Caotang Temple

CHINA, Shaanxi, Xi’an

Caotang means Straw Hut. The temple is located to the north of Guifengshan (Jade Summit Mountain). It is the ancestral temple of the Three Treatise school, and was the first large-scale sutra translation center in China. In 401 during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, Kumarajiva was invited by Emperor Yaoxing (reigned 394–416) to translate sutras in Chang’an (present day Xi’an). He then built a temple, which was later split into four smaller temples, one of them being Caotang Temple. Monk Feixi resided here between 742 and 756 and promoted the Pure Land school. Master Guifeng Zongmi also spent time here between 806 and 820. During the rule of Emperor Tongzhi (reigned 1862–1874) of the Qing dynasty, the buildings were almost completely destroyed in wartime. The temple underwent repairs, reconstruction and expansion during the years 1952 to 1956, 1972, and 1984. It was listed as a key Buddhist temple in the Han region of China in 1983.
The temple faces north and occupies 3.2 ha. Along the central axis there are the main temple gate, Heavenly King Hall, Great Hero Hall, Great Compassion Hall, and Dharma Hall. Other buildings include the bell and drum towers, pavilions, a stele passageway, gate tower, side buildings, the Kumarajiva Relic Pagoda, and the Kumarajiva Memorial Hall, which was built in 1990. The stele passageway is 12 bays wide and filled with more than 20 steles. There is a bell dating back to the Ming dynasty in the bell tower and a stele dedicated to Master Guifeng in the drum tower.