Baoguo Monastery  保國寺

Site Information

Baoguo Monastery is located in Ningbo, Zhejiang, and is a historic Buddhist monastery protected by the National Cultural Heritage Administration. The complex is nestled in the Ling Mountains (Lingshan 靈山) between Xiangbi Peak (Xiangbifeng 象鼻峰) and Shiyan Peak (Shiyanfeng 獅岩峰), and the south side is exposed to a downhill slope. The monastery itself is also surrounded by water: the Ci River (Cijiang 慈江) runs at the foot of the mountain and eight streams cross through the mountain. The building complex is oriented roughly north-south, but is more precisely sitting northwest and facing southeast (Xu and Qiu 2014, 72). It is symmetrical along the central axis with the exception of a few smaller buildings attached to the west and east sides of the complex.

Following the 1805 Baoguosi zhi 保國寺志, Guo Daiheng relates the legendary founding of the monastery as Lingshansi 靈山寺 in the Eastern Han dynasty. This complex was destroyed in the Huichang suppression of Buddhism from 842-845. When it was rebuilt in 880 it was renamed Baoguosi (Baoguo Monastery). In 1064 the complex received an official plaque bearing the name Jingjin Cloister (Jingjinyuan 精進院). Throughout the Song Dynasty, new buildings were constructed while maintaining symmetry around the existing central axis. By the Southern Song, the complex’s layout was similar to the style of the Five Mountains and Ten Monasteries “五山十剎” defined by the Imperial Court, however the only structures currently extant from the Song dynasty are the Mahavira Treasure Hall (Daxiongbaodian 大雄寶殿) and Pure Land Pool (Jingtuchi 淨土池) (Guo 2003, 2-18). Drastic reconstructions were done during the Ming 明 and Qing 清 dynasties and the current layout is in keeping with many Ming-Qing Buddhist monasteries. The central axis of the complex is now preserved in a three-step progression, moving from bottom to top, there is the Celestial Kings Hall (Tianwangdian 天王殿), Mahavira Treasure Hall (Daxiongbaodian 大雄寶殿), then the Dharma Hall (fatang 法堂) and sutra repository tower (cangjinglou 藏經樓) along the central axis. The living areas outside that of the Buddhist ritual spaces did not aim for symmetry and enjoyed relative freedom in their layout.

2

National Cultural Heritage Administration Number 全國重點文物保護單位編號

1-0090-3-043

External links

Wikipedia (in Chinese)

百度百科