple Highlight
The Bell of Hanshan Temple
Thanks to a well-known poem, Hanshan Temple became even more famous and a place that many people long for. In the poem written by Zhang Ji, the bells of Hanshan Temple were an important image.
There are two bells used at Hanshan Temple currently, both of which dated back to the late Qing Dynasty when the temple was last rebuilt. The original Tang Dynasty bell that may appear as an image in Zhang Ji poem is believed by some to have been taken to Japan in ancient times.
A Buddhist Temple
As a Buddhist Temple, Hanshan Temple presents Buddhist statues for people’s worship, such as the statues of the Buddhist patriarch Sakyamuni. Bronze statues of three famed monks are in the Hongfa Hall: Xuan Zang (a Tang Dynasty monk and translator), Jian Zhen (a Tang Dynasty monk who once went to preach Buddhism in Japan), and Kong Hai (a Japanese monk who studied Buddhism in China in the 9th century).