Kaiyuan Temple is located in Jingyuan Lane, Gulou District. It was first built in the third year of [...]
Kaiyuan Temple is located in Jingyuan Lane, Gulou District.
It was first built in the third year of Taiqing in the Southern Dynasties’ Liang Dynasty (549 AD) and was named “Dayun Temple” at that time. In the early Tang Dynasty, it was called “Longxing Temple”. In the 26th year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty (738 AD), Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty “issued an edict that each state in the country should build a temple named after the era”, so it was renamed “Kaiyuan Temple”. Kaiyuan Temple is one of the relatively ancient Buddhist temples still existing in Fuzhou.
In the second year of Tianfu in the Tang Dynasty (902 AD), Wang Shenzhi, the king of Min, was a devout Buddhist. He set up an ordination altar in the temple and ordained 3,000 monks. In the third year of Tiancheng in the Later Tang Dynasty (928 AD), his son Wang Lin ordained another 20,000 monks.
Later, Kaiyuan Temple was burned down several times. After being rebuilt in 1979, several halls such as the Iron Buddha Hall, Lingshan Hall, and Fohua Society are still extant.
There are many precious cultural relics in Kaiyuan Temple. The plaque of “Kaiyuan Temple” at the temple entrance is said to be written by Ouyang Xun, a great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. Inside the Iron Buddha Hall of Kaiyuan Temple, there is a sitting statue of “Amitabha” cast in iron. With a coiled topknot and an open chest, and ears reaching the shoulders, it sits with hands folded on a lotus platform. The statue has a solemn and majestic appearance, reflecting the style of the Tang Dynasty. There is a famous couplet in the temple: “Ancient Buddhas have always been made of iron; ordinary people just say they are made of gold.” How was this huge 100,000-jin iron Buddha cast more than 900 years ago? According to research, it was cast using the “lost-wax casting method”.
In addition, Kaiyuan Temple has also preserved three stone troughs from the Song Dynasty. One of them was made in the second year of Daguan in the Song Dynasty (1108 AD) and is engraved with 52 inscriptions, which is rare among ancient stone inscriptions.
Opening hours: It is open from 07:00 to 17:30 throughout the year. The specific business status is subject to the opening situation on the day.
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