Touring the Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties, Visiting the Ancient Jiming Temple

Jiming Temple, located on the eastern slope of Jilong Mountain in Xuanwu District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, enjoys the reputation of "Ancient Jiming Temple." The temple is named after the mountain, and Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, stayed in the temple four times to seek Buddhist teachings. It is one of the oldest temples in Nanjing, known as the "First Temple of the Southern Dynasties" and the leader of the "480 Temples of the Southern Dynasties." Together with Qixia Temple and Dingshan Temple, it is considered the center of Buddhism in the Southern Dynasties. Jiming Temple was first built in 300 AD (the first year of Yongkang in the Western Jin Dynasty), and its origins can be traced back to the Xuan Temple of the Eastern Wu period, located within the rear garden of the Wu State. It has a history of over 1,700 years. After several changes, in 1387 AD, the 20th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the expansion of the temple and personally inscribed "Jiming Temple," meaning "to rise and practice diligently upon hearing the rooster crow." This marked the beginning of its illustrious history. Jiming Temple was destroyed by fire during the Xianfeng period and was rebuilt in the 1980s under the leadership of Abbot Zongcheng. Hu Shi wrote poems here, Guo Moruo sought divination here, and Zhu Ziqing referred to it as a must-visit place in Nanjing in his writings. In 1992, the crew of "The Legend of the White Snake" came here to film, making Jiming Temple famous as the best place to seek marriage. The temple has many buildings, including the magnificent Mahavira Hall, Guanyin Tower, Weituo Hall, Zhigong Tomb, Sutra Library, and Chanting Hall. Among them, the Medicine Buddha Pagoda, a seven-story, eight-sided pagoda built in 1991, stands 44.8 meters high and has become a landmark of the temple. The temple offers different scenery in all four seasons and eight festivals. It is recommended to visit once in each season: in spring for the cherry blossoms, in summer for the lotus pond in Xuanwu, in autumn for the golden phoenix trees, and in winter for the snow in Jinling. Passing by Jiming Temple With a staff, I invite myself into Jinling, looking westward at Jiming with unease. In the pond, gulls and herons rest together at dusk, while bees and butterflies share the morning on the flowers. Jiming Temple