Identity of Guilin Sacred Places: Rebuilding Xi Qinglin Temple in

Guilin

Huang Zheng

Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University,Talingchan,Bangkok ,Thailand

Keywords: Sacred Places, Xi Qinglin Temple, Rebuilding, Guilin of Identity, Tourism.

Abstract:

Guilin Xi Qinglin temple is a Chinese Buddhism place built circa 6th century AD (Tang Dynasty).

The temple of Grand scale is well-known in ancient China. There are a handful of written records about the

historical texts of Xi Qinglin temple, but there is no record of why the temple was destroyed. There are a large

number of Grotto statues around the site, different from the sculptures of the Buddha statues in the north of

China. These are evidences of the path of Indian Buddhism passing through the Indian Ocean from Southeast

Asia to southern China.

Xi Qinglin temple used to be a very important status in Guilin and even Chinese Buddhism. In fact, Guilin

government has carried out studies of archaeological sites in the setting of Xi Qinglin temple, and has

discovered archaeological and related historical resources that support the value and significance of Xi

Qinglin temple and its rebuilding.

1 INTRODUCTION

The present research has three interlinked

components:

1. In the absence historical records，Based on the

origin of Buddhism, I have reconnected ancient

myths and fragmented text data to the present and

past culture landscape of Guilin sacred places by

collage and superimposed them. I shall further

explore the important question of Buddhist cultural

landscapes and natural environment in the

establishment of sacred places.

2. In my paper, I will argue why and how the issue

of Rebuilding Identity of Guilin Sacred places. In

particular, the current trend of decline in Chinese

Buddhism. This paper will analyze the myths and

elements of the origin of Buddhism; rethink the

overall layout style of the Buddhist temples in the

Tang Dynasty from the Dunhuang frescoes in China,

the ornament of the facades of the buildings and the

details of the landscape design and discusses the

issue of spiritual place design of Buddhism,

emphasizes the importance of place experience, and

provides a significance of the research for the

rebuilding Xiqinglin Temple in Guilin.

3. Based on the above research, I integrated the

landscape image of Guilin Karst and the

philosophical meaning of Chinese classical garden

into the design of Guilin Xiqinglin Temple, creating

the identity of the sacred place of Guilin.

Figure(1): Research Framework （owner-draw）

1.1 Definition of the Sacred Places

The sacred places may be religious places, spiritual

spaces and holy places, and here is a special area

connecting the mundane world and the sacred world.

Form the religious scientists Mircea Eliade’s (1957)

viewpoint, the sacred and the mundane are the two

148

Zheng, H.

Identity of Guilin Sacred Places: Rebuilding Xi Qinglin Temple in Guilin.

DOI: 10.5220/0008556201480154

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Interdisciplinary Arts and Humanities (ICONARTIES 2019), pages 148-154

ISBN: 978-989-758-450-3

ways of existence in the world. The sacred places

have caused an interruption in the mundane world,

and into these sacred places, it is possible to connect

with the world of the gods. The religious site is the

most specific place carrier in the mundane world.

From the perspective of religious geography, Isaac.E

(1959-1960) proposed that religion's influence on

sites or landscapes in turn affects religion itself. He

believes that religious landscape can be divided into

material religious landscape and intangible religious

landscapes. Religious geographers believe that the

transformation of the material world into sacred

places comes from religious experiences and

religious beliefs. Perceptions and imaginings

influence the way such spaces are used, and the

personal, spiritual meanings developed in using such

sacred spaces.

The sacred places are often rich in aesthetic

experience. The Greek philosopher Plotinus（205-

270 CE）found that the sacred architecture and art

together constituted the sacred places, and its

meaning and function were manifest or represented

by sacred objects, forms, symbols and shapes. These

identities are the general knowledge of traditional

sacred places. Homan, R., G. Rowley conducted a

study that the religious doctrines affect the location

of sacred places. The site selection and layout

seldom take into account the development of cities.

