The Yanshan Temple is located at the
Tianyan village at the northern piedmont of Tianyan Mountain, 40 kilometers to
the southeast of Fanzhi County, Shanxi Province.
The Yanshan Temple, originally called Lingyan Yard, was first built in the
third year (1158) of the Zhenglong reign of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). It had
been repaired many times during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The
concurrent existent constructions include the temple gate, the bell tower, east
and west side halls, the southern Hall and the Buddha hall.
The Wenshu Hall, the southern hall of the temple, was built in the Jin
Dynasty and underwent a big innovation in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The hall
is five bays in width and six rafters in depth, with a single-eave gable and hip
roof. Several statues such as Buddha, Bodhisattva, disciple and Buddha's warrior
attendants are kept on the Buddha altar in the hall, all of which retain the
architecture style of the Jin Dynasty. Over 9,700 square meters of frescos are
painted on the walls of the hall. Wang Kui, a royal painter, painted the frescos
in the seventh year (1167) of the Jin Dynasty. The western wall is painted with
the story about Buddhist monk; it narrates the life story of Sakyamuni. The
eastern wall is painted the story about sutra and the source of life. The
northern wall is painted with the story about that five hundred merchants
suffered from a shipwreck when traveling in a big ship and were saved by Luosha
Woman finally. A pagoda is painted in the east, where an octagonal
seven-storeyed pagoda lies. The pagoda has an elegant shape and a refined
construction, with city wall and gate tower below. The southern wall is painted
with patterns of halls, pavilions and portraits. The fresco presents vivid,
beautiful and affecting scenarios, including palace and street, gods and
worldliness, mirage and cloud, forest and orchard, infants, nobles and citizens,
etc. The pictures are arranged precisely. It is an excellent artwork among the
frescoes of the Jin Dynasty. The fresco is rich in content and profound in
meaning. It provides us with invaluable visual reference for the research into
religion, architecture and arts of the Jin Dynasty.