Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t6.2

v1.c7.s3.t6.2

Famen Temple was built during the late Eastern Han Dynasty (second half of the 2nd century CE) and was originally referred to as Asoka Temple. At first, it was just a pagoda built over the relics of Buddha. Later a temple was constructed next to the pagoda. According to legend, after unifying the India, Asoka the Great divided the Buddhist relics into 84,000 shares and sent spirits to deliver them to various countries for the purpose of promoting Buddhism. Pagodas were built by people to worship those relics. It’s said that these relics reached 19 places in China and the Famen Temple, also known as the Asoka Temple was just the fifth. In 494 CE and 602 CE, the pagoda was opened twice for believers to worship the relics. In the Wude seventh year of Tang Dynasty, the temple was officially renamed as “Famen Temple” by the emperor and during Zhenguan period of Tang Dynasty (627-649 CE), the pagoda was opened three times. The pagoda was originally named as Grave of Saints and then it was turned into a four-level wooden building with a new name as Huguo Zhenshen Pagoda (Buddha Pagoda for the protection of country) in Tang Dynasty.