History
- From 1st century AD to 4th century AD
This was the earlier period of Buddhism in China. Temple buildings were called 'Ci' and the temple layout followed its Indian counterpart with a pagoda as its central focus surrounded with halls and towers. The first Buddhist temple in China was the White Horse Temple, located in what is now, Luoyang, Henan Province.
- From Mid- 4th century AD to Mid- 10th century AD
This period spans China's Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang and Five Dynasties and Ten States. Favored by feudalist rulers, Buddhism gradually reached the height of its development from an exotic to a prevailing countrywide religion in this period. Buddhist architecture saw a great development in both numbers and sizes of their temples and by the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there were over 1400 temple in its capital city Luoyang and over 40,000 throughout the country. Temple architects began to use sophisticated courtyard complex in their temples and the layout of different buildings employed a systematic arrangement similar to the symmetrical palace structure rather than the early pagoda-centered form. Buddhist pagodas, as their roles faded away were moved to the rear part of the temple. It was in this period that the Chinese temple art took its own shape and achieved its great success.
Murals from Mogao Grottoes (a noted Buddhist cave in what is now Dunhuang City) illustrated the development of the temples in the Tang Dynasty. Temples at that time had more courtyards, halls, towers, pavilions and intricate designs and decorations are applied to eaves, roofs, balustrades, gateways and interior ceilings. The temple architecture technique reached a high level.
- From Mid- 10th century AD to 20th century
In this period, Buddhism experienced several ups and downs before it declined in recent centuries. The Buddhist temples saw no more changes on the architecture structure. Architects concentrated on gorgeous and solemn style and the notable scale of the complex. Zhihua Temple and Guangji Temple in Beijing and Chongshan Temple in Taiyuan are fine examples of this type. Meanwhile another kind of Buddhist temples were introduced landscape scenery and different buildings such as gateways, pavilions, towers, temple halls in simple style were scattered over mountains and the temples seemingly borrowed from the surrounding hills and waters into its complex to create a harmonious integration between temple buildings and the environment. This embodies the traditional Chinese philosophy of keeping harmony with nature. Four Buddhist Holy Mountains (including Mt. Jiuhua; Mt. Emei; Mt. Putuo; and Mt. Wutai) are of this kind
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