The Shuanglin Temple is located in Qiaotou Village, seven kilometers west of Pingyao County in Shanxi Province.
The temple was originally known as Zhongdu Temple, but there is no exact record of when it was built. Studies of its cultural relics, however, suggest an estimated history of over 1,400 years. The Shuanglin Temple was constructed on a large scale, but was reduced to ruins during many years of war. It was renovated during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and renamed Shuanglin Temple. What remains of the temple today are mainly the ruins of the Ming (1368-1644) construction.
Sitting in the north and facing south, the Shuanglin Temple covers an area of 14,844 square meters. Built on a three-meter-high earth base, the temple is surround by tempered-earth, high walls on four sides. Over 10 halls were built to form three rows on the central axis of the temple: the God Hall, the Shijia Hall, the Pluto Hall, the Wusheng Hall, the Earth Hall, the Amitabha Buddha Hall, the Main Hall, the Thousand-Buddha Hall, the Bodhisattva Hall and the Fumu Hall. Renovated in 1499, the God Temple, located in the front row, was joined by the Arhat Hall and the Underground Treasure Hall. The Main Hall, the Thousand Buddha Hall and the Bodhisattva Hall were built in the middle row, while the five-column Goddess Hall and the Zhenyi Ancestral Temple, renovated in 1506-1521 during the Ming Dynasty, were erected in the back row.
The Shuanglin Temple is a Buddhist temple with a long history. All cultural relics inside the temple, such as the pagoda trees planted during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), stone tablets from the Song Dynasty, bells from the Ming Dynasty, colored sculptures and ancient constructions, are considered invaluable. The colored sculptures have won great acclaim in the world. Various sculptures are scattered throughout the temple, the tallest measuring over one zhang (3.3 meters) and the shortest, one chi (three chi=one meter). With a total of 2,056 sculptures, the temple is reputed as an oriental art treasury. The cream-colored art sculptures of the Yuan (1271-1368)-Ming period are compared to the Yungang Grotto and frescos in the Yongle Palace of Ruicheng City.
Sculptures of four gods and four Buddha warrior attendants in the God Hall reach a height of three meters each and are revered for their power and grandeur. The hall also houses sculptures of the Tianguan Mile and Eight Bodhisattvas. Engraved sculptures on the walls of the Amitabha Buddha Hall tell the story of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, in a picture-book style. Figures in the 48 pictures are depicted in harmony with the surrounding stone hills. At present, there are 1,000 sculptures hanging on the walls and girders of the Thousand-Buddha Hall and Bodhisattva Hall, describing various Buddhist stories. The color-sculptured figures -- each at a height of about 40 centimeters -- are represented wearing ornate clothing in various postures. Sculptures of three Buddha figures, two followers, two warrior attendants, and Bodhisattvas are displayed at the Main Hall. Frescos from the Ming Dynasty themed paying homage to Buddha cover the four walls. Buddhist figures can be found in every hall, including the Fumu Hall, the Arhat Hall and the Underground Treasure Hall.
The Shuanglin Temple was listed as a key, cultural relics site under the protection of the Shanxi provincial government on May 24, 1965. An art museum displaying colored sculptures from the Shuanglin Temple was erected on August 7, 1987. The temple was listed as a national, key cultural protected site on January 13, 1998. On December 3, 1997, Pingyao Ancient City was added to the World Cultural Heritage List following a resolution reached at the 21st Assembly of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. The Shuanglin Temple is one of the main sites in the Pingyao Ancient City.
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