Foguang Temple

Foguang Temple
A Chinese temple building. It is built on a raised terrace and two trees nearly obscure the building from view.
The Great East Hall of the Foguang Temple
Religion
AffiliationBuddhist
ProvinceShanxi
Location
LocationWutaishan
Foguang Temple is located in Shanxi
Foguang Temple
Shown within Shanxi
Foguang Temple is located in China
Foguang Temple
Foguang Temple (China)
Geographic coordinates38°52′09″N 113°23′16″E / 38.86917°N 113.38778°E / 38.86917; 113.38778
Architecture
Completed857 CE
Tang dynasty
Foguang Temple
"Foguang Temple" in Chinese characters
Chinese佛光寺
Literal meaning"Temple of Buddha's Light"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinFóguāng sì
IPA[fwǒ.kwáŋ sɹ̩̂]
Wu
SuzhouneseVéh-kuaõn zŷ
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationFaht-gwōng jih
JyutpingFat6-gwong1 zi6
IPA[fɐt̚˨.kʷɔŋ˥ tsi˨]
Southern Min
Tâi-lôPu̍t-kng sī (col.)
Hu̍t-kong sī (lit.)

Foguang Temple (Chinese: 佛光寺) is a Buddhist temple located five kilometres from Doucun, Wutai County, Shanxi Province of China. The major hall of the temple is the Great East Hall, built in 857 AD, during the Tang dynasty (618–907). According to architectural records, it is the third earliest preserved timber structure in China. It was rediscovered by the 20th-century architectural historian Liang Sicheng (1901–1972) in 1937, while an older hall at Nanchan Temple was discovered by the same team a year later.[1] The temple also contains another significant hall dating from 1137 called the Manjusri Hall. In addition, the second oldest existing pagoda in China (after the Songyue Pagoda), dating from the 6th century, is located in the temple grounds.[2] Today the temple is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site and is undergoing restoration.

  1. ^ 'Discovered' in this context means that while the temple was known to local people, its importance was unknown to the academic community.
  2. ^ Qin (2004), 342.