Fayu Temple also called Stone Temple, is one of three major temples in Mount Putuo

Mount Putuo

Mount Putuo is an island southeast of Shanghai, in Zhoushan prefecture of Zhejiang province, China. It is famous in Chinese Buddhism, and is considered the bodhimanda of Avalokitesvara , a revered Bodhisattva in many parts of East Asia...

, Zhejiang

Zhejiang

Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...

 province, People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

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Its grand hall was rebuilt in Kangxi 38th year (1699), Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

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History

Fayu Temple is the second largest temple in Mount Putuo, and a national key buddhist temple in Han area designated by the State Council. Ming Wanli 8th year (1580), a monk of Macheng, named Dazhi (Zhenrong), came from west Sichuan to Mount Putuo for training. He was attracted by the local scenery and built a small sanctuary named "Ocean Tide", meaning "Buddhist Ocean Guanyin". Wanli 22nd year (1594), the governor Wu Anguo renamed it "Ocean Tide Temple". It was destroyed in fire in 1598. Wanli 33rd year (1605), it was renovated and expanded. In the following year, the central government granted a plaque "National Defense Ocean Pacifying Temple", as well as an inscription called "Dragon Treasure". It suffered wars and fire several times. In Kangxi 26 year (1687), the temple was refurbished and expanded again. In 1699, the emperor Kangxi granted a plaque "Heavenly Flowers Buddhist Rain". Thus, it changed to "Buddhist Rain Temple", or "Fayu Temple". In 1731, emperor Yongzheng ordered a large-scale renovation project. Thereafter, it became a famous temple in southeast China.

Area

The temple has a land area of 33,000 m². It comprises 294 halls and rooms, with a building area of 9,300 m². Along the trend of the mountain from lower to higher are Heavenly Kings Hall, Jade Buddhist Hall, Nine-Dragon Guanyin Hall, Emperor Tablet Hall, Great Grand Hall, and Fangzhang Hall.

Front door

The front door of the temple is not located along the axial line, but on the southeast corner. It is a double-eaved square pavilion, different from average front doors of Buddhist temple. The front plaque reads "Heavenly Flowers Colorful Rain", written in gold on blue ground. Inside the door, to the west is the shadowy wall. It was originally a three-dragon wall carved on bricks, with Buddhist words meaning "unbelievable power". Unfortunately, the wall was pulled down in Cultural Revolution. In 1987, on the site erected a Nine-Dragon Wall

Nine-Dragon Wall

A Nine-Dragon Wall or Nine-Dragon Screen is a type of screen wall with reliefs of nine different Chinese dragons...

. Built of pale stones, it is 12m wide, 9m high and 1m thick.