So most of the sacred places are chosen in the

suburbs or isolated from urban fragmentation.

Figure (2) :Mundane world and the Sacred world（owner-

draw）

The sacred places of China include religious

sites, cultural religions sites, religious and folk

beliefs, religious places such as Buddhism, Taoism,

Christianity and Islam; cultural religions such as

Confucian temples and academies; and folk religions

are the space for the beliefs of some ethnic

minorities in China. After more than two thousand

years of cultural integration, the identicalness of the

spatial image has become a typical feature of China's

sacred sites under the influence of multi-culture.

Based on the principle of "go into the secularity" ,

Chinese sacred places show distinct local cultural

characteristics, such as the architectural layout under

the influence of Confucianism, the sacred places

combined with the design of Chinese classical

garden under the influence of Taoism. Some space

and objects are defined in folk beliefs, which are the

typical characteristics of Chinese sacred places

culture. It should be extended to other religions and

cultures.

1.2 Objectives

This paper is aimed at investigating the way to

create the sacred places under the unique scenery of

Guilin. It seeks to integrate the knowledge and

wisdom of Chinese Buddhist places, as well as the

new identity form of sacred places that can be

applied in future design.

This paper aims to：

1.Study the background, identity and significant

values of the cultural landscape of the Guilin Xi

Qinglin temple.

2.Investigate the ways for rebuilding project

based on integration between historical value， both

promoting Buddhism and natural environment and

Aesthetic development such as from tourism

development.

1.3 Significance of the Research

This research is to investigate and survey historical

documents and existing remains, through a

comprehensive analysis of the spiritual connotation

of Chinese traditional Dharma, Tracing back to the

origin of Buddhism, comparing the tangible and

intangible cultural values of Theravada Buddhism in

Southeast Asia and Mahayana Buddhist temples in

East Asia, redefining the spatial identity of sacred

places. In terms of landscape and facade design,

extracting the historical texture of the traditional

Buddhist environment of Dharma and even Guilin,

In order to incorporate into the natural scenery of

Guilin, combining the secularization of

contemporary sacred space and the trend of tourism

Identity of Guilin Sacred Places: Rebuilding Xi Qinglin Temple in Guilin

149

industry experience, rebuilding the Theory of Sacred

Space Knowledge with New Identity of Guilin.

This paper not only researches the Identity of the

sacred place in Guilin, but also discusses the value

and significance of rebuilding from the aspects of

physicality and spirituality. There are 4 aspects of

value and significance to analyse namely, a)

Architecture Site planning and route, b) Traditional

layout and related elements, c) Revival and

innovation , d) Natural environment and spiritual

space. information used for analyzing the values and

significance have been obtained from study of

Historical remains，both those discovered in Xi

Qinglin temple literature itself and those found in

Grotto statues remain. There have been studies of

value, culture and natural environment,existing

conditions, perspective analysis and tourism,and

other relevant factors in order to provide more

information for rebuilding planning and tourism

experience research.

1.4 Research Methodology

The research requires various field data to create a

basis for creating new identities , and a model for

Rebuilding Xi Qinglin Temple in Guilin. This

research concentrates on studying the identity of

Chinese Tang Dynasty temples and the creation of

new cultural landscapes in Guilin Buddhist temples

based on the tourism industry. The research is

qualitative in its methods and includes research and

extraction of design elements related to site survey

and rebuilding ,the understanding of the rebuilding

of temple environment space in Tang Dynasty, and

the analysis of worship and tour behavior. Several

stops in the research are as follows：

Through investigation, an understanding of the

background, characteristics and significant values of

the Xi Qinglin temple will be linked with the

documentary data. At the same time, it analyses the

philosophical significance of Guilin's unique karst

scenery and the integration of Chinese classical

gardens into the temple space environment.

