science

Longhua Temple

Longhua Temple is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Longhua Temple rather than just read about it. In short: The Longhua Temple (simplified Chinese: 龙华寺; traditional Chinese: 龍華寺; pinyin: Lónghuá Sì; Shanghainese: Lon-ngu-zy; alternatively Lunghwa Temple; literally "Dragon Flower Temple") is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha in Shanghai. Although most of the present day buildings date from later reconstructions, the temple preserves the architectural design of a Song dynasty (960–1279) monastery of the Cha…

Key takeaways

Longhua Temple belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Longhua Temple to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Longhua Temple from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Longhua Temple (simplified Chinese: 龙华寺; traditional Chinese: 龍華寺; pinyin: Lónghuá Sì; Shanghainese: Lon-ngu-zy; alternatively Lunghwa Temple; literally "Dragon Flower Temple") is a Buddhist temple dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha in Shanghai. Although most of the present day buildings date from later reconstructions, the temple preserves the architectural design of a Song dynasty (960–1279) monastery of the Chan School. It is the largest ancient temple complex in the city of Shanghai.

History

The temple was first built in 242 AD, during the Three Kingdoms period (220–280). According to a legend, Sun Quan, King of the Kingdom of Wu (222–280), had obtained Sharira relics, which are cremated remains of the Buddha. To house these precious relics, the king ordered the construction of 13 pagodas. Longhua Pagoda (龍華塔), part of the Longhua temple complex, is said to have been one of them. Like the function of the pagoda, the name of the temple also has its origin in a local legend according to which a dragon once appeared on the site. The temple was destroyed by war towards the end of the Tang dynasty (618–907) and rebuilt in 977 AD, under the autonomous Kingdom of Wuyue during the Northern Song dynasty period (960–1127). (According to another version of the story, as contained in Song (960–1279) and Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) local histories, the temple was first built by the King of Wuyue.) Later in the Song dynasty, in 1064, it was renamed "Kongxiang Temple" (空相寺), but the original name "Longhua Temple" was restored in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) during the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1573–1620). The present architectural design follows the Song dynasty (960–1279) original. However, whereas the core of the present Longhua Pagoda survives from that period, most buildings in the temple proper were rebuilt during the reigns of the Tongzhi Emperor (1862–1874) and the Guangxu Emperor (1875–1908) in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). A modern restoration of the entire temple complex was carried out in 1954. The temple and monastery were originally surrounded by extensive gardens and orchards. Viewing of the peach blossom in the Longhua gardens was an annual attraction for people in surrounding cities. The temple grounds have been used as a site for internment as well as for executions. Public executions were held on the site in the 20th century. In 1927, the Kuomintang (國民黨) carried out a purge of suspected communists in Shanghai. Thousands of victims of this purge were brought to the temple grounds to be executed. They are commemorated today by the Longhua Martyrs Cemetery behind the temple. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese operated their largest civilian internment camp in the area, where American, British, as well as nationals of other allied countries were held under poor conditions. The temple's extensive gardens have since been almost entirely absorbed into the neighboring Longhua Martyrs' Cemetery and have been extensively reconstructed in a contemporary monumental style. A small traditional garden remains immediately adjacent to the temple buildings.

Architectural design and artwork

The Longhua Temple occupies an area of more than 20,000 square meters (215,000 sq ft) and the main axis of the compound is 194 meters (636 ft) long. The tallest structure is the Longhua Pagoda which stands 40.4 meters (132 ft 7 in) high. The layout of the temple is that of a Song dynasty monastery of the Buddhist Chan sect, known as the Sangharama Five-Hall Style. Five main halls are arranged along a central north–south pointing axis. From the entrance or Shanmen, the buildings are:

Maitreya Hall The Maitreya Hall housing a statue of Maitreya buddha and another in his manifestation as "Budai", or Cloth bag monk.

Four Heavenly Kings Hall The Four Heavenly Kings Hall housing statues of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Mahavira Hall The Mahavira Hall is the main hall, housing statues of the historical Buddha (Shakyamuni) and two disciples. At the back of the hall is a bas-relief carving, including a depiction of Guanyin, or the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara in his female manifestation. Around the front portion are arranged the twenty Guardians of Buddhist Law, and around the back the sixteen principal arhats. The hall also features an ancient bell cast in 1586, during the Wanli era of the Ming dynasty.

Three Sages Hall The Three Sages Hall (三聖殿) houses statues of the Amitabha buddha, and the Bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara (male form) and Mahāsthāmaprāpta.

Abbot's Hall The Abbot's Hall (方丈室) is a place for lectures and formal meetings.

Bell tower and Drum tower A Bell Tower and a Drum Tower are arranged off the central axis. The Bell Tower houses a copper bell cast in 1382, the bell is 2 meters (6 ft 7 in) tall, has a maximum diameter of 1.3 meters (4 ft 3 in), and weighs 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb). The bell is used in the Evening Bell-Striking Ceremony conducted on New Year's Eve. Also situated off the main axis is a shrine to Ksitigarbha (Dizang the King Bodhisattva).

Buddhist Texts Library The Buddhist Texts Library houses various versions of sutras and other Buddhist works, as well as ceremonial instruments, antiques, and artifacts. Artworks in the temple include statues of the Maitreya Buddha in his Bodhisattva form and in his Cloth Bag Monk incarnation, statues of the Eighteen Arhats and 20 Guardians of Buddhist Law, as well as statues of the 500 arhats.

Longhua Pagoda

The Longhua Pagoda is best well-known of the 16 historic pagodas that still stand within the Shanghai municipality. It has an octagonal floor layout. The size of the seven stories decreases from bottom to top. The pagoda consists of a hollow, tube-like brick core surrounded by a wooden staircase. On the outside, it is decorated with balconies, banisters, and upturned eaves. These outer decorations have been reconstructed in keeping with the original style. Although previous pagodas existed on the same site, the current brick base and body of the pagoda was built in 977 under the Wuyue kingdome (907–978), with continuous renovations of its more fragile wooden components on the exterior. Because of its age, the pagoda is fragile and is not open to the public.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Longhua Temple

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Longhua Temple claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Longhua Temple before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Longhua Temple ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Longhua Temple

In research: Longhua Temple appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Longhua Temple in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Longhua Temple is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 10th-century Buddhist temples in China, 20th-century Buddhist temples in China, 242 establishments, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Longhua Temple outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Longhua Temple in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Longhua Temple means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Longhua Temple out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Longhua Temple in simple terms?

Why does Longhua Temple matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Longhua Temple?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Longhua Temple.