Brief Introduction of Neijiang Shui Sheng Temple

Shui Sheng Temple has been under repair since the Tang and Song Dynasties. Destroyed by soldiers in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, there was a large-scale reconstruction and expansion in Kang Yong during the Qing Dynasty. The temple covers an area of more than 20,000 square meters with a construction area of more than 6,000 square meters. There are more than 0/70 temples/kloc, and there are more than 300 monks living in it at the peak, so it is called "the first Zen forest in Zhongchuan". The existing main buildings are distributed in the east, west and middle. To the east are the Heavenly King Hall, Ursa Major Hall, the Tibetan Scripture Building and the Jue Yuan Building. In the west is the Ancient Hall of Great Compassion, and in the middle is the Dharma Hall. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, there are 67 niches and 450 cliff statues in the rocks behind the temple. In the Great Hall of Compassion in the late Tang Dynasty, there was a cliff statue of Guanyin with a thousand hands, each of which was 8 meters high and beautifully carved. 

There are also 20 stone arch bridges, stone workshops, celebrity inscriptions and Song and Ming stone carvings. There is a painting of Xuanzang's scriptures on the ceiling of the Dizang Hall, with vivid characters and delicate brushwork.

Shui Sheng Temple covers an area of 20,000 square meters, with a building area of more than 8,000 square meters. There are more than 200 temples, and more than 50 monks live there.

This temple is a mountain-like building with a courtyard layout. It is divided into four courtyards: Jue Yuan Tower, Tibetan Classics Tower, Daxiong Hall and Tianwang Hall, which are arranged from west to east on the central axis, all of which belong to the Ming and Qing styles; On both sides of the central axis are cloisters, including the living room, the Five Views Hall, the Zen Hall and the Buddhist Temple. On the left side of the temple are the Jade Buddha Hall and the Three Temples Yamatonokusushi Hall. Further to the left are Guanyin Hall and Dizang Hall; On the right side of the temple, the ancestral hall is the main body, forming an independent courtyard.

Shui Sheng Temple has 67 stone niches and more than 450 statues, with a total length of more than 60 meters. Chronologically, it can be divided into Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing stone carving groups; From the content point of view, some explanations are to teach people, some to promote Buddhism, some to educate all beings, and some to inspire people to make wishes and pray; From the perspective of subject matter, there are religious and secular. Among them, the Thousand Hands Guanyin Stone Statue and the Twelve Circles Stone Statue of Jue Yuan Tower respectively represent the different styles of stone statues in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In addition, the stone arch bridge, the release pond and the scripture building in front of the Tibetan Scripture Building built in the Ming Dynasty all have high historical value. At the same time, Shui Sheng's calligraphy is dazzling and beautiful. In particular, Zhao Zhenji, a famous scholar in Ming Dynasty, wrote books such as Shui Sheng Temple and Scholar's Water Rock, which are bold, elegant and handsome and have high artistic value.