Wu Xiang Temple

Wu Xiang Temple, originally built in the Yuan Dynasty, is located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, within the Panmen Scenic Area, adjacent to the city river and next to the city tower. It was rebuilt in 1988 and is a temple commemorating the loyal minister Wu Zixu. Wu Xiang Temple is divided into east and west courtyards. The east courtyard consists of halls, corridors, pavilions, and gardens, with flowers, trees, and lake stones adorning the courtyard, surrounded by winding corridors, and bamboo and stone peaks peeking through the lattice windows. The west courtyard is solemn and respectful. The main hall, consisting of three rooms, is the Wu Xiang Temple. Under the horizontal plaque inscribed with 'Majestic as Mountains and Rivers,' stands a vividly painted statue of Wu Zixu, about 4 meters high, evoking deep respect. In front of the seated statue is a couplet on a pillar: 'The ancient city remains as before; climb the heroic pavilion to view the heights; the rebuilt structure, here the turbulent waves all bow.' Another couplet reads: 'The past is clear, passed down through millions of generations; the loyal spirit remains, still among us for hundreds of years.' Inside Wu Xiang Temple, there is a thousand-year-old stone clamp, which was the flagpole stone of the ancient temple. In ancient times, people performed Buddhist rituals in this temple, erecting poles and hanging flags in the stone clamp during the day and lighting eternal lamps at night. 'All who entered the city must salute it.' The stone clamp, over a thousand years old, expresses the Suzhou people's respect for Wu Zixu's immortal achievements and their lament for his 'loyalty met with slander, faith met with suspicion.'