Located in the Guanqian Street (guān qián jiē 观前街) in Suzhou City (sū zhōu shì 苏州市), Xuanmiaoguan Taoist Temple (xuán miào guàn 玄妙观), also called Temple of Mystery, was constructed in 276 A.D, during Western Jin Dynasty (xī jìn 西晋). It was originally called Zhenqing Taoist Temple (zhēn qìng dào yuàn 真庆道院), and changed its name into Xuanmiaoguan Taoist Temple in the year 1264. It expanded in the Song Dynasty (sòng cháo 宋朝, 960-1279), when it reached its greatest size. At that time, there are more than 30 halls in the temple. However, as time goes by, there are 23 halls. Nowadays, the Xuanmiaoguan Taoist Temple is worshiped widely in Suzhou City rather than the Buddhist Temple.
The Main Gate
The Main Gate (zhèng shān mén 正山门) of the temple was constructed with wood during Tang Dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝), facing the south. The gate existed nowadays was the one rebuilt in the forties year of Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝). There is a tablet hanging on the front center of the gate, on which there written “圆妙观" (yuán miào guàn) for “圆"(yuán) was a taboo on using the personal names of Kangxi Emperor (kāng xī dì 康熙帝), "玄烨"(xuán yè), in Qing Dynasty.
Sanqing Hall
Sanqing Hall (sān qīng diàn 三清殿) is the main hall of Xuanmiaoguan Taoist Temple. It is the most notable building within the temple and it is regarded as the “national treasure” for its wooden architecture dates back to Southern Song Dynasty (nán sòng 南宋). The hall covers an area of 1100 square meters, with a width of 44 meters, and length of 25 meters. There are three iron halberds in the center of the ceiling, means raising three levels. The hall is dedicated to the major gods of Taoism including Taishang Laojun (tài shàng lǎo jūn 太上老君) and features statues over 17 meters (56 feet) high, which are replicas of Song Dynasty originals.
The Wordless Tablet
The WordlessTablet (wú zì bēi 无字碑) is standing to the east of Sanqing Hall, with a height of 2 zhang (zhàng 丈), and a width of 8 chi (chǐ 尺). The tablet was originally engraved in Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝) by Fang Xiaoru (fāng xiào rú 方孝孺), who was a member of the Imperial Academy (hàn lín 翰林) in Hongwu era (hóng wǔ nián jiān 洪武年间). When Zhu Di (zhū dì 朱棣) conquered Nanjing (nán jīng 南京), he ordered Fang Xiaoru to draft an imperial edict. However, Fang rejected it and was sentence to death. All the persons related to Fang were also killed, with the total number up to 870. Even the tablet engraved by him was cleaned up and became an wordless one.
Lao Zi Tablet
Located to the west side of the Sanqing Temple, the Lao Zi Tablet (lǎo zǐ xiàng bēi 老子像碑) is 1.8 meters high, with a width of 0.91 meters. There is a sculpture of Lao Zi on the tablet, which was a picture draw by Wu Daozi (wú dào zǐ 吴道子). The characters above the picture were written by Yan Zhenqing (yán zhēn qīng 颜真卿). The tablet with an engraving of Lao Zi is rarely seen in the Taoist temple. The outstanding of the calligraphy and the delicate sculpture with great age makes the tablet a worthy one.
Xuanmiaoguan Taoist Temple
Address: No. 94, Guanqian Street, Suzhou City
Admission fee: RMB 10
Opening hours: 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Tel: 0512-67276616/62001657
Transportation: you can take Tourist Bus No. 1, 2 and bus No. 1, 101, 38 to get there.
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