Xichan monastery, (in) Fuzhou, Fujian, CN

Raw data

"The Xichan temple complex is arranged symmetrically and consists of 36 halls, temples and pagodas. These include the Great Hall, the Hall of Deities, and the Hall of Arhats, which is one of the older structures in the area having been built at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. The Five Dynasties (907-960) Dagoba is considered to be a wonderful example of temple architecture.
http://www.chinatouronline.com/china-travel/fuzhou/fuzhou-attractions/Xichan-Temple_813.html

"Xi Chan - This old towering and magnificent temple, along with Yongquan [Huayan-1] Temple in Gushan Mountain, Chongsheng Temple in Snow Peak, Chongfu Temple in Elephant Peak and Linyang Temple in Rui Peak comprise the five great temples in Fuzhou."
http://www.chinaexpeditiontours.com/attractions/fuzhou-xi-chan-temple.html

"The Xichan Temple is called Changqing Temple again, locates in Yongqin of Qia Mountain which is outside of the west gate of this city, gets close to the University of Fuzhou, and is one of the five greatest monasteries in Fujian. Li Ruo built up the Chongxuguan firstly here from 785 to 805. In 867 A.D., Li Jingwen set up the temple here, cheese name to be Qingchan Temple, later was changed Yanshou Temple. About in 932, Wang Yanjun who was Min King begged to change to be Changqing Temple."
https://sites.google.com/site/fuzhouer/na/travel/entertainment/xichan-temple

Input by: tmciolek, Aug 10, 2012

"The Xi chan Si was founded in the state of Liang, during the Northern and Southern Dynasty. The name Xi Chan Si, is the latest name in the long history of the monastery.
The earliest known name was Xinshou, during the Northern and Southern Dynasty, (420 - 581). The monastery was destroyed at the end of Sui Dynasty, (581-618) During the Tang Dynasty, (618-907), the Inspector of Fujian, Lee Jin Wen, invited Venerable Da An, to restore the monastery. It was renamed Qing Chan , Yan Shou.
During the Five Dynasties period, (907-960), the court gave the name Chang Qing, to the Monastery.
In 1038, the Song Emperor Renzong, bestowed a new name: Yi Shan Chang Qing Si. It was later changed to Yi Shan Xi Chan Chang Qing Si, as the monastery was located in the west and there were three other monasteries in the area called Nan Chan, Bei Chan and Dong Chan. It has been popularly known as Xi Chan Monastery, ever since.
During reign of Qing Emperor Guang Xu, Venerable Wei Miao, initiated a major restoration from 1875 to 1879. Most of the physical structures in the Monasteries are dated to this period.
The monastery still has much material culture that reflects its long history. When Venerable Da An came to the monastery, he dug 7 wells, known as the Seven Stars well, that continues to function today. In the courtyard between the Front and Main hall stands a Lychee tree that dates back to the Song Dynasty, (960-1279).
The various name change and imperial patronage from the Tang to the Song Dynasty signals the importance of Xi Chan Si as a centre of Buddhism in Southern China. Today, it is considered as one of the major monastery in Fujian Area attracting visitors from all over the world."
http://www.shuanglin.sg/information_history2.html

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 31 Jul 2014

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 Xichan monastery, CN.

General location of the Xichan monastery, CN.
Lat 26.0748 Long 119.2714
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2012.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=26.0748+119.2714+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Xichan%20monastery,%20CN)&ll=26.0748,119.2714&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en


Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name


2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • China:Fujian Sheng

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names


4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx. Lat 26.0710 Long 119.2775 - based on the visual identification of the site in maps, maps.google.com, tmciolek, 10 Aug 2012. HOWEVER, Approx. Lat 26.0748 Long 119.2714 - based on the visual identification of the site in satellite imagery, maps.google.com, tmciolek, 10 Aug 2012. Therefore, coords from the satellite photograph take precedence! - tmciolek, 10 Aug 2012.

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

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

MBM chrono-tag: 0400-32p 0433-66p 0467-99p 0500-32p 0533-66p 0567-99p - tmciolek 31 Jul 2014
0400-32p 0433-66p 0467-99p 0500-32p 0533-66p 0567-99p 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

MBM chrono-tag: 0867-99c - tmciolek 31 Jul 2014


13. Date-late

MBM chrono-tag: 1200=> - tmciolek 31 Jul 2014


14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • Architectural

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]

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