When it comes to scriptures, one might think of the story of Tang Xuanzang retrieving the scriptures in Journey to the West. In fact, many scripture artifacts have long been destroyed in the flow of time, and the **Yunju Temple** in Beijing (also known as the **Western Temple**, **Western Yunju Zen Forest**) is the only place where several pagodas and stone scriptures in the scripture caves are preserved. It houses 14,278 ancient stone scriptures and is also one of the key cultural relics protection units in the country today.
Yunju Temple was built by the eminent monk Jingwan in the Sui Dynasty. After its completion, the temple used the method of carving rooms in the mountains and inscribing scriptures on stones to preserve Buddhist scriptures. It has gone through six dynasties including Sui, Tang, Liao, Jin, Yuan, and Ming, with a total of 1122 Buddhist scriptures and 3572 volumes carved inside. It has become the largest and oldest stone-carved library in the world, with extremely important research value in history, art, and other fields. It is quite precious!
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The first stop of this exhibition is set in Hong Kong, selecting representative important cultural relics from the Stone Scriptures Museum, totaling 43 pieces, including rare treasures made of stone, paper, wood, etc. from different periods such as Sui, Tang, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and modern times; and the exhibited stone sutras, wooden sutras, and paper sutras (known as the “Three Wonders” of Yunju Temple) are all being exhibited in Hong Kong for the first time, with 17 original rubbings of Fangshan Stone Sutras being publicly displayed for the first time worldwide.
The exhibition showcases and promotes Chinese culture through various forms such as display boards, actual artifacts (stone sutras, rubbings, dragon-hide wood sutras, paper sutras), and interactive areas (live rubbings of dragon-hide wood sutras, VR experience of the Thunder Sound Cave with stone sutras), with the hope of bringing the thousand-year history of sutra engraving, the precious and extraordinary culture of stone-paper-wood sutras, and the national treasure-level ancient temples of the north into Hong Kong from the Cloud Dwelling Temple, allowing the public to gain a deeper understanding of the inheritance of Chinese cultural relics and intangible cultural heritage.
【Fuk Hui International Charity Fund collaborates with the Sino-Western Cultural and Art Development Association and the Hong Kong Baptist University to jointly organize】
“Chinese Cultural Miracle – Historical and Cultural Exhibition of Yunju Temple in Fangshan, Beijing”
Date: April 2-14, 2024
Time: Monday to Friday (10:00-18:00), weekends and public holidays (10:00-20:00)
Location: Hong Kong Baptist University (5 Wui Fai Street, Kowloon Tong) – Koo Ming Kwan Exhibition Hall, Lee Shau Kee Communication and Visual Arts Building
(Free admission)
