Longhua Monastery  龍華寺

https://architecturasinica.org/place/000191
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Names

  • Longhua Monastery (English)
  • 龍華寺 (Traditional Chinese)
  • 龙华寺 (Simplified Chinese)
  • Lónghuásì (Pinyin)
  • Lung-hua-ssu (Wade-Giles)
  • 空相寺 (Traditional Chinese)
  • 空相寺 (Simplified Chinese)
  • Kōngxiàngsì (Pinyin)

Location

  • Coordinates:
    • Lat. 31.176486° Long. 121.446463°

    • Site Information

    Longhua Monastery is located in Longhua zhen, currently in the Xuhui District of Shanghai Municipality. Initial construction has been traced to the Chiwu reign period of the Wu Kingdom (238-251). According to the Sutra on the Descent of Maitreya (彌勒下生經), the Maitreya bodhisattva became a buddha in the human realm under a longhua (lit. "dragon flower" or "flowering dragon") tree (He 2006, 818-819). Therefore, the monastery was named Longhua Monastery (Ren 2002, 377). During the Northern Song, the emperor bestowed the title Kongxiangsi 空相寺 on the monastery, but the name was returned to Longhua in the Ming (ZGWWDTJ 2017, 339). The majority of the current buildings were rebuilt during the Qing Guangxu reign period (1875-1909) (Ren 2002, 377). The main buildings on the central axis are the memorial gateway, Maitreya Hall 弥勒殿 (shown as a Mountain Gate on the plan, above), Celestial Kings Hall (also called Vajra Handlers Hall 金剛殿) (Yang 1986, 275), Mahavira Treasure Hall, the Hall of the Three Sages, Abbot’s Quarters, and sutra tower. Side buildings include the bell tower, drum tower, Hall of Avalokitesvara, and Arhats Hall (He 2006, 818-819). Off axis, south of the the memorial gateway, is the Longhua Pagoda, the core structure of which has been dated to 977 CE (Chen 2012, 36). The third day of the third month of the lunar calendar is the day of nirvana for the Buddhist master Budai, the Sinitic avatar of the Maitreya Buddha (Chen 2016, 110). As the site of enlightenment for Budai, Longhua Monastery hosts big temple fair on that day (Chen 2016, 110). In 1927, however, the Longhua area was used by members of the Chinese Nationalist Party as an execution ground for members of the Chinese Communist Party (Yang 1986, 275). 龍華寺位於上海徐匯區龍華鎮。根據《彌勒下生經》，彌勒菩薩下生時在一棵龍華樹下成佛，於是此寺被命名為龍華寺(何 2006, 818-819 )。據傳說龍華寺始建於三國吳赤烏年間 (238-251) (任 2002, 377)。龍華寺內的現存建築主要為清光緒年間 (1875-1909) 重建 (任 2002, 377)。1 龍華寺位於上海徐匯區龍華鎮。根據《彌勒下生經》，彌勒菩薩下生時在一棵龍華樹下成佛，於是此寺被命名為龍華寺(何 2006, 818-819 )。據傳說龍華寺始建於三國吳赤烏年間 (238-251) (任 2002, 377)。龍華寺內的現存建築主要為清光緒年間 (1875-1909) 重建 (任 2002, 377)。 中軸線主要建築物有：牌樓、彌勒殿 (平面圖上的山門）、天王殿（金剛殿) (杨 1986, 275)、大雄寶殿、三聖殿, 方丈室、藏經樓. 兩旁有鐘鼓樓、觀音殿、羅漢堂等 (何 2006, 818-819). 彌勒菩薩的化身布袋和尚的涅槃日為農曆三月初三 (陈 2016, 110)。作為彌勒道場的龍華寺在這一天會舉行龍華廟會 (陈 2016,110 )。1927年龍華一帶被國民黨設置為殺害共產黨人的刑場 (杨 1986, 275)。 1
    Dynasty/Kingdom Founded in the Wu Kingdom (222-280) 2

    External Links

      Wikipedia (in English)

      Wikipedia (in Chinese)

      百度百科

    Works Cited

    Any information without attribution has been created following the Syriaca.org editorial guidelines.

    • 1 何. 2006. 龙华寺, 818-819.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record; 任. 2002. 龙华寺, 377.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record; 国家文物局. 2017. 中国文物地图集. 上海分册, 339.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record; 陈. 2016. 当代语境下庙会文化空间整体保护及重构-以上海龙华庙会及宁波梁祝庙会等为研究对象, 110.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record; 楊. 1986. 中國名勝詞典, 275.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record; 陈. MAY 2012. 上海市龙华塔保护建筑勘察及有限元分析, 36.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record
    • 2 WILKINSON. 2000. Chinese History: A Manual, 11.Link to Zotero Bibliographic Record

    Contains artifact(s) (1)

    Date range



    How to Cite This Entry

    SHEN Liyan, “Longhua Monastery 龍華寺 ” in Architectura Sinica last modified November 13, 2020, https://architecturasinica.org/place/000191.

    Bibliography:

    SHEN Liyan, “Longhua Monastery 龍華寺 .” In Architectura Sinica, edited by Tracy Miller. Entry published November 13, 2020. https://architecturasinica.org/place/000191.

    About this Entry

    Entry Title: Longhua Monastery 龍華寺

    Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:

    • Tracy Miller, editor, Architectura Sinica
    • SHEN Liyan, entry contributor, “Longhua Monastery 龍華寺 ”

    Additional Credit:

    • Initial research 2020 by SHEN Liyan
    • Editing and proof correction by Tracy Miller

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