Chongfa Temple

Chongfa Temple
崇たかし法ほう寺てら
The Mahavira Hall of Chongfa Temple.
Religion
Affiliation	Buddhism
Sect	Chan Buddhism
Location
Location	Renmin Park, Tianning District, Changzhou, Jiangsu
Country	China
Shown within Jiangsu
Geographic coordinates	31°46′56″N 119°57′51″E
Architecture
Style	Chinese architecture
Founder	Chen Gaoren
Date established	Sui dynasty (581–619)
Completed	Guangxu period (1875–1908; reconstruction)

Chongfa Temple (Chinese: 崇たかし法ほう寺てら; pinyin: Chongfa Sì) is a former Buddhist temple located within the Renmin Park, in Tianning District of Changzhou, Jiangsu, China.

History

The temple traces its origins to a vegetable garden, founded by Chen Gaoren (陈杲仁ひとし) in the Sui dynasty (581–619) and would later become a Buddhist temple. In the Baoda period (943–957) of the Southern Tang dynasty (937–976), it was known as "Dasheng Temple" (大だい圣院; 'Temple of Great Sage'). It was renamed "Sengqie Temple" (僧そう伽とぎ院いん; 'Temple of Monks') at the dawn of Northern Song dynasty. In 1125, Huizong Emperor honored the name "Chongfa Chan Temple" (崇たかし法ほう禅ぜん寺てら). In the reign of Hongwu Emperor (1368–1398) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), its name was changed to "Chongfa Buddhist Temple" (崇たかし法ほう教きょう寺てら). Because the southeast corner of the temple had a bell tower, it was also more commonly known as "Bell Tower Temple". The temple was devastated by the Taiping Rebellion during the ruling of Xianfeng Emperor (1850–1861) in late Qing dynasty (1644–1911), and was restored and rebuilt in Guangxu period (1875–1908).

After the establishment of the Communist State, the wing-room was demolished, only the Mahavira Hall survived. In December 1987, it was designated as a "Municipality Protected Historic Site" by Changzhou government.

Architecture

The Mahavira Hall is three rooms wide with single-eave gable and hip roof. A stone inscription named "On the Reconstruction of Bell Tower in Chongfa Temple" (崇たかし法ほう寺てら重じゅう建けん钟楼碑ひ记) which was made in 1827 are embedded in the west wall. Now it is used as a teahouse.