Jinshan Temple of Zhenjiang in Jiangsu • History & Legends 镇江金山风景区

Jinshan_Temple_Zhenjiang_Jiangsu_镇江金山风景区

Jinshan Temple is located on one of the "京口三山 Three Mountains of Jingkou", at the northwest of Zhenjiang city in China's Jiangsu province.

Jingkou is the old name of today's Zhenjiang city. The three mountains of Jingkou are 金山 Jinshan, 焦山 Jiaoshan, 北固山 Beigushan.

Jinshan Temple 金山寺 is considered one of the four great temples of China along with Putuo Temple, Wenshu Temple and Daming Temple. So, I was excited about privilege to visit the historic Jinshan Temple during my week long trip to Jiangsu province in Jun 2024.

Jinshan Temple is built on Jinshan Mountain which is just 44 meters high and 520 meters in circumference. The mountain, actually a small hill, was originally an island in the Yangtze River which flows 6,300 km from the Himalayas to the East China Sea at Shanghai.

"Ten thousand rivers flow eastward, and an island stands in the middle" 万川东注, 一岛中立.

The island was known as 江心一朵"芙蓉" - a "lotus" in the middle of the river. 芙蓉 literally translates to "hibiscus" but I felt "lotus" is more apt as lotus flowers are often depicted as pedestals of Buddha.

Today, Jinshan island has fused with the south bank of the Yangtze River which has changed course.

The original main temple on Jinshan Mountain was built during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317 - 420) i.e. more than 1,600 years.

Jinshan Temple was huge and influential in its heyday. There were more than 3,000 residential monks and tens of thousands of worshippers practicing Zen here.

During the Tang Dynasty, Jinshan Temple developed Chinese Buddhist ceremonies of chanting scriptures, fasts, worshiping Buddha, and praying for the dead.

Tang Dynasty Buddhism was the basis of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

According to legend, monk 法海 Fahai founded today's Jinshan Temple. Fahai was the son of Pei Xiu, a prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. Pei Xiu was a devout Buddhist and sent his son, Fahai, to become a monk.

Respecting his father's wishes, Fahai studied Taoism and practiced Zen in Mount Lu in Jiangxi. He later went down the Yangtze River from Mount Lu to Jinshan in Zhenjiang. At that time, the crumbling temples on Jinshan Mountain were abandoned, overgrown, and infested with snakes.

According to legend, Fahai drove a white python hiding in a cave into the river, and he lived in the cave. Fahai meditated hard here, cleared the mountains for farming, and worked fervently to revitalise the decrepit buildings. He went through much hardship to revive Jinshan Temple.

However, in the mythical (fictional) story of 白蛇傳 "The Legend of the White Snake", Fahai was made the villain who destroyed the happy marriage of White Snake Fairy 白娘子 and her husband 小青.

The poem by Zhang Shangying of the Song Dynasty says:

半间石室安禅地,

盖代功名不易磨.

白蟒化龙归海去,

岩中留下老头陀.

"Half of the stone room is a place for meditation, and the great achievements of the generation are not easy to erase. The white python turns into a dragon and returns to the sea, leaving the old monk in the rock."

The monks of Jinshan Temple made this poem into a couplet and hung it on both sides of the Fahai cave door to express their gratitude and respect for Fahai. A statue of Fahai was also installed in the cave to commemorate him.

The gates of temples in China face south by custom, but the gate of Jinshan Temple uniquely faces west.

According to legend, the gate of Jinshan Temple originally faced south as per custom, but because it faced the South Gate of Heaven, it offended the Jade Emperor, causing the gate of Jinshan Temple to often rattle and even burn. Later, the gate was changed to face west.

Actually, the builders of Jinshan Temple followed the principles of Fengshui, and harmonised the design of the temple with the river and hills of Jinshan.

As Jinshan Temple was originally on a small island in the middle of Yangtze River which flows from west to east, a west facing door allows visitors to enjoy the magnificent scenery where "the river flows east and the mountains flow west" 大江东去，群山西来.

