China's foremost national treasure—the East Great Hall of Foguang Temple

Japanese scholars once unreasonably clamored that 'there are no wooden structures from the Tang Dynasty or earlier on Chinese soil.' Liang Sicheng traveled across much of China and identified the Great Foguang Temple in Shanxi as a relic of Tang Dynasty architecture, shattering the claim that one must go to Japan to see Tang Dynasty buildings. Foguang Temple is a gem of ancient Chinese architecture and holds an important place in the history of world architecture. Liang Sicheng joyfully exclaimed: 'This is the only Tang Dynasty wooden structure we have encountered in our years of searching. Not only that, within this very hall, we found Tang Dynasty paintings, Tang Dynasty calligraphy, Tang Dynasty sculpture, and Tang Dynasty architecture. They are rare treasures, but together they are uniquely unparalleled.' He also said: 'The grandeur of the chessboard-like layout, the profound depth of the eaves, the gentle slope of the roof, stable and majestic, containing infinite strength, are quite sufficient to represent the vitality of the era that was just beginning to wane.' He praised it with the high accolade of 'China's first national treasure.' Foguang Temple was founded during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. During the Huichang period of Emperor Wuzong of Tang, Buddhism was suppressed, and the Maitreya Pavilion and all the halls were destroyed in an instant, with only the Northern Qi Ancestral Master's Pagoda and several surrounding tomb pagodas surviving. After Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ascended the throne and revived Buddhism, in the eleventh year of Dazhong (857), the monk Yuanjie raised funds to rebuild Foguang Temple on the original site. The existing East Great Hall was reconstructed with the donations from Ning Gongyu, the favored wife of the eunuch Wang Shoucheng from Kyoto. The Tang Dynasty stele in front of the hall and the four beams in the north side room both mention 'Donated by Ning Gongyu, a female disciple,' mutually corroborating each other. 📍 Address: 50 meters east of Z051, Doucun Town, Wutai County, Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province 🈺 Opening Hours: 8:30-16:30