Hanshan
Temple is located in
Maple Bridge town in the
west outskirts of Suzhou,
1 kilometer west of the
Garden for Lingering In.
It was first built in
the Tianjian period of
the Liang dynasty
(502-557) with the name
of Miaolita Yuan (Miaolita
Temple). During the Tang
dynasty (618-907), a
famous monk named
Hanshan was said to have
been lived and in charge
of the temple. Then the
name was changed to
Hanshan Temple.
The temple used to be
one of the ten most
famous temples in China.
The poem of "A Night
Mooring by Maple Bridge"
by Zhang Ji, a famous
poet of the Tang
dynasty, is so
oft-quoted and widely
loved that the poetic
rhyme and the
bell-tolling sounds have
made the Hanshan Temple
celebrated at home and
abroad.
Destroyed and rebuilt
for many times, the
present complex mainly
dates from the Qing
dynasty at the time of
Emperors Guangxu and
Xuantong. Covering an
area of 45 hectares, the
main architectural
structures in this
temple include the main
hall, the hall with a
circular gallery, the
sutra library, the bell
tower, a pavilion tower
known as Maple River
Tower, etc.
Bell Tower is an
important component in
Hanshan Temple. The bell
mentioned in Zhangji’s
poem has long been lost
and the present one was
made in 1906 during the
Qing dynasty. When the
bell is tolling, the
deep strokes reverberate
in the halls, mixing
with the deep-toned
chants of the monks and
evoking thus solemn and
reverent feelings in all
that are present.
According to Buddhist
legend, each layman has
108 vexations per year
and each bell toll can
help people dispel a
vexation. Hence,
listening to the bell
tolls of the Hanshan
Temple on the New Year’s
Eve has been an
exceptionally grand
occasion since 1979. On
every New Year’s Eve,
thousands of visitors at
home and abroad gather
inside and outside of
the temple to listen to
the one hundred and
eight bell tolls and
pray for luck and
happiness in the new
year.
In the temple are
cultural relics
including a stone tablet
inscribed with the poem
"A Night Mooring by
Maple Bridge" of Zhangji,
stone carvings and a
large number of steles. |