Zhenguo Temple

Zhenguo Temple
The Ten-Thousand Buddha Hall (Wànfó diàn) of Zhenguo Temple
Basic information
Location	Pingyao
Affiliation	Buddhist
Province	Shanxi
Country	People's Republic of China
Completed	963 Northern Han Dynasty

Zhenguo Temple
"Zhenguo Temple" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	鎮國寺
Simplified Chinese	镇国寺
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhènguó sì Wade–Giles Chen4-kuo2 ssu4 IPA [ʈʂə̂n.kwǒ sɨ̂] Wu Suzhounese Tsěn-kueh zŷ Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jan-gwok jih Jyutping Zan3-gwok3 zi6 Southern Min Tâi-lô Tìn-kok sī

Coordinates: 37°17′08″N 112°16′15″E / 37.28556°N 112.27083°E / 37.28556; 112.27083

Zhenguo Temple (Chinese: 镇国寺) is a Buddhist temple located 10 km from Pingyao in the village of Hadongcun, in Shanxi Province, China. The temple's oldest hall, the Wanfo Hall, was built in 963 during the Northern Han dynasty, and is notable for featuring very large brackets that hold up the roof and flying eaves. The sculptures inside the hall are among the only examples of 10th century Buddhist sculpture in China.

The history of the temple begins in 963, when it was recorded that Ten-Thousand Buddha Hall (Wànfó diàn 万佛殿) was built. The date is written on a beam in the hall, and is also the date given by a local history of Pingyao county written in the 19th century. A stela written in 1819 also confirms this date. Wanfo Hall is the oldest building at Zhenguo temple, and is the only surviving building that dates from the short-lived Northern Han dynasty. Although little is known of the temple's history, stelae record that it was renovated in 1540 and in 1816. In 1997, along with Pingyao city and Shuanglin Temple, the Zhenguo temple was inscribed on the World Heritage list as ‘Ancient City of Pingyao’.