Dule Temple | The Dharma transmission of Bao Guang by Fa Yin Wuzhong, completed a grand structure towering in Yuyang

The ancient name 'Ji' has undergone several changes and finally became the name of the ancient city of Wuzhong under Pan Mountain. 💫A magnificent Liao Dynasty structure, Dule Temple, has almost become synonymous with Jizhou; when people see the thousand-year-old Liao Dynasty statue of Guanyin, a corner of the bold northern dynasty vividly appears before their eyes. The Guanyin Pavilion and the Shanmen, both Liao Dynasty structures, with their deep eaves and robust yet refined beams, illustrate the essence of Liao Dynasty wooden architecture that inherited Tang and initiated Song styles. ✨Dule Temple, a national treasure, is precisely summarized by Liang Sicheng's phrase 'Inheriting the legacy of the Tang Dynasty and initiating the construction style of the Song Dynasty.' It holds several firsts in Chinese architectural history, such as the first example of Pu Pai Fang, the first wooden caisson, and the first forked column construction, all of which have epoch-making significance. 💫When people see the majestic figure of the Guanyin Pavilion from afar on the street, they can imagine the astonishment of Kwan Yat Sing when he first saw the Guanyin Pavilion in the narrow streets. 📸Entering the Shanmen, the deep eaves fully display the essence of Liao Dynasty architecture. The Shanmen has three bays in width and four rafters in depth, with a single-eaved hipped roof, and is a relic from the second year of the Liao Tonghe period, which is 984 AD, making it the oldest among the Shanmen with hipped roofs. The plaque 'Dule Temple' was inscribed by Yan Song, vigorous and powerful, very fitting to the profound heritage of Dule Temple. 💫In the corners of the Shanmen are the painted sculptures of Naluoyan Tian and Mizhi Jin'gang, excellent works of Liao Dynasty painted sculptures, with dynamic and majestic muscle lines, full of vitality. ✨The Guanyin Pavilion, with five bays in width and four bays in depth, with a nine-ridge top pavilion, is also a relic from the second year of the Liao Tonghe period. It appears as a two-story but is actually a three-story pavilion, towering and massive, with 152 dougong brackets dazzling the eyes, making it a grand structure of the Liao Dynasty. The painted sculptures inside the pavilion are masterpieces, with the 16-meter-high eleven-faced Guanyin statue being the pinnacle of Liao Dynasty painted sculptures. The two attendant Bodhisattvas are also masterpieces, with elegant and serene expressions. 💡The plaque 'Guanyin Pavilion' is said to be handwritten by Li Bai, while Qianlong's 'Pumen Xiangjie' and Xianfeng's 'Juzu Yuancheng' also show the Qing emperors' attention to this temple. 📿Inside the pavilion, there are murals of Arhats, works from the Yuan Dynasty, but they were extensively repainted in the Ming Dynasty and covered with white lime in the Qing Dynasty. The reverse sitting Guanyin on the back is a Ming Dynasty painted sculpture, and the two guardian deities are said to be Weituo and Guan Yu, which is worth mentioning. ✨In the eaves paintings outside the Guanyin Pavilion, there are also details to be found, such as the Western-style streets painted by modern craftsmen and the scaffolding painted by workers during the renovation in the 1990s, all traces of the thousand-year changes of Dule Temple. 💫The Qing Dynasty palace on the east side preserves a large number of steles inscribed by Qianlong, showing his love and attention to Dule Temple. However, because of this, Dule Temple was a forbidden area during the Qing Dynasty.