Took a ride over to Longhua Pagoda and Temple today with Anne and Andrea. Longhua Pagoda and Temple is located in Shanghai and was first built in 242 A.D. during the Three Kingdoms Period and is the oldest temple in Shanghai and the largest as well. It contains numerous Halls and is filled with statues and treasures. There is also a Bell Tower and Drum Tower. On the top of the Pagoda is a small calabash shaped structure with an iron plate over it, popularly known as the "treasure bottle" because it contains the ashes of Buddha. The Longua Pagoda is the only pagoda in Shanghai. According to the history I was able to find, the scenery near the Huang Pu River was very charming. When King Sun Quan sailed to Huang Pu, his mother found the area lovely and decided to stay. After staying several months, she was relaxed and in good health, King Sun Quan erected a temple in her honor to express his thanks to heaven.
By the end of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the temple was almost destroyed in a war. According to legend, King Qian Chu of the Song Dynasty anchored his boat for the night and noticed the temple was on fire. He immediately ordered his men to save the temple. By 977, the temple was rebuilt. In 1064, the temple was renamed Kongxiang Temple. The name Longhua was restored during Emperor Wanli's reign (1573-1620) in the Ming Dynasty. In the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) the temple underwent extensive renovations to its present shape.
Chinese Pagodas were first found in India. Buddhism was spread into China in the 1st Century A.D. and it was recorded in the Buddhist scriptures that when Buddha Sakyayumni died, his disciples cremated his body and took a portion of his remains, for which they built pagodas. Longhua Temple is a wood and brick structure with a brick body. In 1892, the wooden balustrades on the lower stories of the pagoda were damaged in a fire. They were later replaced with cement structures, losing their original appeal. In 1953, the government rebuilt the Pagoda and restored its original look. We arrived and wandered through the surrounding Longhua Temple and witnessed many followers observing the Qingming ritual (Tomb Sweeping). Tomb Sweeping is an annual event (much like Easter celebrated by Christians) where you honor your deceased and follow the ritual as dictated by the Buddhist religion. We saw people burning paper money, paper cars, paper homes and offering food to the memory of their deceased. This is all done in hopes of bringing good fortune and luck into the family. There are various temples on the grounds and we were able to see each of them. We noticed many Peach Blossoms in bloom and were able to just enjoy the serenity in the temple.