Observation and general interviews are

important ways to study both tangible and intangible

values of a temple cultural landscape. Moreover,

based on the analysis of literature data, this paper

chooses Tang Dynasty to Song Dynasty as the key

time line of research, extracts design elements, and

puts forward design ideas.

For the analysis process, the results from the

literature review, survey and observation and In

depth study of the causes of excessive

commercialization and identicalness of Chinese

Buddhist temples. This will give an exploration of

the method relevant to create a new identity for

tourism industry.

The final stage of analysis is drawing

conclusions and suggestions for rebuilding design.

At the same time, it also creates positive significance

for Xiqinglin Temple of Guilin and establishes a

unique Buddhist Temple identity for the region.

2 RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH

2.1 Chinese Buddhist Temple Identities

Buddhism spread from India to China in AD 67.

After integrating Chinese Confucianism and Taoism,

Buddhism was gradually being Chinese influenced.

Chinese Buddhism is divided into Mahayana

Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism and Tibetan

Buddhism. This study is a Chinese Mahayana

Buddhism temple. Japanese scholar Nomura

Yosho’s point of view is that The Buddhism

prevailing in East Asia is Mahayana Buddhism with

Chinese Buddhism as its mother. Chinese Buddhist

temples present the localized cultural characteristics

of China. Under the joint influence of Confucianism

and Taoism, the identity of Buddhist temples is not

obvious.

Figure (3) : Changes in Temple layout from Tang Dynasty

to Song Dynasty

From the site selection of the temple, building a

temple along the mountain is an important feature of

Chinese temples. About one-third of China's first

batch of Chinese national parks are Buddhist

temples and are located in famous mountains. The

aesthetics of the temple's landscape is based on the

mysterious and hidden thoughts, forming the layout

features of the mountain temple garden. In the article

"Shaping the Artistic Conception of Chinese

Buddhist Temple Space", Guan Xin believes that

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China's "Feng Shui" theory has profoundly affected

the layout of temple buildings. The location of the

temple is chosen to be in a south-facing position

with good ventilation and lighting, and it contains

auspicious meaning. The same regulation and level

also affect the layout. As early as in the Han

Dynasty of China, the Chinese translation of the

"Dharmagupta-vinaya" and the ten-law

"Sarvāstivāda-vinaya" stipulated the temple-centered

layout. Affected by traditional Chinese rituals, the

building stands at the highest level of the temple -

the Daxiong Hall is facing the south, while the other

ancillary buildings such as the Shanmen, the Bell

and Drum Tower, and the Heavenly King Hall are

slightly oriented in the south. The multi-cultural

integration brings about the central axis layout of the

Buddhist temple under the influence of

Confucianism and the free random layout under the

influence of Taoism.

The Chinese temple environment is divided into

four areas: Pilgrimage Space: Secular to the sacred

area, including the incense, the mountain gate, the

Zhaobi, the Heavenly King Hall, etc.

Sacred Space: The closed and static area formed

by the sacred atmosphere of Buddhism, including

the Daxiong Hall, the East-West Hall, the Temple,

the Ring, the Tibetan Classic, the Tower, etc.

Service space: including mortuary, pilgrim,

tourist accommodation, meals, warehousing, etc.

Public activities space: Garden and areas of

activity.

Figure (4) : Rebuilding Temple Layout functional division

From the Dunhuang murals of the world

intangible cultural heritage, we can see that the

ancient architecture of the Buddhist temple in China

during the Tang and Song Dynasties attached

importance to practicality. There was no excessive

decoration. The central axis layout centered on the

Buddhist temple, the courtyard layout, and the tower

was on one side. After the Song Dynasty, the temple

gradually formed a system of Samghrma seven-story

, and the gardens inhabited by the public. There are

seven kinds of buildings that become the inherent

standards of Chinese Buddhist temple buildings:

Mountain gate, Buddhist hall, Family hall for

worshipping Buddha, Abbot, Monk's house,

Bathroom, Toilet. During the Ming and Qing

Dynasties, there was no change in the general plane.

