AT JIN CI TEMPLE COMPLEX IN TAIYUAN CITY
Jin Ci is a remarkable temple complex 25 km from
Taiyuan City in Shanxi Province. It contains some of the most beautiful
portrait statuary in all of China, from both the Song and Yuan Dynasties,
as well as a lively portrait of the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty
cut into a stone stela. Jin Ci is primarily an ancestral temple to the
memory of a famous statesman of the Zhou Dynasty (ended 722 BC), and two
ancient cypress trees of that period are actually incorporated in the
precincts. There are 23 additional trees in the grounds which are more
than 1000 years old, and there are more than 100 rooms in the various
buildings. The complex contains two opera stages and temples of Buddhist,
Taoist, and Confucian traditions, attempting to be thoroughly eclectic
and allinclusive. There are also large cast-iron statues of warriors which
are nearly 1000 years old, and which show the superiority of the Chinese
at that time in casting iron (cast iron did not become widely available
in Europe until 1380 AD).
Jin Ci has elaborate stone bridges, water channels, and canals.
