Suzhou, China - Hanshan Temple, buddhist statues - postcard c.1980s

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Hanshan Temple, [Suhzou, China]
• Publisher: China National Publications
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Hanshan Temple (Chinese: 寒山寺; pinyin: Hánshān Sì); lit.: 'Cold Mountain Temple', is a Buddhist temple and monastery in Suzhou, China. It is located at the town of Fengqiao (lit. Maple Bridge), about 5 kilometers west of Suzhou's old city.

Traditionally, Hanshan Temple is believed to have been founded during the Tianjian era (502–519) of the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, in the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. The current name of the monastery derives from Hanshan, the legendary monk and poet. Hanshan and his disciple Shide are said to have come to the monastery during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang (627–649), where Hanshan became the abbot.

Hanshan Temple is famed in East Asia because of the poem "A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge" (楓橋夜泊), by Tang Dynasty poet, Zhang Ji. The poem describes the melancholy scene of a dejected traveller, moored at night at Fengqiao, hearing the bells of Hanshan Temple:

月落烏啼霜滿天，

江楓漁火對愁眠。

姑蘇城外寒山寺，

夜半鐘聲到客船。

Yuè luò wū tí shuāng mǎn tiān,

Jiāng fēng yú huǒ duì chóu mián.

Gūsū chéngwài Hánshān Sì,

Yèbàn zhōngshēng dào kèchuán.

The moon is going down

And the crows make a ruckus

The sky is covered with frost

There are maples on the riverbank

And the lights of fishing boats

Drift with the current

I fall into a sad sleep

from the monastery on Cold Mountain

The sound of the bell

Reaches the guest boat at midnight

The poem is still popularly read in China, Japan and Korea. It is part of the primary school curriculum in both China and Japan. The ringing of the bell at Hanshan Temple on Chinese New Year eve is a major pilgrimage and tourism event for visitors from these countries.