Known as the First Ancient Temple in China, White Horse Temple is covered with green ancient trees and appears solemn and tranquil. Outside the gate, there is a pool with fences around and lovely fish in the water. It is for the believers to set free the captive animals. White Horse Temple was regarded as the “originating court” and the "Cradle of Chinese Buddhism” by the Buddhism disciplines. Since its establishment, it has experienced vicissitudes of centuries. Today’s White Horse Temple is a rectangle courtyard facing south. The temple boasts great antique architecture which has remained intact for over 1900 years. Visitors can have a better knowledge of Chinese Buddhism Culture when they come to the solemn and ancient temple.
Figure 1: White Horse Temple - Panorama View
Covering an area of 40,000 square meters, a large number of tourism attractions in the temple are worth admiring, including houses of Buddhist sutras, apartments of monks, grottoes, golden Buddha, and Great Buddha Pagoda. The temple is located about seven miles away from the city of Luoyang, integrating charming and captivating landscape.
Figure 2: White Horse Temple - Side View
History and Culture
According to historical records, Emperor Ming of the Eastern Han Dynasty dreamed of a golden man flying above the courtyard. After he woke up, the emperor sent Cai Yin and Qin Jing as envoys to western regions to invite Buddha and learn Buddhism. The two envoys underwent much hardship and met two eminent Indian dignitaries She Moteng and Zhu Falan on the way. Cai Yin and Qin Jing came back to Luoyang City with the two monks, and a white horse carrying the sutras. Emperor Ming ordered the construction of the temple to the north of the imperial road outside the Xiyong Gate of Luoyang City. The White Horse Temple, built after the style of Indian temples, was the place for She Moteng and Zhu Falan to translate Buddhist sutras and write sermons. In order to memorize the white horse for its carrying back of the sutras, the temple was named the White Horse Temple.
As the first Buddhist temple in China, the White Horse Temple plays a significant role in the history of Chinese Buddhism and China's international cultural exchanges. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the People's Government paid much attention to the temple and thoroughly restored it several times from 1952 to 1973. It has become an attraction to domestic and foreign tourists.
What to See at White Horse Temple
The layout of Baima Si is in keeping with the founding legend - there are two stone horses, one on either side of the entrance, and the tombs of the two Indian monks (earthen mounds surrounded by round stone walls), lie in the first courtyard.
Home to a thriving community of Buddhist monks, the temple is primarily a place of worship and not all areas are open to tourists. Over-inquisitive visitors are tactfully but firmly pointed in the right direction. A sense of peace and quiet pervades the leafy complex, in marked contrast to the busy highway and pushy souvenir sellers outside.
Figure 3: This is the Maitreya statue and White Horse Temple is the first temple in Luoyang. By tradition, this is the first Buddhist Temple in China. It was established in 68 A.D.
The complex covers an area of 200mu and faces south. A stone archway has been recently built 150 metres in front of the original gate. Between the archway and gate lies a pool with fountains, spanned by three stone bridges.
The visitor first encounters the Hall of Celestial Guardians (or Heavenly Kings), originally built in the Yuan Dynasty and decorated in the Qing Dynasty. Beyond this is the Main Hall (or Hall of Great Buddha), from the Ming Dynasty, which houses a large statue of Sakyamuni Buddha flanked by figures of Manjusri and Samantabhadra.
Figure 4: Allegedly the emperor sent a few monks to the west (India) to learn more about Buddhism. They returned on a couple of white horses carrying scriptures and Buddha images.
Near the Great Altar in the Main Hall is an ancient bell weighing more than a ton. It is still struck in time with the chanting of the monks. Its inscription reads: "The sound of the Bell resounds in Buddha's temple causing the ghosts in Hell to tremble with fear."
Behind the Main Hall is the Cool and Clear Terrace, where it is said the original sutras brought by the white horse were stored and translated.
In the magnificently decorated Hall of Mahavira (Yuan Dynasty), the roof is carved with colorful lotus patterns and the walls are hung with thousands of wooden statues. In the center is a two-story Buddhist shrine exquisitely carved with birds in flight and giant winding dragons. Sakyamuni, Amitabha and the Medicine Buddha are surrounded by 18 arhats, all made from silk and hemp.
Figure 5: This temple is where the Indian scriptures were translated into Chinese.
Other structures at Baima SiI include the Hall of Greeting, the Clear Terrace and the pavilion. On each side of the pavilion are the Sutra House and the Magic Weapon House.
Evidence of the devotional importance of the White Horse Temple can be seen throughout the compound: offerings of fruit pile on the altars, multicolored clothes hang from the ceilings, lighted candles float in basins of water and gusts of incense rise from the burners in the courtyards.
Outside the temple is the tiered, brick Qiyun Pagoda, the oldest of China's ancient pagodas. It is one of the most precious Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) structures in the Central Plains of China. If you stand south of the pagoda and clap your hands, the echoes sound like frogs croaking. This perplexing phenomenon attracts many curious tourists every day.
Figure 6: These trees are very old. They are wrapped in hemp rope to protect them from the masses.
Figure 7: This woman with offer the incense in all directions before placing it in the burner.
Yeoh Sin Chia
A13A1378
L2 T 1 /GROUP 5
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