Linggu Temple

Covering an area of 300,000 square meters, Linggu Temple is one of the most famous scenic spots in Nanjing and it is regarded as the best Buddhist temple in the world. It was built in the Liang Dynasty (502-557), one of the Southern Dynasties (420-589) in order to memorize the famous Buddhism monk Bao Zhi. When the temple was first built up, it was large and magnificent, with hundred of halls and rooms. However, most of the original buildings in the temple were destroyed by wars and fires. The present temple is one part of the original temple and is the only temple that survived among more than 70 temples built in the Southern Dynasties in Mount Zhong.

History

Linggu Temple used to lie at the northeast foot of the Mount Zhongshan, where the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum now locates, since Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang chose the place to be his mausoleum and then the temple was moved to the present place. Linggu Temple, originally called Jiangshan Temple, has changed its name several times over the time. The current name Linggu Temple was given by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was listed as the key national temple of Buddhism in Han nationality by the state council in 1983. With towering pine, sweet fragrance and pervading flowers, the environment in the temple is very pleasant.

What to see

The most famous ancient relics in the temple are the Xuanzang Memorial Hall, the Linggu Pagoda and the Wuliang Hall.

Xuanzang Memorial Hall

Xuanzang Memorial Hall, which is built in memory of a famous monk Xuanzang in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), who traveled to India to study Buddhism, and later he returned to China to translate a wealth of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. The picture of the route that Xuanzang walked and the sutra he translated are stored in the temple.

Linggu Pagoda

Being built in the 1930s, the Linggu Pagoda worked as a memorize tower for the soldiers who died in the Northern Expedition War. The pagoda stands 60 meters with nine stories, which affords great views of the surrounding countryside and the city in the distance.

Wuliang Hall

Wuliang Hall, also called “Beamless Hall”, is the only structure of Ming Dynasty well preserved in the Linggu Temple. It was constructed in 1831, and is 22 meters high and 53.8 meters wide. The name of the Hall has two explanations: The first is that the hall was built to enshrine and worship a Buddha named Wu Liang. The other expatiation is that the hall is entirely built by brick and stone without any wood, hence the beamless hall. Interestingly, beamless hall is also pronounced Wu Liang in Chinese.

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