Photos of Jiuzuo Temple

According to reports, the monastery has nine connected courtyards with a grand scale, covering an area of 15,000 square meters. At its peak, there were more than 500 monks. It was the largest Buddhist temple in Xianyou in the Tang Dynasty. It is said that Cai Xiang, a scholar of the Duanming Temple in the Song Dynasty, once came here to enjoy the scenery and wrote the three words "Taipingyuan" by himself. Song Dynasty celebrities Yu Xiang and Liu Houcun also came here to write poems. The nine temples now only have the Daxiong Hall, the Patriarch's Hall, the Sangha Zhaitang and the Free Life Pool. There are 6 pairs of large stone pillars in the main hall of Daxiong, with a height of 9.40 meters and a diameter of 60 cm. A pair of scripture towers in the temple were built during the Five Dynasties. In the east of the temple, there are the Nishita Pagoda and the "Silver Jar", the West has the Dust-free Pagoda and the "Rice Jar", the south has the Stupa and the "Wine Jar", and in the north there are historic sites such as Longtan. The nine mountains in Fengshan Township are unique in shape. The nine temples are built on the male phoenix crown, and the dust-free tower is built on the female phoenix crown. The two places are about 400 meters apart. The Dust-free Pagoda is located in the west of Jiuzuo Temple. It was built in the sixth year of Xiantong in the Tang Dynasty (865). It is the Dapi Pagoda that was cremated after the death of the monks of the past dynasties. It has been more than 1,100 years ago. Song Chongning gave it the name "dust-free tower". The tower is a three-story stone structure with an octagonal hollow, a height of 14.22 meters and an inner diameter of 4.45 meters. The spire is in the shape of a lotus gourd. The base is a lotus stone carving, and the corner columns of each layer are melon-shaped. The lower part of the bottom floor is engraved with relief patterns such as dragon and lion dance. The door is opened in the north and south, and there are reliefs of guards on the southeast and southwest sides. There are spiral stone stages spiraling upwards in the tower. There is a platform in front of the tower, which is completely different from the stone tower after the Song Dynasty. This is one of the more special stone pagodas among the rare Tang Dynasty ancient pagodas in the province.