📜 [Intro]
The Hanging Temple, also Hengshan Hanging Temple, Hanging Monastery or Xuankong Temple (simplified Chinese: 悬空寺; traditional Chinese: 懸空寺; pinyin: Xuánkōng Sì) is a temple built into a cliff (75 m or 246 ft above the ground) near Mount Heng in Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province, China. The closest city is Datong, 64 kilometres (40 mi) to the northwest. Along with the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple is one of the main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is notable not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it is the only existing temple with the combination of three Chinese traditional philosophies or three religions (三教): Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The structure is kept in place with oak crossbeams fitted into holes chiseled into the cliffs. The main supportive structure is hidden inside the bedrock.The monastery is located in the small canyon basin, and the body of the building hangs from the middle of the cliff under the prominent summit, protecting the temple from rain erosion and sunlight bake.
According to legend, construction of the temple was started at the end of the Northern Wei dynasty by only one man, a monk named Liaoran (了然) in 491 AD. Over the next 1,400 years, many repairs and extensions have led to its present-day scale.
The entire 40 halls and pavilions are all built on cliffs which are over 30 metres (98 ft) from the ground. The distance from north to south is longer than from east to west and it becomes higher and higher from the gate in the south to north along the mountain. With brief layout, it includes the Qielan Hall (Hall of Sangharama), Sanguan Hall (Hall of Three Officials, 三官殿), Chunyang Hall (纯阳殿), Hall of Sakyamuni, Hall of Three Religions (三教殿) and Guanyin Hall.
The Hall of Three Religions mainly enshrines Buddhist deities as well as both Taoism and Confucianism. The statues of Sakyamuni (middle), Lao-Tze (left) and Confucius (right) are enshrined in the hall. This reflects the prevailing idea of Three Teaching Harmonious as One (三教合流) in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).
The risk of site selection, the strange architecture, the ingenious structure and the rich connotation of the Hanging Temple can be called the world's unique. It is not only a national treasure of the Chinese nation, but also a precious cultural heritage of mankind. A British architect wrote: "China's Hanging Temple integrates mechanics, aesthetics and religion into one, and achieves perfection. Such a peculiar art is rare in the world. Only through this visit can we truly see it. To the splendid culture, art and civilization history of this ancient nation. The Hanging Temple is not only the pride of the Chinese people, but also the pride of the people of the world.”
Nino, an archaeological expert in Venice, Italy, believes that the Hanging Temple and everything it symbolizes embodies the great cultural achievements of the Chinese nation and is an outstanding manifestation of the wisdom of the Chinese people. Just for this peculiar temple, it is worth a visit to China.
🔻Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:13 The Entrance
14:05 Hanging Temple
33:40 Downhill Scenery
🗺️Map
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