Changzhou Tianning Temple was built in the Zhenguan and Yonghui years of the Tang Dynasty, that is, from 627 to 655 AD. It is one of the key Buddhist temples in the country and a cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province. It is known as the first jungle in the southeast. Together with Zhenjiang Jinshan Temple, Yangzhou Gaomin Temple, and Ningbo Tiantong Temple, it is also known as the four major Zen jungles in China. Basic introduction Chinese name: Tianning Temple Foreign name: Tianning Temple Location: No. 1 Luohan Road, Tianning District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province Climate type: Subtropical monsoon climate Area: about 110 acres Opening hours: 08:30 in the morning to 17:00 in the evening: 00 Attraction level: AAAA level Ticket price: 80.00 yuan (including Tianning Temple, Tianning Pagoda) Famous attractions: China's First Pagoda, Mahavira Hall, Samantabhadra Hall, etc. Suitable Visiting Season: Suitable for all seasons Country: China City: Recommended visit time in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province: 2-3 hours. Must-read before traveling, scenic spot updates, scenic spot introduction, key information, scenic spot pictures, main attractions, food features, transportation information, astronomical instruments, festivals, honors received, related Events, Main Attractions Tianning Pagoda Tianning Pagoda was built in April 2002 and consecrated on April 30, 2007. The total construction area is 27,000 square meters. The tower is 153.79 meters high with 13 floors. It is the highest among more than 4,000 pagodas in China. From the underground palace on the ground floor to the bell tower on the top floor, the entire pagoda takes Buddhist culture as the main line, with Dongyang wood carvings, Yangzhou lacquerware, and Changzhou random needles. Embroidery, Hui'an stone carving and other handicrafts are used as expression techniques, skillfully interpreting many teachings of Mahayana Buddhism. The completion of the pagoda echoes the Yungang Giant Buddha in the north, the Longmen Giant Buddha in the Central Plains, the Leshan Giant Buddha in the west, the Lingshan Giant Buddha in the east, and the Tiantan Giant Buddha in Hong Kong in the south, becoming the Buddha's heart of the five Buddhas in the five directions. The appearance of Tianning Pagoda adopts the style of ancient pagodas of the Tang and Song Dynasties: octagonal cornices, dignified shape, simple and rough, and grand momentum; the decoration of the pagoda body also follows the architectural style of the Tang and Song Dynasties along the Tianning Zen Temple: luxurious but not complicated, simple and elegant It is grand. Although it does not have the beauty of carved beams and painted buildings, it has an antique charm and a solemn air. Since the foundation was laid in April 2002, 6,500 tons of steel have been used to support the Tianning Pagoda's frame. The pagoda's steel structure was capped at the end of 2003. After precise measurements, the verticality error between the top and the bottom was less than 1 centimeter. Such accuracy earned Tianning Pagoda its first award: the Gold Medal issued by the National Steel Structure Association in 2004. The columns, railings, ceilings, stairs, handrails, thresholds, etc. in Tianning Pagoda are all made of nanmu, and the amount used has reached 5,000 cubic meters. These nanmu come from the deep mountains and old forests of Myanmar and Papua New Guinea. They are all raw materials with a diameter of 1 meter and lengths of 9 meters and 6 meters respectively. Among them, there are 60 to 72 large nanmu pillars in each layer, with a total of more than 1,000 large nanmu pillars in 13 layers, using more than 1,000 cubic meters of wood. On the attached layer of the first floor, the cornices extending more than 8 meters outside the tower are all made of nanmu. On this floor alone, the amount of nanmu wood reaches 1,300 cubic meters. Among the 1,000 tons of copper ornaments carried by Tianning Pagoda, the most eye-catching one is the Vajra throne-shaped Tasha on the top of the tower. This pagoda includes a lotus platform, an elephant wheel, a drum base, a flame plate, etc., and is cast from 75 tons of brass. Considering the difficulty of installation, the entire tower brake was cast into 5 sections, and then connected one by one. The excellent casting and splicing technology made the entire tower brake integrated. On the eaves of the pagodas, 50,000 bronze tiles with inscriptions were added, and the bottom was a strip of bronze bottom tiles. The inscriptions on the tiles were inspired by the inscriptions on ancient bronze vessels. This innovative design made the bronze inscription tiles obtain a national patent. In addition, the rafters, balusters on the roof, and the brackets on the eaves are all decorated with copper. The brackets that are no longer load-bearing are wrapped in copper skin, and the shape and size of the brackets and arches are completely in accordance with ancient architectural rules. Among the existing pagodas in China, the most famous is the pagoda of Shaolin Temple. The newly built Tianning Pagoda will be surrounded by a forest of 1,000 jade pagodas carved from white marble on the 6-story fence at the base of the pagoda, forming a grand scene of "people gathering like a forest" with the Tianning Pagoda.
