Xuanzang Temple Introduction
Continue west along the Huanshan Highway for about 4.8 kilometers to reach the Xuanzang Temple. Master Xuanzang was a renowned monk of the Tang Dynasty. Feeling that the translated scriptures at the time were significantly varied and confusing, he sought the true meaning of Buddhist teachings. Defying the prohibitions of the era, he persevered through numerous challenges to travel to India for scriptures, spending seventeen years abroad and returning with 657 texts. Together with his disciples, he translated 75 works, totaling 1,335 volumes, greatly contributing to the development of Buddhism in China. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese took Master Xuanzang's relics from Nanjing and enshrined them at the Jison-ji Temple in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In 1955, these relics were brought to Taiwan and temporarily enshrined at Xuanguang Temple by Sun Moon Lake. In November 1965, after the completion of Xuanzang Temple, the relics were moved there. Xuanzang Temple is built in a Tang-style architecture, featuring green tiles and red columns, simple and unadorned, with a serene environment that embodies the elegance of a traditional Chinese garden. Facing Sun Moon Lake in the front and backed by Qingshan Mountain, the site is considered by geomancers to be a 'Qingshan playing with pearls' location, making it the best place for enshrining Master Xuanzang's relics. The Xuanzang Memorial Hall was opened for public viewing on March 28, 2014.
