Chongsheng Temple with the full name of the Xuefeng Chongsheng Temple, is located in Minhou County, northwest of the Xuefeng Phoenix Mountain. It is about 70 kilometers away from Fuzhou City. The temple was originally built in 870 during the Tang Dynasty, and most of the existing temple were rebuilt during the reign period of Ming Emperor Guangxu. Now, it is one of the five major Buddhist temples in Fuzhou.
Chongsheng Temple is the birthplace of the Yunmen and Fayan factions of Zen Buddhism. It is also known as "the first Buddhist temple in the southern China". In 1983, it was listed as a national key Buddhist temple.
History of Chongsheng Temple
In 1404 of Ming Dynasty and 1887 of Qing Dynasty, the abbot of Chongsheng Temple, Fa’an and Daben, took charge of the reconstruction of the temple twice.
In 1928, Master Yuanying repaired Chongsheng Temple again. During the Anti-Japanese War, the main hall and Dawei Temple were destroyed by the war fire, and the Tianwang Hall was destroyed by typhoon. In 1949, the temple was almost in ruins.
Master Shengjin rebuilt the temple in 1938. After 1980s, with the supports of monks at home and abroad, more reconstruction works were successively carried out.
Main buildings at Chongsheng Temple
The main buildings in the temple include the main gate, Dharma Hall, Main Hall and Dining Hall. Inside the Main Hall, there are three jade Buddha statues from Myanmar. The Eighteen Arhats have different postures and look very vivid.
There are four ancient trees in the courtyard. According to legend, the two bigger trees were planted by Wang Shenzhi and the monk Yicun from the Tang Dynasty, with a history of thousand years. The two smaller ones were planted by the monks from Ming Dynasty, which are five or six hundred years old.
Chongsheng Temple also has many precious classics and cultural relics, such as the wooden statue of Guanyin from Ming Dynasty, the standing statue of the Dragon Girl, and the statue of Bodhidharma. All of them are the rare treasures.
Kumu Temple is located in the southeast of Chongsheng Temple, only a few hundred meters away from the temple. Here is another place where the monk Yicun once chanted. A dead tree stands in the temple with broken branches on the top. The tree left only the trunk, which is 3.2 meters high and 7.3 meters wide. The trunk is empty inside, just like a large bowl.