It gradually evolved into seven halls, such as

Mountain gate, Heaven Palace, Mahavira Hall, Back

hall, Family hall for worshipping Buddha, Arhat

Hall, Guanyin hall, etc., emphasizing the central

position of the main hall, the central axis is

symmetrical, the temple attaches importance to

decoration, and has rich colors. Variety. The Tang

Dynasty style and the Qing Dynasty style have

become two important era styles of the traditional

Chinese architecture, and have become the cultural

characteristics of the symbols defining the times.

These typical Confucian buildings, such as the

screen wall, the decorated archway and the Stele

Pavilion, show a high degree of cultural integration

in the Buddhist temple. Buildings such as the tower,

depositarry of Buddhist texts and the Buddhist stone

pillar, although they were the products of primitive

Indian Buddhism, were gradually being Chinese

influence in the sedimentation of Chinese culture,

and they were far from the origin and function. The

plaque is a direct expression of Chinese culture in

the temple architecture. It conveys the landscape and

expresses the Buddhist Zen. This form is the only

feature of Chinese culture. It is different from other

Buddhist cultures and even cultural landscapes.

Developing it is the focus of design.

The temple environment space broke the closed

single temple view architectural form, and absorbed

the layout features of secular gardens and garden-

style dwellings, and the transformation of sacred

space into garden space. The temple space is flexibly

treated with the fluctuation of the terrain,

emphasizing the close integration of religious space

and garden space. Chinese temples are similar to

Chinese ink landscape paintings. The buildings are

arranged within one-third of the height of the

mountain, showing a horizontal linear trend, giving

people a viewing space. The visual experience

changes during the walking process. The section is

built on the hill and has one side facing the wide

area. The relationship between the building group

and the environment mainly occurs in the form of a

relatively stable mountain surrounded by temples.

There is a virtual and real change between

architecture and the environment, with the

traditional Chinese implicit aesthetic characteristics,

extremely rich and hidden meaning.

Identity of Guilin Sacred Places: Rebuilding Xi Qinglin Temple in Guilin

151

Figure (5): Lingxing Gate is the integration of

Confucianism and Buddhism

The Bodhi tree, the Borneo tree and the sapling

tree are called the Three Gates of Buddhism, which

represent consciousness, life and death and

enlightenment. Master Xu Zhengguo believes that

the lotus in Buddhism is metaphorized by everyone.

Therefore, lotus ponds are generally set up in

temples, and white lotus and red lotus are planted.

The plants of the temple have identification marks

and guide functions. Chinese temples are

distinguished from Japanese temples, and the plants

are not trimmed and blended with nature. Pine and

cypress trees are the base trees of the temple. The

tall evergreen plants surround the space for sound

insulation and good insulation, creating an

atmosphere of Buddhist monastic cultivation. As a

sacred tree of Buddhism, Ginkgo biloba forms a

main tree on both sides of the planted gate.

Magnolia and osmanthus trees are planted in front of

the church or in the atrium. The seeds of the sweet-

scented osmanthus tree will be planted to attract

people to visit. Bamboo is a symbol of Buddhist

teachings. The hallowness between its festivals is

the embodiment of the Buddhist concept of

"emptiness" and "heartlessness". The Xuanzang

Master of the Tang Dynasty recorded ancient India

in the book "Da Tang Xi Yu Ji". One of the earliest

two temples, Zhulin Jingshe, is commonly used in

Chinese temples as an architectural background.

In order to maintain the daily diet of monks and

pilgrims,temples often set up flowers in the temple

to grow vegetables and fruits. "Luoyang Jialanji" has

repeatedly mentioned the luxuriant scene of planting

fruit trees in monasteries. Temple plants not only

have ornamental value, but also focus on the purpose

of production. Such planting methods are worthy of

continuing in the design of contemporary temples,

bringing a variety of experiences. In the Tang

Dynasty of China, Baizhang Huaihai Zen Master

took the lead in formulating regulations for the

cultivation of monks. The temple economy was

transformed from being provided for before to self-

sufficiency, which guaranteed the prosperity and

development of Buddhism. Until today,in addition to

farming, selling tickets to Buddhist temples has

become an important source of funds for daily

operation of Buddhist temples in China, and the

landscape environment in Buddhist temples has

become an indispensable tourist requirement.

