Huishansi Temple
Huishansi temple which was originally imperial abode of King Xiaowen of Northern Wei Dynasty was used as Buddhist place after the extinction of Northern Wei Dynasty and renamed as Huishansi temple by King Wen of Sui Dynasty. Huishansi temple is one of the well known temples of Songshan, which used to be abstinence centre of monks of Songshan in ancient China. Huishansi temple together with Shaolin temple, Fawangsi temple and Songyuan temple has been named as the four great temples of Songshan. A great many eminent monks such as Puji and Jingji and eminent astronomist Seng Yixing have been cultivated in Huishan temple. Wu Zetian had paid a visit to the eminent monk Daoan during her visit to Songshan and she had referred Daoan as national mentor. Then, a glaze abstinence palace had been built by Zeng Yixing and Xuan Tong, which had become one of the largest abstinence palaces in China during that period. Huishansi temple was included into the fifth group of national key protection relics by state council on June 25 of 2001. On the central axis of the temple stand Zhaobi, Moutain Gate and Dadian, which are flanked on both sides by 8 historical buildings. The buildings of highest cultural and historical value are Dadian of Yuan Dynasty of Jingcang’s pagoda on the west of the temple. Dadian in Huishansi temple is the only existing wood structure building of Yuan Dynasty in Songshan scenic area. By skilful employment of the principles of mathematics, dynamics and architecture, Dadian provides concrete proof for existing architecture of Yuan Dynasty and its architectural design and construction technique are of high significance to researches on Chinese architecture. Jiangcang’s pagoda, built in the fifth ruling year of King Tang Taizong (746 A.D.) is the oldest existing Octagonal brick pagoda in China and of important significance for study of architectural history for its elegant configuration and craftsmanship. According to reputed architectural expert Liang Sicheng, Jingcang’s pagoda is true representation of wood structure architecture of Tang Dynasty and has provided valuable references for future researches.