Now, pause and imagine the idyllic scene 😌

Add in the sounds of birds and flowing water.

The typical layout of temples in China is the Heavenly King Hall in front and centre, with the Great Hall, the Abbot's Room, and the Sutra Library behind along a straight line.

However, the architecture of Jinshan Temple has a unique style known as "temple wrap the mountain". The temple is built on the mountain side, with halls and pavilions stacked on terraces and connected layer by layer by stairs. From the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, layers of halls and pavilions, one after another with a grand pagoda at the top, tightly wrapping Jinshan Mountain.

The Cishou Pagoda 慈寿塔 at the top of Jinshan Temple.

慈寿塔 Cishou Pagoda stands on the northwest peak of Jinshan Mountain. The tower is 30 meters high and was first built in the Qi (550 - 557) and Liang (502 - 557) dynasties more than 1,400 years ago.

Prime Minister Zeng Bu of Song Dynasty prayed for his mother in Jinshan Temple and built a tower on the north and south sides of the mountain, one named "Jianci Pagoda" and the other named "Jian Shou Pagoda".

In the early Ming Dynasty, the two towers collapsed during an earthquake. After the collapse of the two towers, the current tower was built during the Guangxu period (1875 - 1908) in 1900. As it coincided with the 60th birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi, it was named 慈寿塔 Cishou Pagoda.

The exquisite tower made of brick and wood has eight sides (octagon) and seven levels. There are spiral wooden stairs inside and railings outside for visitors. There are panoramic views on all sides and different scenery on each level.

Climbing the tower and looking out from the railing, we were rewarded with magnificent panoramic views of the Yangtze River, sky and the sprawling Zhenjiang city.

The temple went through many name changes through the centuries.

It was originally named Zexin Temple, and was called Jinshan Temple during the Southern Dynasties and the Tang Dynasty.

During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, the emperor dreamt of wandering in Jinshan Mountain, so he renamed it 龙游寺"Longyou Temple" or Temple of the Wandering Dragon..

Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty was fond of Taoism and changed it to Shenxiao Yuqing Wanshou Palace 神霄玉清万寿宫.

Since the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), it has been called Jinshan Temple to this day.

In the 25th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1661 - 1722), Emperor Kangxi personally wrote the name and bestowed the plaque "Jiangtian Temple" 江天禅寺.

The plaque bestowed by Kangxi was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion (war between the Qing Dynasty and Taiping Heavenly Kingdom). The plaque "Jiangtian Temple, the Treasure of Kangxi's Imperial Pen" hanging on the entrance archway of the Jinshan Temple was made between 1982 and 1985.

Let's take a walk with me through Jinshan Temple. It involves a lot of climbing 😅 But, is very well worth it.

We are at the grand west facing entrance of Jinshan Temple.

A pair of large marble lions guard the entrance to Jinshan Temple. Visitors rub the lions for blessings, smoothing the rough hewed Ming Dynasty-era statues through the centuries.

In the center of the Heavenly King Hall main sanctuary is the smiling Maitreya Buddha.

On both sides are the huge Four Heavenly Kings, also known as the Four Vajra.

Behind the Heavenly King Hall is the majestic and spectacular Main Hall with a double eave and hip roof.

In the center of the Main Hall are three golden statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, Medicine Buddha and Amitabha Buddha.

On the west wall are the Eighteen Arhats, and on the left and right attics sit 56 Heavenly Lords.

There are altars on the back of the three Buddhas. Around the upper and lower sides of the altars are statues of Guanyin and also Shancai Boy of different sizes and poses paying homage to 53 Bodhisattvas. The side rooms on both sides of the hall are the Abbot's Room and the place to receive guests.

Climb up from the back of the hall to enter the Sunset Pavilion, which preserves 7 imperial seals of Emperor Qianlong.

