Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t20.1

v1.c7.s3.t20.1

Kaiyuan Temple (Kaiyuan Vihar), Buddhism temple in Quanzhou, Fujian Province is located on the West Street of Quanzhou city. Kaiyuan Temple was first established in Chuigong second year of Tang (686 CE). It was originally named Lotus Temple but later renamed Xingjiao Temple and Longxing Temple. In the 26th year of Tang (738 CE), the emperor send out an imperial decree to establish a temple in each region he reigned and named it as his reign title. Therefore, there are many other temples named as Kaiyuan in China as of now and Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple is just one of them. However, the Quanzhou temple plays a special role in the history of cultural exchange between India and China. First, there is another legend about the establishment of Kaiyuan Temple. When Empress Wu Zetian of Tang Dynasty (684-704 CE) first took the office, a monk named Kuanghu asked Huang Shougong, a local rich man, to give him a small piece of land which just could be covered by a cassock so that he could build a temple on it. Huang agreed. Monk Kuanghu then threw his cassock into the sky and the cassock suddenly changed into a mass of purple cloud covering the entire mulberry field of Huang. Later, Kaiyuan Temple stood up in this vast piece of land. Similar legends can also be found on the origin of