Each jade pagoda is 65 centimeters high, and the base is 1.75 meters high. They are made of "Oriental White" jade from Ya'an, Sichuan, and are carefully carved by folk artists from Hui'an, Fujian, and Quyang, Hebei, two famous sculpture towns in north and south China. Between the 1,000 jade pagodas, there is a forest of Buddhist scriptures and steles composed of 1,000 jade panels. The scriptures on the forest of steles will be written by 500 eminent monks at home and abroad. So far, more than 200 eminent monks have collected scriptures. Scripture. On the bell floor on the top of the 13th floor of the pagoda, a 15-ton bell hangs. The sound of the bell requires several people to surround it. The wall of the bell is as thick as a brick, and the pillar that rings the bell is thicker than the mouth of a bowl. It requires the combined efforts of several people. The bells ring far away, and the gospel spreads widely. Although this big bell is not the largest, its suspension height of 118 meters is enough to make it the tallest bell. "The No. 1 Gao Zhong" and "Guotai Minan" inscribed by Abbot Songchun of Tianning Temple are located on the north and south walls respectively. On the other six walls, there is a complete volume of the Diamond Sutra, with 8,000 large characters of 8 cm square, engraved on thousand-year-old camphor wood, vigorous and simple, and completed in one go. On the inner walls of the four sides of the First High Bell, there are four Yangzhou lacquer paintings with exquisite carvings, rich gold, grandeur, solemnity and tranquility. These four large-scale gold lacquer murals of the Tianning pagoda in the Jiangnan water town, such as "Huayan Dafa" and "Fahua Miaodian", are the painstaking works of Jiangsu Province arts and crafts celebrities Lu Yonglin, Yang Zhongbao and others. It is also the first time that Yangzhou lacquer painting has entered Buddhism. . The 13th floor of the pagoda shows the grand scene of Buddha Sakyamuni's sermons and the grand gathering of Buddhist gods and goddesses at Lingshan Mountain. Interpreting this scene are the five Buddhas in the five directions and the four walls. The five Buddhas in the five directions are enshrined in the five directions of east, west, south, north, and center. Located in the center is a natural crystal Buddha that can be called the treasure of the tower. This transparent and natural ancient Buddha statue of Sakyamuni originated in India in the 16th century. It was exiled in Europe in the last century. In 2003, Gao Peizhi, a Chinese philanthropist, welcomed it back to China and donated it to Tianning Pagoda. The other four jade Buddhas will use it. It is carved from Xinjiang Hotan jade and Kunlun jade in four colors: white, ink, blue and red. The five Buddhas represent the scene of Buddha's sermons, while the four walls represent the grandeur of the pilgrimage of ten thousand Buddhas. Each wall is 6 meters long and 2.4 meters high. The carving craftsmanship is the best Dongyang wood carving in China. More than a dozen Dongyang folk carving masters will use eight months to display 500-600 figures with different expressions and various scenes on the teak wood using the Yang carving process that protrudes more than 10 centimeters. When you step into the square at the base of Tianning Pagoda, you can see a large plaque of "Dragon City Elephant Cult" hanging between the first and second floors of the pagoda. The plaque is 5 meters long and 2 meters high. At the four corners of the tower base, the four heavenly kings, which are 5.3 meters high and made entirely of copper, are tall, majestic and majestic. They hold four "magic weapons": sword, pipa, umbrella and dragon respectively, which imply a prayer for "good weather". On both sides of each heavenly king statue, there are eight bronze elephants, each of which is 3.2 meters high and 5 meters long. There are also two Nine-Dragon Pillars with a height of 19.8 meters and a diameter of 3 meters standing on both sides of the pagoda. The Nine-Dragon Pillars are carved from granite and weigh more than 200 tons. The gathering of dragons and elephants in the square also corresponds to the theory of "Dragon City Elephant Cult". In addition, there are two incense burners 5 meters long, 1.8 meters wide and 2.8 meters high in the square, which are the largest incense burners in the country so far. Zhaobi The four characters "Longcheng Xiangjiao" on the screen wall opposite the gate were inscribed by Emperor Qianlong himself when he came to Tianning Temple for the third time during his six trips to the south of the Yangtze River. "Dragon City" is another name for Changzhou, and "Xiangjiao" refers to Buddhism. After the Buddha Sakyamuni ascended to heaven, his disciples, in order to commemorate the Buddha