The Yanshan Temple is located at the Tianyan village at the northern piedmont of Tianyan Mountain, 40 kilometers to the southeast of Fanzhi County, Shanxi Province.
The Yanshan Temple, originally called Lingyan Yard, was first built in the third year (1158) of the Zhenglong reign of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). It had been repaired many times during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The concurrent existent constructions include the temple gate, the bell tower, east and west side halls, the southern Hall and the Buddha hall.
The Wenshu Hall, the southern hall of the temple, was built in the Jin Dynasty and underwent a big innovation in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The hall is five bays in width and six rafters in depth, with a single-eave gable and hip roof. Several statues such as Buddha, Bodhisattva, disciple and Buddha's warrior attendants are kept on the Buddha altar in the hall, all of which retain the architecture style of the Jin Dynasty. Over 9,700 square meters of frescos are painted on the walls of the hall. Wang Kui, a royal painter, painted the frescos in the seventh year (1167) of the Jin Dynasty. The western wall is painted with the story about Buddhist monk; it narrates the life story of Sakyamuni. The eastern wall is painted the story about sutra and the source of life. The northern wall is painted with the story about that five hundred merchants suffered from a shipwreck when traveling in a big ship and were saved by Luosha Woman finally. A pagoda is painted in the east, where an octagonal seven-storeyed pagoda lies. The pagoda has an elegant shape and a refined construction, with city wall and gate tower below. The southern wall is painted with patterns of halls, pavilions and portraits. The fresco presents vivid, beautiful and affecting scenarios, including palace and street, gods and worldliness, mirage and cloud, forest and orchard, infants, nobles and citizens, etc. The pictures are arranged precisely. It is an excellent artwork among the frescoes of the Jin Dynasty. The fresco is rich in content and profound in meaning. It provides us with invaluable visual reference for the research into religion, architecture and arts of the Jin Dynasty.
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