Chinese Zen Temple

Author: Liu Xuan/[Korean] Ji An
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Among the hundreds of World Heritage sites announced by UNESCO, 90% are related to religion. There are over 2.5 billion religious followers worldwide, accounting for about 60% of the total population. Chinese temples have a tradition of collecting artifacts, known as "treasures that protect the temple." Today, ancient calligraphy works that have been passed down are mostly preserved in temples. Monks have a tradition of traveling around, and Zen monks "visit famous mountains and high monks." Early travelogues were often written by monks, such as Xuanzang's The Record of the Western Regions of the Tang Dynasty. Chinese Zen temples are like museums of history. Chinese temples have a tradition of collecting artifacts, known as "treasures that protect the temple." The stone scriptures collected by the Yunju Temple in Fangshan, Beijing, number over 10,000, preserving 1,122 Buddhist scriptures. Many large temples preserve the calligraphy of emperors, and the unearthed artifacts from Famen Temple in Shaanxi have amazed the world. The discovery of Dunhuang manuscripts has also shaken the world. Ancient Chinese non-economic, intentional collecting activities largely began in the Wei and Jin periods when calligraphy and painting art matured. Today, ancient calligraphy works that have been passed down are mostly preserved in temples. This includes calligraphy works in different scripts such as steles, carvings, inscriptions on plaques, couplets, and copied scriptures.