南普陀寺英文导游词
南普陀英文导游词
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Next we will visit the famous ancient
temple---Nanputuo temple which has about 1000 years history. Situated at the foot of Wulao Peak on the southern end of Xiamen is nanputuo Temple. The temple's Heavenly King Hall, the Main Shrine Hall, the Great Compassion Hall(大悲殿) and the Shrine of Buddhist Scriptures are all graced with painted brackets. all of those buildings are built in an exquisite and grand style.
The whole temple is built along a centre axis with accessory structure symmetrically set on the both sides.The temple was first built during the Tang Dynasty （618-907）. And rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）, it is now an imposing multi-layered trapezoidal structure(多层的梯形结构) that overlooks the sea. It is one of the sacred places of Buddhism in Southern Fujian.
First we can see the Free Life Pond. We always see this kind of pool in temples. The pool is digged by Buddhists, they want to accumulate merit and virtue, and they aften buy some fish and tortoises which are unfree in the market , then they put them into the pool. And in summer we can enjoy the beautiful scenery that lotus leaves spread on the water. Just like the picture. Near the pool stand two tall towers, they are special symbal of Nanputuo temple. They are unique.
Now let’s enter the Heavenly King Hall. It stands at the front of central axis line. The roof of the building is very special, and as we can see , there are dragons on it. At the gate of the Heavenly King Hall, stand two lions, they give us holy and serious feeling. When you enter the hall, the Four Kings of Heaven which stand at two sides will first catch your sight. They all have an angry facial expression . And they have different artifacts. At the centre of the hall, a statue of a smiling Maitreya exposing his breast and abdomen sits there, just like he is welcoming every visitor. He is a symble of happiness and health. In India, the Maitreya isn’t a fat monk, but in China, he is a fat monk and always smiling with a bag in his hand. He is free, travel around the whole country. No matter how other people treat him, he is keeping his smile. But at last he death becoming a statue in the Yuelin temple with a sitting posture. Because of the statue of the Maitreya, the Heavenly King Hall also is called the Maitreya Hall.
After the Heavenly King Hall is the Main Shrine Hall. At the gate of it stand two white stone towers and a incense burner pot. In the centre of the hall, you can see Sanshi
Reverend Buddha. This hall like the heart of this temple. At the back of the hall has many other statues, such as the statue of Guanyin.
Next we will visit the Great Compassion Hall. There are about 30 steps. So wo are going higher when we go to this hall. This is another main hall of the temple. The famous statue of Thousand-handed Guanyin is in the hall.
And the highest place on the centre axis line is the Shrine of Buddhist Scriptures. The Shrine of Buddhist Scriptures houses a huge collection of Buddhist cultural relics,
including a Burmese jade carving of the Buddha and many important Buddhist literature.
The temple attracts a large number of pilgrims at home and abroad. The excellent craftsmanship of the Thousand-handed Guanyin is marked by its thousand hands and thousand eyes and glistening golden color.
As to the Pavilion where Buddhist scriptures are kept, it has a rich collection of the historical articles of Buddhism. such as classics, statues of Buddhas, bronze bells from the Song Dynasty, calligraphic works and paintings from the ancient times. Among them, "Intriguing Lotus Scripture" written in blood in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and the statue of Guanyin in white porcelain, a masterpiece of He Chaosong, are most valuable.
Behind the temple, inscribed on the wall of a rock is a large word "Buddha" which is
4.66 metres in height and 3.33 metres in width. And farther behind, high up on the mountain stands a screen of five peaks coloured by green trees and bamboos and marked by serene valleys and rocks of pleasing shapes. They are called "Five Old Gentlemen Reaching the Clouds," and are one of the eight grand sights of Xiamen. Coming to the top, you not only have a view of the mountain undulating in the wind, but also the view of the sea surging in the distance.
Now you can enjoy the beautiful temple by yourself.and after two hours, we will get together at the gate of the temple.