The temple was first built in 515 during the
Liang dynasty (502–557) of
Southern Dynasties. It used to lie at the northeast foot of the
Purple Mountain, i.e. where the
Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum is located, since the
Hongwu Emperor of the
Ming dynasty (1368–1644) chose the place to be his mausoleum and then the temple was moved to the present place. The temple was named by the Hongwu Emperor himself. It used to be large and covered an area of over . Later it was destroyed in warfare during the reign of the
Xianfeng Emperor in the
Qing dynasty (1644–1911) and rebuilt during the reign of the
Tongzhi Emperor. In the temple, apart from shrines dedicated to
Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas, The relics of Master
Xuanzang were enshrined and worshipped in the temple too. Within the grounds are the tombs of
Tan Yankai and
Deng Yanda.
Wuliang Hall Wuliang Hall, or Beamless Hall, was constructed in 1381, and is high and wide. The hall enjoys high reputation for its special architectural techniques. It has three archways on the front and rear sides respectively. The structure was built with bricks from the bottom to the top entirely, without a piece of wood or a single nail. Thus it was called Wuliang Hall, since Wuliang means beamless. It happens that the hall originally enshrined
Amitābha (the Buddha of Infinite Light) whose Chinese name is similar to "Wuliang". Later in 1928, the hall was turned into a memorial hall for soldiers who lost their lives in the
Northern Expedition (1926–1928). More than 30,000 soldiers were enshrined.
Linggu Pagoda . Linggu Pagoda is not connected with the temple, but was designed by American architect Henry K Murphy and built between 1930 and 1932 as a sign of remembrance for the soldiers. The nine-story-tall
pagoda stands high. Speeches made by
Sun Yat-sen and epigraphs of
Chiang Kai-shek were inscribed on the tower. In the temple, there is also a Three Superb Tablet, on which a painting of
Baozhi painted by
Wu Daozi, a famous painter; a memorial poem written by
Li Bai, a
Tang dynasty poet; calligraphy written by
Yan Zhenqing, a well-known Tang dynasty calligrapher, is inscribed. Since the three were all masters in their own field in the Tang dynasty, the tablet was considered Three Superb Tablet. Unfortunately, the original tablet was broken in warfare, the present one is a duplicate made during the reign of the
Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty. == Artistic depictions of Linggu Monastery ==