Kinzanji 金山寺

Keywords
Art History
Painting

Ch: Jinshansi. A well-known Zen 禅 (Ch: Chan) temple in Zhenjiang 鎮江, southeast Jiangsu 江蘇 province, China. The famous temple, called Jinshansi or Temple of the Gold Mountain because of its wealth, was founded in 505. During the Song period it was known as Longyousi (Jp: Ryuyūji 龍遊寺) and was the site of a well-known encounter between the poet Su Dongpo (Jp: *So Tōba 蘇東坡) and the priest Foyin (Jp: Butsuin 仏印). The temple was also known as Jingshansi (Jp: Keizanji 径山寺) and is presently called Jiangtiansi (Jp: Kōtenji 江天寺). Jinshansi was a favorite pilgrimage, spot for Japanese. A symbol of Zen teaching and the experience of pilgrimage the temple was painted frequently by Japanese painters after the 16th century. Paintings of Jinshansi typically show a mountainous island covered with temple buildings including several pagodas. Especially in screen compositions, Kinzanji is often paired with another great Chinese temple complex, Ayuwangshan (Jp: *Aikuōzan 阿育王山).