The building area of Nanhua Temple is12,000 square meters, and it is composed of Caoximen, Fangshengchi, Baolinmen, Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Hall, Tibetan Classics Pavilion, Zhao Ling Pagoda and Liuzu Hall. The existing buildings, except Zhaoling Pagoda and Liuzu Hall, were rebuilt by the monk Xu Yunguo 1934. Huineng, the sixth ancestor, created Zen here, which is the ancestral court of Zen. 1983, the first batch of Nanhua temples were designated as national key temples by the State Council.
Nanhua Temple was built in the first year of Tian Liang Prison in the Southern and Northern Dynasties (AD 502). According to historical records, Sanzang Zhile, an Indian monk, went north from Guangzhou and passed through Caoxi in 1998. He suggested building a temple here, because he "scooped up water and drank it, which smells unusual", "looked around the mountains and fell in love with the wonderful scenery" and "looked like a mountain in the western world". After three years in prison, the temple was built, and Liang Wudi named it "Baolin Temple". Later, it was renamed Zhongxing Temple and Fashen Temple, and in the first year of Song Kaibao (AD 968), Song Taizong gave it the name of Nanhua Zen Temple, and the name of the temple has been used ever since.
The present structure of Nanhua Temple was rebuilt in the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934). It was funded by Li Hanhun, then director of the appeasement office in northwest Guangdong, and presided over by the famous monk Xu Ye. It took ten years to build 243 temples and 690 new statues, making Nanhua Temple the leading Buddhist shrine in Guangdong Province. At present, the building area of the whole temple is1.2000 square meters, and the temple architecture retains the ancient architectural style of China and is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the central axis. Enter from the main entrance, followed by Caoximen, Fangshengchi, Baolinmen, Tianwang Hall, Daxiong Hall, Tibetan Classics Pavilion, Zhao Ling Pagoda, Liuzu Hall and Zhang Fang Room. There are three gold-plated giant buddhas with a height of 8.3 1 m and more than 500 painted sculptures of arhats with four walls in the Hall of Great Heroes, all of which are art treasures. Master Huineng, Master Hanshan and Master Dantian of the Sixth Ancestor Hall are enshrined. Twenty-nine stone carvings are newly embedded in the left and right walls. According to the classic records of Zen Buddhism, there are portraits of twenty-nine Huineng stepmonks, including Nanyue Huairang, Baizhang Huaihai, Mijuan Lingyou, Yangshan Huiji, Linji Yi Xuan and Qumen Wenyan. There is an old tin spring (commonly known as Jiulong Spring) on the right side behind the temple, which is cold all year round. It is said that Huineng, the sixth ancestor of that year, washed his robes here, and Su Shi wrote an inscription for him. In front of the spring, there are nine water pines called "living fossils of plants", which are more than 40 meters high. According to experts' research, it is the tallest water pine in the world, with a tree age of more than 500 years. There are more than 300 national first-class protected cultural relics in Nanhua Temple, such as the true body of the Six Ancestors, the imperial edict of the Tang, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the robe of a thousand buddhas, the hidden gold in the Qing Dynasty, and the iron cast Guanyin.
Throughout the ages, Nanhua Temple has attracted many people because of Huineng's lofty position in the history of Buddhism and philosophy in China. Su Shi, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, once expressed such a deep yearning in a poem written to a friend: "The water smells of Caoxikou, and its eyes are as clean as an ancient Buddha's clothes, so you don't come to Jiangnan as incense. Where is this body? " "The national hero of the Southern Song Dynasty once wrote," Who hasn't died in life since ancient times? Wen Tianxiang, who takes Dan Xin as a historical mirror, also wrote such a sincere and moving poem as Looking South: "Traveling thousands of miles north, forgetting the west and forgetting the east." Traveling to South China is like dreaming. I know a little about Buddhism, and my sufferings are with me. The tangible will eventually die, but the vacuum will not die. Laugh at Cao He sitting in front of the door. "In modern times, many famous social figures have also come here for sightseeing. 1924, when Sun Yat-sen launched the Second Northern Expedition in Shaoguan, he came with Tan Yan, Liu Chengyu and Xu Shiying. At that time, the government and military affairs were extremely busy, and he donated silver dollars to the temple, asking him to take care of everything in the temple and protect cultural relics for future generations to pay tribute to.
The most precious cultural relic of Nanhua Temple is the true image of six ancestors known as the treasure of Zhenshan. The statue of the Six Ancestors is enshrined in the Hall of the Six Ancestors. The sitting statue is 80 cm high, and the six ancestors are squatting. Legs and feet in the cassock, hands folded in front of the abdomen to make a gesture. Head straight, face forward, eyes closed, face thin, lips slightly thick, cheekbones high. Nanhua Temple also preserves many precious historical relics: the 500 arhats carved in the temple are the only existing 500 arhats carved in the Song Dynasty in China. A thousand Buddha cassock is a rare embroidery handed down from the Tang Dynasty. The bottom of the silk is apricot yellow and embroidered with 1000 Buddha statues. All Buddha statues are sitting, holding, receiving, speaking and crossing their hands. The mouth, nose, eyes and bun are clear and distinct. Embroider the image with gold thread, then set it off with blue, light blue, vermilion and yellow silk thread, and then embroider the blue backlight. Surrounded by twelve lifelike dragons. According to the research of Guangdong Museum experts, this cassock was presented by Tang Zhongzong to Master Huineng, the sixth ancestor.
On June 25th, 20001year, Nanhua Temple, as an ancient building in Ming and Qing Dynasties, was approved by the State Council to be included in the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.