Nanyue Damiao monastery, (near) Nanyue, Hunan, CN

Raw data

“Mount Hengshan, 1290m/4234ft in height, is one of China's Five Holy Mountains. Even emperors came here on pilgrimages to bring offerings to the gods. Situated 50km/30mi north of Hengyang, this mountain - also known as South Mountain (Nanyue) - is renowned for its beautiful scenery, its 72 peaks and its historical importance. […]
[…] The Temple and Monastery of South Mountain (Nanyue Damiao), situated at the foot of South Mountain near the little hamlet of Nanyue Zheng, is an enormous complex on a site of 9.8ha/24.5acres. It was built in 725 but has been much restored and extended since. The main hall (Zhengdian), reconstructed in 1882, is 22m/72ft from floor to ceiling; the 72 richly-sculptured pillars on the façade symbolize the 72 peaks of Mount Hengshan.
Other buildings of note are the Imperial Library (Yushu Lou), the Pavilion of the Imperial Memorial (Yubei Ting), the Imperial Residence (Qing Gong) and the Temple of Consecration (Zhusheng Si), 300m/900ft east of the above-mentioned monastery. The Temple of Consecration, rebuilt in 1714, comprises the Hall of the Buddha (Dafo Dian), the Temple of San Guan (Guansheng Dian), the Temple of the Medicine Buddha (Yaoshi Dian) and the Palace of Arhat (Luohan Tang). The east and west walls of this palace are adorned with 500 alabaster statues of Buddhist saints.

Temple of the South Terrace
The Temple of the South Terrace (Nantai Si) is situated 4km/2.5mi northwest of the Temple and Monastery of South Mountain. In its present form it dates from 1902 to 1906; the original 6th C building no longer exists.
As well as several Buddhist temples it also comprises the tomb of the monk Xi Qian, who came here in 743 in order to spread the word of Buddha. He is regarded as the founder of a Japanese school of Buddhism. The temple of Fangguang Si, to the northwest, was founded in 503.

Temple for the Safekeeping of the Tripitaka
The Temple for the Safekeeping of the Tripitaka (Cangjiang Dian), built in 1931 on the foundations of a previous building dating from 568, once housed a volume of the Tripitaka (holy writings of Hinayana Buddhism) donated by the first Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Unfortunately the book went missing some time ago.
http://www.planetware.com/hengyang/mount-hengshan-chn-hn-mh.htm
Input by: tmciolek, Feb 04, 2013

“The Grand Temple was initially called Heaven Governor Huo King Temple (司天霍王?), and later, the name changed to South Heaven Genuine Master Temple (南天真君祠). Its founding year is unknown. The earliest documented records show that it was built in Kaiyuan 13th year (AD. 725) of Tang Dynasty. The temple experienced Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, having suffered six fires and undergone 16 large-scale renovations. At the end of Ming Dynasty, the temple was burnt in the war. In Guangxu 8th year (1882) of Qing Dynasty, the temple was rebuilt following the layout of Forbidden City in Beijing, thus it was also called "Little Palace in South China". The majority of the buildings have been preserved till today. During Cultural Revolution, the temple was regarded as engendering the values of the "Four Olds", and suffered extensive damage. […] 27.248889, 112.728611“ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Temple_of_Mount_Heng

Mount Heng (Hunan) - Mount Heng (Chinese: 衡山; pinyin: Héng Shān), also known as Nan Yue (南岳; Nányuè), is located in Hunan Province, People's Republic of China and is one of the Five Great Mountains in China. Heng Shan is a mountain range 150 kilometres (93 mi) long with 72 peaks[1] and lies at 27.254798°N and 112.655743°E. The Huiyan Peak is the south end of the peaks, Yuelu Mountain in Changsha City is the north end, and the Zhurong Peak is the highest at 1,300.2 metres (4,266 ft) above sea level. At the foot of the mountain stands the largest temple in southern China, the Grand Temple of Mount Heng (Nanyue Damiao), which is the largest group of ancient buildings in Hunan Province. Other notable sites in the area include the Zhusheng Si Temple, an 8th century Buddhist monastery and Zhurong Gong, a small stone temple. […]” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Heng_(Hunan)
Input by: tmciolek, Feb 05, 2013

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 05 Feb 2013

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 Nanyue Damiao monastery, CN.

General location of the Nanyue Damiao monastery, CN.
Lat 27.248889 Long 112.728611
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2013.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=27.248889+112.728611+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Nanyue%20Damiao%20monastery,%20CN)&ll=27.248889,112.728611&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Nanyue Damiao monastery

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • China:Hunan Sheng

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates


5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

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

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

  • MBM chrono-tag 0700-32c - tmciolek 05 Feb 2013
  • 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

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

  • MBM chrono-tag 1200=> - tmciolek 05 Feb 2013

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • [missing data]

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

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

  • [missing data]

18. Available Printed Literature

  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 1]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 2]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 3]

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