The Linggu Temple (líng gǔ sì 灵谷寺), located 1.5 kilometers east to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum (zhōng shān líng 中山陵), is an Buddhist temple in Nanjing City (nán jīng shì 南京市), Jiangsu Province (jiāng sū shěng 江苏省). Originally built in the Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝) but recently renovated, the temple provides an insight into Chinese Buddhism and the everyday life or these monks.

The Linggu Temple was first built in the Southern Dynasty (nán cháo 南朝) in memory of the famous Buddhism Monk Baozhi (bǎo zhì 宝志). At that time, it is the largest temple in the area around Zhongshan Mountain (zhōng shān 钟山). It was five kilometers from the gate to the hall. Within the temple there were Wuliang Hall (wú liàng diàn 无量殿), Hall of Heavenly King (tiān wáng diàn 天王殿), Guanyin Pavilion (guān yīn gé 观音阁) within the temple. At the back of the temple there was the Baozhi Pagoda (bǎo zhì gōng tǎ 宝志公塔), which is lofty and great.

During the Qianfu Period (qián fú nián jiān 乾符年间) of Tang Dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝), the temple was named as Baogong Temple. Then in the Kaibao Period (kāi bǎo nián jiān 开宝年间) of Song Dynasty (sòng cháo 宋朝), the name was changed into Kaishan Taoist Temple (kāi shàn dào chǎng 开善道场). Then Emperor Taizong (tài zōng 太宗) gave the name Taiping Xingguo Temple (tài píng xīng guó chán sì 太平兴国禅寺). Thereafter, the name of the temple was changed into Shifang Temple (shí fāng chán yuàn 十方禅院) and Jiangshan Temple (jiǎng shān sì 蒋山寺). Until the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi (kāng xī dì 康熙帝) gave the name Linggu Temple to it, and wrote a couplet for the temple. The temple at present was built in 1929 in memory of the soldiers fallen in the War of Northern Expedition. After the year 1949, the temple was changed its name into Linggu Park, but Linggu Temple as usual.

The most famous ancient relics in the temple are the Wuliang Hall (wú liàng diàn 无量殿), the Great Buddha’s Hall (dà xióng bǎo diàn 大雄宝殿), and Sanjue Stele (sān jué bēi 三绝碑).

First constructed in the year 1381, Hongwu Period (hóng wǔ nián jiān 洪武年间), the Wuliang Hall is 22 meters high and 53.8 meters wide. Outside the hall there are upturned eaves seems as a great palace. Inside, it is like a huge cave, deep and tranquil. What’s more, the hall was entirely built with bricks from the bottom to the top, without a piece of wood or a single nail. It has three archways on the front and rear sides respectively. Thus it was also called Beamless Hall (wú liáng diàn 无梁殿). In 1928, the Wuliang Hall was turned into the memorial hall of soldiers who lost their lives in the War of Northern Expedition. At the back of the hall, there is a memorial pagoda, which was constructed in 1931 and completed in 1935, in octagonal shape. In the pagoda, there is a spiral stairway with more than 260 steps leading to the top of the pagoda. Every storey has a flat outside, on which tourists can get a bird’s eye view of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.

The east part of the Great Buddha’s Hall is the memorial hall of Xuanzang (xuán zàng 玄奘), in which there is a pagoda with upturned eaves, seven storey and in hexagonal shape. The pagoda is used to holding the parietal bones of Xuanzang.

Sanjue Stele is also a famous relics in Linggu Temple. As far as in the Liang Dynasty (liáng cháo  梁朝), Emperor Wu (wǔ dì 武帝) invited constructors to build a pagoda in front of the Baolin Temple (bǎo lín sì 宝林寺) to commemorate the monk Baozhi. And it got the name Wanzhu Pagoda for there was a glaze bead on top of it. At that time the famous painter Zhang Sengyao (zhāng sēng yáo 张僧繇) painted a picture of Baozhi, and then in the Tang Dynasty, Wu Daozi (wú dào zǐ 吴道子) repainted the picture, Li Bai (lǐ bái 李白) wrote a poem and Yan Zhenqing (yán zhēn qīng 颜真卿) inscribed for it, and carved all the works of these masters on a same stone stele. Therefore, it got the name of Sanjue, means three superb. Unfortunately, the original tablet was broken in warfare, the present one is the duplicate under the reign of Emperor Qianlong (qián lóng dì 乾隆帝) in the Qing Dynaty.
　　
Linggu Temple
Location: No. 2, Linggusi, Xuanwu District (xuán wǔ qū 玄武区), Nanjing City
Admission fee: RMB 15
Opening hours: 7:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Transportation: you can take tourist bus No. 1, 2, 3, or take bus No. 9, 20 to get there