travel04
Registered: November 2006
Posts: 1,021
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Tiantai Mountain is about 200 kilometers away from Shanghai. There are many historical sites in the mountain, such as the Sui Dynasty Pagoda, the Chanshi Pagoda, the ancient Fengqian Bridge, the Hanshi Pavilion and Tang Dynasty tablets. Many famous Chinese calligraphers and poets left their inscriptions upon Tiantai Mountain.
Tiantai Mountain is a well-known Buddhist Mecca. Guoqing Temple at the foot of Tiantai Mountain was built in 598 in the Sui Dynasty (581-618). It is the birthplace of the Tiantai Sect of Buddhism. The temple has been renovated several times in later dynasties. The present temple was renovated in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and then in 1973. There are now 14 halls and over 600 rooms in the temple. The architecture there is grand and unique, making the temple a popular tourist destination in Zhejiang. Historical sites are scattered in and a4roung the temple, including Gaomoingjiang Temple, Huadingjiang Temple, Fangguang Temple, Wannian Temple and Zhenjue Temple. About 1,300 years ago, Master Zhizhe initiated the Tiantai Sect of Buddhism on Tiantai Mountain. Over 1,200 years ago, monk Jianzhen went to Japan to spread doctrines of the Tiantai Sect. In 804 of the Tang Dynasty, a Japanese monk came over to Guoqing Temple to learn Buddhist scriptures, and after he went back to Japan, he initiated the Japanese Tiantai Sect, which considered the Guoqing Temple as its ancestor. Buddhist exchanges between the two countries, promoted the friendship between the Chinese and Japanese people.
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