Raw data
"Buddha's Halo Monastery (Foguan si)
This monastery is located thirty-two kilometers northeast of Wutai County. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, a cluster of halls and pavilions is set amidst a grove of pines and cypress trees. The monastery was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty and had its zenith in the Tang Dynasty plays an important role in the history of architecture. Sculptures, murals, stone buildings, gravestones, and white marble statures of the Tang dynasty represent the then highest achievement of Buddhist art."
http://www.foreignercn.com/bbs/redirect.php?tid=30915&goto=lastpost
[Wutai Shan] "the mountain's inaccessibility has always given it a degree of protection, and many of the temples survived the Cultural Revolution intact. Most of the forty temples remaining today are in the monastic village of Taihuai, which sits in a depression surrounded by the five holy peaks. Highlights are the ninth-century revolving bookcase of the Tayuan Si and the two ancient temples, the Song-dynasty Foguan and the Tang-dynasty Nanchan."
http://www.roughguides.com/website/travel/destination/content/default.aspx?titleid=88&xid=idh396239112_0240
Input by: tmciolek, 14 Feb, 2012
“Mount Wutái is home to some of the oldest existent wooden buildings in China that have survived since the era of the Tang Dynasty (618–907). This includes […] the East Hall of Foguang Temple, built in […] 857, respectively.” -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Wutai
Input by: tmciolek, 06 Mar, 2013
Final data (and their sources)
Last updated: 02 Apr 2013
Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200m from the point defined by the coordinates below.
General location of the Foguan monastery, CN.
Lat 38.86912 Long 113.3881
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.
Google Map link:
Final data - explanatory notes
1. Monastery's name
2. Monastery's modern country & province
- China:Shanxi Sheng
3. Monastery's alternative/historical names
- Buddha's Halo Monastery - http://www.foreignercn.com/bbs/redirect.php?tid=30915&goto=lastpost
- 佛光寺 - http://www.roughguides.com/website/travel/destination/content/default.aspx?titleid=88&xid=idh396239112_0240
- Buddha Light Temple - http://www.mandalamagazine.org/tag/pilgrimage/
- Temple of the Radiance of Buddha - http://www.planetware.com/taiyuan/mount-wutaishan-chn-sx-mw.htm#CHN-SX-MWMB
4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates
- Approx., Lat 38.86912 Long 113.3881 - based on visual identification of the site in maps/satellite imagery, maps.google.com - tmciolek, 28 Feb 2013.
5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries
- Jinge monastery
- Luohou monastery
- Nanchan-1 monastery
- Pusa Ding monastery
- Shuxiang monastery
- Tayuan monastery
- Xiantong monastery
- Wutai Mt. monastic cluster
6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village
7. The settlement's alternative/historical names
- T'ai-huai-chen - http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/24/Taihuai.html
8. The settlement's coordinates
- Approx., Lat 39.0944 Long 113.5894 http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/24/Taihuai.html
——
9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition
- Mahayana
10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition
- [missing data]
11. Date-early
- Northern Wei (386-534 CE)
- MBM chrono-tag 0467-99p 0500-32p 0532-66p - tmciolek 14 Feb 2013
- 0467-99p 0500-32p 0532-66p 0567-99c 0600-32c 0633-66c 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99c 1100-32c 1133-66c 1167-99c 1200=> dated-el
12. Date-intermediate
- The East Hall of Foguang Temple, built in 857 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Wutai
13. Date-late
- Still in current use (2009 CE)
- MBM chrono-tag 1200=> - tmciolek 14 Feb 2013
14. Details of contacts with other monasteries
- [missing data]
15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery
- Archaeological, inscriptional, textual, art historical
16. Additional notes
- [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)
- Yuan Cheng [ven.yuancheng] was the abbot who rebuilt the temple after it was destroyed in 845. - http://bjtoday.ynet.com/article.jsp?oid=2705212&pageno=8
17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by
- [missing data]
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