2.2 Symbolic Significance of the

Historical Traces of the Xi Qinglin

Temple in Guilin

Xi Qinglin temple built in the early Tang Dynasty, It

is the most famous temple in Guilin. The Tang

Dynasty scholar Mo Xiufu recorded in the book

"Guilin Fengtu Ji" that a certain year of flood

brought giant wood, the local residents carved the

giant wood into a Buddha statue and built a temple

for worship at the suggestion of the Indian monks.

Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese

history, in her sleep, the god asked her for cassock,

after she woke up, she ordered someone to make a

cassock and hang it on the city gate, cassock is lost

the next day, finally found cassock on the Locana

Buddha in Xi Qinglin Temple, Guilin. The story of

folklore is confirmed from the side, at the beginning

of the Tang Dynasty, there were already Indian

monks in Guilin, Xi Qinglin Temple is also famous

at this time and has become one of the five largest

Buddhist temples in China. After the change of

history, this temple is gradually ruined, in the

eleventh volume of "Guisheng" written by Zhang

Mingfeng of the Ming Dynasty in China, the temple

has ceased to exist, grotto statues in the Tang

Dynasty is the only remaining relic.

Guilin in the Tang Dynasty, the unprecedented

prosperity of Buddhism，become one of the centers

of Buddhism in southern China, from the style of the

existing Grotto statues, different style from the

Buddhist statues in the Central Plains and Northern

China，scholars believe that this is evidence that

Buddhism was introduced into China from India by

sea. In 750 AD, the Chinese Tang Dynasty eminent

monk: Jian Zhen, after five failed attempts to spread

the Dharma in Japan, spreading Dharma for a year at

Kaiyuan Temple in Guilin, then he traveled to Japan

again, finally succeeded, Kaiyuan Temple has also

been destroyed, leaving only a dagoba, there is no

historical record of Jian Zhen’s activities at Xi

QinglinTemple, but as a temple that was famous at

the time, it can be guessed that such an activity

exists. The writings of Xi Qinglin Temple are

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rarelyrecorded, historical traces are interrupted for a

long time, interview some local experts, they

generally recognize the important position of Xi

Qinglin Temple in the history of Guilin Buddhism,

the cultural symbolism of reconstructing the temple

is much higher than the function of the temple itself.

Figure (6) : Relics of Indian Mathura style Grotto statues

The existing Buddha statues at the site have 98

niches 243 statues, the largest of which is up to 200

cm, the minimum height is only 20~30 cm.

Although most of them are broken, but you can still

see the prosperity of the Buddha’s affairs that year.

Temples and grottoes coexist and are not common in

China, especially in the southern temples of China.

The karst landforms of Guilin undoubtedly make the

sacred place features more unique, the Buddha

statue has Lingnan "small jasper" style, exquisite

appearance, gentle expression and unique local style.

According to field research, the Buddha statue is

mainly small, these statues have the characteristics

of the Tang Dynasty statues: fullness of the face, the

earlobe is large until the shoulder, busty chest and

thin waist, Mild expression. There is a clear

historical record of the “Li Shi” statue at Guanyin

Peak, it is elegant in style, obviously influenced by

the art of mathura from central India. At present,

Buddhism in Guilin does not have advantages in

China, The grotto art ofXi Qinglin Temple will

become an important design reference for

reconstructing Buddhist cultural tourism.

2.3 Chinese Temple Tour and Tourist

Industry in Guilin

Chinese Buddhist temple tourism has strong appeal.

