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Daming Temple
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Daming Temple，located on a hillslope in the
northwesternsuburb of Yangzhou,is one of tbe oldest temples
in the City，having a history of over 1,500 years．
Once Emperor Qianlong bf the Qing dynasty toured Yangzhou
and was unhappy to see the name of the temple "Daming",
for he took it to mean "great Ming"． (Ming dynasty
was ruled by the Manchus,a minority． Qing succeeded Ming．)For
fear that it might remind people of the Ming dynasty，he renamed
the temple“Fajing Temple”and put it down in his own handwriting.(Emperor
Qianlong was a good calligrapher.)In the spring Of 1980，in reparation
for the exhibition of the statue of MonkJian Zhen，the Yangzhou
Municipal Government hanged it back to "Daming Temple"．
Thus, Qian long’s inscription“Fajing Temple”became a mere historical
relic．
In the main hall (Mahavira Hall) sit three Buddhist imageS．
In the centre is yamuni,to his east Master of the Medicine；
to his west is Amitabha，On each side Of Sakyamuni stands one
Of hiS ten disciples．the 0lder one on his 1eft represents expe-
rience and prestige； the younger one on his rght represents
wisdom and knowledge． On the eastern and western sides are 18
Arhats．On the northern side six Buddhist images represent six
founders Of the Chan Sect Of Buddhism., At the back iS an island
on sea With Guanyin(God or GOddess of Mercy)Standing on the
head Of a huge turtle．According to Buddhist Sutra，he can deliver
all living creatures from any suffering．Those in misery need
only call him and he Will come tO their rescue．He is sometimes
portraited aS a man and some time as a woman．
Actually he has a man's body but a woman's appearance,repre-
senting kindness。
In front Of Daming Temple there is an acient decorated archway
in the midst Of ancient trees． It bears the insription “Ruins
of Xiling”。 In AD 601(Sui dynasty)a nine-storey。Xi 1ing Tower
was built in the compound Of Daming Temple． Many famous poets
of the Tang dynasty visited and mounted the tower and wrote
moving poems． Later Xiling Tower Was burnt down， leaving Only
itS ruins． Five big Chinese characters are inscribed on the
eastern
wall Of the Temple"the First in Huaidong"Which mean
that the scenery of Daming Temple Was the best and most Worth
visiting in Yangzhou． These are the words of praise taken from
a famous poet of the NOrthern Song dynasty Qin Shaoyou,who once
toured this place and was fascinated by its beautiful scenery．
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