Wednesday, June 4, 2014

SH! SH! 03: Jing An Temple 靜安寺

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

one of the most established and oldest temples

around ShangHai and even Jiang Nan 江南 district

the histrory can be traced all the way

1700 years back, 247 A.D.

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

can’t help being hit by

a bang of disappointment

entrance charge of 50 RMB to a temple

usually promised something great

yet was greeted by a sight of

under-renovation-scenes

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

it went through hard times

war back in 1860 and cultural revolution

at times it feels kinda sad

the fate of these cultural relics

external and internal threats of invasion

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

franking speaking

i am still under disappointment

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

the fusion elements permeate

the main Buddha statute is of

Theravada influence

i.e. more of the Siamese, Indian-origin art

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

and the structure of the building

doesn’t look too centrally Chinese either

it reminded me of the North

DunHuang, Silk Road, desert

I hope you get what I mean

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

and those golden pagodas

surrounding the temple

is definitely Tibetan

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

yet occasionally

element of classic Chinese architecture

can be found at corners

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

at the back entrance of

the main hall

I see the most amazing painting? mural?

which makes the trip totally worth it all

Jing An Temple 靜安寺Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

it consists of three frames

each telling a significant tale of Buddhism

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

Centre:

the life-journey of Buddha

from birth to nirvana

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

left:

how Buddhism comes to impact the people

and the group of monks being

strategically crafted in the middle

as they shoulder the responsibility of

defending and spreading the knowledge of Buddhism

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

right:

Heaven, the ultimate pursuit of life

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

every single piece

inlaid with stones, gems,

P1260967Jing An Temple 靜安寺Jing An Temple 靜安寺P1260986Jing An Temple 靜安寺P1260987Jing An Temple 靜安寺Jing An Temple 靜安寺Jing An Temple 靜安寺Jing An Temple 靜安寺Jing An Temple 靜安寺Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

closed-up views

every single tiny detail

crafted to perfection

you see the tail of the flag

not exactly a flag.. we call it a “fan”

it’s exactly flying in the wind

and water being poured into the pond

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

i supposed this is a heaven with

and these are the Bodhisattva(s)

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

the angling of the fence,

every character is looking in a different direction

if you happen to notice

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

how to they even create water ripple

carved on solid stone

and the lotus leave

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

death bed

Jing An Temple 靜安寺

 

coin-tossing

I am not sure it’s the right thing to do

but they seem to have loads fun

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How to get here:

Metro Line 2 (Green Line)

Jing An Temple station 靜安寺

 

right across the street

so, this is the essence of ShangHai

melting pot where East meets West

the new and old co-exist harmonically

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no I was “abstinent” from entering

even if it’s just across the street

and A&F is just around the corner, oh yeah

no I mean.. hell no

 

no.. Steph

you are not supposed to use “hell” word

after a visit to the temple

 

 

Jing An Temple 靜安寺