Yanshan Temple, Laicuo Village, Jinjiang City

Below is an introduction to Yanshan Temple in Jinjiang: - History: Yanshan Temple was originally called Fengshan Nunnery and was built during the reign of Kublai Khan. At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the ancestor of Laicuo Village, Ze Wengong, invited the Qingshui Patriarch from Qingshuiyan in Anxi and built Fengshan Nunnery at the foot of Yanshan Mountain as the patron saint of Laicuo Village. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the temple began to take shape, with 100 monks and lay disciples and 100 acres of Zen fields. In the 15th year of the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, the temple was burned down by the imperial court due to its association with the Hongmen Society. Reconstruction began in 2004, and the main temple building was completed in 2011. - Architecture: The temple is laid out in an orderly manner, with different views at every turn, and is grand and magnificent as a whole. The main buildings include the mountain gate, Mahavira Hall, Lecture Hall, Merit Hall, Worship Pavilion, Stele Gallery, Golden Pavilion, and Friendship Association Building. - Statues: The Qingshui Palace in the temple enshrines the Qingshui Patriarch, and the Mahavira Hall enshrines the Three Buddhas. - Cultural value: Historically, many celebrities and dignitaries have visited the temple, leaving behind dozens of calligraphy works, plaques, and couplets, with a profound cultural heritage. As the spiritual home and bond of unity for the local Lai family, it carries the emotional sustenance and historical memory of the clan and is also a sacred place for understanding the Buddhist mind and Zen nature.