Daming temple, also named Great Brightness Temple, is one of the most historic Buddhist temples in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. It occupies a commanding position atop a hill overlooking Yangzhou and the Shou Xi Hu(Slender West Lake) Garden. The temple was founded over 1,400 years ago, and has been rebuilt, expanded, and renamed many times since. Today is it both a popular tourist attraction and also a active temple.
Several of the buildings are built in an ancient Japanese style to commemorate the temple's most famous monk, Jian Zhen. During the Tang Dynasty, he decided to travel to Japan to spread Buddhism there, but on each of his five trips violent storms forced him to turn back. However, he persevered and on his fifth trip he finally arrived in Japan. He brought with him not only a sophisticated knowledge of Buddhism but a lot of information on Chinese culture and science which had a lasting influence on Japanese society. The temple's massive pagoda is designed in a classical style that reflects this history, and from its top there's a beautiful view over Shou Xi Hu Lake and its gardens. The scenic site of the temple also attracted scholars and writers, and preserved on the temple's grounds is small house that once belonged to Ouyang Xiu, a prime minister during the Song Dynasty and one of China's most famous writers of prose and poetry.
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