Famen Temple (Famen Si) Xian

Famen Temple (Famen Si), Xian

Famen Temple is located in Fufeng County, 118km (73 miles) west of Xian and was built during the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220AD) to store a relic of Buddha's finger bone. In 1987 the largest Buddhist underground palace in China was also discovered here.

The history of Famen Si begins in the 2d century AD, when a pagoda was built to receive an Ashokan relic, believed to be a finger-bone1 of the historical Buddha. This relic was periodically taken from the pagoda and paraded to the imperial court at Xian for the veneration of the faithful. The temple became the royal temple in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The temple was lavishly supported by Wu Zetian, the Tang Dynasty Empress. On or before 874, the relic was sealed in the pagoda's subterranean crypt, where it remained undisturbed for the next 1100 years.

The original pagoda did not survive the intervening centuries, although its crypt was not looted. In Ming times, a new pagoda was erected over the crypt. When the Ming pagoda collapsed in 1981, archaeologists discovered and opened the crypt, where they found the original Ashokan relic, along with many Tang-era treasures including gilded statues, nested reliquaries, precious cultural relics, incense burners, and other precious objects.

For better preservation of these rare treasures, Famen Temple Museum was built in 1989.Golden and silver wares, glass, china, stone and iron wares, wood, genuine pearls, jades and many kinds of dry goods are housed in it. Among all the treasures, a gold-plating Buddhist abbot's staff with a length of 1.96 meters (6.43 ft) is the oldest and biggest Buddhist object ever found. It also includes 13 pieces of royal china that could not be made today because the techniques of making them have already disappeared.

Famen Temple is really a must-see for both visitors and pilgrims alike.