and spread the Dharma, carved a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha on wood, and used the image of the Buddha to educate the monks and good men and women. Emperor Qianlong affirmed that Tianning Temple has strict laws and regulations and is a famous Zen Buddhist temple on the southeast coast. The inscription contains praise and rewards, praising Tianning Temple as a pure land in Changzhou. Tianning Temple Avalokitesvara with Thousand Arms and Thousand Eyes on Four Sides When we step into the mountain gate, the first thing that catches our eyes is the Four-sided Avalokitesvara with Thousand Arms and Thousand Eyes standing on the lotus seat. It is 4 meters high, entirely carved from camphor wood and covered with gold foil. This kind of layout is rare in other temples. Why should this "Four-sided Guanyin" be sculpted in the Shanmen Hall? Because Avalokitesvara treats everyone equally, regardless of high or low, and because she is so kind and compassionate, she helps those in need and responds to requests, so she is particularly popular among people.
Enshrine her here so that people can see her from the front, back, left and right, so as to fulfill their joyful and auspicious wishes. Now we have arrived at the "Tianwang Palace". There are only a handful of such large Tianwang Palaces in the country. It is more than 23 meters high and covers an area of ??790 square meters. The three golden characters on the giant plaque "Tianwang Hall" under the eaves were written by the famous calligrapher Zhao Puchu, former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, former president of the Buddhist Association of China. There is also a brick inscription of "No Two Methods" on the top, which was written by Feng Guifen, a calligrapher from Wuxian County and editor of the Hanlin Academy in the Qing Dynasty, a pioneer of the Westernization movement in the late Qing Dynasty. When you enter the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the one you face is the Maitreya Buddha statue. He has his chest exposed and his belly exposed, and he smiles broadly, making people feel kind and friendly, and suddenly feel happy. Look at Wei Tuo Bodhisattva at the back of the hall. The weapon in his hand is called the Demonic Pestle, also called the Bao Pestle, facing the Main Hall. He is the guardian god of fighting in the temple. The four huge colorful statues on both sides of the hall are the four heavenly kings who protect Buddhism, commonly known as the Four Vajras. The statues of the four heavenly kings here are famous for their tallness, majesty and majestic appearance. Each statue is 7.8 meters high, and together with the altar, it is 9.1 meters high. It is rare among similar statues in domestic temples. Arhat Brick Carvings After passing through the "field"-shaped courtyard, we now come to the main hall. Please look at the walls on both sides. There are 518 brick-carved images of Arhats embedded in them. It has smooth lines, expressive expressions, fine knife skills and extraordinary composition. It was first carved in the third year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (1798). The Five Hundred Arhats we just saw in the Arhat Hall were modeled after the blue brick rubbings on the two side walls. During the ten years of turmoil, people covered this classical treasure with lime, so that it can be completely preserved until now. Sundial These two stone slabs, which integrate astronomical science, archaeological research and practicality, are called "sundials" and are used to measure seasons and time. They have a history of more than 180 years. At present, among the ancient sundials existing in our country, such a shape is unique. "The accuracy is quite high and can be in line with Taipei time." Of the two original sundials, one was destroyed by the Japanese invaders during the Anti-Japanese War, and the other has long been obscured due to age, wind and rain erosion. The two current sundials were copied from the original ones in 1991 after careful survey and design by researchers from the Shanghai Observatory during the later stages of the temple's restoration. Main Hall Now we come to the main hall which is the Main Hall. The top of the hall has double eaves and nine ridges. It is 25.8 meters high, 28 meters deep and 26.4 meters wide. The iron wood pillars are about 30 meters high. It is the largest Buddhist hall in the whole temple. The entire main hall building has numerous brick carving decorations, which is a major feature of Tianning Temple and is unparalleled by other temples in Jiangnan. The main ridges and ridges of the main hall are almost entirely made of brick carvings. The specially customized brick carvings are polished and carved with a variety of figures, birds, flowers