Wenshu Temple

 Wenshu Temple (Wenshu Monastery) stands in the northern part of Chengdu City. It is the home of the Buddhist Association of Sichuan Province and Chengdu. Perhaps the best thing about the monastery is the bustling crowd of worshippers who flock to the place. Together with the exquisite relief carvings that decorate many of the buildings in the complex, they render the temple well worth a visit. Initially built in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), Wenshuyuan was once called Xinxiang Monastery. In 1681, during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), Cidu, an accomplished Buddhist monk, came to the monastery. He built a simple hut between two trees and for several years lived an ascetic life there. Legend has it when Cidu was being cremated; the statue of Wenshu (Bodhisattva Manjusri in Sanskrit) appeared in the flames, staying for a long time. So people regarded Cidu as the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva Manjusri. Thereafter, Xinxiang Monastery became Wenshuyuan.