Main Hall

Liao and Jin Dynasties
Huayan Si, Datong

The hip-roofed Main Hall on the upper terrace of Huayan Si was built by the Liao in 1062 AD, and renovated by the Jin in 1140 (Zhang Hongbin, Datong Huayang Monastery, p. 4). Its structural frame is Liao, while some of the bracketing and roof frame seems to be Jin (R. Thorp, unpub. briefing, 2009). At nine bays across by five bays deep (54m x 28m, or 177ft x 92ft) it is the largest wooden hall in China before the Ming. Unusually, it is oriented toward the east, an anomaly that may be explained by its former service as a Liao ancestral temple.

The current set of five Directional Buddhas and 20 Protector Deities in the hall is Ming. The wall frescoes were painted in 1890 (Zhang Hongbin, Datong Huayang Monastery, p. 29).