Wenshu Monastery 文殊院

About Wenshu Monastery

Religious images provide the focus inside the halls, while the quieter garden paths and tea tables show another side of the precinct. The surrounding streets add small shops and food stops, but begin within the monastery before turning to the commercial area. Observe worshippers respectfully and treat the tea visit as a pause after seeing the temple spaces.

Founded in the Daye era of the Sui dynasty, the monastery was first called Xinxiangsi (信相寺). It was destroyed by fire during fighting at the end of the Ming dynasty, leaving only ten cast-iron guardian deity statues and two thousand-year-old firs standing. In 1681, in the Kangxi era of the Qing dynasty, master Cidu (慈笃) built a thatched hermitage among the ruins; a monastery was raised on the site in 1697, and in 1702 the Kangxi Emperor bestowed a plaque reading 'Konglin' (空林), giving it the alternative name Konglin Hall. It was later enlarged under abbot Benyuan (本圆) in the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras.

The temple faces south, with the Four Heavenly Kings Hall, Hall of Three Sages of the West, Mahavira Hall, Dharma Hall and the Buddhist Texts Library arranged along its central axis. Mahavira Hall stands 10.56 metres high and holds statues of Sakyamuni, Ananda and Kassapa Buddha, cast in 1829, in the Daoguang era of the Qing dynasty.

The monastery has a floor area of more than 200,000 square metres and is foremost among the four great Chan monasteries of the upper and lower Yangtze. It was listed as a Sichuan provincial cultural-relic protection unit (四川省文物保护单位) on 7 July 1980, and in 1983 the State Council designated it one of the Han-area National Key Buddhist Temples (汉族地区佛教全国重点寺院).

What to look for

• Buddhist images fill the monastery’s devotional halls.
• The gardens and teahouse create a quieter sequence beyond the main religious spaces.

Location & getting there

Getting to Wenshu Monastery

The monastery is at 66 Wenshu Temple Street in Qingyang district. Wenshu Monastery station on Metro Line 1 is the named approach; continue along the signed street to the main entrance.