and other images. The style is slender and elegant, and the images are vivid and vivid. These decorative parts adopt the "open carving process" with a hollow center, which not only scientifically reduces the load on the roof, but also reduces the wind force. The upper end is equipped with an "upside-down flower basket" and "Gua Luo", reflecting the rich and luxurious palace decoration style. Its delicate and elegant structure fully reflects the characteristics of Jiangnan brick carvings. The main hall of Tianning Temple The wood carvings of Tianning Temple are simple, magnificent and uncanny in workmanship. Under the three giant Buddhas in the hall is the hexagonal "Xumizuo", also known as "Vajra Seat" and "Lotus Seat". The pedestals in front of the Buddha statues, the glass lamps suspended in the air, and the altar tables for the Buddha statues and other large-scale wood carvings form a series. They are shining with gold and green, and have extraordinary grandeur, setting off the sacred atmosphere of the pure Buddha land. The Xumizuo is in the shape of a double waist, 3 meters high and 5.2 meters in circumference, each with 11 layers of petals. The first layer of large petals is for gods and Buddhas, the second layer is for animals, the third layer is for flowers and so on. Judging from the wood carvings in the entire hall, they are exquisitely carved and gorgeous in shape. Their extensive content and grand style are the best among the temples in Jiangnan, giving people an artistic enjoyment of ingenuity. Jade Buddha Hall After passing the Mahavira Hall, we came to the Emerald Buddha Hall. This is a rare feature in Jiangnan temples. The Jade Buddha here was brought back from Myanmar, the country of Buddhism. From March 1990 to December 1995, Tianning Temple successively invited 15 Jade Buddhas back from Myanmar. Among them, one was donated to Dalin Temple in Wujin, Baoen Temple in Liyang, and Chongqing Temple in Wuxi. There are currently 12 Jade Buddhas. . There are three large reclining jade Buddhas in Tianning Temple. The reclining Buddha in front of us is 5.3 meters long and weighs 12 tons. The other two are 3.8 meters long.
It is based on the fan-shaped line drawings illuminated by the sun's rays on the surface of the dial, and the time and solar terms can be read. This is Zhang Zuonan, a historian and former magistrate of Yanghu (now Changzhou and Wujin). In the 25th year of Jiaqing (1820), he used the principles of astronomical calculation and absorbed the advantages of the European sundials introduced to our country in the late Ming Dynasty. According to Designed and produced at the latitude of Changzhou.
According to expert research, there are very few existing ancient sundials in my country that adopt this form, so it has been included in the book "Catalogue of Ancient Chinese Astronomical Instruments".
The Main Hall is the most majestic and solemn temple in Tianning Temple. The hall is 25.8 meters high and has a construction area of ??1,031 square meters. What's amazing is that the main hall is so tall and the roof load is so heavy, it is all supported by 12 iron pear wood (some say it is Douglas fir) with a diameter of 80 centimeters and a length of more than 10 meters that cannot be hugged by two people. The three splendid altar tables in the main hall and the three glazed lamps suspended in the air are all carved and assembled piece by piece from basswood and camphor wood. The contents of the carvings include flowers, fruits, birds, animals, dramas, stories, and characters from scriptures. The main ridges and ridges on the roof are almost all made of brick carvings. Its large quantity and high quality are unmatched by other temples in Jiangnan. Festival Activities: "Order Arhats" during the Spring Festival. It is reported that Changzhou people have a custom of "ordering Arhats" at Tianning Temple every Spring Festival. According to your own age, choose any Arhat as the starting point. When you count Arhats of the same age as yourself, you can predict the future of that year from his joys, sorrows and joys. The early Arhats of Tianning Temple were first sculpted during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and were continuously enriched and improved. They were modeled by Ningbo Qita Temple, Nanyue Zhusheng Temple, and temples in Sichuan, Yunnan and other places. In particular, the 518 blue brick statues of Arhats embedded in the east and west walls of the Main Hall and protected by glass frames have smooth lines, delicate knife skills, beautiful composition and vivid expressions. According to "Tianning Temple Chronicles", shipowners from all over the world who were doing business overseas at that time were most worried about being attacked by strong winds and