For example, China's four major Buddhist Sacred

mountains, Wutai Mountain, Putuo Mountain, Emei

Mountain and Jiuhua Mountain, attract a large

number of tourists every day. In addition to visiting,

prayer to Buddha, burning incense and wishing are

the most important Buddhism activities. When the

festival comes, people are constantly rushing from

all directions to see the attractiveness of strong

columns.

Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese Buddhism has

completely gotten rid of the tradition of begging for

food by bowls. "Baizhang Qing Rule" of Huaihai

mook was born, and the economic model of self-

sufficiency of monasteries has remained until now.

At present, there are two levels of differentiation in

temple economy. There are many tourists in

economically developed cities and well-known

temples. Tourist companies intervene in Temple

Tourism Management and generally collect tickets.

There are a lot of business activities in temples,

which promotes the commercialization of temples.

In some remote areas, temples are closing down and

tourists are scarce due to financial difficulties.

Because of the low risk and high return of the

development of Buddhist tourism projects, under the

joint promotion of the tourism and Buddhist circles,

there has been a nationwide upsurge in the

construction of Buddhist statues in temples.

Typically, giant Buddhist statues rising in various

places attract a large number of tourists in the temple

space.

Figure (7) : Buddhist temples in China maintain farming

regulations

Guilin, located in the southwest of China, is a

city famous in the world for its karst scenery. It has

more than 80 million tourists every year, and its total

tourism income accounts for 20% of GDP. Guilin's

tourism industry focuses on natural scenery tourism,

ethnic minority tourism and agricultural leisure

experience. Tourist crowds are distributed at all

ages. Holiday tourism is developing into a new

tourism fashion. About 95% of the tourists are

domestic tourists, young tourists and foreign

tourists, mainly from Korea, Singapore, Europe,

America and Japan.

Identity of Guilin Sacred Places: Rebuilding Xi Qinglin Temple in Guilin

153

3 CONCLUSION

China's Buddhist temple a place of multi-cultural

integration. It is the core content to analyze the

connecting characteristics of different cultures in the

process of research. The rebuilding of Xi Qinglin

Temple in Guilin is scarce. The only historical

records come from the Tang Dynasty. The peak

period of Chinese Buddhist temples was in the Tang

Dynasty, which brought design reference for the

rebuilding of temple projects. From the historical

evolution of Buddhist temples in China, Tang

Dynasty to Song Dynasty is an important research

timeline. Buddhist temples in this period established

the typical image of Chinese Buddhist temples. The

artistic style is different from the later dynasties. In

Tang Dynasty, whether it is architecture, sculpture

or mural, it shows simple style, repetition and

momentum. Based on this, the rebuilding artistic

style are positioned in the style of Tang Dynasty in

China.

Although Mahayana Buddhism differs greatly

from Theravada Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism,

many hidden meanings will be found in the study of

the origin of Buddhism. These contents will be an

important reference for research and design. To

discover the cultural significance from the origin and

to reproduce and rebuild it is the goal of research at

present. The excessive commercialization of

Chinese Buddhism has been accused of losing faith

and questioning the sacredness of Buddhism. In the

1920s, based on the decline of Chinese Buddhism,

Taixu a Buddhist modernist put forward the new

philosophy view of "Humanistic Buddhism", a

movement to promote the modernization of

Buddhism, so that Buddhism can be closer to the

needs of society and people and care for the public.

From the philosophical point of view of Buddhism,

the design of a temple is not only to provide a place

for prayer to Buddha, but also to provide space to

adapt to the times as a design concept, so that

everywhere can feel the Buddha's teachings,

activities to meet the needs of people. Guilin is

famous for its scenic tours, and sightseeing and

vacation are the current forms of tourism. The

rebuilding of Xi Qinglin Temple is a supplement to

the form of Guilin's tourism industry. At the same

time, relying on the long-term accumulated tourism

foundation, it is of great significance to the spread of

Buddhism.

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