Jingci Temple

CHINA, Zhejiang, Hangzhou

Jingci means Pure and Benevolent. It was built in 954 by King Qian Hongchu (reigned 948–978) of Wuyue. In 961 he invited Chan Master Yongming from Lingyin Temple to become the first abbot of the temple. The temple has been destroyed and repaired several times. Its most recent major reconstruction occurred in 1955. It was listed as a key Buddhist temple in the Han region of China in 1983.
Along the central axis there are the Heavenly King Hall (the main temple gate), Great Hero Hall, Hall of the Three Sages, bell tower, Avalokitesvara Hall, Jizu Hall, chanting hall, Imperial Stele Pavilion, Yunmu Well, Yongming Pagoda Courtyard, and Rujing Funerary Pagoda. The Great Hero Hall was repaired in 1960. It has a double-eave hip-and-gable roof which is covered with yellow glazed tiles.
Japanese Master Dogen, who studied under Master Ruijing, proclaimed this temple to be one of the ancestral temples of the Soto school of Buddhism. The temple continues to follow the Soto school. The copper bell which hangs in the bell tower was donated by Eiheiji Temple in 1986. The evening bell that rings at Nanping Hill is one of the ten famous features of West Lake.