frauke at large

Since my return from Japan, I have not done much else but teach and tackle various other academic jobs such as research paper writing, meetings and admin, so I am due a blog entry and my g*d I was due a trip off campus. So finally the excuse lent itself that a very good friend of mine was in the country and we could return to Hangzhou. Unfortunately he had to fly out again a day before we had the chance to go, but nevertheless some other friends of mine and I decided to set off as planned.

The day started early with the car driving us across Zhejiang province to its capital: Hangzhou. I have reported of my trips to Hangzhou many times before (here) and have always liked it, and this time was no different. First we went to the temple by the lake with the five mean looking guys, as they have now been re-named, and then wandered off to the market street only to make a new discovery: ‘food street’. This is a street entirely made up of food stalls one next to the other, selling delicacies such as: bird on a skewer, duck heads in soup, pineapple filed with rice and various vegetables. The smells were just delicious, however the reality of flattened birds on sticks or various other animal extremities boiled, fried or roasted quickly reduced temptation.

Obviously lunch could not be had anywhere else than the famous Hangzhou restaurant that overlooks the lake. From there we also had spectacular views onto the hillside, our afternoon stop. A satisfying stroll along the lake after lunch and a short car ride later, we were at Ling Yin temple. The temple is without doubt the most impressive that I have seen so far around West Lake and is, apparently, also one of the ten most famous Buddhist temples in China. In 1961 the temple was listed for protection as a key provincial historical and cultural site and is considered a leading centre for research into Chinese Buddhist culture.

 

The presence of a temple on this site can be traced back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317 – 420AD) when, according to local legend, Huili an Indian monk came to the area where he was inspired by the spiritual nature of the scenery here. In his mind this had to be a dwelling of immortals and so he named the temple “Ling Yin” (Temple of the Soul’s Retreat). The Chinese name is translated into English as either “Temple of the Soul’s Retreat’ or ‘Temple of Inspired Seclusion’ for the setting has a quiet and beautiful grandeur that encourages a feeling of peace and contemplation. The temple was to gain in importance during the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD) when the King of the Wu Yue State initiated a large-scale development of the temple as a sign of his devotion to Buddha. In its heyday, the temple comprised nine buildings, eighteen pavilions, seventy-seven palaces and halls with over thirteen hundred rooms providing accommodation for around three thousand monks.

 

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