Hunyuan Yong'an Temple

Hunyuan Yong'an Temple, also known as Yong'an Zen Temple, is located in Hunyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province. It was first built in the Jin Dynasty, but was later destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in the early Yuan Dynasty by Gao Ding, the military governor of Yong'an, and his son, who were both from Hunyuan. Yong'an Temple faces south and has two courtyards. The temple is large in scale. There are many cultural relics and buildings in the temple, among which the Hall of the True Dharma is a relic of the Yuan Dynasty. The hall is five rooms wide and three rooms deep, with a single-eave hipped roof and glazed tiles. The murals of the Yuan Dynasty in the hall are the essence of the temple. The murals cover an area of about 180 square meters and depict 882 water and land figures in 135 groups of water and land stories. The figures in the murals are depicted in detail, with vivid expressions, including "Ming Wang Preaching the Dharma" and "Rebirth in Heaven." These murals include not only Buddhas and Bodhisattvas worshipped by Buddhists, but also Taoist deities and Confucian figures of loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness, making them a "complete collection of ancient Chinese religious figures."