From the Sunset Pavilion, go up to the Guanyin Pavilion, which has the Four Treasures Room, which displays the four treasures of Jinshan Mountain - Zhou Ding, bronze drum, jade belt and Jinshan map.

Guanyin Pavilion is connected to Miaogao Terrace and Lengjia Terrace in the south, and to Cishou Tower and Fahai Cave in the north.

Climbing northward from Lengjia Terrace, we reached the peak of Jinshan Mountain, Liuyun Pavilion 留云亭.

Inside the pavilion is a stone tablet with the words 江天一览 "Jiangtian Yilan" written by Emperor Kangxi, so this pavilion is also called Jiangtian Yilan Pavilion.

To the northwest of Liuyun Pavilion, there is Qifeng Pavilion to commemorate Yue Fei, a hero of the Southern Song Dynasty known for his loyalty. (His memory is remembered by monuments and the oil fried dough snack known as you char kway 油炸粿.)

To the north of this pavilion, there is an ancient immortal cave at the foot of Jinao Mountain, which is a Taoist relic.

Going north from Guanyin Pavilion, we climbed Cishou Tower.

From Cishou Pagoda to the north, you will reach Fahai Cave, where the founder of Jinshan Temple, Fahai, meditated.

Fahai Cave, also known as Peigong Cave, is located on the cliff at the west lower side of Jinshan Pagoda. A statue of Fahai is in the cave.

To the north of Fahai Cave and next to Yudai Bridge is 白龙洞 Bailong Cave, where, according to myths and legends, stone statues of Lady White Snake and Xiaoqing are in the cave.

Go up the right side of Bailong Cave and you will reach 朝阳洞 Chaoyang Cave, also known as Rizhao Rock 日照岩.

The three characters "Rizhao Rock" are engraved on the cliff above the cave. The three characters "Chaoyang Cave" engraved on the rock wall were written by Teng Mi during the Ming Dynasty.

During sunrise, the stone walls glow with golden light, and the water and sky are red. This is the best place to catch the spectacular sunrise in Jinshan. We didn't have a chance to catch it this time, and so have to come back for this - I hope soon.

When I was a schoolboy, we were exposed to the great literature of Britain, such as the works of Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Keats, Dickens, etc. So when we first stepped foot on Britain decades ago, we sought out the places mentioned by or are associated with these great poets.

Nowadays, I just look for good food 🤭 (but we leave this discussion for another post).

I noticed that in China, people also sought out places where great poets composed their verses and try to personally experience what the poet was going through. I am relearning this form of travel from this observation 🙏

Poem "Jinshan" by Wang Anshi, a famous politician in the Song Dynasty describing Jinshan Pagoda:

The several-storey building is built on layers of stone, and windows on all four walls let in the wind.

Suddenly I saw a bird flying down to the ground, and I was shocked to find myself in mid-air.

数重楼枕层层石, 四壁窗开面面风

忽见鸟飞平地上, 始惊身在半空中.

The poem by Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty (960 to 1279) is a portrayal of Jinshan in those days.

楼台两岸水相连, 江南江北镜里天.

"Towers and pavilions on both sides of the river are connected by water, and the south and north of the river are like the mirror sky."

Five hundred meters west of Jinshan Temple on a tiny island is Zhongling Spring 中泠泉. It was rated the best in China by Lu Yu during the Tang Dynasty.

On the south wall are engraved five characters 天下第一泉 "The Best Spring in the World" written by Wang Renkan, a top scholar of the Qing Dynasty and governor of Zhenjiang city. Literati and scholars who longed for another drink of tea at Zhongling Spring left many famous poems.

Wen Tianxiang, a famous general of the Southern Song Dynasty, wrote:

有扬子江心第一泉,

南金来北铸文渊,

男儿斩却楼兰诗,

闲品茶经拜祠仙.

We only had about an hour at Jinshan Temple - there's so much more to see and learn. Hope to be back soon to Zhenjiang city for Jinshan Temple, the Xijindu ancient street, and of course, its marvellous cuisine such as "wok cover noodles".