On the evening of March 19, the Graduate Student Society of the Department of Buddhist Studies at Fo Guang University held its first “Micro Talk” of the second semester of the 113th academic year in Room N202. Despite a sudden cold front, many graduate students came to attend. The lecture, titled “In the Mists of Qinhuai, I Most Cherish the Elegant Temples—A Journey through the 480 Temples of the Southern Dynasties”, featured special guest Venerable Huifa, a monk from Jiming Temple in Nanjing and Secretary-General of the Tongtai Charity Foundation in Jiangsu Province. Venerable Huifa gave a detailed introduction to Buddhism during the Southern Dynasties and the temples of Nanjing.

Quoting the famous line by poet Du Mu, “Of the 480 temples of the Southern Dynasties, how many pavilions lie in mist and rain,” Venerable Huifa opened the talk with references to iconic Buddhist temples from the Six Dynasties period. As a historic capital during that time, Nanjing (then called Jiankang) not only holds a rich past but also remains home to many significant Buddhist sites. The lecture began with an illustrated overview of the Northern and Southern Dynasties' historical context, followed by a layout of Buddhist temple distribution in ancient Jiankang. The talk highlighted several major temples from the period that continue to hold significance today: Jianchu Temple (Great Bao'en Temple), the first temple in Southern China; Tongtai Temple (Jiming Temple), the first imperial temple of the Southern Dynasties; and Qixia Temple, the ancestral temple of the Sanlun (Three Treatise) School.

Jianchu Temple was built in 248 CE during the Chiwu era of Eastern Wu by Emperor Sun Quan after being inspired by the Indian monk Kang Senghui. It was the first Buddhist temple in Southern China and housed a relic in an Ashokan stupa. Although both the temple and stupa were destroyed during Eastern Jin’s wars, the temple was later rebuilt and renamed Changgan Temple. Following the fall of the Southern Dynasties, Jiankang lost its capital status and underwent administrative changes during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but the temple site remained stable. It was renamed Tianxi Temple during the Song dynasty, Cien Jingzhong Teaching Temple during the Yuan, and finally Great Bao'en Temple during the Ming dynasty.

Qixia Temple is the ancestral temple of the Sanlun School. It features three key treasures: a Tang dynasty stele, a Sui dynasty stupa, and the Thousand Buddha Cliff. The stele titled “Eulogy to the Gentleman Ming of Qixia Temple on She Mountain” was inscribed by Emperor Gaozong of the Tang dynasty and holds great historical significance. The current stupa is a five-tiered, eight-sided, pagoda-style structure rebuilt during the Southern Tang period (Five Dynasties), and the Thousand Buddha Cliff was carved gradually between 484 and 511 CE, housing 515 Buddhist statues today.

Lastly, the talk introduced Tongtai Temple (now known as Jiming Temple), originally built under Emperor Wu of Liang as a royal monastery. The emperor was known to have performed the ritual of self-sacrifice at the temple four times and promoted Buddhist teachings such as the Liang Emperor’s Repentance Ceremony and the Ullambana Festival. He also authored the “Treatise on Abstaining from Alcohol and Meat,” which marked the beginning of vegetarianism in Chinese Buddhism. The temple’s current name, “Jiming” (Rooster’s Crow), was bestowed during the Ming dynasty when Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang encouraged students of the nearby national academy to rise early upon hearing the morning rooster.

This richly informative lecture beautifully combined historical research with academic sharing. It gave attendees a deeper understanding of Southern Dynasties Buddhism and provided graduate students with an inspiring academic platform that encourages further interest in Buddhist history and thesis research.