Famen Temple


Situated some 118 kilometers (73 miles) west of Xi'an, the Famen Temple will appeal to travelers who
are journeying west to explore the ancient Silk Road.

The temple gained the name Famen in the Tang dynasty when a wooden four-storey structure was built
replacing the original Ashoka Stupa built in the Eastern Han dynasty. The temple with the "the Real Spirit
Pagoda," in it enjoyed the "forefather of pagodas and temples in Central Shaanxi," for the finger bones of
Sakyamuni - the founder of Buddhism.

Famen Temple currently maintains such a layout as Grand Hall following Pagoda. The True Relic
Pagoda is regarded as the middle axle of the temple. Before it stand the Front Gate, the Front Hall, and behind it is the Grand Hall of Great Sage.
This is the typical layout of the early Buddhist temples in China.

The True Relic Pagoda has been altered several times. It evolved from four-storied pavilion-like pagoda in Tang Dynasty to thirteen-storied brick
pagoda in Ming Dynasty. The current version was rebuilt based on the surveyed drawing of the pagoda in Ming Dynasty before it collapsed. It is
made of armored concrete as skeleton, and then covered by grey bricks. Inside the pagoda there are sightseeing platforms for tourists.

The underground palace was restored to the structure of Tang Dynasty. Only few severely damaged parts were replaced. The whole palace was
built by white marbles and limestone tablets. Inner walls and stony gate are all engraved. During the renovation of the underground palace, a
circular basement was built surrounding the Tang palace, and Buddhist shrines were included. The preserved
Buddhist finger relic rests at the center of the underground palace.

About a century after the death of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, the ancient Indian King Ashoka decided
to distribute a selection of Sakyamuni's relics to many places in the known world where Buddhism had gained
adherents. The Famen Temple was awarded a finger bone. Among the four discovered so far, the third kept in
a five-layered marble chest, which was retained in a secret niche in the back room is tubular-like, 37millimeters
long, white and yellow in color. It has been authenticated a bier stone, which means it is the only real. And the
other three were "shadow bones," imitations of identical color and shape to protect the real one. The first one
was kept in an eight-layered chest in the back room.