Raw data
Xiantong Monastery
The Xiantong Monastery (Xiantong si) distinguishes itself by being the largest of the Wutaishan temples, with a total of 400 rooms, and by being the oldest, apparently dating as far back as the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 A.D.). One of the halls is a magnificent brick structure without a single roof beam. There are also a bronze hall three meters high, two bronze pagodas over six meters high, and a huge bronze bell weighing five thousand kilogrammes, all dating from the Ming Dynasty. This temple is generally accepted as one of the two oldest temples in China, along with Luoyang's Baima Temple.
http://www.foreignercn.com/bbs/redirect.php?tid=30915&goto=lastpost
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
Wutaishan Xiantong Temple, Xiangtong Si
Xiantong Temple covers an area of 43,700sqm and has the largest scale and longest history in Wutai Mountain.
Xiangtong Temple is located at the foot of the Bodhisattva Summit (Pusa Ding), center of Wutai Mountain. There are 400 rooms, big and small, erected in the Xiantong Temple. These rooms were built imitating the styles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The Xiantong Temple and the White Horse Temple in Luoyang is the two earliest temples in China.
Xiantong Temple was first built in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). Having been repaired for many times and changed many names, the name Xiantong Temple was finally fixed in the 26th year of the Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1687), and maintains till now.
http://www.gochinatravel.com/n2812c278.aspx
Input by: tmciolek, Apr 16, 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 Xiantong monastery, CN.
Lat 39.0000 Long 113.5944
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2009.
Google Map link:
Final data - explanatory notes
1. Monastery's name
- Xiantong monastery
2. Monastery's modern country & province
- China:Shanxi Sheng
3. Monastery's alternative/historical names
final data ….
4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates
- Approx., Lat 39.0000 Long 113.5944, estimated from the position of a valley immediately N. of Mt Wutai - maps.google.com - tmciolek, 23 March 2010.
5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries
- The nearby Tayuan monastery.
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
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11. Date-early
- Est. c. 220 AD - http://www.datongguide.com/bakgl/jdxx.asp?id=146&lx1=2&lx2=3
12. Date-intermediate
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13. Date-late
- Still in use in the early 2000s AD - http://www.datongguide.com/bakgl/jdxx.asp?id=146&lx1=2&lx2=3
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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