waves while sailing, so they went to Tianning Temple to seek blessings from the Buddha, and respectfully requested a set of Arhat rubbings to be enshrined on board the ship, so that the Arhats in Tianning Temple could It seems to have spread overseas again. There are also two distinguished guests in the Luohan Hall - Jigong and Crazy Monk. Look closely at Jigong's eyes. From the corner of his mouth, he looks like he is smiling but not smiling, looking sad but not sad, and crying but not crying. Half of his face is smiling, and half of his face is crying. In the middle, he is neither crying nor laughing. This shows the wonder of the art of shaping Buddhist culture in our country. Another guest at the East Luohan Hall, the mad monk, was mentioned in the Kunqu opera "The Mad Monk Sweeps the Qin Dynasty" that the fire blower in his hand had no holes and the broom was continuous. Qin Hui in the play asked him why? He replied: "There must be no holes, otherwise it will be fornication! My broom is not for sweeping the floor, it is for sweeping away traitors!" Qin Hui was dumbfounded by the scolding of this crazy monk. Later generations worship them in temples, not because they are immortal living Buddhas, but because they respect their spirit of not being afraid of power and daring to help the poor. Honors received: The world's tallest pagoda. In 2007, the Tianning Pagoda, a Tang and Song-style pagoda rebuilt in Tianning Temple, was completed. The pagoda is located behind the central axis of Tianning Temple, with a total construction area of ??27,000 square meters, up to 13 floors, an octagonal layout, and a total height of 153.79 meters, making it the tallest pagoda in the world. The world's first "gold-topped jade body" pagoda, the top of the pagoda is in the form of a diamond throne. The main pagoda is 30 meters high and the four auxiliary pagodas are 15 meters high. It is made of 75 tons of bronze and has a surface of A lot of gold, this is the "Golden Summit". The base of the pagoda is surrounded by 1,000 jade pagodas and 1,000 jade steles, as well as the jade stones decorated on the outer walls of each floor of the pagoda. This is the meaning of the jade body. The world's largest copper incense burner. Right in front of the Pagoda Square are two incense burners made of bronze that are 5 meters long, 1.8 meters wide and 2.8 meters high. They are the largest copper incense burners in the world so far. The two copper incense burners are engraved with the words "Fu Lu Shou", wishing everyone "Fu Lu Shou". The world's largest "Pagoda Forest". The base of the pagoda adopts a reduced Buddhist architectural form of "Borobudur, Indonesia". It is one of the four major Buddhist relics in the world and has extremely high cultural and artistic value.
The 7-story fence at the base of the pagoda is surrounded by 1,000 jade pagodas carved from white marble. Each jade pagoda is 65 centimeters high, and the height of the base is 1.75 meters. The world’s “No. 1 Forest of Buddhist Scripture Steles” is among the 1,000 jade pagodas at the base of the pagoda. 500 eminent monks from inside and outside have inscribed inscriptions, such as the "Pu Men Pin" scripture inscribed by Zhao Puchu. These jade pagodas and jade tablets are all made of "Oriental white" jade from Ya'an, Sichuan, and the jade bricks on the pagodas are a kind of jade called Xiu jade. The world's "No. 1 Inscribed Tile Pagoda" Climb up to the pagoda and lean out to take a look at the tiles covering the pagoda. These tiles are called bronze inscribed tiles. The tiles are made of copper and have scriptures engraved on them. These tiles have been oxidized on the surface, making them look like tiles and will never rust, which reduces daily maintenance and weighs only one-third of ordinary tiles, greatly reducing the load-bearing capacity of the tower body. This is the world’s “first inscribed wata”. The world's "No. 1 Underground Palace Group" Tianning Pagoda Underground Palace Group has 16 palaces, 8 bright, 8 dark, and is the largest number of underground palaces in the world. The underground palace is generally used to store Buddhist treasures. The underground palace of Tianning Pagoda displays some Buddhist relics, Buddha's feet, Tang Dynasty stone Buddha and other treasures. The world's "tallest bell" hangs at a height of 118 meters at the top of the pagoda, the tallest bell with a height of 3.2 meters and a weight of 15 tons. During festivals or ceremonies, the bell rings to generate wisdom, increase blessings, and praise the peaceful and prosperous age. Wish the country peace and prosperity; Related events: On December 5, 2016, the National Tourism Administration held a press conference and was given a serious warning on the list of 4A-level scenic spots.