Founded over 700 years ago.

The Depository of Buddhist Texts of Donghua Taoist Temple, founded in Yuan Dynasty, has a history of more than 700 years. It was rebuilt in the Ming and Qing Dynasties after wars and now it is the oldest existing wooden building in the main areas.

The Depository of Buddhist Texts of Donghua Taoist Temple is built according to the styles of Ming Dynasty. Except for doors and windows, there are no iron nails in the main structure of the construction. And no iron nails have been used in the repair this time. It is repaired according to original mortise and tenon joint structures, which shows harmony with the traditional structures. In the repair process, quick lime, glutinous thick liquid and hemp threads are used instead of cement.

Generally, the bracket system of the wooden architecture is always in square, but the bracket system of Depository of Buddhist Texts of Donghua Taoist Temple is arc-shaped.

The “Present Depository of Buddhist Texts of Donghua Taoist Temple is located on the former second floor.” The official in charge of the Yuzhong Depository of Cultural Relics told reporters that an old picture taken during the Anti-Japanese War shows the original Depository of Buddhist Texts is a building changed from triple eaves into double eaves after Kaixuan Road was built.

Ash pantiles of Ming Dynasty have been used in the roof.

According to records, the last repair of the Depository took place during the period of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, over 300 years ago. A spokesperson from the Yuzhong Depository of Cultural Relics said that the new construction maintains the typical characters of the Qing and Ming Dynasties though it has been repaired several times.

“There is a proposed plan before repair and encaustic tiles will be used in the tiling of the construction, which is kept from Qing Dynasty.” The official in charge of the Yuzhong Depository of Cultural Relics said that ash pantiles of Ming Dynasty have been found under encaustic tiles of Qing Dynasty during the process of repair. “It is changed into ash pantiles of the Ming Dynasty which can be seen now after repair.”

Where do ash pantiles come from? Ash pantiles have been used in the part of old tiling of Depository of Buddhist Texts. And new tiling, tiger head shaped eaves tile and butterfly-shaped droplets are repaired with facsimiles, which are fired according to relics from the Ming Dynasty unearthed on the site.

The whole construction is propped up by 36 black pillars, which are coated with paint and shiny Chinese wood oil and look black. These pillars are from the Depository of Buddhist Texts and are repaired after grouting through chemical treatment. Stone pestles from the Ming and Qing Dynasties are kept under the pillars. Simple pot-fixed stone pestles under the bottom and octangle stone pestles with ornamentation are characterized with architectural structures characteristic of the Ming and Qing Dynasties respectively.

Japanese airplanes aggressing against China had bombed out most parts.

“Donghua Taoist Temple prevailed for a time. What we’ve seen is just a little part of the ancient Donghua Taoist Temple.” The official from the Yuzhong Depository of Cultural Relics said that there are three palaces (lower palace, main hall and upper palace,) in the Donghua Taoist Temple according to the historical records. In the Donghua Taoist Temple, there are nine palaces and Depository of Buddhist Texts. Gardens, guest rooms and depositories account for six in total. “It was massive and gorgeous during the most flourishing period. There were five Taoist priests living there for a long time. The number of Taoist priests and lay Buddhists who offer incense to Buddha or put up at a temple for a short stay was over a thousand. Three streets, called Daoguanjing, are especially to sell caps, gowns and instruments of Taoist priest. It was a famous Taoist temple of Quanzhen Longmen Taoism in Chongqing at that time and contains tons of history.”

Donghua Taoist Temple had a big fire in 1926 that ruined two thirds of the temple. Most parts of the temple had been ruined by indiscriminate bombing by Japanese airplanes aggressing against China in 1939. There were only two palaces remaining in Donghua Taoist Temple after the big fire and bombs, including the Depository of Buddhist Texts and Lingguan Temple.

Today the Depository of Buddhist Texts, the former Yuhuang Palace, has been carefully renovated following historical development and its area covers over 200 square meters.

Yuhuang Palace was listed as a Municipality Protected Historic Site in 1983 and was repaired and jointly financed by the Chongqing and Yuzhong Governments in 2015. (Translated by Chen Dandan, Fathom Language Limited)