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. All the temples today are working, and shaven-headed monks in orange and brown robes conducting esoteric ceremonies or perambulating around the stupas are a common sight"
http://www.roughguides.com/website/travel/destination/content/default.aspx?titleid=88&xid=idh396239112_0240
Wutai, China Page
Other names: Wu-t'ai-hsien
World:China:Shanxi Sheng
Lat 38.7100 Long 113.2500
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/24/Wutai.html
Taihuai, China Page
Other names: T'ai-huai-chen
World:China:Shanxi Sheng
Lat 39.0944 Long 113.5894
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/24/Taihuai.html
Input by: 17 Apr, 2009
Final data (and their sources)
Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 20 km from the point defined by the coordinates below.
General location of the Foguan monastery, CN.
lat=39.0944 long=113.5894
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
4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates
- Approx. Lat 39.0944 Long 113.5894 http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CH/24/Taihuai.html
5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries
final data ….
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
- Exactly - 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
final data ….
11. Date-early
- Northern Wei (386-534 CE)
12. Date-intermediate
- Tang dynasty (618 907 CE)
13. Date-late
- Still in current use (2009 CE)
14. Details of contacts with other monasteries
final data ….
15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery
- Archaeological, inscriptional, textual, art historical
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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