The people’s temple : establishing the people’s value of Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou

Abstract

Lingyin Temple, founded in 326AD, is regarded as the most recognized temple in Hangzhou with a long history of about 1,700 years. Nowadays, Buddhism has a huge impact on the local society in Hangzhou. Lingyin Temple is a Buddhist temple with the largest influence in Hangzhou, and this influence penetrates into all levels of society. Lingyin Temple influences Hangzhou society in culture, economy, education, food and so on. There are many ancient records and documents about the historical evolution, architectural landscape, and artistic achievements of Lingyin Temple, covering a wide area. Even so, there is very little systematic research on the social and cultural value of Lingyin Temple, or that it has not received enough attention. Therefore, this dissertation hopes to fill the research gap by exploring the connection between society, culture and Lingyin Temple, and evaluate the social and cultural value of Lingyin Temple. Moreover, the author proposes a hypothesis that combines social and cultural values into “People’s Value”. In special heritage cases, the social function and cultural value of heritage are interrelated and mutually reinforcing, and serve the public and the society together. The author uses Lingyin Temple as a case study to explore the character defining elements of both the social and cultural value, and then study how social function and cultural value relate to each other and reinforce each other, and finally justify the feasibility of "People's Value". At the same time, the author also hopes that through the study of the people's value to give more clarity in determining how and why the Lingyin Temple is relevant to the daily lives of Hangzhou’s citizens, and in so doing, helping to explain why this temple is significant to them and valued by them. This can also increase people's awareness of conservation and pay attention to the conservation of Lingyin Temple.