Cien monastery, (in) Xi'an, Shaanxi, CN

Raw data

When the city of Chang'an 長安 (modern Xi'an 西安/Shaanxi) was the capital of Tang Dynasty, many emperors and especially empresses worshipped the Buddha and had built some huge pagodas in the state protected monasteries. […] The 64 m high Great Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayanta 大雁塔) was built in 652 in Cien Monastery 慈恩寺, […] The Great Wild Goose Pagoda with its step or pyramid shape once served as a treasury for the sutras the monk Xuanzang 玄奘 had brought from India. The Cien Monastery was the most important location of Mahayana Buddhism during Tang Dynasty, even monks from Japan and Korea came here to study Buddhism.
http://www.numerals.de/Art/Pagodas/pagodas.html

The Ts’ien Monastery in Yanta village, near Ch'ang-an (present day Hsi-an) in Shensi Province.
http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/budsm/china/Fa-hsiang.html

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda (dayanta) is located within the premises of the Temple of Great Maternal Grace (Dacien Si), four kilometers away from the center of the city. It is one of the city's most distinctive and outstanding landmarks, possibly the most beautiful building left in Xian today.
The Temple of Great Maternal Grace (Dacien Si)
Known as the best-preserved Buddhist temple complex, the Da Ci'en Temple was initially built in 589, during the Sui Dynasty (581-618). At that time, it was named as Wulou Temple. In 648 A.D. the Emperor Li Zhi, then still a crown prince, sponsored a repair project on the temple o honor his mother, Empress Wende. The Temple then obtained its name Da Ci'en Temple, meaning the Thanksgiving Temple. According to the records, the temple, with more than 10 courtyards, contained 1,897 marvelous chambers altogether and was a place of grand extent in the Tang dynasty. Within the temple, there is a small bell tower from which a bell hangs, which was used for telling time to the monks in ancient times. Daxiongbaodian is the main hall of the temple. It went into gradual decay after the downfall of the Tang dynasty.The halls and rooms that have survived the age are structures that were built in the Ming dynasty.
http://www.chinatravelkey.com/xian/attractions/biggoosepagoda/biggoosepagoda.htm

Xi'an, China Page
Other names: Si-Gan-Fu,Hsi Gnan Fu,Ch'ang-an,Sian,Hsingan,Ch'ang-an-hsien,Hsi-ching-shih,Hsi-an,Hsi-an-shih,Xi'an Shi,Hsi-ching,Singan,Siking,Sianfu
World:China:Shaanxi Sheng
Lat 34.2622 Long 108.9378
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/26/Xian.html

Input by: tmciolek, Dec 15, 2009

Final data (and their sources)

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Cien monastery, CN.

General location of the Cien monastery, CN.
Lat 34.216 Long 108.9641
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.216+108.9641+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Cien%20monastery,%20CN)&ll=34.216,108.9641&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en

Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • China:Shaanxi Sheng

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names

4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx., Lat 34.216 Long 108.9641 - visual identification in maps.google.com - tmciolek, 29 Dec 2009

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village

7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

8. The settlement's coordinates

9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Mahayana

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

final data ….

11. Date-early

12. Date-intermediate

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13. Date-late

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14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

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15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

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16. Additional notes

final data (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)….

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

final data ….

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Page tags: 200m c china east-asia mahayana mapped pagoda spot xuanzang
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