Foguang Temple - Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Foguang Temple - Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Foguang Temple () is a Buddhist temple located five kilometres from Doucun, Wutai County, Shanxi Province of China. The major hall of the temple is the Great East Hall, built in 857 AD, during the Tang dynasty (618–907). According to architectural records, it is the third earliest preserved timber structure in China. It was rediscovered by the 20th-century architectural historian Liang Sicheng (1901–1972) in 1937, while an older hall at Nanchan Temple was discovered by the same team a year later.'Discovered' in this context means that while the temple was known to local people, its importance was unknown to the academic community. The temple also contains another significant hall dating from 1137 called the Manjusri Hall. In addition, the second oldest existing pagoda in China (after the Songyue Pagoda), dating from the 6th century, is located in the temple grounds.Qin (2004), 342. Today the temple is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site and is undergoing restoration. Read more on Wikipedia
Source: en.wikipedia.org