Wanshou Zen Temple is located in the mountain col near the peak of Daochang Mountain in the south of Huzhou City. It is listed as one of the ‘Five Mountains and Ten Monasteries’ and is one of the top ten famous monasteries in the south of the Yangtze River. It has a great influence in the Buddhist circles at home and abroad, especially in Japan and Southeast Asian countries. Wanshou Zen Temple was built in the Zhonghe period (881-884) of the Tang Dynasty.
In the Five Dynasties, King Qian of Wuyue inscribed the plaque as ‘Wuxing Zhengzhen Zen Temple’. During the Jiatai period (1201-1204) of the Song Dynasty, it was renamed as ‘Miaojue Temple’. In the reign of Emperor Ningzong of the Southern Song Dynasty (1195-1224), the higher-level national Zen temples were designated as ‘Five Mountains and Ten Monasteries’. Wanshou Zen Temple ranked second among the ten monasteries. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Wanshou Temple was destroyed by war. Monk Zhengyin persuaded people to raise funds for reconstruction. It was completed in 1330, the first year of Zhishun in the Yuan Dynasty. According to the Wucheng County Annals of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty, after the reconstruction, Wanshou Temple had five Dharma halls and seven monk halls. There were also storehouses, kitchens for almsgiving, Qingshan Hall, Meitan Forest, Mengtang, and halls for selecting monks. Later, the Guanyin Hall was added. In 1370, the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt again. In 1984, the reconstruction of Wanshou Temple began. In 1997, the Thousand-Hand Guanyin was completed. In 1996, the Mahavira Hall was completed. Wanshou Temple has once again become a famous monastery in the south of the Yangtze River. The opening hours are subject to the opening status on the day.Wanshou Zen Temple
Wanshou Zen Temple is located in the mountain col near the peak of Daochang Mountain in the south of Huzhou […]
