Solitary Joy Temple

Located in Jixian County，113 kilometres from Tianin city，the Solitary Joy（Dule）Temple，also known as the Big Buddha Temple，was first construc-ted in the Tang Dynasty and rebuilt in 984 in the Liao Dynasty.Dule means exclusive happiness.Legend has it that when An Lushan（a general of the Tang Dynasty）rebelled against the emperor，he held a meet-ing here at the temple before going to war and he gave the temple its pres-ent name because he wanted happiness exclusively for himself instead of sharing it with the people.The temple consists of an entrance gate，the 23-metre-high Guanyin（Avalokitesvara or Goddess of Mercy）Pavilion and thechambers on the east and west sides.The gate，the roof of which has give ridges and four slopes，is China’s extant oldest.The pavilion，built in 24 dif-ferent systems of brackets inserted between the top of a column and a crossbeam，is the cream of China’s extant high-rise pavilions of wooden structure.On top of all this，it stands formidable despite 28 major earth-quakes.Inside the pavilion is a 16-metre-high clay statue of Avalokitesvara，or the Goddess of Mercy，beaultiful in shape and enchanting in mien，a rare treasure among clay sculptures following the style of the Liao Dynasty（907-1125）.

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